Fluffy Vanilla Sprinkle Cake with creamy vanilla bean buttercream! This easy vanilla sponge recipe is perfect for birthdays and celebrations. This is a layer cake version of my popular School Dinner Cake with the sprinkles in the batter and on top.
You will also love my simple Vanilla Loaf Cake!
Vanilla Cake topped with sprinkles = Joy! We all need a simple yellow birthday cake recipe to fall back on and this easy vanilla sponge cake is just that!
Fluffy yet moist crumb, dotted with sprinkles Funfetti style, this homemade sprinkle cake just needs candles and a chorus of “Happy Birthday”!
EASY VANILLA SPONGE
I used to get so stressed whenever my kids birthdays were looming. I always agonised over the cake and would stress over what to make for weeks before the big day.
Silly me! Turns out young children are ALWAYS happy with a beautiful sprinkle birthday cake! This all-in-one vanilla sponge will take the stress out of dessert – it’s so easy you can mix it in five minutes!
You simply have to combine all the ingredients in a bowl, beat to combine and bake! Just make sure the ingredients are all room temperature so that they play well together.
Turn your sprinkle cake into a wonderful homemade Funfetti Cake by folding in some bake-stable rainbow sprinkles. Because you can never have too many!
VANILLA BEAN BUTTERCREAM
This cake will be happy with any kind of frosting but for me it is best with a simple American vanilla buttercream. Using vanilla bean paste instead of extract adds the lovely vanilla speckles and tons of flavour!
Adding double cream or even heavy milk into your frosting makes it lighter and fluffier – I could eat it straight from the bowl!
If you prefer a slightly less sweet frosting then use the Swiss Vanilla Buttercream recipe in this Ombre Layer Cake.
TIPS FOR BEST VANILLA SPRINKLE CAKE
- All ingredients including butter eggs and milk should be at room temperature in order to achieve a smooth batter. If one or more of the ingredients are cold they will cause your batter to split or look curdled.
- Cut cold butter into cubes and leave for an hour on your counter to warm up or use margarine. You can also warm butter by blasting for a few seconds in the microwave on the DEFROST setting.
- Avoid opening the oven too often – or too early! – to check if the cake is done or your oven will start losing heat.
- Leave the sponges to cool completely before frosting. Even a little heat will melt the buttercream!
- Your buttercream will be a creamy colour, not pure white –If you want to create a pure white buttercream you can add a tiny amount of Sugarflair Superwhite Icing Whitener or Wilton White Liquid Icing Colour.
- The cake layers can be prepared up to two days in advance. Wrap in clingfilm and store in a cool spot in your kitchen.
- This Funfetti cake will stay moist and fresh for several days in a covered cake container.
USEFUL TOOLS
- I always rely on a digital scale to measure my ingredients.
- Use a hand mixer, a stand mixer or a food processor to make this vanilla cake recipe just make sure all ingredients are room temperature.
- You will need three 8 inch cake pans for this recipe or you can use four 6 inch cake pans for a taller cake. You can also bake it as a vanilla tray bake using a 9×13 inch rectangular cake tin.
- I prefer to use a cake release spray for most of my baking – easier than greasing and dusting cake tins with flour.
HAVE YOU MADE MY VANILLA SPRINKLE CAKE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!
Vanilla Sprinkle Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 350 g ( 2¾ cups) plain flour (all purpose flour or cake flour)
- 330 g (1 ⅔ cups) sugar caster or granulated
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt omit if you are using margarine
- 200 g (7/8 cup) softened unsalted butter or margarine / Stork
- 3 large eggs
- 180 ml (¾ cup) milk room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp bake-stable sprinkles (optional)
Frosting & decoration
- 520 g (4 cups) icing sugar (powdered sugar) preferably sifted
- 160 g (¾ cup) softened unsalted butter
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) double cream (heavy cream)
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- gel food colouring optional
- sprinkles to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Mist three 20cm /8inch cake tins with cake release and line the bases with baking parchment.
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda bicarb. in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract and butter or margarine.
- Start beating at lowest speed setting until ingredients come together. Increase the speed to maximum and beat until the batter is completely smooth – about 30 seconds to one minute.
- Fold in the sprinkles, if using, for a Funfetti cake.
- Divide between the prepared cake pans and bake 25-28 minutes or until the cakes are golden and feels springy to the touch. A skewer or knife inserted in the centre should come out clean – if not cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Leave the cakes to cool for five minutes then carefully turn out on a wire rack to cool.
Make the frosting
- Combine all the frosting ingredients and beat together, on lowest speed setting initially, then increase to maximum speed until frosting holds peaks.
Assemble the cake
- Level the cake layers, if needed. Sandwich together with a thin layer of frosting and smooth frosting over top and sides.
- Tint remaining buttercream with the colour of your choice (or leave it white) and then pipe over top of the cake to decorate.
- Add plenty of sprinkles and serve!
Video
Notes
- Unless specified otherwise all your ingredients including butter eggs and milk should be at room temperature in order to achieve a smooth batter. If one or more of the ingredients are cold they will cause your batter to split or look curdled.
- If your milk is cold from the fridge then heat briefly in the microwave or saucepan until just tepid. Make sure the milk is body temperature – not too hot!
- Place cold eggs into warm water for five minutes to bring them back to room temperature.
- Cut cold butter into cubes and leave for an hour on your counter to warm up or use margarine.
How do I know if my cake is done?
- Oven temperatures can vary so set a timer for 5 minutes before the specified time. The cake is done when the top is springy to the touch, the cake has just started to pull away from the edge of the tin and a skewer or toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Avoid opening the oven too often – or too early! – to check if the cake is done or your oven will start losing heat.
Alia says
If you’re looking for a quick vanilla sponge recipe – this one is an easy one bowl version that yields a really soft moist sponge.