Spring Funfetti Cake Pastel (Printable)

Light vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles and pastel buttercream frosting.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Cake

01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
09 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
10 - 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
11 - 2/3 cup rainbow sprinkles

→ Pastel Buttercream

12 - 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
13 - 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
14 - 1/4 cup whole milk
15 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
16 - Pinch of salt
17 - Pastel pink food coloring gel
18 - Pastel blue food coloring gel
19 - Pastel yellow food coloring gel
20 - Pastel purple food coloring gel

# How To Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract until fully combined.
05 - In a separate bowl, whisk milk and sour cream until combined.
06 - Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until combined.
07 - Gently fold rainbow sprinkles into batter using a rubber spatula, being careful not to overmix.
08 - Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth the tops.
09 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
11 - Beat butter until smooth and creamy, approximately 2 minutes.
12 - Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until incorporated.
13 - Add milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
14 - Divide buttercream into 4 bowls. Tint each bowl with a different pastel color using food coloring gels.
15 - Dollop or pipe colored buttercream onto cooled cake layers as desired. Swirl colors together to create a marbled pastel effect.

# Top Tips:

01 -
  • The cake stays genuinely moist thanks to sour cream and milk mixed right into the batter, so it tastes homemade and special, not dry.
  • Making buttercream from scratch means you control the sweetness and can tint it however you want—those soft pastel colors are way more sophisticated than bright frosting.
  • It actually impresses people even though it's straightforward to make, giving you that quiet confidence in the kitchen.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients aren't just a suggestion—cold eggs, butter, and milk will refuse to blend smoothly into a cohesive batter, leaving you with a grainy, separated mess that bakes up dense instead of tender.
  • Don't skip the step of folding sprinkles in gently at the very end; if you mix them in aggressively or add them too early, they'll sink to the bottom and bleed color throughout the cake, turning it grayish instead of keeping those happy pops of color.
03 -
  • Use an offset spatula or piping bag to apply frosting to each layer before stacking, which gives you more control and prevents crumb mixing than spreading it on after assembly.
  • If your buttercream looks grainy or separated after beating, it probably got too warm—pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes, then beat it again until it comes back together and becomes smooth and fluffy.
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