funfetti cake

When I was a kid, birthday parties meant one thing: awesomeness. It was a place where you could count on all the finer things in life: greasy pizza, violent swings at a pinata, getting overdosed on candy — and your parents totally being cool about it — being held to the ground and having gallons of water shot into your face by the kid who was held back several years and brought the water gun with a backpack to the squirt gun fight, errr make up and princess dresses and, of course, my favorite part: the birthday cake. There are several which my innocent little mind still remembers — the pretty pink barbie cake, the obnoxiously purple and green Barney cake, and the best of all — the funfetti cake, with bright pops of color (which are basically little explosions of happiness) throughout soft white cake, cuddled under a creamy white frosting, topped with yes, more pops of awesomeness. Seriously, people, grown-ups are so boring.

So when my mother asked me to make a cake for my baby sister’s twenty-first birthday I knew, I had to go back to my roots — after all, I can’t have my sister think that being grown up is all about sophistication and independence, can I? Now, there is not really a recipe for funfetti cake, all you need are some magic jimmies (or sprinkles, for those of us who are still a child at heart). So, the real test was in finding the perfect white cake, which wasn’t too hard once I found Martha (yes, I think we will be two peas in a pod from here on out, so get ready). From there is was just a matter of mixing up the batter, throwing in enough sprinkles to make the cake pop (meaning, I don’t think you can have too many), frosting, and then delving your fork into simple childhood.

Funfetti Cake
Cake adapted from Martha Stewart and Frosting from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook

For Cake Layers
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup oblong sprinkles

For Frosting
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
Sprinkles

Make Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, and line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Add sprinkles, mix just until incorporated evenly throughout batter.

Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

Frosting: Whip the egg yolks in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until slightly thickened and pale yellow, 4 to 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes.

Without letting the hot sugar mixture cool off, turn the mixer to low and slowly pour in the warm sugar syrup into the whipped egg yolks without letting it hit the sides of the bowl or the beaters. (Meg note: It cools quickly and will stick and harden to the sides of your bowl/beaters if you do not pour it directly into the egg mixture; however, you will want to pour it in slowly otherwise you will scramble your eggs.) Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy and the bowl is no longer warm, 5 to 10 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the vanilla and salt. Gradually add the butter, one piece at a time, until completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the buttercream until smooth and silky, about 2 minutes. (if the mixture looks curdled, wrap a hot wet towel around the bowl and continue to whip until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.)

Assembly: Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with frosting. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides. Decorate with sprinkles.

Store unfrosted cakes at room temperature up to 1 day or triple wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer for up to a week. Once frosted, serve within a few hours.