Funfetti Cake

Is there anything more fun than funfetti cake? I have yet to meet a child (or adult or that matter) that does not love to see multi-colored sprinkles inside their cake. I made this cake for our annual First Day of School dinner party. I always make a big deal about going back to school. I feel like going to back to school is almost like a new calendar year. New beginnings, new routines, and a fresh start. I think that making a big deal about going back to school lets your children know that it is a really big deal. Almost every year, William requests spaghetti and meatballs. I always make a cake, but every year, I do change it up. This cake was a huge hit.

This is based from Dorie Greenspan‘s Perfect Party Cake. It makes a light and fluffy cake, that it great for many kinds of frostings and desserts that call for a white cake, like a trifle. If you have never made a cake from scratch before, this is a great one to start with. It is simple and the worth the extra effort. I ended up having to make this twice because the first time, I turned the cake out of the pan, burnt myself, and continued to drop it on the floor. I hope that you have better luck than I do.

I made a batch of my marshmallow buttercream and added some lemon essence to it. Essence is essentially extract, but you can find it in bakery supply stores. It is thicker than extract, and comes in a variety of flavors. It is fun to play with, but if you don’t have any, just use lemon extract.

**edited to add** I have gotten a lot of question and comments asking how I got the cakes so flat. I used strips similar to these Bake Even Strips. You get the strips really wet, and wrap them around the cake pans. It acts as an insulator and helps the cake bake evenly and flat. You can also use strips of old towel (and no, they do not burn, just make sure they are really wet). Just drench them and wrap them around the pans and bake. They are awesome and get rid of the bump that you can get when your cakes bake.

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

Marshmallow Buttercream (plus a teaspoon of lemon extract)

Sift together cake four, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together buttermilk and egg whites.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of the mixer and rub it together with your fingers. Dorie says to do this, so I do.

Add the butter and beat together until creamy, 3 minutes.

Add the lemon extract.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat until all of the ingredients are added.Add the sprinkles and fold until combined.

Pour batter into 8 or 9-inch pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray with flour. Bake at 350 degree for 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely.

Ice with frosting. I used my Marshmallow Buttercream with lemon extract instead of vanilla bean.

Slice and enjoy!

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