Ridiculously Easy Funfetti Sheet Cake

Besides being ridiculously easy (one-bowl, no mixer), this Funfetti Sheet Cake is also moist, tender, ridiculously delicious and so FUN with a magical kaleidoscope of multi-hued polka dots!

What's to love about this Funfetti Sheet Cake? Well... do you have just a minute?

There's so much to love about this cake with the whimsical name:

1. First of all, as the name implies, it's ridiculously easy to make. This cake is put together with just one bowl with a whisk or wooden spoon. The finished batter is unusually thin for a cake batter so you really don't need much elbow grease to stir it up.
2. It's easy to whip up just about any time because it uses ingredients that you probably regularly stock in your pantry or refrigerator.
3. The cake itself is super delicious with a moist, tender crumb.
4. This Funfetti Sheet Cake feeds a crowd (if you feel like sharing). It easily feeds 12-16 for a fabulous sweet treat.
5. It's baked in a sheet pan (either a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan or a traditional 13x18-inch half sheet pan). It gets frosted right in the pan so there's no fancy icing technique required.
6. It's also super transportable because of the sheet pan.
7. The easy (again, one-bowl, no-mixer) icing is melt-in-your-mouth delicious with a hint of almond extract that makes it taste like it came from a fine bakery. Leave it in its virgin off-white hue or add a few drops of your favorite color food coloring. Or your best friend's favorite color. Or a color to match your party theme.
8. Oh, and speaking of parties, a Funfetti Sheet Cake is a wonderful way to celebrate without having to go through the fuss of making and icing a layer cake. Just let the cake cool a bit then pile on the icing and spread it to the edges with a knife. If you want to be a little fancy, use the back of a spoon to make some fun swirls but that's totally optional as the sprinkles on the top make the cake look festive on their own.
9. It's fun, just plain old fun with lots of colorful sprinkles on top and a surprise kaleidoscope of multi-hued polka dots inside.

So there you have it, LOTS of reasons to make this Funfetti Sheet Cake, right?

Ridiculously Easy

Why do we call this Funfetti Sheet Cake ridiculously easy? Well, not only because it is super easy but also because "Ridiculously Easy" is a special category of recipes here at The Café and this Funfetti Sheet Cake definitely checks all the required boxes!

Our Ridiculously Easy recipes are super popular with our readers and I love them a much as you do! You can read in more detail about our Ridiculously Easy collection of recipes and the qualifications they need to include in this post but my condensed definition is "Recipes that make you look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your part".

What is funfetti cake?

If you're not familiar with funfetti cake, you might know it with another name. This type of cake with rainbow-hued sprinkles baked into the batter is also known as confetti cake, sprinkle cake and birthday sprinkle cake. The name "Funfetti" originated with Pillsbury (a 150-year old American company known for their flour and convenience baking products, including cake mixes) back in 1989 when they came up with a white cake mix that featured colored sprinkles.

Funfetti cakes are popular with kids of all ages and make a festive birthday or celebration cake. This one is not only festive but so delicious with a tender, moist crumb. The silky smooth, sweet buttercream is truly the crowning glory!

What type of sprinkles should I use for funfetti cake?

There are lots of different types of sprinkles on the market but they don't all work for funfetti cakes. While I love the small round nonpareil sprinkles and use them for decorating cookies like these Easy Valentine Shortbread Cookies and our Leprechaun Shortbread Bites, the colors tend to bleed when combined with wet cake batter and don't make for a pretty cake.

The type of sprinkles that work best for a funfetti cake are jimmy sprinkles or the flat, circular "confetti (aka sequin or quin) sprinkles. You can purchase both of these types of sprinkles in either solid colors and make your own color mix or they can be purchased in pre-mixed blends like these rainbow sprinkles.

Nonpareils (the small round sprinkles) do work well to add a pretty, festive look after the icing is spread.

Whimsical cheer

This Funfetti Sheet Cake is a wonderful way to celebrate the big and small moments in life. Check out the easy recipe and make it asap to bring a bit of delicious cheer to friends, family, neighbors co-workers and just wait for the applause!

