Funfetti Cake From Scratch
Funfetti Cake from scratch! This easy recipe gives you fluffy white cake LOADED with sprinkles and covered in a sweet traditional buttercream frosting. This Funfetti Cake recipe is a birthday classic!
In our family we have always done birthdays the same way, ever since we were small. My mom's kitchen table is where the action is, with only a handful of exceptions to that rule for as far back as I can remember.
I think my 4th birthday was at Burger King. I got a crown. Once my brother got an ice cream truck in front of the house for his birthday.
I only really remember that the ice cream man was scary- like a real life version of how Disney always depicts a butcher, complete with a sloppy white apron, wolfy arm hair, and a gravelly voice. Yikes.
On your birthday you get to choose your meal-- this is my littlest brother's favorite part. He likes to use his birthday opportunity to solicit my mom and I for labor intensive things like chicken and dumplings. Can you blame him?
My mom usually ties balloons to your chair.
Everyone brings a present, but gifts aren't the focus. We spend way more time reading the cards; one of my brothers is a funny card buying pro. You have to read his cards out loud; it's sort of an unspoken rule. If you are laughing so hard that you're crying, or if you just can't get the words out, the card gets passed around the table.
After the meal, the cards, and the presents (Note: at our birthday table you still have to hold up each gift for a photo-op; it doesn't matter if you are 9, 16, 26, or 57) comes the BIRTHDAY CAKE!
My littlest sister always requests cheesecake (a girl after my own heart). My children get sort of complicated with their birthday cake wants and I try my best to accommodate, "I want it to look like a road with hotwheels cars and grass," or whatever they throw at me.
I'll never forget the year my oldest son, Andrew, asked for a store-bought birthday cake. It just about broke my heart.
In the end he liked my cakes better.
Cake is a big part of our birthday celebrations. We sing VERY LOUDLY. We take pictures like the paparazzi when you blow the candles out. And when the cake is cut and the ice cream is doled out, we all usually congratulate each other on how moist and delicious the box cake turned out.
Because besides the cheesecake for my littlest sister, we don't usually do birthday cake from scratch.
Don't hate on box cake. Pillsbury Funfetti is nothing short of amazing. It is also my sister's favorite.
This year I decided to see how we handled Funfetti cake from scratch. It was actually very simple. And the almond extract smells delicious.
The sprinkles were my favorite part of this whole process. And birthday cake loves to be covered in buttercream frosting.
I loved this cake. The almond extract MADE it. But I think for the next round I may opt for some vanilla pudding in the mix; it lacked some of that box funfetti cake spongy softness.
I used this recipe from The Kitchn-- the original recipe is full of helpful links and tips and tricks for things like The Best Way to Divide Cake Batter and Cooked Buttercream.
Happy Birthday, My Sister!
With Love,
From Me
Funfetti cake From Scratch
Funfetti Cake from scratch! This easy recipe gives you fluffy white cake LOADED with sprinkles and covered in a sweet traditional buttercream frosting. This Funfetti Cake recipe is a birthday classic!
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup milk, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 8 tablespoons shortening
- ⅓ cup multi-colored sprinkles (jimmies work best I think)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350. Butter 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, ¼ cup milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut in the shortening and butter until coarse crumbles form.
- Add the rest of the milk and beat on medium for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides to incorporate everything evenly.
- Gradually pour in the egg white mixture beating for 30 seconds after each addition.
- Fold in the sprinkles.
- Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Cholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
Layer Cake LOVE!!! Check these out --
Citrus Cake starts with a box cake mix. It’s the best way to use up citrus fruit that might have gone past its prime. Tangerines, lemons, grapefruit, Meyer lemons … all are welcome in this easy citrus cake recipe with cream cheese icing.
A cookies and cream cake covered in chocolate buttercream, rainbow sprinkles, and Birthday Cake Oreos. Birthday Cake Oreo Birthday Cake is a perfect way to celebrate!
That is soo cute!! You and your sister are both superSTARS! hehe.. I've never thought of adding confetti / funfettis to cakes! I've only done so in cupcakes or even Rice Krispies! But that's a great idea!
Oh yes, and thanks for participating in my event!! <3 <3 Love the way your sponge cake looks! So soft and spongey!!
Thanks, Sam! Love the Aspiring Bakers event you're hosting-- looking forward to the post on May 1st!
