When I asked Olive what type of cake Henry might want for his birthday, I should have predicted her answer. We are all about sparkles and sprinkles over here, so it came as no surprise that we would celebrate with sprinkles. They may not be the most manly thing, but Olive was happy, and Henry didn’t care as long as he had two fists full of cake at all times.
I was actually pretty excited that she decided on sprinkle cake because I have long since wanted to try making Molly Yeh’s Funfetti cake. I remember when she first posted it 2 years ago, so I didn’t waste anytime searching her archives. Molly really breaks down her trial and error to perfect this cake (saving me the hassle!). She tried umpteen dozen different kinds of sprinkles, more butter, less oil, whole eggs, egg whites… In short, she has nailed it. Molly has been one of my idols since I first started exploring the foodie world of Instagram. She quickly became one of my favourites, and has stayed that way. I know that favourite ‘grammers come and go, but she has been a constant! I totally recommend you check her out and also pre-order her cookbook Molly on the Range. If you can’t find me, I’ll be camping out by my mailbox until October. Rumour has it that “Funfetti Cake 2.0” is in the book! O.M.G. RUN, DON’T WALK!
We made this cake “from scratch-from scratch”. Right down to the sprinkles! I totally recommend making this cake with kids because making your own sprinkles is some-kind-of-nostalgia. Trust me. I was right back in the 90’s on this one. We picked our colours, piped long lines and lines (and lines) of sprinkles and then we had to wait and wait (and wait). Do you know how hard it is to wait 24 hours when you are 3? Or when you are 31? Seriously! It took some convincing (on both our ends) to just leave them alone. So we waited, and boy were they worth the wait.
I recently discovered how yummy swiss meringue buttercream is while making this Orange and Thyme Cake, so I jumped at the chance to double boil some egg whites and try colouring the buttercream instead of flavouring with raspberries. I’m still sold. Sorry American Buttercream, I don’t know when I’ll be back!
Now that the cake is devoured, I have to say that the 2 year wait for an excuse to make this cake was well worth it. Molly has nailed the flavours, and density of this cake through all her trial and errors. And how impressive is it when you tell someone you even made the sprinkles? I know I’d be impressed!
MOLLY YEH’S FUNFETTI CAKE
cake adapted from My Name Is Yeh, sprinkles adapted from Hummingbird High, swiss meringue buttercream adapted from Styles Sweet CA
ingredients
sprinkles:
8 oz. confectioner’s sugar, sifted to remove clumps!
1 egg white, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
assorted artificial food colour
cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (Molly uses clear imitation vanilla to get that 90’s funfetti taste, however I just used regular because that is all my little grocery store had!)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sprinkles
swiss meringue buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
2 tablespoons vanilla extract (Molly uses clear imitation vanilla to get that 90’s funfetti taste, however I just used regular because that is all my little grocery store hard!)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sprinkles
swiss meringue buttercream
1 cup plus, divided
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teapsoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
steps
sprinkles:
Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine confectioner’s sugar, egg white, extracts and salt. Mix the ingredients on low feed until a paste forms. Scrape down the bowl and continue mixing until all the confectioner’s sugar is fully incorporated.
Divide the creamy paste into separate bowls – as many as you have colours – and tint each bowl-full with your choice of bright colours. Make sure to stir until the colour is mixed consistently.
Transfer each colour to a piping bag fitted with the smallest pastry tip (I used Wilton’s #2). Pipe out long, thing lines on a cookie sheet, ensure the lines to do touch each other.
Repeat this process with all colours (you may need multiple (multiple-multiple) cookie sheets!). Allow sprinkles to set, uncovered in a dry place, for 24 total hours. (I know what you are thinking! Boy that is that ever a long time to wait… but it is SO worth it!)
Once the piped lines have completely dried (inside and out!), use a bench scraper or a butter knife to break and/or chop the pipes lines into short, sprinkle sized pieces. Use immediately or store in a dry, airtight container for up to 1 month!
cake:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease two 8-inch cake pans. Make sure to line your pans with parchment paper rounds and spray those as well! No sticky business here!
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg whites, one at at a time, mixing well after each one. Add int he vanilla and oil.
When mixed, add your flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk (starting and ending with flour). Mix just until combined and smooth.
Fold in 2/3 cup of sprinkles. Make sure to use a spatula to fold them in, not the stand mixer. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sprinkles over the top (this ensure that if sprinkles drop while baking, there will still be some floating in the middle)!
Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cook for a few minutes before removing from pans. Flip them on to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites sugar. Whisk with a hand whisk until combined.
In a small saucepan, bring a few inches of water to simmer. Place the stand mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler. Make sure water continues to simmer (not boil!) and that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
Heat the egg white mixture until it reaches a temperature of 155-160F, stirring occasionally. Once the temperature is reached, carefully transfer the bowl the to stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for 8 minutes. This will help cook the mixture down to room temperature and will create medium stiff peaks. Stop the mixer and switch to the paddle attachment.
Slowly add in the room temperature butter, a couple tablespoons at a time. Once the butter is completely mixed, add in the vanilla paste and vanilla bean seeds.
Continue to mix until the buttercream is smooth, creamy and free of air bubbles!
assembly:
Assemble the 2 layered cake as you wish, spreading a generous layer of buttercream between the two cake discs. For this cake, I opted to make a blue ombre (to make it a little more manly for the birthday boy)!
Frosting ingredients say yolks but directions says whites??