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I’ve been baking this homemade funfetti cake for years, and it’s still the cake recipe I reach for the most. It’s soft, buttery, packed with colorful sprinkles, and topped with the dreamiest butter meringue frosting. It’s been tested hundreds of times, made for more birthdays than I can count, and it was good enough to earn a spot in my book, Entertaining with Charm.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItAnd here’s what makes mine different. Most homemade funfetti cake recipes ask you to whip egg whites to stiff peaks, fold them in without deflating a single bubble, and stack three cake layers. Lovely, but that’s a project. This is a cake is one bowl of batter, one pan if you want, and it still comes out tender and celebratory every single time!
No judgment if you grew up on the box mix (I did too), but this one tastes like a bakery made it and takes barely more effort.
I called this confetti cake, or sprinkle cake, growing up, because of the colorful bursts baked right in. Whatever you call it, it instantly feels like a party. Serve it as the main event or alongside a dessert charcuterie board when you really want to charm a crowd.
And if you love sprinkles as much as I do, my confetti cupcakes and no-bake funfetti cheesecake are next on your list.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Funfetti Cake
- What Makes This Cake Work
- Funfetti Cake Ingredients
- The Sprinkle Situation (Read This First!)
- How to Make Funfetti Cake (5 Simple Steps)
- The Butter Meringue Frosting
- Pan Sizes and Bake Times
- Eden’s Recipe Tips
- Make-Ahead and Storage
- FAQs
- More Homemade cake recipes
- Funfetti Cake Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Funfetti Cake
It’s the easy one. No whipping egg whites to stiff peaks, no cake strips, no crumb coats required. If you can make a box mix, you can make this.
Soft and buttery. A tender, moist crumb with rich vanilla and a whisper of almond in every bite. That vanilla-almond combo is the secret to true “birthday cake” flavor.
Tested and trusted. This recipe has been baked hundreds of times and earned a spot in my book, Entertaining with Charm.
Versatile. Bake it as a sheet cake, layer it like my classic birthday cake, or turn it into confetti cupcakes.
Celebration-ready. Birthdays, showers, Tuesdays. Any day that calls for sprinkles.
What Makes This Cake Work
A quick peek behind the curtain, because a few small choices make a big difference here.
Butter and oil, together. Butter brings the flavor, oil brings the moisture. Using both is how you get a cake that tastes rich but stays soft for days.
Mostly egg whites, no whipping required. Four egg whites keep the crumb soft and pale, and one whole egg sneaks in for richness. But here’s the easy part: you beat the whites right into the butter and sugar. No separate bowl, no stiff peaks, no gentle folding while you hold your breath. The cake doesn’t know the difference, and neither will your guests.
Vanilla plus almond extract. This little duo is what makes funfetti taste like funfetti and not just vanilla cake wearing a costume.
Funfetti Cake Ingredients
(Full amounts in the recipe card below!)
Sprinkles: Rainbow jimmies are the only way to go. More on why below, because sprinkle choice truly makes or breaks this cake.
Unsalted butter: Room temperature. Go for organic, grass-fed if you can. It makes a difference.
Whole milk: Adds moisture and structure.
Vegetable oil: The secret to a super moist crumb. Any neutral oil works.
Vanilla + almond extract: For that classic funfetti flavor.
Granulated sugar: Super fine is ideal, but regular works beautifully too.
Egg whites + one whole egg: Four large egg whites and one whole egg. The whites keep the crumb soft and light, and the whole egg adds just enough richness. Room temperature, always.
All-purpose flour: No cake flour needed. I promise.
The Sprinkle Situation (Read This First!)
Not all sprinkles survive the oven, and I learned this the hard way so you don’t have to.
Use jimmies. Those long, skinny rainbow sprinkles from the baking aisle. They’re colored all the way through and hold their shape, so you get pretty confetti flecks instead of chaos.
Skip nonpareils. The tiny round balls bleed their color the second they hit batter, and your beautiful white cake turns a moody gray. Festive? No.
A little trick: Toss your sprinkles with a spoonful of the flour before folding them in. It keeps them suspended in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom like they’re hiding from the party.
How to Make Funfetti Cake (5 Simple Steps)
1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. In a stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t rush this part. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating after each, then add the whole egg.
3. Alternate wet and dry. Combine the milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture, ending with dry. Mix just until combined.
4. Fold in the sprinkles. Gently! We’re folding, not fighting.
5. Bake. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan or two 8-inch pans lined with parchment. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few soft crumbs.
The Butter Meringue Frosting
Most funfetti cakes get a standard powdered sugar buttercream. This one gets my Swiss meringue buttercream, and it’s the thing people ask me about every single time. It’s silky, cloud-like, and not too sweet. It spreads like a dream and holds a pretty swoop. You’ll need about 2 cups for this cake, plus an extra half cup of sprinkles for the top.
