Cake Yield: 2 layers of 8" round cake
Frosting Yield: 4.5 cups
Cake Servings (approx): 8-12 slices
This is 3 layers of Sprinkle 2.0 cake frosted with American Dreamy Buttercream.
Mixing Method: Creaming + whipped egg whites method
Cake Texture: Dense and moist crumb, yet open and fluffy
Flavor Profile: Sweet toasted flour; buttery vanilla
Appearance: White to creamy colored crumb with sprinkles throughout
Difficulty Level: 3/5 (medium-hard)
Good Frosting Pairings: Swiss meringue buttercream (because it's less sweet) but pretty versatile
Best for: Children, adults who like a pure sweet cake taste, events that need a white cake (weddings, bdays, etc.)
Welcome to version 2.0 of my Sprinkle Cake! This is a super moist, vanilla, and butter-forward cake with a fluffy, spongy white crumb. It's a versatile flavor and cake that goes with almost any type of frosting.
Why did I change the original recipe?
Well, I've become a much better cake recipe developer since I wrote the original a couple of years ago. The original sprinkle cake was based on a yellow cake recipe. Sprinkle 2.0 is a from a new group of cakes based on my white cake method. It combines butter creaming with whipped egg whites to create a light cake framework that can hold moist crumbs.
Buckle up - I researched the heck out of this cake, and it's a good one.
Generally, making a fluffy cake is about injecting air into the batter. And there are several ways to do that, but my sprinkle cakes use two techniques.
The first is creaming, where mixing the sugars with the butter creates tiny air pockets. These air pockets expand in the oven due to water converting to steam from the batter. The leavening agent (baking powder in this recipe) creates carbon dioxide gas, which also expands those air pockets.
The second technique is egg foaming. Specifically, we're going to whip the egg whites while pouring in a tiny bit of sugar; this creates foam or a collection of tiny little air bubbles. The sugar dissolves in the water contained in the egg whites, making a stabilizing syrup that coats the egg foam. In the hot oven, these tiny air bubbles also expand with steam and carbon dioxide (from the leaveners).
The two mixing techniques from above create a soft, light, and fluffy texture in a white cake. It has an excellent spongey feel in that it bounces right back up when you push down on it. This is due to the egg white proteins; they're resilient and excellent for providing the structure we need for layer cakes. (Try to think of egg whites when you hard boil an egg... those are the proteins that are holding our cake together.)
There is also a lightness of the crumb that comes from using cake flour, and it's a finely milled flour that contains less protein (gluten forming) than all-purpose.
White cake has a pure, sweet flavor that tastes like toasted flour, sugar, butter, and whatever extract you use. Because of this, you can flavor the white cake however you like, so think of it as a white cake canvas.
I love vanilla and almond together. If you're going for pure nostalgia and want to make a cake that tastes like Pilsbury's Funfetti box cake (which uses artificial flavorings) - use artificial vanilla extract. I use this brand here - it's clear, so it doesn't tint your batters or frostings, and it has a great nostalgic flavor that tastes surprisingly good. (Amazon link)
Sprinkle cake is a pure white cake that is dotted with colored sprinkles. Because the cake batter contains no egg yolks, the cake's color depends on the color of your flour and extracts.
Generally, unbleached flour will give a more off-white cake, and real vanilla extracts (dark brown) will tint the batter a little. I use primarily unbleached flour and real vanilla extract (I like the artificial kind in this cake, too), and the cake still comes out pretty and white. I think the natural color is quite lovely. But if you're looking for a super white cake, try to find bleached cake flour and clear vanilla extract.
As for the sprinkles, the ones you'll need are classic rod-shaped sprinkles. I usually use two brands - the Target ones here, which have more of the primary colors, or the Wilton brand, which has some pink sprinkles. These sprinkles typically melt straight into the batter when heated without minimal bleeding during the mixing step. By adding them in at the very end, we can limit the amount of color bleeding and get an excellent design on the inside of the final cake.
I rank all my recipes so you can get an idea of what cake is right for you.
This cake is of medium-hard difficulty. The cake's texture depends on whipping the egg whites up to stiff peaks and folding them correctly. When the egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks, they probably contain millions of tiny stable air bubbles. You'll have to fold them into the batter at the very end and limit the crushing of those air bubbles to get this cake's maximum height and fluffiness.
This cake is on the sweeter side of all my cakes, so I like to pair it with Swiss meringue buttercream, as it's not as sweet. I think the more difficult question is what frosting *doesn't* go with this cake. I made it with whipped cream and cheese frostings, and everything tasted fantastic. It's more of an issue of your taste preferences and how you plan to serve and store the cake.
For example, I'm a home baker and use whipped cream frostings quite a bit, but I have access to refrigeration. If I need to transport cupcakes or cakes for some reason, my go-to will always be Swiss meringue buttercream. It's super sturdy and safe to keep at room temperature for at least a few days.
