Funfetti Cake

This Funfetti Cake recipe lets you skip the box mix and make your own at home, from scratch! With colorful sprinkles baked right into a delicious vanilla cake, this easy homemade cake recipe is just like the one you loved as a kid. 

In Funfetti Cake, the sprinkles aren’t an after thought; they’re baked right into the cake itself! 

I never pass up an opportunity to bake with sprinkles. Whether it’s candy dipped pretzels or my copycat Lofthouse Cookies, a dusting of sprinkles makes any treat more fun! I love how such a simple ingredient can add a bit more whimsy and magic to life.

Funfetti Cake

Did you eat funfetti cake as a kid? It’s been a perennial birthday party favorite since Pillsbury first started selling boxed white cake mix with sprinkles inside. It’s so much fun to cut into a vanilla cake and see the bright flecks of color inside! 

While I’m no snob about baking with boxed mixes (they have their place!), I wondered if I could make a homemade funfetti cake that tasted better than the cakes made from a mix. Since I have an entire shelf stocked with different kinds of sprinkles, and I’ll never pass up an opportunity to make (and eat) cake, it seemed like a good time to finally make my own Funfetti Cake recipe! 

I’ve made lots of funfetti inspired recipes in the past. My kids love Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls for birthday breakfasts and Funfetti Cookies are always a hit, too. For this recipe though, I wanted to stick as closely as possible to the taste and appearance of the classic funfetti cake. 

How To Make A Homemade Funfetti Cake

You can turn any cake into a “funfetti cake” by adding sprinkles to the batter, but you won’t necessarily get that familiar buttery vanilla taste. This batter creates a cake that’s super moist and fluffy with lots of vanilla flavor. 

Reminder, the full printable recipe, with exact measurements and instructions, is found at the bottom of the page. This portion of the post is for discussion, helpful tips and answering common questions about the recipe. 

What You Need

• All purpose flour – make sure to give it a stir then measure it by spooning the flour into the measuring cup, do not scoop your flour with the measuring cup. 
• Baking powder – double check that you have baking powder, not soda, and that it hasn’t expired.
• Salt – I prefer a Kosher salt. 
• Butter – For this recipe I used salted butter, but if you only have unsalted, that will be fine as well. 
• Oil – my choice would be a canola oil. 
• Sugar – the standard, white granulated sugar. 
• Vanilla – whenever possible, always use a pure, vanilla extract. 
• Eggs – I used large eggs for this recipe. Check the size, I notice that some “large” eggs are getting awfully small with certain brands. 
• Milk – 2% or whole milk is ideal, but 1% or skim will work if that’s what is on hand. 
• Sprinkles – a very important part of any Funfetti recipe! 
• Powdered Sugar Frosting – this is my favorite frosting to use with this cake recipe.

Steps To Make The Cake

To make this cake, you’ll begin by heating your oven and preparing three 9″ round cake pans. Then your dry ingredients are mixed together. Next, in a separate bowl, the butter is beaten until smooth, then oil, sugar and vanilla are added.

Eggs then get added one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Approximately half the flour and a cup of milk are added, and the batter is beaten on low until smooth. From there remaining ingredients are added and beaten in.

Then the star of the show, the sprinkles are added!

Then into the oven to bake, followed by time to cool prior to frosting. Always make sure your cakes are fully cooled before you frosting, otherwise you’ll end up with a runny frosting mess.

Tips, Tricks, Questions and Answers

What kind of sprinkles should you use in Funfetti cake? 

We want the cake to look like it’s had confetti thrown all over it so you should definitely use multicolored sprinkles here. I prefer to use Jimmies (the sprinkles you see most often on top of cupcakes and cake) or Quints in the batter here. Some of my favorite sprinkle mixes include this rainbow colored sprinkle mix and this neon glow sprinkle mix.

Smaller sprinkles like nonpareils tend to bleed their colors when they bake making them less ideal. And, of course, avoid sanding sprinkles and sugar sprinkles; they’ll melt right into the cake. 

(If you’re not sure what the difference is between sprinkles varieties, check out my All About Sprinkles guide for the break down.) 

How Do I Store This Cake?

This cake will keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature. Once the frosting has set, just wrap it well or keep it in a cake saver. 

Can I Freeze This Cake?

Yes, it will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer if tightly wrapped.

I don’t have 3 9-inch round pans – what else could I use?

8- inch round pans will work as well, though might take a few more minutes to bake. You can also use one- 9X 13 pan along with one 8 or 9-inch square pan or round pan. 

How Can I Be Sure The Cake Is Fully Baked?

If a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, the cake is fully baked. 

Do I have to cover the cake if it is not yet cut into?

No, if you have covered the whole cake in frosting, right down to the bottom, and sealed it, the cake will stay fresh. Once you have cut into it, it will start to dry out. So then you do need to cover it. 

More Fun Filled Recipes To Try

• Funfetti Cupcakes
• Funfetti Cookies
• Funfetti Bundt Cake
• Birthday Cupcakes

Click to pin and save recipe.

Pair with Powdered Sugar Frosting, as shown in photos in this post.