Café Tips for making this Ridiculously Easy Funfetti Sheet Cake

• • You'll need a microwave-safe bowl to make the cake batter for this recipe. What is a microwave-safe bowl? It's a bowl made from glass or material that won't melt, get too hot, cause damage to the microwave or release chemicals when exposed to microwave rays. I LOVE these microwave-safe 2-quart measuring cups. The handle never gets hot, which means taking things in and out of the microwave is not a problem. If you look at the bottom of a bowl, it should say "microwave-safe" or have the microwave symbol:
    • What size pan should you use to make this Funfetti Sheet Cake? There are actually two answers to this question.
      • You can use a regular half sheet pan which is 18x13 inches.
      • You can also use a jelly roll pan which is a little smaller, measuring 15x10 inches. The sheet pan will yield a larger but thinner cake and icing, the jelly roll pan, a thicker cake with a thicker icing. My preference? I really like making sheet cakes like this in the smaller, jelly roll pan for a thicker cake, but either will work.

  

  • Be sure to grease the pan well. I like to use baking spray which is a combination of oil and flour when baking a cake. You could also grease the pan with shortening and then coat the shortening with a layer of flour.
  • This cake recipe calls for buttermilk.. If you don't want to purchase buttermilk, just for this recipe, you could sub an equal amount of yogurt or sour cream.
  • You can also make your own buttermilk. Just add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill the cup to the one half marking with milk. Stir well, then wait 5 minutes and stir again. Use this in place of the buttermilk.
  • The frosting recipe for this Funfetti Sheet Cake calls for half and half. If you don't live in the United States, you might not be familiar with half and half. It's an American convenience product that's half milk and half cream. You can also use milk for the frosting.
  • I use salted butter to make this cake. If you only have unsalted butter, add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
  • Although you can use any type of stirring implement for this recipe, a whisk works really well. If you don't have a whisk in your cooking collection, it's a really handy kitchen tool to add. A good whisk is not expensive and can be used for quickly stirring lots of things and getting lumps out with minimal effort. It would make a great gift for someone who's just starting to cook.

Thought for the day:

For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

What we're listening to for inspiration:

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Ridiculously Easy Funfetti Sheet Cake

Besides being ridiculously easy (one-bowl, no mixer), this Funfetti Sheet Cake is also moist, tender, ridiculously delicious and so FUN with a magical kaleidoscope of multi-hued polka dots!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Funfetti Cake, Funfetti Sheet Cake

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Servings: 20

Calories: 329 kcal

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup butter cubed
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup multi-colored jimmies or quins (not nonpareils)

For the icing:

• ½ cup butter cubed
• 4-6 tablespoons half & half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2-6 drops food coloring optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Spray a 10x15 jelly roll pan or a sheet pan generously with baking spray and rub with a paper towel to coat all surfaces. Set aside
2. In a medium-large microwave-safe bowl, combine the cubed butter and water. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Most of the butter should be melted. Remove from the microwave and stir until butter is completely melted.

3. Add the buttermilk and sugar, then whisk until well combined. Add the eggs and whisk again.

4. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and stir to combine.

5. Add flour and whisk until smooth and lump free. It will seem lumpy at first, but keep stirring. It will get nice and smooth. Fold in the sprinkles.

6. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-25 minutes.
7. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before icing:

For the icing:

1. While the cake is cooling, make the icing. Place the butter in a medium-large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for 1 minute or until the butter is melted.

2. Remove from the microwave and add the vanilla and almond extracts, 4 tablespoons of the half and half and all of powdered sugar. Stir until well combined. Add enough half and half to make a smooth, spreadable icing.
3. Add the food coloring, one drop at a time, stirring well after each addition, until the desired color is achieved (I usually end up using 4-5 drops.)
4. Transfer the icing to the center of the cake and spread to the edges (an offset or angled cake spatula works well for this). While the icing is still wet, use the back of a small spoon to make pretty swirls, if desired. Sprinkle with nonpareils, jimmies or cake decorating quins in the color(s) of your choice. Allow the cake to cool and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

Be sure to read the section above in the post on "What type of sprinkles I should use for this Funfetti Cake?" before making this recipe.

If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.

Calories 329kcal

Fat 15g

Saturated fat 9g

Trans fat 1g

Polyunsaturated fat 1g

Monounsaturated fat 4g

Cholesterol 54mg

Sodium 238mg

Potassium 58mg

Carbohydrates 48g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 38g

Protein 2g

Vitamin A 464%

Calcium 28%

Iron 1%