Better than Box Confetti Cake
Learn how to make this Confetti Cake from scratch that tastes like the beloved boxed cake mix but so much better! Three layers of light and fluffy white vanilla cake speckled with rainbow-colored sprinkles are frosted with vanilla based funfetti buttercream for the perfect birthday or party cake.
As a pastry chef, I’ve baked quite a few birthday cakes from scratch, so I can confidently say this confetti cakes is lots of peoples’ favorite! Maybe its the rich and buttery taste, or because it’s just so fun with all the sprinkles mixed right into the batter- any way, I know you’ll love it too!
The cake is tall- made of 3 layers so its impressive looking for your party-goers. Plus because were using buttermilk here, it will keep the cake super moist and give it some extra flavor.
Frost it with more sprinkles with this funfetti frosting, or top it with plain vanilla frosting, you can’t go wrong. This cake put the happy into happy birthday.
If cupcakes are more your thing or your having a really big party, you can make these confetti cupcakes instead! For some variety with classic flavors you can also make this chocolate cake with sprinkles or classic vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles.
Cake Ingredients
Just going to call out a few ingredients here because the rest are cake baking staples.
- Unsalted butter at room temperature- The butter needs to be at room temperature to cream nicely. Creaming makes the batter airy and if the butter is too soft or too warm it wont aerate the way its supposed to.
- Buttermilk – The acid in buttermilk reacts with the leavening agent, so the cake turns out light and fluffy while also staying moist! It also adds a touch to the tang to balance out the sweetness.
- Jimmy Rainbow Sprinkles – Make sure to use these sprinkles because if you use non pareil (the tiny balls) they will bleed into the batter.
Baking Pans
I use 3, 8″ or 9″ round cake pans for this recipe. This makes the layers taller- I like to have a tall cake because it looks more professional. The layers are a bit thinner but thats fine because then you just add more frosting in between!
For precision, the cake pans should weigh between 672-674 grams each after dividing the batter evenly. I used light colored Wilton 8″ round cake pans.
You can make this cake in a 9×13 pan too.
Making the frosting
You’ll need a mixer for the frosting so if you used it to make the cake, you’ll have to wash it out and use it again. Make the base vanilla frosting using the mixer, then using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in the sprinkles so you dont break them up too much.
Slather the frosting onto the cooled cake with and offset spatula.
If you want to pipe this frosting make sure that you use a big enough tip otherwise the sprinkles wont fit through it. Or you can leave out the sprinkles from the frosting and then add them on after the cake is frosted.
Yield
This is a large cake and can feed about 16 people. The cake is tall so you don’t need to cut huge slices!
Recipe tips
- To measure flour correctly, fluff it up, spoon it from the container and into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Otherwise, you’ll end up with too much flour. For the most accurate results, use a kitchen scale!
- For the batter to mix and bake properly, everything must be at room temperature (butter, eggs, and buttermilk).
- Let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting, or else the frosting will destabilize and side right off.
Storing and Freezing
Storing: To store this 3-layer confetti cake, place it in a tall airtight cake carrier and keep it at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to one week.
Making Ahead & Freezing: The cakes themselves freeze well without frosting. Wrap each cake in a tight layer of plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or wrap securely in a couple of layers of foil. Keep frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw on the countertop, and then decorate.
Light and Fluffy Confetti Cake (Better than a Box!)
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cup flour, (390g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup butter, 227g softened
- 2 cup sugar, 400g
- 2 eggs, large
- 4 egg whites
- 1 ½ tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup jimmy rainbow sprinkles
For the Buttercream
- 1 cup butter, softened (227g)
- 3 cups confectioners sugar, 360g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons half and half, cream, or milk
- ½ cup classic jimmy rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and spray 3 8” round cake pans with baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium size bowl combine the 3 1/4 cup cake flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the 1 cup butter for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and add the 2 cups of sugar. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the 2 eggs, 4 egg whites and 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add in 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, then half of the buttermilk and alternate, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix only until combined. Do not overmix.
- Add in 1 cup of the sprinkles and mix by hand until combined.
- Evenly divide the batter into the 3 pans and bake for 35 minutes or until the cake edges break away from the pan.
Cool and make the funfetti buttercream.
- Add the 1 cup butter and 3 cups powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed working up to medium as the mixture combines. Mix on medium for 1 minute.
- Change the speed to low and add in the 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tsp cream. Mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add in the ½ cup sprinkles and mix by hand until combined.
- Assemble the cake- fill and stack the cake with the frosting, then frost the outside of the cake. Add more sprinkles for garnish if desired!
Do you use cake flour stated in step 2 or all purpose flour like stated in the ingredients?
I always use cake flour, the ingredient lists both as you can choose if you dont have cake flour and want to use all purpose.
any ideas on making this into cupcakes? thank you….
Yes totally! You can make these Confetti cupcakes! Thank you so much for the 5 star rating!
