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+ servings

Funfetti birthday vanilla cake

Delicious vanilla white cake with sprinkles and frosted with a swiss meringue. Simple cake great for birthdays and celebrations!
Prep Time1 hr 40 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Chilling time1 hr
Total Time2 hrs 20 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buttercream, funfetti, sprinkles, vanilla, white cake
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Dea Kepic

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 350 g flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 170 g room temperature butter
  • 275 g sugar
  • 4 egg whites about 135 g
  • 240 ml buttermilk can substitute for milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 30 g rainbow funfetti/sprinkles

Vanilla Italian meringue buttercream

  • 400 g sugar
  • 120 ml water
  • 9 egg whites at room temperature
  • 250 g room temperature buttercream
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • + 200 g sprinkles for decoration

Instructions

Sponge

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line with parchment paper the bottom of a 20 cm cake pan then grease and flour the whole pan.
  • The batter will be divided into two portions so if you have two 20 cm cake pans you can bake them at the same time, if not, bake the first half and then use the same pan for the second one.
  • In a bowl mix egg whites, 60 ml buttermilk and vanilla extract until combined.
  • In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder and, sugar for 20 seconds.
  • Add in the remaining buttermilk and butter. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened then increase to high speed and mix for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake’s structure.
  • Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl once in a while. Add the egg mixture in 3 batches mixing well after each addition (about 20 seconds). Then put in all of the sprinkles and mix gently by hand to distribute them, with just 3-4 moves.
  • Divide the batter into two prepared cake pans, smooth the surface and bake for about 30 minutes. Check if the cake is baked – insert a toothpick or a knife in the center and if it comes out clean it’s done, if not, bake it for a few more minutes and check again.
  • Cool the cakes on a wire rack.

Italian meringue buttercream

  • You will have to use a candy thermometer here. Because it takes a long time to mix I recommend using a stand mixer.
  • In a pan, bring water and sugar to a boil. While the sugar mixture is heating place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
  • When the sugar mixture reaches 110°C start whipping the egg whites first at low speed and when they start to become frothy increase the speed to medium-high.
  • At 115°C immediately remove the pan from the heat and in a very thin stream start pouring the sugar mixture into egg whites (which should be stiff by now) with the mixer still running. Now continue to whip your meringue until you feel no heat on the bowl. Touch the bowl with your hands to check if it’s still hot, it should feel like the room temperature before you start adding butter and this can take some time so you can help it cool a bit with wrapping a cold towel around the bowl.
  • When the bowl is no longer warm start adding in butter bit by bit. At this point, you can also add in vanilla and salt.
  • When you added in all of the butter mix the buttercream for another 3-5 min until you reach the desired consistency. If your buttercream curdled just keep beating and it will come together. If the buttercream looks soupy after the mixing, you should put it in the fridge for some time to chill and then beat again. At first, it will look curdled but just keep mixing until it comes together.
  • For the last few minutes of mixing switch to the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed to remove any air bubbles and smooth it out. The right consistency should look spreadable but not too runny.

Assemble

  • If your cakes have a little dome on top just cut it off to make them straight.
  • Spread half of the buttercream on the first layer of your cake, then place the other cake layer on top.
  • Frost the whole cake with a little bit of buttercream to make a crumb coat.
  • Chill the cake in the fridge for 1 hour and then cover it all with the remaining buttercream. To cover the cake in sprinkles put all the sprinkles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With one hand hold the cake and with the other grab a fistful of sprinkles and press them against the sides of the cake until it’s fully covered.
  • Do the same for the top.
  • When you serve the cake make sure it is at room temperature so put it out of the fridge an hour or so before!
Tried this recipe?Mention @FreakyBlond or tag #prettysweetblog!