Funfetti Birthday Cake!

Upon request: a Funfetti birthday cake for my friend Richard. You know, the same one that ate my gingerbread house... >:-\  (I'm still a little bitter about that.)

This is basically your best white cake recipe with a quarter cup -or more ;) of sprinkles. (Make sure they are the long kind. I have tried to make a confetti cake with the flat and non-glossy sprinkles before... doesn't work. They "bleed" in the batter.) 

White Cake + Sprinkles = Funfetti Cake

I didn't have a white cake recipe but I found one at The Way the Cookie Crumbles...she did all the hard work for me! :) She compared three white cake recipes: Cooks Illustrated (always fantastic!), Dorrie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake, and a combination of the two - a recipe which she tweaked to be her ultimate white cake recipe. So, I gave hers a try. Here is my review: Flavor was perfect. Texture was pretty darn close. Her review said it was a little too sweet and she added a little extra milk to replace the sugar she took out.  I think the sweetness was just right but I think it could have been slightly moister.... I wonder if I remembered to add the extra 2 tbs milk when I made this cake. Hmmm....? Maybe I'll try 3 next time ;) Note that its important to keep your ingredients in proportion... so don't try to over do the extra milk... you'll end up with a sloppy mess.  More on the science of baking at Culinate.com; my most recently discovered foodie website. 

White Cake

The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Serves 12 -16

Nonstick cooking spray
2¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces), plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (¾ cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (11.35 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool

1. For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

4. Add all but ½ cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1½ minutes. Add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

*If making a funfetti cake add 1/4 cup - although I think it could have used a half cup - of sprinkles.

5. Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

6. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1½ hours.

I frosted this cake with a fluffy white frosting that tasted like a cross between "Fluff" and "Cool Whip".  I think I'd like a buttercream for this recipe better... but no doubt the fluffy white frosting was delicious. I'm planning to use it to top off some s'mores cupcakes ;)

Nutrition Facts: (1/12 of cake)

Calories 318, Fat 12.5g, Carbs 47g, Sugars 28.6g, Protien 5.1g,