Funfetti Birthday Cake with Bubblegum Buttercream Frosting
Save RecipeHi Bold Bakers! This week, we have a lot to celebrate so I want to show you how to make a colorful Funfetti celebration cake for birthdays and special events. So let’s get baking!
Birthday Cake! Funfetti with Bubblegum Buttercream Frosting
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Gemma Stafford
Serves: 12 serving
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups (1lb 1oz/ 500g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (12oz/355g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (3 oz / 90g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (8oz / 240g) butter, melted
- 2 Large eggs
- 2 cups (16oz / 500g) Buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup (3oz/90g) sprinkles
Buttercream Frosting - 1 cup (8oz/240g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (12oz/360g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2-3 drops of Green food colouring (use what ever color you like)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F(180oC) degrees. Grease and line a 2x 9-inch springform or baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave.
- In a separate jug, whisk the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Stir in buttermilk mix into the dry ingredients, followed by the butter until no lumps remain. The batter will be thick.
- Lastly, stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 35-40 minute or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, and flavoring (bubble gum or vanilla extract) with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes.
- Frost cooled cake: Start by frosting a thin ‘crumb layer’. Chill for 30 minutes to set the frosting. Once that layer is set apply a second layer of thicker frosting
- Using a butter knife, pressing gently run it from the bottom to the top all the way around. You will create lovely, rough texture. Continue on the top of the cake moving from the edge of the cake to the center.
- Decorate as desired with candy and sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you wish to use.
- Cover cake and store at room temperature for up to 7 days. Enjoy!
- Bubblegum and other extracts here: (http://amzn.to/2gqIlnp).
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Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I’m passionate about sharing my years of experience to show you how to make game-changing baking recipes with over-the-top results! Join more than 1 Million other Bold Bakers in the community for new video recipes every week!
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For the frosting, do I use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks!
Hi Claudia,
I use salted butter for everything, more or less.
Most people will use unsalted butter for frosting, it is a good choice,
Gemma 😉
Should the butter be unsalted or salted?
Hi Claudia,
I tend to use salted butter for everything. However most people will use unsalted butter in buttercream frosting. It is a matter of taste really.
Thank you for bein here with us,
Gemma 🙂
Thank you for the quick respond. How much vanilla extract do you recommend I use if I would like to add some?
Hi Claudia,
A teaspoon of vanilla extract will always add a lovely note to a cake. It always works well in frosting too, and marries well with other flavors too. Try it!
Gemma 🙂
I really love it.It is awesome.
Wow.it is really great.I just love the blog.it is very resourceful.Best of luck for the future.
Thank you Alfonso, I am happy that you like the website.
We are really trying to create a go to site for our Bold Bakers, lots of extras here, and a great community, all willing to help others out too.
Thank you for being with us,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma!
Can I use only granulated sugar instead of both brown n granulated?
yes you can use granulated sugar.
Best,
Gemma.
Oh dear I am sorry to be sending u 3 comments altogether… just a few more questions… as I am living in Singapore (a rather hot country)… may I know if this buttercream frosting will “melt” in room temperature? How long will it last if the cake is in room temperature? Or alternatively do u have a frosting recipe tat can last longer in Singapore’s hot weather? I don’t have bubblegum flavour extract so what other extract u suggest I can use? Can I reduce amount of sugar use in the cake recipe cos we don’t really fancy too sweet cakes… looking forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks a lot Gemma! 😊
no problem. So the frosting won’t melt at room temperature. but feel free to keep it in the fridge and just take it out of the fridge 2 hours before you want to use it to let it get to room temperature.
I suggest adding in vanilla extract, that will add good flavor.
I really don’t recommend reducing the sugar in the cake as it will effect the end result. I couldn’t guarantee it would come out the same as mine.
Hope this helps,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, I dnt know how come my earlier comment didnt get thru to you. Nonetheless here’s my question…my oven is relatively small (convention oven) therefore I cannot bake 2 tins of cake at the same time. Can u enlighten me what alternatives do I have? Cut the recipe into half and make the batter and bake the cake 1 tin at a time? Or can I just prepare the batter (full recipe) as it is and pour into the first tin and bake it first and leave the remaining batter to wait for the first tin to finish baking before I pop the second tin of batter into the oven??? I hope I didnt confuse u…Could you kindly enlighten me? I am baking this for my hubby’s upcoming birthday… Thanks alot
Hi again,
use a bigger tin and bake all the batter at once. if you want to just bake off one tin at at time that is totally fine too.
