For many, confetti cake is synonymous with birthdays — and it’s no wonder why. Stately yet playful, dotted with colorful speckles, and bursting with vanilla richness, confetti cake brings the party to the party.
There are numerous recipes online for confetti cake (also known as sprinkle cake), with each claiming to deliver the best results. But which one scratches that nostalgic childhood itch while also satisfying an adult’s expectation for superb flavor, swoon-worthy texture, and a gorgeous appearance? To find out, I pulled out all my cake pans, donned my most comfortable apron, and embarked on a fun day of baking.
So, What’s the Best Confetti Cake Recipe?
You can’t beat Sally’s Baking’s Confetti Birthday Cake — it’s a big, impressive, and beautiful cake with a velvety texture and the ideal balance of flavors.
Meet Our 6 Confetti Cake Contenders
We searched online to find the most highly rated confetti cakes to test. All tout their own special touches that make their cakes unique, from whether they use cake flour or all-purpose (or both); milk or buttermilk; or whole eggs, egg whites only, or a combo. They differ in the fats they use, too: butter only, butter and oil, butter and shortening, or just oil. The frostings varied as well, ranging from American buttercream to Swiss meringue buttercream to cream cheese. Each of the recipes made a lovely three-layer cake, either an 8-inch one or a 9-inch. I couldn’t wait to see which ingredient and technique choices would make for the most delicious one.
- Molly Yeh: This is the only recipe to call for incorporating a little cornstarch into the batter. It also uses egg whites (no whole eggs) and clear imitation vanilla to keep the background color pure white.
- Sally’s Baking: This recipe sticks with cake flour and uses a combo of butter and oil, and eggs and egg whites. Buttermilk is the liquid of choice, and the suggested frosting is vanilla buttercream.
- Martha Stewart: This recipe uses a combo of butter and shortening, and all-purpose and cake flour. Interestingly, it also calls for ice-cold water and the largest amount of sprinkles of all the recipes. There’s a whole egg in the batter, along with three egg whites whipped to soft peaks. The frosting is a Swiss meringue buttercream.
- Pillsbury: The OG version of this beloved treat (Pillsbury introduced their popular cake mix in 1989), this recipe uses the brand’s boxed cake mix and a gussied-up tub of frosting.
- Claire Saffitz: This recipe employs the reverse creaming method, where softened butter and some of the liquid gets mixed into the dry ingredients. It sticks with cake flour but uses a combo of butter and oil along with whole eggs and egg whites in the batter. The cake is layered with a cream cheese frosting.
- Sugar Spun Run: A larger ratio of oil to butter is unique to this recipe, which also incorporates egg whites beaten to stiff peaks. All-purpose is the flour of choice, and the frosting is a simple buttercream.
How I Tested the Confetti Cake Recipes
- I baked all six cakes on the same day. I used the same oven to bake all of the layers, and I used an oven thermometer to make sure the internal temperature was accurate.
- I used stainless steel cake pans. I reached for the same set of 8-inch pans and 9-inch pans, all made of stainless steel, giving them a good wash between recipes. (I made sure to avoid dark metal pans, including nonstick ones, because they tend to overbrown the exteriors.)
- I prepped the pans the same way. I buttered and floured all pans and lined the bottoms with parchment paper to ensure none of the cakes stuck.
- I used the same brand of common ingredients. Most notably that included Land O’Lakes unsalted butter, Gold Medal bleached all-purpose flour, Swans Down bleached cake flour, McCormick vanilla extract (pure and artificial, as specified by the recipes), and Great Value brand multicolored sprinkles (which did not bleed color into any of the batters).
- I tasted all of the cakes side by side. I also invited some family members to taste and offer their opinions, too.
Why You Should Trust Me as a Tester
I have spent the last 26 years in food media (20 as a magazine editor, six as a freelance recipe developer and food writer). Over the course of my career, I have written, tested, and developed literally thousands of recipes. I know how to evaluate a recipe for flavor, texture, clarity, and success (or failure) of the process.
1. The Easiest but Most Disappointing Cake: Pillsbury’s Funfetti Layer Cake
Overall rating: 6/10
Get the recipe: Pillsbury’s Funfetti Layer Cake
To test this recipe, I simply prepared a box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix according to the package directions, beating the dry mix with water, oil, and eggs. I divided the batter among 3 (8-inch) cake pans and baked as directed. For the frosting, the online recipe calls for beating heavy cream to soft peaks and then beating in a tub of Pillsbury frosting.
The cake layers baked fine according to the directions. However, when I cut into the cake, the amount of sprinkles was disappointingly sparse. Even more, every bite revealed a noticeable artificial aftertaste. I know this mix is beloved and nostalgic, but personally I couldn’t get past the flavor. The frosting had a chalky texture, too, and it was quite loose — so much so, that the layers slid around as I cut into the cake.
2. The Weekend Project Cake: Martha Stewart’s Sprinkle Cake
Overall rating: 7/10
Get the recipe: Martha Stewart’s Sprinkle Cake
This recipe was unique in that it used a combination of all-purpose and cake flour in the dry ingredients. The wet mixture consisted of ice-cold water with a combo of milk and buttermilk. After starting with a classic creaming technique (beating, in this case, butter and shortening with sugar), you beat in vanilla extract and an egg, then the dry and wet mixtures. The recipe also had you beat egg whites separately, and then fold them into the batter with a full cup of sprinkles (the most of all the recipes). The frosting for this 8-inch cake was a Swiss buttercream, which involved whisking egg whites and granulated sugar over simmering water, whipping the mixture for 10 minutes, and gradually incorporating a full pound of softened butter.
