Vanilla confetti cake

A light, fluffy and absolutely delicious three-layer vanilla sponge cake scattered with bright, colourful sprinkles (also called a Confetti or Funfetti cake) and sandwiched with layers of soft vanilla buttercream. This is a classic and joyful celebratory cake that looks impressive but really is so easy and simple to make even if you're a beginner. If you can fold ingredients together, you can make this - simple, reliable baking at its best.

Time to prepare : 20 minutes

Time to bake : 25 minutes

Time to decorate : 20 minutes

Servings : 12 slices

Ingredients

330g butter, softened

330g caster sugar

6 eggs

330g plain flour

4½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1½ tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp milk

80g sprinkles* (the only ones I use for baking are these)

Buttercream

225g butter, softened

450g icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp milk

1½ tsp vanilla extract*

Pinch of salt

Extra sprinkles, to decorate.

See my notes below on tips for getting the buttercream 'bright' white.

Method

Vanilla sponges:

1. Pre-heat a fan oven to 160ºC. Grease and line 3 x 8" (20cm) cake tins with baking paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to mix. Set to one side.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, use an electric mixer (or standing mixer with paddle attachment) to beat the softened butter for 2 minutes until smooth and lightened in colour. Add the caster sugar and continue to beat for 4 minutes, until pale, fluffy and fully creamed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

4. Fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined. Add the vanilla and milk and gently mix until no dry flour streaks remain, being careful not to overmix.

5. Add the sprinkles and fold through once or twice only, until evenly distributed.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon or spatula. It doesn't have to be exact but if you have a pair of scales, it's roughly 480g of batter per tin.

7. Bake in the oven on the centre rack for about 25 minutes until the sponges are golden and have a soft spring back when gently pressed with fingertips.

8. Leave the sponges to cool in their tins for 15 minutes, then turn out and place upside down on a wire cooling rack to cool completely (this helps flatten the tops). Ensure the cakes are fully cool before decorating.

Buttercream, layering & decorating:

1. To make the buttercream, add the butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer (or standing mixer with paddle attachment) to beat the butter until it's pale and fluffy for at least 5 minutes* until very pale, light and fluffy. Add in the sieved icing sugar, gradually, and continue to beat on a low speed until smooth and fully combined. Add in the vanilla and milk and mix again until you have a smooth, spreadable consistency. You can add more milk ½ tbsp at a time if you want to loosen the mix.

2. Once the sponges are cooled, they're ready to decorate. I like to remove the very thin top 'dome' layer of each sponge with a serrated bread knife so I have three completely lat layers, but this is entirely optional - cooling the sponges upside down helps a lot.

3. To assemble the cake, spoon 2 - 3 heaped tbsps of the buttercream frosting on the top of one of the sponges and smooth it out using the back of the spoon, so that it evenly covers the sponge. This will be the bottom layer.

4. Sandwich the second sponge on top and gently press down. Spoon another 3 heaped tbsp's on top of the second sponge, smooth it out and sandwich the third sponge on top.

5. Use the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides of the cake, smoothing with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Don’t worry about perfection - long sweeps and swirls give a lovely rustic finish.

6. Cover the top and sides with sprinkles.

Nutritional Information

(per slice, with buttercream)

750 calories

8g protein, 60g carbs, 54g fat

Good to know:

• Vegetarian.

• Use gluten-free flour to make this GF.

• Sprinkles. Not all of them are great for baking (only for decorating!). Avoid hundreds and thousands, nonpareils and metallic sprinkles - as these all tend to bleed and melt into the batter. The ones I buy and love are these. And don't be tempted to think more = better, more than 80g of sprinkles creates a dense sponge with a muddy the colour.

• Softened butter. Using properly softened butter makes a huge difference to both the sponge and the buttercream. It should be soft enough that your finger presses straight through with little resistance.

• White buttercream, my 4 top tips:

  • Whip the butter on a medium - high speed setting for at least 5 minutes to get a much paler coloured buttercream. This difference alone is huge.

  • Add a clear vanilla extract.

  • Add a white food colouring at the very end, usually 1 tsp is plenty.

  • And just like a purple-rinse can brighten blonde highlights, a touch (like...1cm of a toothpick dipped in) of purple food colouring is often what professionals on a food styling shoot will use.

• Storage.

  • The assembled cake can be stored at room temperature for a few hours or in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container or cake box. Remove from the fridge at least 30 minutes before eating it to allow it to come to room temperature - cold buttercream is nowhere near as delicious as when served at room temperature!

  • Store sliced cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

  • Individual slices can also be frozen for up to 3 months.