I hope I answered your question.
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, so it is ok to leave the remaining batter in the 2nd tin to be baked after the 1st tin completes baking? Won’t affect the cake texture ya? Shd I stir in the sprinkles for the 2nd tin only minutes prior to putting it into the oven to bake cos I read one of your comments saying that the sprinkles may somehow dissolve inside the batter if leave it inside n around for a period of time
yes it is totally fine to bake one at a time. Pop it in the fridge while the other bakes 🙂
the sprinkles do dissolve, that is the nature of them because they are made of sugar. They dissolve but you get that great color throughout your cake.
best,
Gemma.
Thank you! I will attempt next week! Hope it will be successful!! Thanks a lot Gemma!
what is the difference between baking powder and baking soda? why do we need both?
I am making this cake for my dad I am so excited 🙂
thanks
Hi there,
This is the science of baking.
1. Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is an alkaline salt.
2. Baking powder is a mix of this alkaline substance and an acid substance called cream of tartar.
3. An alkaline and acid mixture produces carbon dioxide in the baking, when wet and warm, creating bubbles, to rise the cake.
The recipes are balanced to produce the right result. You can use baking powder on it’s own, but you need an acid in order to activate soda, sometimes this is lemon juice, citric acid, yogurt, buttermilk etc.
Gemma 🙂
so can I use baking soda by its self since there is buttermilk in it
H ithere,
It is always best to follow a recipe precisely.
If you wish to vary it you can, but the result will be slightly different.
You will also need to figure out the baking soda quantity, I have not tried this, so I cannot be sure,
Gemma 🙂
I love how you actually put the sprinkles into the cake batter
5 stars
Hi Gemma, this recipe looks soo good. Can’t wait to try it. I just moved so I got an oven… this would be my first cake… so excited!! Just wondering, if I don’t have a springform pan, can I bake it in anything else?
Hi there,
Yes, you can bake this in any appropriately sized pan. You will need to either line it with buttered greaseproof paper, baking paper, or butter the pan and scatter a coating of flour all over it. This will give it a ‘non stick’ coating for the cake batter. happy baking ,
Gemma 🙂
I made this for my hubby birthday and it turned out to be awesome. All the guests loved it.thanks Gemma for making bakine easy. Lots of love and blessings. I have shared my cake pic .. check it out n lemme know..
That is great, you guys are so good to your partners1 I have just seen your cake, and it looks spectacular, I can see why your guests were delighted with this, well done you, it is posted here now too!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! Just love your recipes. I wanted to ask that since I don’t have an oven or microwave at home, can I make the cake in a pressure cooker? Will there be any changes in the cake if I do that?
Hi there,
I do not know how this will work. Now you are talking about a steamed pudding really, I have not tried this.
If you decide to cook this in the pressure cooker you will need to cook it in a closed container, a pudding bowl works well.
Check out these recipes, designed to be steamed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/sponge_pudding) 🙂
Gemma
Hi Gemma.
I decided to make this cake for my daughter who just turned 16. It was a great hit. All her friends absolutely loved it. Instead of decorating the cake like yours, I did my own decorations. My daughter loved the US Navy and hoping to join after high school. So I made the funfetti bubblegum flavored cake
but with my own creations. Thanks so much for the recipe. I also made the funfetti cupcakes to accompany the cake itself. So there were plenty of cake AND cupcakes for everyone.
I will post a picture of the cake , and see what you think.
Tami
Hi Tami,
that is great, I will be happy to see your photos. I wish your daughter well in her career, I really hope she gets what she wants, and enjoys it too 🙂
Hey Gemma! I love this cake, but at the moment I don’t have enough all purpose flour (a little lazy today lol). Can I use all self rising flour instead? I’m sure it will change it but will it be ruined or could it work? What do you think?
hi there, it will be good, but do not add any other raising agent 🙂
Is this cake dense and moist like a pound or madeira cake? I love denser cakes since they taste more rich and buttery than fluffy, airy cakes. But I can tell this is a darn rich ass cake with the melted butter, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi there, yes, like a madeira cake, not as close textured a pound cake. slight changes in a recipe alter the texture of a cake 🙂
Hi Gemma
I did this cake and followed the recipe very carefully, yet the sprinkles wasn’t visible when the cake was baked of. I have no idea why, and I put lots n lots of sprikles in the dough. Do you know what could have have gone wrong?
