8 Inch Vanilla Funetti Cake
This is the BEST 8 inch vanilla cake recipe you'll ever make! Soft, fluffy, and stays moist for days, this vanilla cake is studded with rainbow sprinkles and frosted with silky smooth vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients
cake ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup whole milk
- ½ cup canola oil
- 3 ⅔ cup cake flour *SEE NOTES*
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup rainbow jimmy sprinkles
- simple syrup for brushing the cake layers
vanilla buttercream ingredients
- 2 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp whole milk
Instructions
making the cakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F/165 C. Grease the bottoms of the cake pans and then line them with a round of parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and about half of the milk.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a 5-quart mixing bowl and mix on low with the paddle until combined.
- Add the cubed butter to the mixing bowl and mix on low until it's crumbly and looks like coarse sand.
- With the mixer running on low, stream in the milk and oil mixture.
- Increase to medium speed and mix for exactly 2 minutes.
- Then whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and the rest of the milk.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly stream the egg mixture into the bowl until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix for another 10-20 seconds until everything is homogenous.
- Add the rainbow sprinkles and fold them gently into the batter with a rubber spatula.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans, it's best to do this with a scale. Each pan should have about 500 grams of batter.
- Smooth the batter with a small offset spatula to fill the pans, then bake them for about 25 minutes or until the tops bounce back when touched.
- Let the pans cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack. The cake should start to pull away from the sides of the pans as they cool. Carefully knock out each layer and then let them cool competely on the rack.
making the buttercream
- In a mixing bowl, mix the soft butter on low for 1 minute until smooth and lump free.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined, then add in the rest of the sugar. Once there is no more dry sugar, increase the speed to high and mix for 5 minutes or until the buttercream is pure white and very fluffy.
- Then add the milk and vanilla to the bowl and mix on low until combined.
assembling the cake
- Place the first layer right side up on a serving plate or cardboard cake round that is 1-2 inches wider than the cake.
- Brush the top of the cake layer lightly with some simple syrup.
- Add ½-2/3 cup of buttercream on top of the layer and use an offset spatula to evenly smooth it over the top. Continue with the next layer following the same steps as the first.
- Place the last layer upside down so that the top is super flat.
- Frost the entire cake with a very thin layer of buttercream for the crumb coat. This will trap any peices of cake from getting into the final layer of buttercream. Let it chill in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is set.
- Frost the entire cake in a thicker layer of buttercream, leaving some extra for decorating.
- Use a piping bag with a star tip to pipe dollops of buttercream on top of the cake.
- Press more rainbow sprinkles onto the sides and sprinkle them on top of the buttercream dollops.
Notes
*The cake flour cannot be substituted and should be store-bought and not homemade. Not using cake flour will result in a very dry and crumbly cake!
PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients.
Simple Syrup: Although the simple syrup is optional, it does help keep the cake super moist and I generally prefer using it. To make a simple syrup, boil together ⅛ cup sugar and ⅛ cup water until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool then brush lightly over the top of each cake layer before adding the buttercream.
Step by step process photos are provided above, in the body of this post.
recipe tips
- Use a kitchen scale: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for the most accurate results. If you do not own a scale, make sure to use the spoon measure method!
- Use room temperature ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients creates a smooth, fully blended batter that will result in a uniform texture and even baking.
- Baking time variations: All ovens vary in temperature, I recommend keeping an eye on the layers while they are baking. If you have hot spots in your oven, you should carefully rotate the pans halfway through baking.
- Buttercream: Want a complete funfetti cake? Mix ¼ cup of sprinkles into the buttercream before frosting. You could also frost it with chocolate buttercream!
- Cake: Want just a plain vanilla cake? Feel free to leave the sprinkles out. For a vanilla bean cake, replace the vanilla extract with vanilla bean paste for even more vanilla flavor.
- Storage: Cut any leftover cake into slices, then place them on a baking tray in the freezer for 10 minutes until solid. Then you can wrap each slice in plastic wrap and either freeze them or keep them in the fridge for later!