Sprinkle Covered Funfetti Cake
Last weekend I got to celebrate TWO friend's birthdays, and we all know it's not a party unless there's cake. My friend Callie turned the might quarter century and what better way to ring in the milestone than with a sprinkle covered cake?!
My other friend Chris celebrated his birthday this past weekend by having friends over for a backyard cookout. Chris is also a foodie so I am never disappointed by his parties and he's such a gracious host. There was rosé, la croix, beer, A GIN TONIC BAR(!), grilled skirt steak, asparagus, an incredible carrot cake, yard games, dogs - basically the most instagramable summer cookout you could imagine.
Making Callie's cake was a blast. The best part, the cake itself was funfetti, so there was no shortage of sprinkles here. Once we got the hang of adding sprinkles onto the sides of the cake, we were cruising, but I'm pretty sure there will be sprinkles hiding in dark corners of that kitchen for a while…sorry about that. It was a messy job to say the least.
A few things I've learned since baking is that all cake pans should be lined with parchment paper. It makes it so easy to take the cake out and ensures you don't leave any stuck to the bottom of the pan. The sturdier the cake, the sturdier the whole stack will be. Frosting can only help you so much, otherwise, you'll get one sugary, crumbly blob. Another thing to do to prevent crumbs is to wait until the cakes are completely cool before putting a crumb coat on. The first layer of frosting will hold most of the crumbs in, but a still warm cake will rip open with almost no effort.
I have a really solid chocolate cake recipe but really haven't ventured out into many other flavors. This was the first time I ever used stiff peak egg whites in a cake, and I was a little anxious to see how it would turn out. I usually try to test bake things before serving them at events, but I ran out of hours in the day and couldn't get to it. Luckily this cake turned out really well and was not difficult at all to make.
Cake Ingredients
9 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 cups white cane sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 tsp vanilla bean paste
4 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup milk
9 egg whites room temperature preferred
1/2 cup sprinkles
Frosting Ingredients
1 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp heavy cream or milk
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 bottles nonpareils sprinkles
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 3 9-inch round cake pans by generously greasing and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, whip butter on medium speed until pale and creamy then add sugar, vanilla, and oil. Beat until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Stir in sprinkles.
With the mixer on medium speed, alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture. Stir until combined before adding the wet or dry ingredients. Empty ingredients into the large bowl used for flour previously.
Wash mixer bowl. Add egg whites to the mixer bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form. You will be able to flip the bowl upside down and nothing will move.
Using a spatula, gently fold your egg whites and sprinkles into your batter. Do not over mix.
Evenly divide cake batter into prepared pans.
Bake on 350F for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake layer comes out clean or with few crumbs (should not be wet). For best results, rotate your cake pans halfway through baking to ensure even baking.
Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
In stand mixer, beat butter on medium-speed until creamy.
Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until each cup is completely mixed before adding more. Once all the powdered sugar is added, add milk or heavy cream in one tablespoon at a time on medium-high speed until you've reached desired consistency. Frosting that is too liquidly will slide off the cake, but it should be soft and hold a soft peak.
Decorating:
Take the bottom cake layer and put it on your cake stand. If using cardboard, you may want to spread a dollop of frosting down before putting the cake to prevent it from sliding. Frost the top of the cake, making sure everything is covered. It's best to use a heavy hand here, as any frosting that spills out the side will be used to frost the side. Add the next layer, making sure it's level, frost and repeat with the top layer. I've found it easiest to do this with an offset spatula, but a piping bag/ziploc bag/butter knife will do the same job. Once all three layers are stacked and frosted, run your spatula around the sides, evenly coating it so no cake is peaking out. Now cover with sprinkles. The best way I found to sprinkle the sides was to pour sprinkles in your hand and press the sprinkles into the frosting. Repeat until cake is covered to your liking.