This cake is excellent for children (and because of the white color, you can color this batter - add food coloring to the milk) and adults who prefer a sweeter cake. Because of the pure white cake flavor, you can add fillings between layers of the cake beautifully or fill cupcakes just the same.
Good cake pairings:
Make this frosting for those who:
This is a variation of my condensed milk buttercream (sometimes referred to as "Russian Buttercream"). It combines only a few simple ingredients: butter, condensed milk, and flavorings.
In this case, the flavoring turns your buttercream into a strawberry milkshake flavor! We'll use some freeze-dried strawberries, a powerful ingredient for adding a pure fruit flavor without adding liquid. Combined with the condensed milk undertones, it tastes like melted strawberry ice cream.
To bring out the strawberry flavor, I added malt powder. If you're unsure what that is, it's barley and evaporated milk powder commonly added to milkshakes. I grew up drinking these milkshakes, and it's such a nostalgic flavor. It's optional, so don't worry if you don't like it/can't find it.
I bought both the freeze-dried fruit and malt powder at my local Target.
For all other sizes, you should be ok with either grams or volume.
My cakeculator converts to estimated volume (cups, tablespoons, etc.) for American bakers, which are not as accurate and why you you will see differences between the weight and volume amounts. The correct and most accurate one will always be weight.
Ingredients like baking soda and salt are usually given volumentrically (teaspoons) because most household scales are inaccurate with smaller numbers.
This is the OXO scale I use on a daily basis. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.
Set your butter, milk, and egg whites out to room temperature. Separate the whites from the eggs, and reserve the yolks for another recipe.
Move your oven rack to the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Butter the insides of two cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. Dust a very light coating of flour inside the pans.
Sift cake flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk in the kosher salt for at least 30 seconds. Set that aside for now.
Let's prep the meringue. To a mixing bowl, add the egg whites. Pour the white granulated sugar (labeled "for meringue 🥚") into a small bowl so it's easy to add to the egg whites while mixing.
With a hand or stand mixer and the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until it's thicker with large bubbles. It will look like really sudsy dishwater.
Pour in about 1/2 tsp of sugar, continue to whisk, and then pour another 1/2 teaspoon. No need to be precise on the amount of sugar, but wait about 5-10 seconds between additions to allow the sugar to dissolve a little before adding more.
Once all the sugar has been added, whisk until you reach stiff and glossy peaks. When you pull up some meringue with the whisk attachment, you should see a point that bends just a little when you hold it upside down, and it shouldn't be runny or drooping off the whisk.
Pour the meringue into a small bowl and set that aside for now. (No need to clean this bowl, we'll use it to make the rest of the batter.)
In that same meringue mixing bowl and with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar (labeled "for butter 🧈") on medium-high for about 3-5 minutes until lighter in color and fluffier. Add the oil, vanilla and almond extracts and beat for another 2 minutes. It should turn whiter in color or more tan, depending on the potency of your vanilla extract. Scrape down the bowl.
We are now going to alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk. Add the flour in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 additions as follows:
Now fold 1/2 of your meringue into the cake batter with a spatula. Use swooping motions to scoop the batter from the sides and pile it towards the center. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl once in a while.
Once all the batter contains no more streaks of meringue, add the second half plus the sprinkles and continue to fold. Combining the batter with the eggs is crucial, or you may get an uneven rise in the final cake. (This is usually more apparent in the larger 6 or 8" cakes but less with cupcakes.) The batter should not have any lines of meringue, be tan or cream in color with evenly dispersed sprinkles throughout, and be slightly more voluminous.
Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pans.
Move the pan to a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool in the pan completely.
Loosen the edges of the cakes using an offset spatula or butter knife, and flip the cakes out onto a cooling rack so you can peel off the parchment bottom. Make sure they are completely cool before assembling and/or frosting.
*Cake flour is best for this recipe. It's more finely milled and has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour. This translates to a finer and softer cake crumb. I use King Arthur Flour's Unbleached Cake Flour, but the bleached versions will work just as well. I have made this recipe using all-purpose flour; it's still delicious but the interior of the cake will be a little more coarse.
Grind your freeze dried strawberries in a food processor until fine. I just do the whole bag and save in an airtight container for baking. Then measure out your quantity from there.
Add your butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for at least 5 minutes, until it has become slightly paler in color and a little fluffier. (I sometimes just use butter cold from the fridge and by the time it's whipped up, it will be room temp. So don't stress about having your butter room temp for this buttercream, just make sure it's light and fluffy before the next step.)
Add your condensed milk in thirds. Add the first third, whip on medium-high speed until completely combined. Repeat with the rest of the condensed milk.
Add the salt, freeze-dried strawberry powder, and malted milk powder (optional). Mix until combined. To reduce the number of air bubbles, reduce the speed of your mixer to the lowest setting and let it run for about 2-3 minutes. This should get rid of most of the large air bubbles.
(Optional: Cooked strawberries, even those freeze-dried, get duller in color. Sometimes even brown or gray. I sometimes add pink gel food coloring to my strawberry cakes and frostings to get a brighter color. Optional, but it's beautiful.)
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