American
Funfetti Cake
A vanilla sheet cake is folded with rainbow sprinkles and covered in buttercream. It bakes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 32 min
- Total
- 57 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- Jimmies, not tiny nonpareils, keep the batter from turning muddy.
- Sprinkles are folded in at the end so they do not dissolve.
- The cake cools completely before the buttercream goes on.
- A clean toothpick means the center is baked through, not just browned on top.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan and line the bottom with parchment.
- 2
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- 3
Beat in the 3/4 cup softened butter until the mixture looks like damp sand.
- 4
Beat in the eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla, and 1 cup milk until the batter is smooth. Do not eat the raw batter.
- 5
Fold in 1/2 cup rainbow jimmies. Spread the batter in the pan.
- 6
Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the top springs back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- 7
Cool completely in the pan.
- 8
Beat the frosting butter, powdered sugar, 2 tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla until spreadable. Frost the cooled cake and scatter the remaining jimmies on top. Cut into 12 squares.
Pro tips
- Nonpareils bleed color into the batter. Long jimmies stay put.
- If the batter looks curdled after the milk, keep beating 30 seconds. It should smooth out.
- Frosting a warm cake melts the buttercream and smears the sprinkles.
Easy substitutions
- whole milk
- buttermilk for a slightly tangier cake
- rainbow jimmies
- chocolate jimmies
- powdered sugar
- the same amount, sifted if it is lumpy
Storage and reheating
Storage
Cover and keep at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerate up to 4 days. Cold cake should sit 20 minutes before serving.
Reheating
Serve at room temperature. Do not heat the frosted cake.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 470
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
Moderate · Oven
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From the kitchen
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A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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