*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more details!*

A three-layer funfetti cake with all the colourful sprinkles, and a vanilla buttercream frosting! 

Funfetti!

It’s been a while since my blog had a little bit of colour on it, and a Funfetti Cake is 100% the best way to get that going. I love a funfetti cake, but in the UK they are much harder to come by. That’s not because people don’t want them, but because most of the sprinkles in the UK are awful!

For those of you who don’t know, a funfetti cake is essentially a basic or vanilla sponge, but with LOADS of sprinkles inside to give a confetti type of effect – but it’s all edible. Funfetti cakes are very popular in America, and they always look amazing!

Sprinkles

The problem we have over here in the UK, is that a lot of sprinkles just don’t have the same colourings or additives to make the sprinkles bright enough to bake with – a lot of the colours used in the sprinkles in America are in fact banned over here, because there are just TOO many additives!

Therefore, it makes it very difficult to get the effect you want. You can buy cake mixes in the uk, such as the Pillsbury funfetti cake mix online, which is probably the easiest way to get where you want – but its a box cake mix, and I know a lot of you aren’t a massive fan of those. 

The sprinkles I use…

So, the sprinkles that I use for these recipes? These glorious funfetti sprinkles! These are the only ones I have tried so far… that work! You can try any supermarket ones, and they will either just disappear completely into the sponge, or just turn green. 

I realise that buying some sprinkles online just for a cake seems a bit OTT, but if you want a good funfetti cake, and you’re in the UK like me and don’t have access to be best sprinkles ever, then it is SO worth it!

The next catch, is having enough sprinkles. To get lots and lots of colour and fun in the funfetti cake you do need to use lots of sprinkles I am afraid. The sponge itself is just a classic sponge, so it’s hard to get wrong! 

Supermarket sprinkles 

You can of course try supermarket sprinkles, or even branded ones that you can buy in shops, but be warned that they may not work. The really tiny sprinkle balls, and the sugar strands you can buy at supermarkets tend to be the worst as they’re already so small – so they just vanish!

Quantities 

The amount you put into the cake will depend on how big you want the cake to be – as I made a three layer cake as usual, I found the two pots (120g) of sprinkles perfect for the sponges – if you were going to make a smaller version of the cake, you can easily use less sprinkles though! 

As I didn’t want to take the mickey with the sprinkles, I didn’t use sprinkles in the frosting – I knew I would need a lot, and you don’t even see most of the frosting as it’s on the inside of the cake, so I just sprinkled some on top! 

There are notes in the recipe on how to make a smaller two layer cake, but I hope you enjoy the recipe either way! x

Funfetti Cake!

A three-layer funfetti cake with all the colourful sprinkles, and a vanilla buttercream frosting! 
Print Pin Rate
Category: Cake
Type: Cake
Keyword: Funfetti
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Cooling & Decorating Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 18 Slices
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Sponges

  • 400 g unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 400 g caster sugar
  • 400 g self raising flour
  • 8 medium eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 120 g funfetti sprinkles

Decoration

  • 300 g unsalted butter (room temp)
  • 600 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • funfetti sprinkles

Instructions

For the Cakes!

  • Preheat your oven to 180ºc/160ºfan and line three 8"/20cm cake tins with parchment paper!
  • Beat the unsalted butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.
  • Add in the self raising flour, eggs and vanilla extract to the mix, and beat again until smooth.
  • Pour in the Funfetti Sprinkles, and fold through with a spatula!
  • Split the mixture evenly between the three tins - bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until baked through! Check with a skewer (it should be clean!)
  • Leave your sponges to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, and then on a wire rack to cool fully!

For the Decoration!

  • Beat your room temperature unsalted butter for a couple of minutes to loosen it and make it lighter!
  • Add in the icing sugar a bit at a time and mix in fully!
  • Add in the vanilla extract, and beat again. If your mixture is really stiff (and I mean, you will not be able to pipe with it - add in 1-2tbsp of boiling water to make it easier to pipe)
  • Using your favourite piping tip, pipe buttercream onto your sponges, and add each layer of cake as you go!
  • Once you have piped all of the buttercream on, sprinkle the cake with some more Funfetti Sprinkles and enjoy!

