How To Make The Best Birthday Cake

Ingredients Required To Make Funfetti Cake

Ready to bake a birthday cake? Let’s gather some essential ingredients and get started!

All-purpose Flour

First up, you’ll need 2.5 cups of all-purpose flour. This is the backbone of your cake, giving it structure. Make sure your flour is fresh to keep your cake soft and delicious.

Baking Powder

Next, grab 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder. This helps your cake rise beautifully. Fresh baking powder is key here—older powder might not give you that fluffy, tender texture you’re aiming for.

Baking Soda 

You’ll also need 1 teaspoon of baking soda. This little ingredient works wonders in helping your cake expand and become nice and big. Just a small amount does the trick!

Unsalted Butter

You’ll need 1 cup of unsalted butter. If the butter is cold, leave it at room temperature. This will bring the cold butter to normal or room temperature. As this temperature will melt the butter nicely when mixed with other ingredients, without creating any buttery lumps in the cake. 

Granulated Sugar

Unlike normal sugar, granulated sugar has very tiny crystals. These crystals get easily dissolved into the mixture when combined with other ingredients. An ideal amount of granulated sugar is 1-1.5 cups. You can adjust the amount based on your preference for sweetness. 

Eggs

The firm and structured shape of the cake is possible due to the use of eggs. For this 4 large eggs are enough. If eggs are stored in the fridge, bring them to room temperature before using. This makes the batter more creamy and easier to blend. 

Salt

It is a flavor enhancer in the cake. You’ll need ½ teaspoon of salt. This much salt is enough to balance the level of sweetness as well as other flavors in the cake. 

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla extract is mainly used to add more flavor to the cake. You won’t need it much, just 1 tablespoon is enough. 

Buttermilk

A kind of acidic content is found in buttermilk. This content breaks down the long strands of gluten and protein in the batter. This is why the cake becomes soft and tender. So, 1 cup of cold buttermilk must be used in the dough. 

Rainbow Sprinkles

Rainbow sprinkles give the cake a unique outlook. Kids love it when their cake is filled with different colors of sprinkles. So, use ¾ cup of rainbow sprinkles for the cake. 

Tools Required

• Mixer or blender
• Cake pan
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowls
• Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Heat-resistant gloves

How To Make Funfetti Cake

You can easily bake Funfetti cake by following the given steps. For your information, the same procedure can be followed to prepare any unfrosted cake. So, read carefully and learn an easy way to make a cake. 

1. Preheat the Oven

Let’s begin the making of Funfetti cake. Start by preheating the oven to 450°F (230°C). It makes the inside temperature hot in the oven. As a result, the cake bakes quickly and evenly. 

2. Prepare the Cake Pan

After leaving the oven to preheat, clean the cake pan, wipe the pan using a paper towel, and apply grease. Greasing the pan makes the removal of the cake easy when baked. Once greasing is done, lay baking paper over the pan. If needed, use two pans. 

Make sure you pick the right size of the cake pan. Depending on the size of the cake you plan to make, choose the cake pan. Otherwise, smaller pans for bigger cakes lead to uneven baking. As a result, the cake doesn’t become as soft as it should be.  

3. Mix the Dry Ingredients

Take a large bowl and add collected dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a spatula to mix all ingredients well. It will allow the equal spreading of dry ingredients.

4. Blend the Butter and Sugar

Mix butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Use a separate mixing bowl, not the one with dry ingredients. Add butter and sugar to that bowl. Using a stand mixer or blender whisk together the ingredients on medium speed.

When the mixture turns fluffy and smooth, know that this step is completed. In general, the mixing thing should not take more than 3-4 minutes with a stand mixer. 

5. Add the Eggs and Vanilla

Proceed to add eggs and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Run the mixer and blend together on medium speed. The blending should be continued until combined well.

While doing it, stop the mixer scrape down the sides of the batter, and bring it to the center. This ensures even beating of ingredients resulting in smooth and lump-free batter. So, keep scraping the sides of the batter in between the beating process.

6. Mix the Dry Ingredients and Buttermilk

This is the step where you need to follow a rule and that is to alternate adding dry mixture and buttermilk. In simple terms, divide these ingredients into three parts.

First, add some of the dry mixture in a mixing bowl and some buttermilk. Whisk together using a stand mixer but keep the speed on low. You just need to mix until the ingredients are blended well. But don’t overdo it.

