Soft and buttery vanilla sheet cake filled to the brim with sprinkles. Topped with my favorite creamy vanilla frosting and, as expected, more sprinkles.
Here’s a giant cake filled to the brim with sprinkles. It’s topped with sweet and creamy homemade vanilla frosting. It’s big enough to feed an army of sprinkle and cake and frosting lovers. Is there a better way to end a wonderful year??
Yes! Add more sprinkles on top.
Funfetti sheet cake is what dreams are made of. Let’s dig in.
I have to be honest, I made this funfetti cake back in October and have waited this long to share the recipe with you. Pumpkin, Thanksgiving, and all those Christmas cookies got in the way. Sorry? I did, however, make it again this past weekend to bring to some friends. Just as tasty as I remember.
Anyway. Having a loved sheet cake recipe in your baking repertoire is priceless. It’s a fun-filled cake that you can bring along to potlucks, office parties, birthday parties, and basically anywhere you need to feed a crowd some dessert. I have a recipe for a three layer confetti cake, but I’ve never made a sprinkle sheet cake before, so this recipe was fun to play around with. The most important part about this cake recipe (and, well, any cake recipe) is having the correct size pan. I can’t tell you how many readers have contacted me about a cake recipe catastrophe. Only to find out they weren’t using the correct size pan. Whoops!
This sheet cake requires a 12×17-inch jelly roll/half sheet pan. I own 5 of these pans. They are DYNAMITE in the kitchen. I bake cookies on them, I cool toffee on them, roast vegetables on them, and I make sheet cakes in them. A fabulous multipurpose sheet pan is irreplaceable. Please, from one baker to another, get this pan. You can also use it to make this chocolate cake roll.
And a huge supporter of frosting. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Also important: using the right ingredients. Quite often, I hear about recipe disasters stemming from using substitutions. Like using margarine for butter, baking soda for baking powder (don’t do that! ever!), using almond flour for all-purpose, etc. Recipes that are developed with certain ingredients won’t turn out the same unless you’ve been testing and playing around with the recipe. I always suggest making the recipe as written first and then playing around with the recipe as you see fit. Some ingredients in some recipes shouldn’t be altered. And for this recipe? It’s pretty much all of them.
Every single ingredient plays a major roll in this thin cake’s texture, taste, and appearance. The butter and vanilla give the cake unbeatable vanilla cake flavor while creaming the butter and sugar give the cake its soft, cake-like texture. The two eggs tenderize and give structure while the whole milk leaves the cake moist. The yogurt (an acid) reacts with the baking soda to leaven the cake, and the flour is… well… everything. The only room for substitutions would be using sour cream instead of yogurt and other types of milk instead of whole milk. Please see my recipe notes for further details. If you’d like to leave the yogurt out all together, you’d have to sub in a different moist ingredient as well as use baking powder– and play around with that amount. And you’ll have a completely different tasting cake. What a headache. So, always follow a recipe.
On top of this buttery, sprinkle filled sheet cake is my classic vanilla frosting. My prized frosting, my favorite frosting! One of them, at least. There is just enough frosting to get that creamy extra sweetness in every bite, but not too much to take away from the fluffy cake hiding underneath. A fabulous cake to frosting ratio.
The happiest cake for the happiest new year. 😀 For more sprinkle-filled happy desserts, add my confetti sprinkle cheesecake and cake batter chocolate chip cookies to your list, too!
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Funfetti Sheet Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 25-30
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft and buttery vanilla sheet cake filled to the brim with sprinkles. Topped with my favorite creamy vanilla frosting and, as expected, more sprinkles. This recipe requires a 12×17 half sheet jelly roll pan.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt*
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk*
- 1/2 cup (94g) rainbow sprinkles, plus more for decoration*
Vanilla Frosting
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2–3 Tablespoons (30-45ml) whole milk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease and lightly flour a 12×17-inch half sheet/jelly roll pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed and beat until fluffy and light in color. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. You’ll need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl to get it all mixed a couple times. Beat in the yogurt on medium high speed until combined.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Pour half of this flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds. Pour in half of the milk. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the flour and beat in the remainder of the milk until combined and smooth. Do not overmix. Fold in the sprinkles.
- Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out into a thin, even layer. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Make sure you rotate the cake pan once or twice during bake time if your oven has hot spots (mine does). Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack. As the cake is cooling, make the frosting.
- For the frosting: Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy—about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more milk if frosting is too thick, or a pinch more of salt if frosting is way too sweet.
- Spread frosting all over cooled cake, then top with sprinkles. Slice and serve. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cake can be made 1 day in advance, covered tightly at room temperature, and then frosted before serving. Frosting can also be made 1 day ahead of time—cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12×17-inch Baking Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt, regular plain yogurt, or sour cream are all OK. Do not use nonfat; I suggest full fat or low fat.
- Milk: I highly recommend whole milk for the richest taste and moistest texture. 1% or higher milk fat is ok, as well as nondairy (low fat, not nonfat) milks. Whole milk (or even half-and-half or cream) is best in the frosting as well.
- 9×13-Inch Cake: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13-inch pan and bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Be sure to tent the cake with foil after 20 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning on the top and sides.
- Sprinkles: Here is where I buy my rainbow jimmies sprinkles in bulk. Do not use nonpareils (the little ball sprinkles) inside the cake batter because they bleed color. You can, however, decorate the frosting with nonpareils like I did in these photos.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Wow this was easy to make and so far looks really good! I made it a couple days in advance for my son’s birthday party (he wanted a cake decorating party so I’m going to cut it up into little cakes for his buddies to frost). I’m wondering what the best way to store it is? I don’t bake frequently (thanks so much for giving really easy-to-follow instructions) so I’m not really sure. You say in the recipe to wrap and store at room temp for a day, but the party is in 3 days. Would it be better to fridge it? Thanks!
Hi Julia, What a fun party! I recommend covering it tightly and storing it in the refrigerator. Have fun!
Can I use this recipe for a layered cake as opposed to your funfetti layer cake recipe? I like the consistency of cake flour. Please let me know?
Thank so much
You can certainly try making this in 2 round cake pans instead. The bake time will be shorter. However if you like cake flour better then I suggest sticking with the layer cake since it calls for cake flour: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/funfetti-layer-cake/
Yum!! I made this for my daughter’s 4th birthday and my mother told me this was the best cake I’ve ever baked and I have made a lot of cakes!!
Holy Moly this cake recipe is AMAZING!! I followed the recipe exactly, including using room temperature ingredients and ensuring the butter and sugar were well combined and beautifully whipped. The cake was buttery and delicious!! Blows the milk bar confetti cake out of the water, in my opinion.
I doubled the recipe and made (2) 9×13 cakes and stacked them on top of each other. They took around 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Sally, I used this cake two years ago as the base for my oldest child’s smash cake. It was such a hit that the following month my husband requested it for his own smash cake…seriously. Today I made it for my youngest child’s smash cake. The taste I had of it was delicious, as always. I put spinkles on the sides and top. I used about a third of this cake for the three layers of the smash cake, and had enough frosting for it and the remaining cake. I also made your baby muffins with strawberries for his daycare snack. Your recipes are my guilty pleasure! Thanks!
Okay, so I used a half sheet pan like specified but my batter spilled over the pan as well. What could be the issue? My son (10 year old) is always baking things with me, usually there are no issues, and we have used your other recipes before. Suggestions?
Hi Savita! Is it the 12×17 inch cake pan? How tall are the lips around the edges?
Around the edge it’s not very tall, but yes, that is the correct dimensions of it. Should I use a 9×13 next time with tall sides? We were making a practice cake because we will be having a bbq soon and my son wants to be in charge of dessert.
For a thicker cake that won’t overflow, definitely bake in a 9×13 inch cake pan.