Lovely story. We never gave gifts for birthdays either. It was all about the food and my mom always made us our birthday cakes. Except for my thirteenth birthday when I wanted an ice cream cake from DQ with a puppy dog piped out of some sort of gel, but that was the only time.
We do gifts, it's just not the focus. We are all so busy and really birthdays are always just a great excuse to get together and enjoy each other's company. Andrew's store-bought cake was Thomas the Tank Engine. He was 6, I think. It totally crushed me. But when he turned 7 I made a comeback with a Titanic cake (I told you they ask me for crazy things)-- blam-o!
Very nice, home girl! I envy you the family birthday traditions. Enjoy having your family near...what a blessing;)
All of us are within an hour or two of each other. It is really great that we all manage to congregate so many times every year 🙂
I'm trying this! Almond extract is one of my favorite things. I put it in chocolate chip cookies! Thanks for the recipe. Maybe I'll make this for my husband's 30th. 🙂
I'm so happy to hear you'll try it! Almond extract in cookies is a fantastic idea... why didn't I think of that?!
Funfetti is my all-time favorite cake, and I've never even thought to make it from scratch! This is going on my must-do list. I cannot wait for the next cake occasion to try out this recipe.
As a matter of fact, maybe next Tuesday I'll just have to celebrate the fact that it's Tuesday... with a cake.
Tuesday totally deserves a cake.
LOVE birthdays! (To the point where I still start counting down and reminding everyone that 'it's nearly my birthday' at least a month in advance.) So many birthday cake tales - probably too many for a comment, I'll blog them at some point. Suffice to say for now, when we were little, mum always made our cakes too - the best for me being a hedgehog cake! this one looks yummy!!
My mom made me a Cookie Monster cake one year. It was my favorite birthday cake of all time!
Amazing! Cookie Monster rules!
I love sprinkles! So colorful! Nice cake!
Thanks! Sprinkles were my favorite part... which in retrospect really makes no sense because they don't taste like anything. But I love them anyway!
Oh....yum yum YUM!!!!!!!! Me too.....cakes yeah....frosting.....yeah:) Love your traditions....and please keep that up:) It is needed as we can pass that on:)
We really never did the big invite-a-hundred-friends sort of birthday bash- I guess cause with the five of us it was already a party. And as we've gotten older and our family has grown the tradition has grown with us. Every birthday makes you feel like you're five years old. It's pretty great. Cakes and frosting just make it even more awesome 🙂
Ahh, great birthday traditions your family has! Homemade funfetti? That's beyond awesome. Yum!! Love the extra sprinkles in the star too!!
Thanks, Sandra! I love family birthdays. And the sprinkles were the best part!!
nom nom nom!!! Your sister is seriously lucky!! And I can't blame your bro for loving some chicken and dumplings, those sound like my request to my father on my birthday haha I love funfetti cakes though, they taste so yummy and I love the way the cake mix smells, is that a candle? If not, it should be! haha Either way, save me a piece will ya? lol The fact that you served it on a pink plate made my day!!!! HOORAY FOR PINK PLATES WITH FUNFETTI CAKES ON THEM!!!!
It wasn't a candle- just frosting and sprinkles!!! My mom was responsible for the pink plates: Lindsey loves pink! And my mom is pretty good with random details like remembering pink plates or pretty napkins. Funfetti cake was happy 🙂
Sounds like a good party!!! haha
It was beautiful, and delicious! Chuck finished the last of it today, and he loved it. (He doesn't like sweets? I do not think this is a correct statement.) The best part of all of our birthdays is just the time around the table. Whatever table that may be! And you all know what I mean....patio chairs are the best! Thanks for making this wonderful addition for a sweet celebration!
I'm pretty sure Chuck likes sweets. He's just a baked goods traditionalist: chocolate chip cookies, white cake, buttercream frosting. He just doesn't like complicated.
We need more patio chairs. I got enough good posture this past Sunday to last me a lifetime! 🙂
Your sister is one lucky lady...this is a beautiful cake! And the fact that you went to the effort of making it? The nicest gift ever.
You have some serious skills my friend!
Thanks, Ameena! I'm not sure I would call this skill, though. Skill would mean I could replicate the results here. I'm sure I could bake the cake again- but not so sure I could get it to look like that. My sister is awesome; I'd gladly bake her funfetti every weekend 🙂
Happy birthday to your sis!!! I do not think there could be anything lacking in this cake - it looks like a prime perfect example of a funfetti cake 😀
You have done your wonderful family traditions proud indeed!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks so much!
You amaze me!
Ditto <3