Celebrating my 30th birthday with a super fun and colourful 6 inch sprinkles vanilla birthday cake! Layers of vanilla cake full of funfetti, topped with a simple vanilla buttercream and of course - more sprinkles!
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Prepare three 6 inch round cake tins by cutting out a piece of baking paper the size of the bottom of the tin and pressing into the bottom. Lightly grease the cake tin, including the baking paper. If you only have one 6 inch cake tin see recipe note 1.
Whisk the sifted flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.
Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on high speed until combined, then beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just combined. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the sprinkles using a rubber spatula.
Pour batter evenly into the prepared cake tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. They will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. You may need to use a spatula to make sure the cake is away from the edges before tipping it out of the tin.
Frosting
While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. Add all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low speed for a couple of minutes until combined, scraping down the sides and bottom as needed and then increase to high speed and beat for a further 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Decorating
Once the cakes are completely cooled use a serrated knife or a cake leveler to take the rounded top off each cake. This will give you a nice flat surface for stacking them. Place 1 cake layer on the cake stand or serving plate and evenly cover the top of it with about ⅓ cup of frosting. Repeat with the second cake layer and then place the third cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake.Use your hands to press sprinkles onto the sides of the cake, all the way around and then sprinkle as many as you like on top.To make the sprinkles number place your cookie cutter numbers where you want them (I placed them in the centre of the cake) and fill them with enough sprinkles to make a good layer of sprinkles on the cake (but not too many that they will overflow when you remove the number). Use a toothpick to guide the sprinkles into the corners of the numbers. Use your finger to gently press down the sprinkles to ensure they have stuck to the frosting. Gently remove the cookie cutters.Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
Notes
1. If you only have one 6 inch cake tin you have two options. You can either bake the layers separately which is what I did. I weighed the batter (it was around 900 grams) so I made sure to pour 300 grams into the cake tin at a time. Bake the layer for around 15-20 minutes and then allow to cool for as long as you can before removing it from the tin and preparing the tin to bake the next layer. The only thing I found with this is that the colour from the sprinkles started to bleed into the batter slightly, but it didn't matter too much.You could also bake the whole cake at once and then once it's cooled, split it into 3 layers. The bake time for the cake would just be quite a bit longer - probably around 40-50 minutes.2. If you have made the frosting in advance and had it in the fridge, before you frost the cake, allow the frosting to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes and then whip it using the mixer for a few minutes until it is fluffy and spreadable again.
Nutrition Facts
6 Inch Sprinkles Birthday Cake
Amount per Serving
Calories
1310
% Daily Value*
Fat
57
g
88
%
Saturated Fat
35
g
219
%
Cholesterol
203
mg
68
%
Sodium
461
mg
20
%
Potassium
351
mg
10
%
Carbohydrates
192
g
64
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
143
g
159
%
Protein
9
g
18
%
Vitamin A
1805
IU
36
%
Calcium
162
mg
16
%
Iron
3.2
mg
18
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.