My birthday was a few weeks back, and I hosted my first *real* party, so, since I always bake, I decided to make myself my own birthday cake. After all— who knows me better than me?
I wanted to make a sheet cake so it’d be easier to serve in a crowded bar, where I had my party. I wanted a simple confetti with American buttercream, because I made the same type of cake a few months back and was happy with the result— birthdays aren’t the time for baking experiments!
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I thought I’d vlog the process of how I made this cake— it’s a long one…but this is one hefty cake. Watch the video below to see the entire process (including all of my fun mistakes) and keep reading for the recipe!
I can’t take full credit for this recipe, it is made and adapted for the 4 layer sheet cake size from Chelsweets Vanilla Cake & Funfetti Cake Recipe! You can also find a lot of my baking equipment on my Amazon Kitchen List. I decorated with Fancy Sprinkles— get 10% off your order through the link.
Funfetti Layer Cake with Vanilla American Buttercream
Ingredients
Vanilla Almond Funfetti Cake
- 6 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour 780 grams
- 6 cup Granulated Sugar 1200 grams
- 5 tsp Baking Powder 20 grams
- 2 tsp Salt 12 grams
- 2 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature (4 sticks, 452 grams)
- 4 tsp Vanilla Extract 16 grams
- 3 tsp Almond Extract 12 grams
- 2 cup Egg Whites From Carton 470 grams
- 3 cup Buttermilk 690 grams
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil 56 grams
- 3/4 cup Sprinkles (Jimmies)
- Gel Food Coloring
Vanilla American Buttercream Frosting
- 3 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature (6 sticks, 678 grams)
- 12 cup Powdered Sugar 1500 grams
- 1 tsp Salt 6 grams
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream 75 grams
- 1 1/2 tbsp Clear Extract (Vanilla or Almond) 18 grams
Drip Ganache For Decorating
- 1 package Wilton Candy Melts
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- Gel Food Coloring
Instructions
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line four 9x13 inch cake pans with parchment and grease with cooking spray.
- Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until combined.
- Mix tablespoon chunks of room temperature butter slowly into the dry mix on low speed. Mix until no large chunks of butter remain and mixture is crumbly.
- Pour in egg whites and mix on low until incorporated. Mix in buttermilk in two installments on low speed.
- Add in extracts and oil and mix on low until fully incorporated. Scrape down side of the bowl with a spatula and then beat on low for 15 seconds until everything is combined but not overmixed.
- Add in gel food coloring or 3/4 cup of sprinkles. I did 2 of my layers with food coloring and the other two with sprinkles for a fun variation! Mix both by hand with a rubber spatula.
- Divide batter evenly between the cake pans (about 950 grams per pan).
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow pans to cool for 10 minutes before removing onto cooling rack. Place cake layers into fridge or freezer to accelerate cooling.
- Use a serrated knife to level the tops and frost as desired.
Vanilla American Buttercream
- While cake is cooling, make the vanilla buttercream frosting.
- Beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds with paddle attachment. Slowly add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Alternate with small splashes of cream.
- Once fully mixed, add in extract and salt and beat on low until fully incorporated and desired consistency is reached.
- If frosting is too thick, add in additional cream 1 teaspoon at a time. If it's too thin, add in more powdered sugar by the 1/4 cup.
- Add in gel food coloring and beat on low until it reaches desired color.
Drip Ganache
- Heat cream in microwave for 1 minute.
- Stir in candy melts until fully melted.
- Add in food coloring and stir until combined.
- Pour in to squeeze bottle to cool off before piping drips on cake.
To Assemble Cake
- Stack and frost cake layers on cake board using a dap of frosting to stick first layer to the board.
- Add an even layer of buttercream between each layer.
- Apply a thin crumb coat of frosting around the cake to fully cover layers. Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
- Add a thicker layer of frosting and smooth. Decorate as desired with colored buttercream, sprinkles, and ganache drips.