My family loved this cake. Made as per instructions without any issues, thank you for sharing the recipe
I made this last Saturday for my son’s birthday party and everyone loved it. I did not make any alterations from the recipe and made it about 24 hours before the party. It turned out nice and moist and I like that the frosting wasn’t too thick.
I was super excited to have someone share this recipe with me when I indicated that I was looking for a confetti cake recipe to make for my goddaughter’s fifth birthday. I wish I could write that it turned out well, but unfortunately it was a flat greasy mess that I had to toss in the trash bin. My kitchen scale was not working so I couldn’t weigh the ingredients, but I used 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter.
I used a jelly roll pan and found that the cake spilled over the rim a tiny bit while in the oven. I think I would have been fine with it had it not fallen during the cooling stage and been inedible due to the greasiness.
I would like to make the cake again but would appreciate direction on why the cake fell and turned out greasy.
Ok so I bought all the ingredients for this beautiful cake and now I read all these reviews and I’m really really confused!! So am I to bake this cake in a jelly roll pan or a 13 x 9 cake pan?? What’s all this talk about it being too spongy and too moist and why is all that??? Please help!!!!
Hi Angela! You can bake this cake in a jelly roll pan or a 9×13 inch cake pan.
I am also wondering if I can use cake flour for this instead of all purpose flour.
Thanks!
The cake is light and fluffy with AP flour, but you can try it with cake flour and see how you like it!
I made this cake today and it is perfect! When I made the frosting I thought there was no way I had enough but in fact it is the first cake that didn’t rip during frosting or make a mess. The frosting is toddler approved and the cake batter was fabulous.
Would it be at all possible to replace some of the flour with (unsweetened) cocoa powder? My child wants a chocolate sheetcake for his birthday and the vanilla version of this is by far the best sheet cake recipe I’ve found.
Thanks
Hi Ruth! I don’t suggest it– chocolate cake is totally different! I strongly suggest using this chocolate sheet cake recipe. It’s my favorite! I think you’ll all really like.
Hi! I know what you said about not substituting ingredients, but my family is all vegan. I just wanted to say that we have made this cake for my son’s birthday every year (third birthday this year!) and the cake turns out wonderful with the substitutions we use. Just in case any other vegans come across this website, the substitutions I use are Earth Balance for butter, unsweetened vanilla almond milk for milk, Ener-g egg replacer for eggs, and vanilla soy yogurt for yogurt.
I’ve made several vegan cake recipes, but this is definitely my favorite recipe to make. Turns out really good every time!
That’s GREAT to know!! Thanks so much for sharing.
To add to my previous comment, make sure to use almond milk!
I tried the recipe with cashew milk instead of almond milk since cashew milk is thicker like whole cow’s milk, and it didn’t turn out well. It still tastes ok, but it fell in the middle and was really dense.
This looks amazing!! How high does this typically bake? I plan on making this 3 layered (1inch each). so was trying to figure out the height of cake that this recipe would yoeld. TIA!
Hello – I was wondering how this cake would hold up as a layer cake if I doubled the recipe? I sometimes find sheet cakes to be too soft/moist that they are difficult to handle.
Thanks!
Doubling and then baking it as a layer cake shouldn’t be an issue. Unsure of the exact bake times of the layers though.
This was probably the best cake I have ever made and with 5 children, I make a lot of cakes! It is so buttery and the frosting, get out!! Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m making it again this week – it’s that good!
Hello! I was tasked with making a birthday cake this weekend and I’m kind of new to sheet cakes/baking for larger parties. I’m looking to bake this cake for 30 people, will this recipe be enough? Also the birthday girl is lactose intolerant – will this work with lactose free milk and other lactose free ingredients (milk, yogurt, etc.)? Last question, I plan on layering two of these cakes, do you think the cake itself (after freezing or refrigerating) will be strong enough to layer?
Thanks so much!
