Confetti Layer Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 6, 2014
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 10 to 12 (Makes 1 cake)
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk, room temperature6 large egg whites, room temperature1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 ¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour 1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened¾ cup rainbow sprinkles 4-6 drops yellow food coloring 6 cups Vanilla Frosting
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Pulse ½ cup sprinkles in food processor until coarsely ground, 8 to 10 pulses; set aside. Whisk milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but ½ cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining ½ cup milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand. Stir ground sprinkles into cake batter.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 21 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
- Mix food coloring into frosting. Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment to keep platter clean. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread ¾ cup frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake. Repeat with 1 more cake layer, pressing lightly to adhere, and ¾ cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer, pressing lightly to adhere. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Press remaining ¼ cup sprinkles around bottom edge of cake. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours coolingYield
Serves 10 to 12 (Makes 1 cake)Ingredients
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
¾ cup rainbow sprinkles
4-6 drops yellow food coloring
6 cups Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
¾ cup rainbow sprinkles
4-6 drops yellow food coloring
6 cups Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1 ¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
¾ cup rainbow sprinkles
4-6 drops yellow food coloring
6 cups Vanilla Frosting
Why This Recipe Works
The boxed version of this colorful cake was fine when we were kids, but for a truly celebration-worthy cake, we developed our own better-tasting version. After pulsing rainbow sprinkles in the food processor until they’re just the right size, we mix them into our favorite fluffy white layer cake batter. Three layers ensure an impressively tall cake, and pale yellow frosting provides the perfect creamy backdrop for more brightly colored sprinkles.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Pulse ½ cup sprinkles in food processor until coarsely ground, 8 to 10 pulses; set aside. Whisk milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but ½ cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining ½ cup milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand. Stir ground sprinkles into cake batter.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth tops with rubber spatula. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 21 to 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, discarding parchment, and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
- Mix food coloring into frosting. Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment to keep platter clean. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread ¾ cup frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake. Repeat with 1 more cake layer, pressing lightly to adhere, and ¾ cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer, pressing lightly to adhere. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Press remaining ¼ cup sprinkles around bottom edge of cake. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
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