And while I’m ranting, has anyone else noticed the lack of sheet cake love these days? Sure round cakes are gorgeous and perhaps slightly more artistic, but they are hard to serve and the frosting-to-cake-ratio is way off….generally speaking of course.
This cake, though…Built to serve a crowd, and smothered in perfectly smooth buttercream frosting. Twice. That’s right, there are two 9×13-inch layers of confetti cake each topped with a thick layer of frosting.
Whip out that star-tipped piping bag for a classic birthday cake feel. Oh and don’t forget the sprinkles! Here I mixed several sizes of sprinkles in the same primary color palette for a little more interest.
The birthday boy loved this colorful vanilla cake almost as much as the performance of The Happy Birthday Song sung by guests.
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A classic two-layer vanilla sheet cake studded with colorful sprinkles and topped with buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 – 1/2 cups (three sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (less if using Mortons)
- 6 egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear imitation vanilla for a whiter cake)
- 1 – 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
Frosting
- 2 – 1/2 cups (five sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 – 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (use clear imitation vanilla for whiter frosting)
- 5 tablespoons milk or cream
- colorful sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9×13-inch baking pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and then grease that too.
- Beat butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add in salt and mix.
- Add egg whites, one at a time, and then beat until well mixed and slightly fluffy.
- Mix in vanilla and buttermilk, beating to combine. The mixture should look lumpy at this stage.
- Add baking powder and cornstarch and beat to combine. Add flour and mix until just combined. Gently fold in sprinkles.
- Pour half of the cake batter into one pan and half of the batter into the other, spreading evenly with a spoon or spatula.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out batter-free.
- Allow cake to cool for around 5 minutes in the pan, then run a knife along the edges to loosen the cake.
- Place a cooling rack over the top of the cake pan and quickly flip the cake pan-cooling rack combo over so that the cake lands on the cooling rack and then lift off the pan. Do this to both cakes.
- Allow to cool on the rack at room temperature or speed things up by placing the racks in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so.
- Beat butter, sifted powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl until fluffy. Add milk and beat until smooth.
- When cake has completely cooled, transfer one layer (flattest side down) to a serving platter or cardboard cake board. Dollop a few big spoonfuls of frosting around the cake layer and spread evenly, stopping at edges.
- Add the second cake layer, this time flattest side up. Dollop more frosting on the top and spread evenly over the cake top. Fill in the sides with frosting, using a pipping bag for extra ease, then smooth more frosting over the sides of the cake.
- Decorate with remaining frosting using a piping bag and decorating tips. Here I used a star tip to create a simple border.
- Using your fingers, carefully scatter a pinch of sprinkles at a time around the perimeter of the cake until desired effect is achieved.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
You can make the cake layers in advance (I made mine the day before). Simply allow cakes to cool completely, then wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to frost.
Keywords: confetti funfetti sheet cake
