Celebrate your next birthday with our festive Funfetti Vanilla Layer Cake. Two layers of buttery vanilla cake covered in creamy vanilla buttercream and a boatload of funfetti sprinkles.
It’s party time! 🎉
Today we’ve gone ALL out with a sprinkle-covered Funfetti Vanilla Layer Cake, aka, the ultimate party cake. Two layers of soft vanilla cake loaded with sprinkles, covered in creamy vanilla buttercream and completely coated in SPRINKLES!
Not only is this cake a total showstopper but with one bite, you’ll be escorted to funfetti heaven. Sprinkle lovers unite!
Today, we’re heading back to our childhood with this idyllic layer cake. It’s big, it’s bold, and there’s sprinkles galore.
Not only is this cake buttery and sweet, but you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to cover an entire cake in sprinkles. It’s a simple but oh-so-beautiful way to decorate an entire cake in minutes.
The base of this cake is similar to my favourite Yellow Cake recipe. But with lots of sprinkles added!
So if you’re on the hunt for a gorgeous cake for your next birthday or celebration, bookmark this Funfetti Vanilla Layer Cake. It’s sure to brighten the day of any sprinkle lover!
tips for making perfect funfetti cake
- Start with room temperature butter. This is very important to make sure your butter and sugar combine correctly, creating a perfectly light and fluffy cake.
- We use caster sugar in this recipe. If you don’t have access to caster sugar, you can swap it 1:1 for granulated sugar. You can read more about caster sugar here.
- Skip the vanilla essence and use a good quality vanilla extract if you can. It will give the cake a good boost of flavour.
- Use room temperature eggs instead of cold eggs, as it will help your ingredients blend well and not curdle.
- Sift your flour and whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
- I recommend using full fat or whole milk for best results.
- Sour cream will ensure your cake is soft and moist – so don’t skip it. If you don’t have access to sour cream, you can use full fat Greek or natural yogurt.
- Finally, gently stir through your sprinkles by hand so as to not overmix. Use good quality jimmy sprinkles to avoid too much bleeding into the cake batter.
how to make vanilla buttercream
- This recipe uses my favourite buttercream recipe. Just four ingredients creates a lovely smooth and creamy vanilla frosting – perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes.
- The key to making perfect buttercream is starting with room temperature butter. It shouldn’t be cold, or melty, just soft enough to make an indent when you press your thumb into it.
- Spend time beating your butter in the beginning until it is soft and creamy. This will ensure the texture of your buttercream is smooth and will prevent you from being tempted to overbeat your buttercream to get rid of any butter lumps later on.
- Always, always, always sift your icing sugar or powdered sugar. And add it gradually.
- For more buttercream tips, check out my vanilla buttercream frosting post.
how to cover a cake in sprinkles
- Start with good quality funfetti or jimmy sprinkles for best results. Try not to use non-pareils as they tend to bleed when baked.
- Once you have covered your cake in frosting, place your cake on a plate and surround it with a large bowl. I find it easiest to place my cake plate on top of an upside down smaller bowl that can sit inside a larger bowl to create a ‘moat.’
- Gently use your hands to press the sprinkles along the sides and top of the cake. Plenty of sprinkles will fall off in the process, but most of them should land in the bowl below.
- Once you’re finished, you can place the cake in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up slightly before serving.
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Let’s Bake
Funfetti Vanilla Layer Cake
Funfetti Cake with two layers of vanilla cake, covered in vanilla buttercream and sprinkles
Ingredients
Funfetti cake
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 315 grams (2 and 1/4 cups) plain flour or all-purpose flour, sifted
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat or whole milk, room temperature
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) full fat sour cream or Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) funfetti sprinkles (rainbow jimmies)
Vanilla buttercream
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 500 grams (4 cups) icing or powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 tablespoons full fat or whole milk
- 2–3 cups of funfetti sprinkles (rainbow jimmies)
Instructions
- Funfetti cake
Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. - In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk briefly. Add half of the flour mix and all the milk and beat on a low speed until combined.
- Add remaining flour mix and sour cream and continue to mix on a low speed until just combined and a thick, creamy cake batter forms. Gently fold in sprinkles by hand, being careful not to overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Carefully remove the cakes from pans and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Vanilla buttercream
To make your frosting, roughly chop butter into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until your butter is smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. - Add vanilla and beat briefly to combine. Then add 125 grams (1 cup) sugar. Beat on a low speed to combine, then turn up the speed to medium and mix for 30 seconds or so. Mixture should be thick and appear a little dry – this is fine.
- Next, add another 125 grams (1 cup) sugar, along with 1 tablespoon of milk. Beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add another 125 grams (1 cup) sugar, along with 1 tablespoon of milk. Beat on medium speed until mixture is thick and creamy.
- Finally, add remaining 125 grams (1 cup) sugar and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Buttercream should be lovely and thick at this stage with no lumps.
- If the buttercream is too thick, add an extra tablespoon or two of milk. To finish, give your buttercream a good stir by hand using a spatula.
- To decorate
Trim the tops of cake if needed. Place one cake on a cake plate, and cover the top with buttercream. Place the second cake on top. Cover the entire cake, top and sides, with remaining buttercream. - Pick up the cake and hold over a large mixing bowl. Carefully press sprinkles into the side of the cake, letting the extra sprinkles fall into the bowl. Continue until top and sides of cake are completely covered.
- Place cake in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to for the frosting and sprinkles to set slightly. Cut into slices and serve.
