funfetti birthday cake
My daughter turned four last week and she requested a vanilla cake with sprinkles. "Sure," I thought, "how hard can that be," right? I made a delicious vanilla cake batter, dumped in a ton of sprinkles and popped it on the oven …
… boy was that wrong. You'd think that with me background, I'd have done some research first and really understood the process, but again, I figured "how hard can it be?"
Well, let me tell you … the batter bubbled over the edges, it caved in in the middle and it taste of pure, unbaked sugar 😳. I just tossed it, but not before taking a few pictures, and started to research how to make a funfetti cake.
Here are a few pictures to show the difference between the first attempt and the rest.
I am honestly still trying to figure out what exactly went wrong with my first attempt, but have since perfected the recipe.
Since her favorite colors are pink and purple, I had to cover her cake in pink candy melts and purple sprinkles! But thought that some cream cheese icing may taste better in the end 😉.
Let's talk vanilla real quick … I love making my own, because it's super easy, fun and way cheaper than buying the imitation vanilla you can find in the store. That said, I love, love, LOVE this vanilla bean paste from Nielsen Massey. I first learned about this vanilla when I was teaching classes at Sur la Table, and have been buying it ever since. Why do I love it?! Because when you're making a vanilla cake or white icing, you get to see the vanilla and it taste divine!!
The cake and cupcakes were a huge hit and I may or may not still have a dozen cupcakes in the fridge we're working through 😝.
Notes
* If you do not have cake flour, or don't want to invest the money since it tends to be a tad pricey, you can make your own. Simply take all purpose flour and swap out two tablespoons of corn starch for every one cup of flour and sift together.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar
- 4 Egg Whites
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla
- 6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 ½ cups Cake Flour*
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¾ teaspoons Salt
- 1 cup Milk
- ⅔ cup Sprinkles
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup Butter, room temperature
- 5 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tbs Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer until fluffy. Add the egg whites and incorporate well, then add vanilla and oil.
- Sift dry ingredients, then alternate adding them with the milk.
- Fold in sprinkles. Fill mold or cupcake tins.
- Bake for 30 minutes if your baking a cake or 24 minutes for cupcakes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time.