Desert of the Month: Homemade Funfeitti Cake

When it comes to desert I love a spin on a classic and nothing reminds me of my childhood quite like a Funfetti cake. The fun colors are the same but the recipe and flavor profiles are updated.  This is the perfect desert to be made with friends or kids (always with supervision).

My Adult Funfetti Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting will satisfy both your inner child and adult taste buds. This recipe is a little bit more complicated than my last which was perfect for when you are in a pinch but when you taste it all the extra steps will have been worth it.

Cake Ingredients

Yields 12 Servings plus extra for the crumbs on top

Dry Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoon of baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoon of salt

2 cups of sugar

½ cup of brown sugar

4 Tablespoons of rainbow sprinkles

Wet Ingredients:

10 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

5 eggs at room temperature

1-¼ tablespoons of vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup of milk (of your choice either cows milk, almond or even lactaid)

 

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Yields 3 Cups

 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature

12 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature

3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 ½ cups of powdered sugar

Directions

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and then using non-stick spray coat the bottom and sides of 2 9-inch round cake pans.

2.     Put all of the dry ingredients except the sprinkles into a medium sized mixing bowl and then quickly whisk them to combine.

3.     For this step you can use an electric mixer of a large mixing bowl and a hand help electric whisk. Beat the butter and sugars until they are fluffy. Slowly add the remaining wet ingredients except the milk. When adding the eggs do one at a time and let them incorporate before adding the next.

4.     Pull out your pre-mixed bowl of dry ingredients and using a measuring cup slowly add them to the wet mixture. If you are using a stand mixture this can be done while it is going at a slow speed but if you are using an electric whisk you should stop, add the ingredient and then whisk until they are combined and repeat thee steps until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

5.     Finally add the milk and mix until the batter is a smooth creamy texture. Turn off your mixer or electric whisk and add your sprinkles while using a spatula to gently fold them in so there are sprinkles through out the cake.

6.     Pour your batter into your two sprayed pans filling them ¾ of the way and place them in the preheated oven. These cakes should cook about 30 to 35 minutes and are done once they are golden brown and a toothpick can be stuck in the middle and come out clean.

7.     Remove the cakes and let them cool before removing them from their pans to continue to cool on racks. Once the cakes are at room temperature or cool to the touch you will begin trimming the tops off of each to make them completely flat. When your cakes cooked they should have risen slightly and creating a slightly uneven surface. Carefully using a knife slice this thin layer off from both and leave it to the side to cool and dry out.

8.     After cutting each cake allow them to continue to cool and begin working on your frosting (again either in an electric mixer or in a large mixing bowl with an electric whisk).

9.     Begin by beating your butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until they are smooth.

10. Slowly add the powdered sugar in the same way you did the dry ingredients above. Add the sugar ½ cup at a time and let it fully combine before adding more. Depending on preference if you think the frosting it now too hard or stiff you can use a little milk to loosen it up but only a teaspoon at a time. Remember to mix well between adding more milk or you will have frosting that it too loose.

 

Assembly:

1.     Chose a cake plate or base that you want to build your cake on. I like to place a dollop of frosting on the plate first to help hold the first layer.

2.     Place one cake down gently and frost it generously until it the newly trimmed top is completely covered.

3.     Gently place the second cake on top and repeat step two when frosting the top. Now comes decision time, as some of you may remember from my last blog I am not a big frosting lover and have become obsessed with this new trend of “naked cakes” pioneered by Christina Tossi when the sides of the cake are not frosting and show off the beautiful layers you have created. If you are a frosting lover then you may want to continue frosting the sides; this is totally based on preference.

4.     You are almost done now for the finishing touches, take some rainbow sprinkles and dress up the top of the cake but leave room for the cake crumbs.

5.     Take the tops of the cakes you previously trimmed and gently crumbled them up into big and small chunks and sprinkle them on the top and or sides of your cakes, giving it an irresistible topping. Now dig in!