Time 1 hour
Servings 1 sheet cake
This festive birthday cake filled with pops of color lives rent-free in my mind. One of my most vivid memories from childhood is of making and eating confetti cake (mysteriously with a Toronto Blue Jays logo on top? Maybe we bought that one? Maybe it was just on the box?). Sure, it’s just a vanilla cake with sprinkles, but dang it, there’s something magical about it.
What You Need
CAKE
1 ⅜ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt (less if using table salt)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (½ cup or 4 oz butter) + extra for greasing pan
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup sprinkles
DECORATION
cake decorating gel (optional, for writing)
rainbow sprinkles for decoration (not at all optional)
FROSTING
½ cup (1 stick/4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups icing (powdered) sugar, sifted if lumpy
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp milk
2-3 drops of red food coloring (optional, to make it pink)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
electric hand beater or stand mixer
8×8-inch square or 9-inch round cake pan
parchment paper
rubber spatula
piping bag with star tip (if you’re fancy)
How it’s done
1
GET READY
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square or 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray or butter and line with parchment paper.
2
MAKE THE BATTER
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined and slightly fluffy. Alternating, add 1/3 of flour mixture, then half the vanilla and milk, then another 1/3 dry, the other half of the liquids, and the final third of dry ingredients. Beat just to combine, being careful not to over-mix. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the sprinkles (I find this works best when you dump them all in at once and just give it a couple quick stirs).
3
BAKE THE CAKE
Spread batter in prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan on cooling rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the side to loosen the cake, flip it out onto the cooling rack, and either let it cool or, for faster frostability, slide the cooling rack into the freezer until cake is cool, about 10 to 15 minutes.
4
MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM
While the cake cools, cream butter with salt and vanilla, beating until fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar. When it starts to stiffen, add milk and food coloring and beat until smooth.
5
GO WILD
Once your cake is fully cool, transfer it to a serving plate. Spread frosting on top and attempt to make it look nice. Write "Happy Birthday" on it, or whatever your important message may be ("It's Tax Season Again!"). Finish with sprinkles and serve to the delight and awe of millions.
To take your cake decor up to the next level, finish making your icing with the milk but skip the food coloring, then divide out a few small batches of icing to dye different colors. You can also double this recipe to make a two layer cake!
EXTRA NOTES
To take your cake decor up to the next level, finish making your icing with the milk but skip the food coloring, then divide out a few small batches of icing to dye different colors. You can also double this recipe to make a two layer cake!
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