White Sprinkle Cake

This is a joyful little cake, bursting with color. It is an obvious choice for a birthday, of course, but also is a perfect cake for other occasions as well: back-to-school afternoons, Easter gatherings, or, just because on a summer day.

What Makes A Delicious White Cake

This cake uses the reverse creaming method, where butter is introduced to the dry ingredients instead of initially creamed with the sugars. I prefer the texture of this type of cake over butter and sugar creamed cakes; it isn’t quite as fluffy, and has a very fine crumb that is even throughout. The top also doesn’t dome as much as a regular creamed cake, which I prefer for frosting purposes. I use this method for both yellow and white cakes.

This cake freezes well (unfrosted) and the layers can be wrapped separately in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks.

Notable Ingredients for White Sprinkle Cake:

• I love Vermont Creamery’s creme fraiche and use it in this recipe often. Sour cream works well, too!
• Large sprinkles work best in the batter – smaller sprinkles tend to melt and bleed too much. Large sprinkles will still melt, but streak beautifully rather than turn the batter a grayish color.
• Because the egg whites aren’t being whipped for volume, store-bought egg whites will work here; just make sure that they are 100 percent liquid egg whites.
• I use Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour in this cake.

More Cake Recipes:

• Pumpkin Doughnut Bundt Cake
• Glazed Meyer Lemon Snack Cake
• The Chocolate Cake

White Sprinkle Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings: 12 servings

This fun sprinkle cake has a perfectly tender crumb and light vanilla flavor! The confetti white cake base pairs well with the generous layer of cream cheese frosting.

Sarah Kieffer

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 scant cup [210 g] large egg whites (from 6 or 7 eggs), at room temperature
• 1 cup [240 g] whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup [120 g] creme fraiche or sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups [391 g] all-purpose flour*
• 2 cups [400 g] granulated sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup [2 sticks or 227 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1 in [2.5 cm] pieces
• 3/4 cup [115 g] sprinkles, see notes

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup [2 sticks or 227 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 8 ounces [226 g] cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 4 1/2 cups [540 g] confectioners' sugar

Instructions

For the cake

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Grease two 8 by 2 in [20 by 5 cm] round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the egg whites, milk, creme fraiche, and vanilla.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• With the mixer running on low speed, add the butter one piece at a time, beating until the mixture resembles coarse sand. With the mixer still running on low speed, slowly add a little more than half the wet ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the ingredients are incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 20 seconds (the batter may still be a little bumpy). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the sprinkles, and use a spatula to mix the batter a few more times, incorporating the sprinkles and making sure everything is completely combined.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Tap the pans gently on the counter twice each to help get rid of any air bubbles. Bake for 30 to 38 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cakes are golden brown and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a faint bit of crumbs.
• Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, and let cool completely. Once cool, the cakes can be frosted or wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight. Unfrosted cakes can also be wrapped in plastic and froze for up to 1 month.

For the frosting

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and cream cheese on low speed until light yellow and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and mix on medium speed until combined. Lower the speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat on low until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary, 6 to 8 minutes.

To assemble

• Place one cake layer on a turntable or serving plate. With an offset spatula, spread the top with 1 heaping cup of the icing. Place the second layer on top and frost and evenly coat the cake with the remaining icing. The cake can be covered and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*Large sprinkles work best in the batter – smaller sprinkles tend to melt and bleed too much. Large sprinkles will still melt, but streak beautifully rather than turn the batter into a grayish color. 

*I used Shimmer Rainbow Jimmy Sprinkles inside the cake and Shimmer Merry and Bright Sprinkles (along with the Jimmy Sprinkles) on top of the cake, both from Sprinkle Bee Sweets. 

*Throughout my recipes posted on this website, 1 cup of flour equals 142g. Please note that 1 cup of flour can range anywhere from 120g to 142g, depending on the baker or website. I found that after weighting many cups of flour and averaging the total, mine always ended up around this number. If I am posting a recipe from another cookbook, I will use whatever gram measure of flour used in that book, which is why you may see a few posts with a different cup measurement. 

Different brands of flour have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high, which can result in very different outcomes when baking. I’ve found Gold Medal all-purpose unbleached flour to be the best option for many of my recipes; I use it in all the baked goods that don’t use yeast. If you are using White Lily flour, please note that it is a low protein flour and doesn’t absorb liquid the same as regular all-purpose flours. Check the back of the flour bag for instructions on substituting it for regular all-purpose flours.