Then there comes the time to add the 2nd part. Add some portions of dry ingredients and buttermilk into that mixture. Run the stand mixer to mix these ingredients well.

And lastly, add the final portions of dry ingredients and buttermilk and do the blending thing as you did with the other parts. Throughout this whole process make sure to run the mixer at low speed. 

7. Fold in the Sprinkles

Here comes the time to add rainbow sprinkles to the batter. Just add and spread evenly into the batter using a spatula. Don’t try to overdo it by folding the batter for a longer time. Just fold the batter until the sprinkles are distributed equally. 

8. Bake the Cake

Pour the batter into a cake pan and level the batter evenly using a spatula. If you have made excess batter then use two cake pans or wait until the first one is baked.

Place the cake pan inside the heated oven and leave to bake for 25-30 minutes. After this estimated time reaches, use a toothpick to check the doneness of the cake by inserting it into the center of the cake.

If the toothpick comes out easily and cleanly, the cake is baked nicely. Whereas if the toothpick got some stickiness from the batter, then the cake might still need some time for even baking. 

9. Cool the cake

Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven wearing heat-resistant gloves. Separate the sides of the cake from the cake pans before leaving it to cool down. To do this, use a knife. This will prevent over browning of the cake or burning of the cake sides as the cake pan is still hot.

With the pan, cool the cake for 10 minutes. Once that time passes, transfer the cake to a wire rack or a shallow dish for further cooling. Your Funfetti cake is ready. You can serve it the way it is or choose to give it an appealing look by decorating it with white frosting. 

How To Make Buttercream Frosting

Once the cake is baked, it’s time for the fun part: decorating it with buttercream frosting! This does two things- first give an eye-pleasing look to the cake and second add extra flavors. So, get ready to learn an easy buttercream frosting recipe.

Things You’ll Need

• Unsalted Butter: 1 and 1/2 cups
• Powdered: 5 cups
• White cream: ¼ cup
• Vanilla extract: 1 tablespoon

Steps To Follow

• Add butter in a mixing bowl and mix until it becomes smooth with a stand mixer on medium speed. This won’t take more than 2-3 minutes.
• Proceed to add powdered sugar to the beaten butter in parts. Don’t add all the sugar at once. First, add 1 and a half cups of sugar then mix it. Again add remaining sugar in two batches and blend well with a stand mixer. The reason for separating sugar in batches is to prevent it from wasting when using the mixer. If you add all the sugar at once and run the mixer on it, the sugar may spill out of the bowl leading to a waste. 
• Mix cream and vanilla extract into the mixture. Before blending, include ½ teaspoon of salt. Now, start the stand mixer and beat well on medium speed. Do this for about 2-3 minutes. By that time, the frosting turns into a smooth and fluffy paste. 
• Frosting should be in medium paste form: not too thick or too thin. If it becomes too thick, add some cream. In case of a thin consistency, add some more powdered sugar. Keep adjusting the ingredients until your desired consistency reaches. 
• Once the buttercream frosting is ready, apply it to the cake using a spatula. If your cake has an uneven surface, you can trim it with a knife. This will give an even structure to the cake. When it comes to spreading buttercream frosting, 2-3 layers might be needed. It will properly conceal the brown color of the cake.
• Lastly, garnish the cake with some rainbow sprinkles. Keep the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes. This allows the frosting to set and makes the cake juicer. Your sweet and delicious Funfetti or confetti cake is ready for your kid's birthday. 

How To Store Cake

You can refrigerate it fresh or leftover. It will keep the cake fresh and retain the flavor, just like fresh ones. If you are planning to store a freshly made cake, first cool it down completely. 

Put the cake in a large bowl or in a wide container, then cover it. Covering the cake is important to prevent any cross-contamination. Place the bowl or container in the fridge and choose the place that is the coolest. This way your cake can last up to 5-6 days. 

Freezing frosted cake is not recommended. Because the cake may not taste as delicious as that of the fresh ones. Moreover, freezing might spoil the decoration of your cake. 

But unfrosted cake can be kept in the freezer. This allows you to use it as a cake bread in the future. As a result, it reduces the need to spend time making unfrosted cake and you can directly jump into decoration after thawing.