Best regards, Aisha
Hi Aisha, I am wondering if the cake was over-wet, or allowed to stand too long before baking! When you think about it these are a sugar sweet, and will dissolve if left wet for too long, this is my best guess 🙂
Hi Gemma!
Yes I did leave the batter standing too long before baking it. I think that’s the problem. Will be more careful next time. Anyways thanks for replying. Pleasure to be a bold baker.
Hi there,
it is great to be able to figure it out, this is how you learn, lots of mishaps in my house when we were starting out!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! I made this yesterday and it came out well. The only thing was it was not as thick and brown as yours and so couldn’t be cut into layers properly. May I know why this happened? However the taste was marvellous. Thanks for sharing this recipe…
Hi Bhawani,
This can be a number of things:
Insufficient raising agent – over-mixing – changing the recipe – oven not preheated – batter left standing too long before baking – baking pan too large.
I really cannot say without being there with you,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma!
As usual this recipe is awesome. However I don’t want the cake this high. So can I just bake half of this recipe and bake it in one 9 inch spring form pan and cut it into only 2 layers? and how much time? In your youtube description and the website the recipes are kind of different. So which one should I follow? I want to make this tomorrow for a birthday!
Hi Bhawani,
Yes you can. you will need to keep an eye on it through the bake, when it is firm to touch on the top, it is baked. About 25 – 30 mins.
Gemma 🙂
It says to put 1 ½ Cup Cup granulated sugar (300 grams)
½ Cup light brown sugar (100 grams) in the ingredients but in the instructions it doesn’t show where it goes in.
I think I have wrecked it as there is no sugar in it ?
Hi Danny,
Sorry for my late reply. So don’t worry about leaving out that sugar, it won’t have wrecked the cake at all. I didn’t realize that sugar wasn’t in the recipe. Thanks for bring it to my attention. I’ll add it in now. 🙂
Hi, I’m Maimoona . I loved ur recipe and ur ideas. Thanks for sharing with us .
Hi Maimoona,
Thank you for your kind words, I am happy to have you with us,
Gemma 🙂
Gemma, if you were to veganize this recipe, what egg/dairy substitutions would you recommend?
I haven’t tried that for this recipe. Check out this website for great egg substitute ideas http://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-substitutes/. For the dairy, you can replace the butter with vegan butter or coconut oil, and you can use dairy-free milk. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Gemma, I tried this recipe in one single pan and the toothpick is not coming out clean in the centre. I cooked for 15 mins more but it’s still moist in the centre, however the top is golden brown. Could please suggest how to get this right. Thanks.
Hi Rishika,
when you bake in a single pan you will need to do one or two things. for a really large cake you would reduce the temperature, and bake longer. If the pan is wider than deeper, it will bake more or less as per recipe. the deeper the pan the longer the baking time. As I do not know your oven or your pan size it is difficult for me to be sure what happened here,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma, does this recipe create two cakes to make the four layers or does it only make one of the cakes? I want to try it for an upcoming birthday but not as high so will I need to halve the ingredients?
hi Nicole,
This recipe makes two 9 inch cakes. that is two sandwich pans, or spring-form pans. depending on where you come from this is a traditional sandwich cake size, if that makes sense!
Gemma 🙂
can you suggest a subsiution for eggs I baking
Hi Ishika,
There are a number of substitutes for egges in baking, and the one you choose depends on the recipe. There is a website (www.chefinyou.com) which I like for great ideas,
Gemma 🙂
Gemma, if I want to eat this unfrosted, then it is ok to eat it warm, right?
Please reply. 🙂
Hi Rahul,
This cake batter is a basic cake recipe, which can be eaten warm, with fruit, fruit sauce, jam, or a chocolate sauce. Go for it!
Thank you for your kind comments and for being in touch,
Gemma 🙂
Very good!
Hello maam if I would like to make a one layer 10 inches in that case do I need to double this recipe of this will do?
