Funfetti Sheet Cake

A funfetti sheet cake that is perfect for any birthday!  This cake tastes like the beloved boxed confetti cake but made from scratch. It’s fluffiness is due to a secret ingredient!

So I’ll be honest, I grew up on cake mixes. And tubs of frosting. It’s ok, Mom I still love you. But now that I have seen the light of cakes made from scratch I just can’t go back. So if you’re still stuck in the camp of cake mixes are better and easier, let me show you the light with this funfetti sheet cake. 

Come my child. Let us eat cake together.

And I think if you grew up on cake mixes, or just harboring still a secret love for them you don’t want to admit to anyone this cake might be your Unicorn then. It might be the closest cake that I have ever tried that has all the fluffiness that people expect from a cake mix but like a 1000 times better. 

When I wanted to make a birthday cake recently, I decided to flip through some cookbooks and see what I could find. And lo and behold, Shelly over at Cookies and Cups had one in her cookbook. I mean I already had made her coconut cream pie, nutella brownies, and salted browned butter chocolate chip cookies so I knew this cake wouldn’t disappoint. And let me just say it didn’t just not disappoint it friggin’ rocked. 

And with this cake, she wanted it to be super fluffy like those boxed mixes but 100% made from scratch. Her secret weapon? Shortening. Now I’m not always the biggest fan of shortening, but I figured I’d give it a shot. And she was right. Shortening = super fluffy cake. 

Why shortening? Well shortening doesn’t contain water unlike butter. Due to the water in butter, your cake would end up being a bit denser. If you are hiding in the corner right now at the mention of shortening, then you can use butter. Just note this cake will be a bit on the denser side. But then I mean there is buttercream slathered on top. No one is going to turn you down when you offer them a slice. 

Now I made this cake in my 9×13 pan for sheer simplicity. But you can make this funfetti sheet cake into a layer cake if you want and bake it in 2 8-inch cake pans. Whatever you decide to do, just be sure to top with the most perfect vanilla buttercream. 

Oh and more sprinkles of course. I mean it is a funfetti cake after all right? 

So step away from that cake mix. Put down that tub of frosting. And let’s make our own funfetti cake that blows any cake mix out of the water. 

To Make This Funfetti Sheet Cake You Will Need:

• 9×13 Pan (or 2 8-inch cake pans)
• Stand Mixer
• Sprinkles – Any rainbow sprinkles work really, these confetti ones are my favorite

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Funfetti Sheet Cake

A funfetti sheet cake that rivals any boxed funfetti mix. With homemade vanilla buttercream on top, you'll never pick up a cake mix again!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/4 cups 2 % or whole milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles (plus more for sprinkling on top)

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350oF. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

   2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the shortening and mix on medium speed until the mixture is combined. Add the milk and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

   3. Add the egg whites and continue mixing 1 to 2 more minutes, until very smooth. Stir in sprinkles.

   4. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

   5. Allow the cake to cool before frosting. 

Recipe Notes

I used my favorite vanilla buttercream on top. If you want to make this into a layer cake, you would grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.