The cake was gorgeous — tall and well-speckled with sprinkles with lots of soft, creamy frosting. It took more effort to make (and dirtied more dishes) than any of the other recipes, which would have been worthwhile … if the cake didn’t disappoint on flavor. The cake and the frosting both tasted rather bland, despite the batter containing two tablespoons of vanilla extract (perhaps the shortening and ice water diluted the flavor?). Taking a bite of this cake and then tasting the others confirmed without a doubt that it simply fell flat on flavor.
3. The Most Nostalgic-Tasting Cake: Molly Yeh’s Sprinkle Cake
Overall rating: 8/10
Get the recipe: Molly Yeh’s Sprinkle Cake
One unique touch in this recipe is that it incorporates cornstarch into the dry ingredients, which Yeh says helps to create a fluffy crumb. It also uses a combo of butter and oil, sticks with egg whites only (that you don’t have to beat separately), and clear imitation vanilla and almond extracts. The batter was thick and suspended the sprinkles nicely. The frosting was a straightforward American buttercream made with butter, powdered sugar, and more imitation vanilla and almond extracts.
The cake’s crumb was indeed fluffy, and it was moist as well. The cake was lovely, with a bright white background showing off the sprinkles in stark relief. And while Yeh explains in the intro text (and in response to a question in the comments) that the imitation vanilla is there to give the cake a “‘boxed cake’ nostalgic flavor,” for me it was just a tad too artificial-tasting. There was a decent bit of almond extract as well, which compounded the effect. If you have a nostalgic love for the flavor of boxed cake mix (which many, many people do, including some of my other tasters), this one will be right up your alley.
4. The One for Fans of Cream Cheese Frosting: Claire Saffitz’s Confetti Cake
Overall rating: 9/10
Get the recipe: Claire Saffitz’s Confetti Cake
This recipe uses the reverse creaming method, where you combine all the dry ingredients (featuring cake flour here) and then add softened butter, buttermilk, and oil — no separate step of creaming together butter and sugar first. Then you quickly whisk whole eggs, egg whites, vanilla extract, and almond extract (optional, but I used it), and this mixture then goes into the batter before folding in sprinkles. The batter was very thick, and it went into 3 (9-inch) cake pans to bake.
Unlike all of the other recipes, this one used cream cheese frosting. You’re instructed to beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth, then add a full pound of powdered sugar at once and mix on low speed until incorporated. I didn’t read this closely enough, so I first made it by gradually adding the powdered sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture; it was soupy. I then re-read the instructions (thankfully I had extra ingredients on hand) and remade the frosting the right way. It was creamy and swoopy the second time around.
The assembled cake was lovely. The layers had a dense, velvety crumb reminiscent of pound cake, and despite having 3 whole eggs in it, the color was very white. The frosting was an excellent choice, as the tang from the cream cheese complemented the sweet vanilla cake. I loved this cake and would be happy to make and eat it again. The two cakes that ranked higher just stood out a little more.
5. The Tallest, Sweetest Cake: Sugar Spun Run’s Funfetti Cake from Scratch
Overall rating: 9.5/10
Get the recipe: Sugar Spun Run’s Funfetti Cake from Scratch
This cake used the largest ratio of oil to butter, and the largest amount of granulated sugar. The flour of choice was all-purpose, and the recipe instructs you to beat egg whites to stiff peaks to fold into the batter. There was a lot of batter; it filled the pans higher than any other recipe. As such, it took my layers 10 extra minutes to cook through. The frosting for this 8-inch cake was an American buttercream.
The finished cake was impressive — the tallest of the bunch with tons of creamy frosting. The cake was very sweet (deliciously so!) with a golden crust, and it was incredibly moist, thanks to all that oil. The only thing preventing this recipe from being my winner is that it was just the teensiest bit too sweet for my liking. If you have an extra-sweet tooth, though, then this is the cake for you.
6. Simply the Most Delicious Confetti Cake: Sally’s Baking’s Confetti Birthday Cake
Overall rating: 10/10
Get the recipe: Sally’s Baking’s Confetti Birthday Cake
The intro to this recipe explains that Sally had made changes from the original version she first posted in 2014: She simplified the process a bit (no need to whip egg whites separately), changed the butter-oil amounts, and switched to cake flour exclusively. The updated recipe uses a larger ratio of butter to oil, a combo of whole eggs and egg whites, and buttermilk. The batter bakes in 9-inch cake pans, and the accompanying frosting is a straightforward American buttercream with enough heavy cream to lighten its texture.
Although the batter contained 4 whole eggs and a tablespoon of traditional vanilla, it baked up to a lovely, barely off-white shade that showed off the sprinkles in contrast. The layers were wonderfully moist and velvety, with a rich buttery flavor that was deepened by the buttermilk. There was just enough frosting to coat the layers without overdoing things. All in all, the flavors were perfectly balanced — rich vanilla notes lifted by buttermilk’s brightness in the cake and sweet, creamy richness in the frosting — and it all worked together in perfect harmony.