recipe 09: funfetti cake

two ways

If you’ve found yourself here from TikTok then you know I just kicked off a little series I’m calling “yolkless” which highlights recipes that utilize egg whites only. Because recently I’ve found myself with an excess of whites from testing some egg yolk heavy recipes and from making losta ice cream tbh. Normally, an excess of whites is easily managed by the fact that I’m making so much swiss buttercream for cakes. But it’s truly an insane amount I’ve got in the freezer right now. So this, is one of those yolkless recipes.

I’ve got two go-to funfetti recipes- one that uses whole eggs and the second uses whipped egg whites. There was a time when I thought I was too good for funfetti cake. When I had no time to entertain the simple pleasure of vanilla cake with sprinkles. I actually spent a great deal of time rejecting things that were “plain” or “basic” or dare I say “childish” . I was naive. But, I’ve grown up. And I’m better now for embracing my love of funfetti cake. Because let’s face it- yeah its just a vanilla cake with sprinkles but there is something so comforting in the nostalgia of funfetti cake that I’ll never let go of again.

My favorite thing to do when baking funfetti cake is coordinating the sprinkles to the colors of the event if I’m aware of it before hand. For example when my sister graduated I used sprinkles in her school colors. You can buy individual colored sprinkles from specialty cake shops and mix your own blends. Not necessary but I think it’s a nice touch. And I would avoid using non-pariels as the color tends to bleed quickly while mixing and can muddy the color of your batter. I typically use this type of sprinkle or quins (which are aptly named after sequins :))

Anyways… this recipe size makes 3- 6” cake layers, 2 8” cake layers or one single quarter sheet tray layer.

*both of these cake recipes are best served at room temp, so if you’re storing them in the fridge until it’s time to serve them. Allow them to temper by pulling them out of the fridge an hour and a half to two hours before serving*

---

Ingredients:

• 115 grams unsalted butter, room temp

• 205 grams granulated sugar

• 100 grams egg (approx 2 large eggs)

• 195 grams all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 75 grams sprinkles

• 175 grams buttermilk

• 25 grams canola oil

• 5 grams vanilla extract/ vanilla bean paste

Directions:

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 335F.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together your butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda salt and sprinkles. Set aside.

4. Add the eggs to the creamed butter and sugar, one at a time- scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.

5. Add half of the dry ingredients on low speed. Allow the dries to incorporate for about 10 seconds.

6. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and add in your buttermilk, canola oil and vanilla.

7. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the remaining dry ingredients.

8. Mix on medium speed for about 20 seconds being sure not to over mix. There should be a few dry pockets.

9. Stop the mixer and finish folding in any dry pockets by hand with a rubber spaltula.

10. For 3-6” cake layers weigh 300 grams of batter into parchment lined baking pans, for 2- 8” cake layers weigh 450 grams into parchment lined baking pans.

11. Using a small off-set spatula or the back of a spoon- smooth out the batter around the baking tin.

12. Bake the cakes for about 30 minutes under evenly golden brown. The cake should also spring back when gently tapped in the center. You can also use a cake tester or toothpick to check the doneness, either should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs stuck on.

13. Cool completely before filling and frosting the cake!

14. Enjoy!!

    ---

And for the yolkless version:

This next recipe is a tad more advanced as it involves whipping egg whites and folding them into the batter. Using whipped egg whites gives the cake even more of a rise as it acts as a natural leavening in addition to the baking powder.

The texture of the cake its tender and light, I would almost call it cloud like. We can credit that to the corn starch which basically serves as cake flour dupe. AP flour and cornstarch are both starches that absorb liquid in the cake batter making it tender. But, cornstarch unlike flour doesn’t produce gluten when it comes in contact with liquids giving a lighter, bouncier crumb to the cake.

This cake calls for canola oil, or any neutral flavored oil. But, olive oil also works great here if you want to add a little bit more flavor.

This recipe makes enough for 1-8” round cake or 2-6” round cakes (you can easily half this to make one 6” cake too, I know you’re not all like me… making cakes… every day for a livin, I’m just tryna give you options OKAY)

Ingredients:

• 285 grams canola oil

• 365 grams whole milk

• 16 grams vanilla extract

• 250 grams granulated sugar (1)

• 310 grams all-purpose flour

• 35 grams cornstarch

• 1 Tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt

• 160 grams egg whites (about 5 large egg whites)

• 110 grams granulated sugar (2)

• 100 grams sprinkles *optional*

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 340F and line 3-8" cake pans with parchment paper.

2. Combine the milk, canola oil and vanilla extract. Set aside. 

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1st sugar amount with the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

4. Begin to whip your egg whites and second amount of sugar together on a medium speed until they start to become foamy. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer for this :)

5. Keep an eye on the egg whites as they whip, once you start to see visible trace lines of the tines of the whisk in the meringue—it’s time to combine the wet and dry ingredients.

6. Add the milk mixture into your dry ingredients, whisking to combine. Set aside until the meringue reaches stiff peaks. You want to do this as close to the meringue being ready as possible to avoid the starches absorbing too much of the liquid in the batter! It'll make folding in the egg white much easier and give the cake a fluffier rise! 

7. Once the meringue is at soft-medium peaks, fold it into the batter 1/3 at a time, being careful not to over mix. Right before the meringue is fully incorporated into the batter add the sprinkles and incorporate them with the last few folds.

8. Weigh out 500 grams of cake batter into each cake tin for 8” cakes or 250 grams in each 6” tin.

9. Bake for 33-36 minutes for 8” cakes or 22-25 minutes for 6” cakes(it'll depend on your oven but you'll know when the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs and the edges start to pull from the pan. Or when the internal temperature reads 205F.) 

10. Allow the cakes to cool for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan.

11. Allow the layers to cool completely before stacking, filling and decorating.

12. Enjoy ♡

tysm!!! xoxo, kassie ♡