Hi Sam!
Excited to make this for my daughter’s 4th birthday tomorrow.
My question: does the butter for the cake need to be softened?
Thanks!
Yes! I updated the recipe 🙂 Happy Birthday to your daughter!!
Hi I was wondering if there are any other sprinkles you can use or where you can buy the jimmy sprinkles??
Hi Emma, you can buy jimmy style sprinkles really at any grocery store, or you can buy them on amazon.
Can I use 10 inch round pans instead?
You sure can, just bake a few minutes less.
Will this cake freeze so I can frost it later in the week?
Hi Erin! Yep the cake freezes really well.
How many cups of batter does this make?
Hi Kami! I haven’t measured out the batter specifically after mixing everything, but it makes enough for a large cake that would feed 16 people! The recipe is enough to fill 3 8″ round pans. Are you trying to make a different size?
I was very excited to make this for my son’s third birthday. Unfortunately for me it did not work at all!
Not sure if I didn’t cream the butter for long enough or used the wrong sugar? (I just used white sugar) but it sunk in the middle and was not light and fluffy at all. Should I have changed the paddle attachment after creaming the butter to a whisk attachment?
Hi Avalon, thats so frustrating that it didnt work out for you. If the cake sunk in the middle it could be because of a few things. The cake could have needed more baking time (our ovens are all different) or if you checked on the cake and opened the door to the oven, it could have let too much cool air in which results in a sunken cake.
This is definitely for an advanced baker as there are no instructions on how to frost the cake with the different layers or how to make the cakes flat for frosting. Additionally the cake came out very salty and dry.
Tina, I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! I do have a tutorial on how to stack and frost multi-layer cakes that breaks everything down step by step: https://frostingandfettuccine.com/two-tier-cake/
Do you know how long you ended up baking the cakes for? Sometimes baking time can vary between ovens and create a drier cake.
Do you use unsalted butter for this recipe? I’m coming to make it on Friday (: also I only have a hand mixer it’s that okay to use ?
Yes! I use unsalted. If you use salted you’ll want to reduce the amount of salt you add to the batter. Hand mixer is totally ok to use! I’m excited to hear how it goes for you Betty. Are you celebrating anything special?
How many cupcakes would this make?
Hi Denise! If you want to make these into cupcakes instead of a cake I would use my Funfetti cupcake recipe: https://frostingandfettuccine.com/confetti-cupcakes/ That one makes 12 cupcakes and has the baking time adjusted to make individual cupcakes instead of a larger cake.
My husband has to eat gluten free. Could I use gluten free flour?
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour yet so I’m not sure how it might impact the final texture. I do have a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe on the blog though that might be a better fit for you: https://frostingandfettuccine.com/flourless-chocolate-cake/
Cake came out like sweet bread. Was good but not light and fluffy. More dry and hard around the edges. Will try again.
Would definitely try baking this a few minutes less then. Also be careful not to overmix which can make the cake tough and dense.
I have a 6 inch x2 pan I want to use for a first birthday cake is there a way to downsize this recipe
Hi! Yes, I would just cut the recipe in half 🙂
I’m making this weekend for my daughter’s birthday! I love how detailed and straightforward your descriptions of each step is! Thank you!
If I wanted to add color to the frosting, in leu of the sprinkles, would I add it at the end and mix by hand or would it be okay to add at the same time as vanilla and use mixer?
Hey Sam! Thank you so much for choosing this for your daughters bday, happy birthday!! 🫶🏻 You can totally add the color in at the same time as the vanilla, let the mixer do the work, no need to mix by hand. Please let me know how it turns out!!
Hi Sam, if I use cake flour then surely I don’t need to add baking powder and baking soda? Finely milled cake flour already has leavening agents?
Please let me know as I’m really excited to make this sponge cake!
Many thanks Sam!
Cynthia
Hi Cynthia, Cake flour does not have any baking powder or baking soda in it unless you buy the self rising kind. I never buy the self rising flours so check the package to make sure!
The recipe looks great but I just need to be clear if leavening agents need to be added to cake flour please.
Thank you so much
Cynthia
Hi Cynthia! Im excited for you to make this, please make sure your cake flour bag is not self rising because you need to use leaveners 🙂
Thank you Sam!
In the UK sponge/ cake flour is finely milled and does contain raising agents whereas plain flour or all purpose flour does not. I think I was confused a little because your lovely recipe is American? I know what I’m doing now so thank you so much for your swift response. I’m excited to get baking!
I’m so so glad I was able to help Cynthia! Keep me posted on how it goes!
Hello , I don’t have any regular milk because we drink almond milk. Can I substitute it with almond milk without it changing the way it will bake?
You can totally make this with almond milk as a substitute 1:1. Please let me know how it goes!
I’m using 4.1×4.1×1.85 inch round pans to make a mini smash cake for my daughter’s first birthday. How should I adjust the baking time and temperature?
Hi! I would check after 22 mins or so!