Thanks for your question. I haven’t tried that. I would suggest maybe making about half of this recipe. Good luck and let me know how it goes 🙂
Hello ma’am or turned out so good I can’t even explain in words
I have Mande so many of your recipes and everything alwyss turns out so perfect
Thankyou for everything
May god bless u and your family amen
Hi Gemma,
is it possible to use one springform pan and bake all of the batter in there at once? Because I don’t have 2 pans. 🙁
And how long will the cake take to be fully cooked through if I only use one pan?
Thank you!
Lots of love
Hi Alyssa,
Yes you can, then split it when it is cold. You may have to cook it a little longer. You will know when it is cooked as it will be firm to the touch on top, just gently press it, you will know! it should also be a golden brown, not dark. Sometimes i would reduce the oven temperature by about 10 degrees too, for a bigger cake,
Gemma 🙂
Gemma what can i use for substitute for buttermilk?
Hi Kaushalya,
You can add a teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk. Allow it to stand for about 30 minutes. This sours the milk slightly and changes the acid/alkaline balance so that it reacts with the raising agent. Yogurt can also be used in combination with milk, about 1/2 and 1/2.
Gemma 🙂
Forget it I forgot to look at the ingredients ?
Gemma, i love your channel i’ baked a bunch of your recepies and they were all delicious and I was wondering if I could replace the raising agent with baking powder?
ok great 🙂
Hi Gemma can i use cake flour?
Sure 🙂
Can you make a very easy chocolet cupcakes??
I have a recipe Mariam for easy small batch cupcakes. look it up in the search bar. It’s the best Chocolate cupcake recipe I have. 🙂
Hi Gemma 🙂
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Aisha,
you sure can. It makes around 15 if memory serves :). If you see my cupcakes bouquet I use this recipe for cupcakes there.
Thank you so much <3
Hi Gemma!
I can guarantee i have watched every single episode of bigger bolder baking. Is there any possible way to substitute the buttermilk? I’ve hunted all over the place but my supermarket doesn’t sell it?. But I really really wanna make this cake for my baby bro’s first birthday. Many thanks!
Good timing! I just released my new Chocolate Cake recipe (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-chocolate-cake/), which includes a substitute for buttermilk in the recipe so make sure to check it out. Let me know how you get on! 🙂
HI Gemma! I was thinking of making this for my little boy’s birthday but I do have a question. Will a cream cheese frosting work just as well… and would adding food coloring to the cream cheese frosting still make it work in this recipe? Thanks 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Olga. Cream cheese frosting with food coloring will work great with this recipe. Get creative with it 🙂
I am going to use this recipe to make funfetti cake pops
Sounds fantastic 🙂
Ok.i will try it thanks Gemma 🙂
Hy Gemma.i love this recipe but usually when we do this type of cakes , they stay small when we remove them from the oven! Can you help us with that please 🙂
Hi David, this is my favorite cake. So they shouldn’t stay small. My recipe doesn’t grown huge ad it is a heavier cake, then light and fluffy but it should still grow.
Have you tried my recipe? I think there is something up with the ratio or ingredients you are using. Using both raising agents and buttermilk is very important.
This recipe is great! Usually I have terrible luck with white and yellow cakes being really dry, but this one is really moist and delicious 🙂
Thanks so much Lauren, delighted you like this cake. It is my absolute and only gets better as it sits 🙂
Hi Gemma!! I love all your recipes.You made baking very easy n fun . Could you please suggest how to make an egg less cake . I would love to try this cake for my sister’s birthday.. 🙂
Hi Prerna, Thanks so much for watching, delighted you like my baking videos :). I’ll add your request to my list. The only eggs recipes I have right now are the mug cakes. i have an eggless option in every mug cake video :).
I love this recipe! It turned out so well. I love how organized your recipes are. Putting the measurements in grams as well as cups is really helpful. But there’s a minor mistake in the written directions. There’s no mention of adding sugar to the dry ingredients but luckily your video mentions it.
I made this cake last august for my birthday and I must say its the best cake I’ve ever had. Thanks Gemma.
Thanks, Beth! It’s definitely my go-to celebration cake. Great to see you on the website!
Hey Yuh never mentioned when to add sugar or when to put butter
Do you mean in the recipe or the video?
Hi can I bake it in six inch tins? Please answer making these today
Hi Gloria,
Yes, but you will have mixture leftover!
You could pop that into muffin cases and have some cupcakes too!
This is a big mixture, you can of course cut it in half, including the frosting. The depth of the pan also matters, and baking time will be affected, so keep an eye on it,
Gemma 🙂