Deb says
Hi. I would love to make this into an almond flavor cake…how much extract would you recommend or do you have a separate almond flavor recipe
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Deb, I don’t have an almond cake recipe (I love that suggestion though!). But you can swap the vanilla extract in this recipe for almond extract.
Pritha says
Hi Jessica , wanted to bake this cake for my husband’s birthday. My oven is not very big – so can half the batter rest, while the other pan is getting baked ? Sud i refrigerate the batter which is resting ? Thanks for your guidance
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Pritchard, it is best to bake cake batter straight away. Have a read of this article for more info.
Micaela says
Hi, we just put the cake in the oven but used obly one pan and poured the full mix (dont have 2 pans) how much longer should it bake? And will it be easy cut in half to make a layer? Thanks 🙂
Made it with my almost 4yo who lpves sprinkles. Grear fun
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Micaela, the baking time will vary depending on the size of the pan you used and the depth of your cake batter. You’ll know it’s ready when it goes golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. And yes it should be able to be sliced in half. I hope you enjoy it!
Jessica says
Hi! I’m making this cake and most icing recipes I have to half because there’s to much. Hoe much leftover icing is there?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jessica, I frosted the cake as pictured and there was none leftover.
Sofia says
Hi!
Im dying to make this recipe! I just have a question on the flour, is it 315 g of flour or 2 1/4 cups of flour (aprox 270 g)?
Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sofia, I always recommend going with gram measurements if you can. As you can see, there’s a lot of room for error when using cups.
Karla says
Hi, first I wanted to say that this cake looks and tastes amazing. I really like this recipe. I was having trouble with spreading out the cake in the pan when I noticed I forgot the milk. Then I read the instructions but couldn’t find the step with adding the milk. I am not quite sure if I accidentally just skipped this step which is also possible 😉 I had to scrape out out the batter and add milk. Maybe you could check the recipe to make sure everything is alright and to prevent others from making the same mistake I did. That would be great. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Karla, so glad you enjoyed the cake! The milk is added in step 3 of the recipe.
Lauren says
I made this for my mom’s birthday. It was super delicious. Question though: when we cut into the cake, the batter wasn’t as light coloured or as fluffy as your photos. What did I do wrong you think?
Part of me wonders if the sprinkles bled but I’m curious your thoughts.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lauren, so glad you enjoyed the cake! If it was delicious, I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong. The colour can vary for many reasons – like the sprinkles bleeding as you mentioned. Different types and brands of sprinkles can bake differently. Also things like the type of butter or the colour of the eggs yolks can all play a part. The fluffiness comes mostly from the creaming of the eggs and butter, and not over mixing the cake batter. I hope that helps a little.
Jennifer Bazzi says
Hi! I’m making this tomorrow (a day early) for my sons 5th birthday, would you recommend I refrigerate the icing and the cake seperate and decorate in morning of event or can I complete it all and leave in fridge or is it best out of fridge overnight?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jennifer, excited you are going to make this cake! I usually try to keep my cakes out of the fridge so they don’t go dry. If it were me, I’d make the cake and let it cool completely. Then I’d wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature. You can easily make the buttercream ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Then I would decorate a few hours before serving. Hope that helps!
Mal says
Wow I used your funfetti vanilla cake recipe for my nieces birthday princess castle cake , thank you so much for sharing , I was so pleased with the result and everyone commented on how beautiful it tasted . It was my first time making a fondant covered castle cake and it worked out beautifully.It is now one of my favourite go to recipes.
Jessica Holmes says
Aw I’m so happy to hear that Mal! A princess castle cake sounds incredible!
Inks says
Hi! If I wanted to do a 3 layer 10 inch cake, would you recommend doubling up the recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I don’t usually recommend doubling a cake recipe as it can throw off the ratios and when working with a lot of batter, it can be easy to over mix. But you could definitely make this cake twice!
Heva says
Hi,
I want to try this recipe. I have a 7″ pan and I want to make 3 layers, will this recipe be enough or should I change the measurements? please help!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, you could make this recipe into three layers using 7-inch cake pans but they will be quite thin. I can’t recommend any changes to the measurements as I’ve only tested the recipe as is. I do recommend either doing 2 8-inch cakes or 3 6-inch cakes for best results.
Sarah says
Made this recipe for my daughters first birthday. It . Was. Divine.
I had so many comments on how good it was, even the chocolate lovers were impressed. Very fluffy, very light, very delicious.
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Sarah! So pleased everyone enjoyed it!
Felicia says
Hi Jess, this recipe looks perfect. Can I use this recipe as a 6 layer cake?, is it stable enough?
Also i’ve never made or tried a funfetti cake, can you feel the sprinkles when eaten or do they melt and just leave the colour? Thanks 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Felicia, yes this recipe would make a three layer 6 inch cake. And they mostly soften inside the cake when baked and the ones on the outside are what gives a bit of crunch! Hope you enjoy it!
Jennifer says
Hi Can Buttermilk milk be used instead of Sour cream or Yogurt ? Or will that Be to much milk?
The cake looks yum! & sooo fluffy!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jennifer, I’d go with sour cream or yogurt if you can, but buttermilk will likely work too!
Kacie says
Hello! How exactly can I substitute the sugar? I want to do this tomorrow 😊
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Katie, I don’t recommend substituting the sugar. Follow the recipe as is for best results.
Kacie says
So I can’t use granulated sugar? 😔 I don’t think I can find the other one. Thank you anyways!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh sorry Katie, yes you can swap regular granulated sugar for caster sugar. Hope you enjoy it!