Pan Sizes and Bake Times
This batter is happy in almost any pan, which is exactly why it’s my go-to.
9×13 sheet cake: 25 to 30 minutes. My favorite for parties. Frost it right in the pan, shower it with sprinkles, done. This is easy entertaining at its finest.
Two 8-inch layers: 25 to 30 minutes. For birthdays that call for a little height, decorated just like my classic birthday cake.
Cupcakes: Fill liners three-quarters full and bake about 20 minutes, or head straight to my confetti cupcakes recipe, which is this cake’s little sister.
Eden’s Recipe Tips
Use the good stuff. Organic ingredients and grass-fed dairy truly make a difference in taste and texture.
Spoon, don’t scoop. Lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup and level with a knife. Scooping packs in extra flour and that’s how dry cake happens.
Room temp everything. Butter, eggs, and milk should all lose their chill before you start. Everything blends more beautifully.
Don’t overmix. Once the flour goes in, mix just until combined. The cake will thank you by staying tender.
Butter that pan well. So your cake comes out clean and pretty, ready for its close-up.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make ahead: Bake the cake layers up to a day in advance. Cool completely, wrap well, and frost the day you’re serving.
Room temperature: Frosted cake keeps in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Wrap unfrosted cake tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then frost. One note: skip freezing once it’s frosted. The meringue buttercream doesn’t hold up well in there.
FAQs
Technically yes, and yet somehow it’s so much more. The vanilla and almond extract combo plus sprinkles in every bite makes it taste like a celebration, not just a vanilla cake.
What are the best sprinkles for funfetti cake?
Rainbow jimmies, the long skinny ones from the grocery store. They’re colored throughout and won’t bleed into the batter. Avoid nonpareils (the little balls), which streak color everywhere.
The batter may have been overmixed or too thin. Toss the sprinkles in a spoonful of flour before folding them in and they’ll stay put.
Yes! Fill liners three-quarters full and bake about 20 minutes at 350°F. Or use my confetti cupcakes recipe, which was developed from this exact cake.
No judgment on the box (it raised me). But this version has real butter, real vanilla, and a texture the box can’t touch. Once you try it, it’s hard to go back.
Absolutely. Two 8-inch pans, same bake time, and frost between the layers. It decorates just as beautifully as my chocolate cake for birthdays.
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If you bake this homemade funfetti cake, I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and rating below!
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Funfetti Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Funfetti Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, super fine sugar is best, but regular white sugar will work.
- 4 large eggs whites
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup colorful sprinkles
Buttercream Meringue Frosting
- 2 cups buttercream frosting
- 1/2 cup sprinkles, more for the top
Instructions
Funfetti Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×13 pan well (or two 8-inch pans lined with parchment).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the egg whites one at a time, beating after each. Then beat in the whole egg.
- In a measuring cup with a spout, combine the milk, oil, vanilla, and almond extract.
- With the mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until combined. Don't overmix!
- Toss the sprinkles with a teaspoon of flour, then gently fold them into the batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few soft crumbs. Ovens vary, so check early.
- Cool completely before frosting. I know, the waiting is the hardest part.
Buttercream Meringue Frosting
- Make one batch of my Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.
- Frost the cooled cake with about 2 cups, swooping as you go, and finish with a generous shower of sprinkles.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! I need to make this for a large group- would you say I should 1.5 or double the recipe to make it in an actual sheet pan?
Thanks!
I would always double, the measurements can get messed up when you try to cut it again.
I make this every year for my girls! It’s a family favorite.
Yay!! Love you Jenya!!
Great recipe! Cant wait to make it again!
Just looking at this cake makes me happy!
Love funfetti cake! I feel like it is it the quintessential birthday cake – you just can’t go wrong with it!
Why does funfetti make everything better?! This cake is pretty & seems so soft! It’s the perfect celebration cake!
I made this last week and LOVED it! I want to make it again for my co-workers, but the frosting recipe seems to have disappeared. Any chance you could add that back in?? Thank you!
Oh yay!! So good to hear! Okay, let us work on that. We switched our site over and we’re having some glitches!! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
I can’t seem to find the frosting recipe, where is it posted?
It’s fixed now 🙂
Wanting to make for my kiddos [ages 22 and 20] today…please tell me how much lemon juice and vanilla bean extract to add to the frosting. I do not see the measurements for this in the recipe [frosting].
The recipe is updated!! No lemon juice just vanilla extract. Sorry about that!
Hi there! Your cake is beautiful! What kind of sprinkles did you use? The colors are lovely!
Hi! Thank you so much!! I got them at Sur La Table. Just regular party sprinkles, but maybe a little chigger end? Haha!