Megan
Megan, this cake will work as a layer cake. It will be enough for 30. Lactose-free yogurt and milk should be fine. Enjoy the cake!
Hey there Sally I found your website last year when I visited canada from the Uk .
The recipes I made was the yummy Strawberry shortcake cupcake recipe. It was awesome!!
I have a question about the funfetti sheet cake recipe . My question is – can I turn it into a Swiss roll ??
Any way your recipes look fab
I don’t suggest this cake for a swiss roll– it’s a little too heavy to roll neatly.
Sally,
I love almost of your recipes, but I have to say this one just did not work out for me. It looked fine, but the taste was incredibly sweet. I threw out the entire cake. Just a warning to those who plan to make this cake, make sure that you really like sweet desserts. Otherwise, I would consider baking something else….
Hi Sally,
I want to make this for my daughter’s birthday party. How well does this do in multiple layers?
Should work just fine.
Hi Sally,
I need to make a sheet cake for my niece’s birthday and was wondering if taking out the sprinkles would alter the final crumb/texture of the cake or are they just there for a little bit of fun, no pun intended.
Thanks
You can leave out the sprinkles.
Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!! I can’t wait toake it for my daughter’s birthday at the of the month
I read through your post and the part about substitutes, but cannot help asking this question: substitutes for eggs please? :-(. We are vegetarians…
Thanks much!
This is a fantastic recipe! The taste is great and the look is so fun. I just made this for my daughters 6th birthday party. This was the first time I’ve ever made a sheet cake. And although it took me 3 rounds to get it right (only due to my lake of pan knowledge ;)…the cake kept sticking to the pan! I finally used parchment on the last try) I learned so much and am very glad I used your recipe. I will 100% be making this again and sharing your recipe. Thank you for your detailed and easy to follow recipes on this site. You really are very talented.
Hi Sally!
I made this cake for my birthday yesterday (yes….I am waaaaaaay over 30 but I cannot shake my love of sprinkles! : ) It baked up beautifully and was so easy! Everyone in the house is now asking for it for THEIR birthday 🙂 Delicious! Thank you!!!
Dear Sally,
I’m really interested in your Funfetti cake. It looks really good!
I’m planning to make a 3-tiered layer (frozen theme) cake for my daughter’s 6 year old party. I only have 9 inch, 8 inch and 6 inch pans. Is that good or should I do 10, 8 and 6 inch pans? If so, what are the baking times for each pan? Will the cake be too dense to do tiered layer cake?
Her party is on March 7th so it would be great to hear from you then.
Thanks,
Ling
I would do 10, 8, and 6 inch cake pans. Unfortunately, I am unsure of the bake times for them! Use a toothpick to test for doneness. This cake isn’t too dense at all for it. What a fun party that will be!
This is fabulous! My hubby’s favorite cake is the funfetti and with his birthday tomorrow I just could not handle another box cake. So glad I found this it looks delicious. I made one of your sugar cookie recipes also and it was a hit, so I know this will be as well. Thank you thank you!
I just made this, and the batter looked and smelled heavenly, but it turned out quite flat. Definitely not the springy, fluffy cake in your pictures. Could it be that my oven is too hot? I actually took it out of the oven after 17 minutes because I noticed it was getting quite golden. I unfortunately do not have an oven thermometer (on my list to get at the store!). I don’t consider myself a novice baker but lately I cannot seem to get homemade cakes right, and I am discouraged. Please help! Also, the reason I want to be a good cake baker is I am now a mom of 2 little boys and I want to be a mom who can bake! 🙂
Hey Laura! Hmm. Your oven temperature may be a little too hot, yes. Did you leave out the baking soda by chance? (I’ve done that before… whoops!). And you may have overmixed the batter too. But to start, I would reduce the oven temperature.
i made this cake for the kids at our new year’s celebration. it was a hit. so much that i can’t stop eating it! it’s sooooo good! my son declares the frosting the best he has ever tasted. i agree! great job once again!