Notes

  • I used these funfetti sprinkles!
  • I would not recommend using cheap and basic sprinkles from the supermarket (if you are in the UK at least) as they don't work!
  • If you are lucky enough to live elsewhere in the world with much better sprinkles - try others!
  • This cake will last for 3-4 days in a cake box! 
  • To make a smaller version use:
    • 250g butter/sugar/flour and 5 medium eggs 
    • 1/2tsp vanilla, and 60g sprinkles
    • Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or so! 
    • Use 200g butter/400g sugar for the frosting!

ENJOY!

Find my other Recipes on my Recipes Page!

You can find me on:
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Youtube

J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

 

 

166 Comments

  1. Mirka on November 6, 2024 at 8:13 pm

    Hello😀planning to make this cake for my daughter birthday. If I divide batter in two 9inch tin would it be enough to bake it for 35-40mins? Thank you

  2. Fiona on September 3, 2024 at 9:00 pm

    Would this work with Gluten free flour?

  3. Hollie on June 25, 2024 at 1:15 pm

    Perfect recipe! So yummy and looked great (just like the picture yay)
    I used the Rulop sprinkles from Amazon and they worked brilliantly, so bright and colourful.

  4. Bob on June 21, 2024 at 7:44 pm

    How would I make this in number tins? Please, thankyou

  5. Susan on January 29, 2024 at 3:38 pm

    Hi Jane, I’m going to try your recipe on Friday for my daughter’s birthday. I have three 9 inch tins (instead of 8 inch). How would you recommend I adapt the ingredients and baking time please? Thank you so much!

    • Fern on February 27, 2026 at 9:57 am

      Hello, sorry if you’ve mentioned this but can you feel the sprinkles in the cake? Or they do cook into the cake? I don’t think my son will like the texture of them feeling “bitty/gritty” many thanks



  6. Jess on October 30, 2023 at 2:01 pm

    Hi, I want to make a funfetti cake in a bundt tin, would it be okay to just use this recipe or is it better to use a bundt tin recipe and just put the sprinkles in? Thanks for the help!

    • Jo on July 27, 2025 at 7:58 pm

      Hi! Has anyone made this and made cream cheese frosting instead? Does the cake hold or is cream cheese frosting too heavy?



  7. Bethany on July 9, 2023 at 10:12 am

    Hi I wanted to make this for my boyfriend what frosting would you say is better vanilla byttercram or creame cheese?

  8. Carla on April 28, 2023 at 4:02 pm

    If I was to make this in 5” cake tins how long would you bake it for? I’m thinking of making them for teacher gifts.

  9. Sonya on February 17, 2023 at 2:34 pm

    I have a 9inch tin and want to do two layers but as I only have one tin, I thought I could cut it in half afterwards. I was going to use 300g flour and 6 eggs.
    How long should would you recommend I bake it for?

  10. Charlotte Louise on February 3, 2023 at 11:19 am

    Would you recommend a sugar syrup in between layers as want it to be moist day or so after for party?

    • Jane's Patisserie on February 3, 2023 at 11:52 am

      Hiya! Yes, this should be fine! Hope this helps! x



  11. Jess on January 10, 2023 at 4:46 pm

    My 11 year old daughter has chosen this cake for her birthday this year after getting your celebration recipe book for Christmas. I’m hoping to make it in number shaped cake tins which are fairly large. Would you alter the recipe at all to do this or would you keep everything the same? Thanks xxx

  12. Bethany Stanton-mayers on November 24, 2022 at 11:19 pm

    Hi Jane

    I love your cakes but I was just wondering as I prefer can I do a creme cheese frosting on this cake ?

    • Jane's Patisserie on November 28, 2022 at 3:56 pm

      Absolutely you can, sounds yummy! Enjoy! x



Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating