For a festive Easter cake this year, try your hand at this Easter Confetti Cake. Made with a doctored box cake mix and homemade buttercream frosting, this cake is easy to make and delicious to eat.
Recipe: $16.91 | Per Serving: $1.06 | Servings: 16
This funfetti Easter cake is a simple and easy way to make a show-stopping dessert and feature all of your favorite Easter candies! Packed with colors and fun, this cake is sure to be a huge hit.
I love to use cake mixes to make semi-homemade desserts. For example, my Cake Mix Coffee Cake, Devil's Food Cake Mix Brownies, and Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies use boxed cake mixes as a base. The results are fluffy, flavorful cakes with a lot less effort and time needed to make them.
Serve this Easter themed dessert at your next holiday gathering and be prepared for the praises. This Easter Confetti Cake is just as much of a show-stopping centerpiece as it is delicious.
Just make sure to serve it up with some tasty Easter Egg Hot Chocolate and Easy Easter Bunny Biscuits.
Jump to:
🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- It's simple. You can't really get easier than recipes made with boxed cake mixes because they're already filled with the basic ingredients needed to make it! But we do add in a few extra ingredients to make the cake taste even better.
- It's cheaper to make homemade. The cost of a storebought or custom cake can often cost a lot of money. Buying a cake from a local cake decorator would easily cost north of $100. Making it yourself is a much more frugal alternative and allows you to learn a new skill too. For more frugal ideas, check out these Easy Ways To Celebrate Easter On A Budget.
- This Easter Confetti Cake is customizable. You can swap out the cake mixes, filling flavors, or even the Easter candies to make this cake as unique as you want it!
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Cake Mix: Use white cake mix as the base. Yellow cake mix can be used but opt for a light-colored base to show rainbow sprinkles. Do not prepare cake mix beforehand.
Instant Pudding: Use vanilla instant pudding for flavor. Cheesecake or white chocolate flavors work too. Do not prepare pudding beforehand; use dry mix only.
Sprinkles: Use Rainbow jimmie sprinkles. Other sprinkles may bleed or bake incorrectly. These sprinkles are what give the Easter Confetti Cake, the "confetti" look. Save leftover sprinkles for other recipes like Birthday Cake Stuffed Cookies or Birthday Cake Overnight Oats.
Vanilla Pudding: For filling, use a box of vanilla cook-and-serve pudding. Prepare according to package directions. Cool and chill before use.
Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter to enhance the richness of the frosting. Alternatively, substitute half or all of the butter with Crisco shortening. For optimal flavor, a 50/50 combination of salted and unsalted butter is recommended.
Vanilla: Adds flavor enhancement. Clear vanilla, available in the cake-baking aisle of Walmart or craft stores, can be used for a "whiter" frosting.
Food Coloring: Opt for gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering the frosting's consistency, unlike liquid food colorings.
Optional Seasonal Decorations: For a festive Easter cake, enhance it with your favorite Easter candies. Consider adding: Peeps, Sprinkles, Easter Egg Candies, and Toasted Shredded Coconut.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 Substitutions
Cake mix. You can use any boxed cake mix desired for this recipe, but I recommend sticking with white cake or yellow cake for the best-looking results.
Sour cream. If you don't want to use sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt in its place. Non-flavored plain Greek yogurt works just as well and gives the cake a slightly healthier touch.
📖 Variations
For Any Occasion: Swap the candies and "Easter" touches to tailor this cake for any celebration. Omit the seasonal decorations to make it suitable for birthdays or other events.
Variety of Fillings: Experiment with different pudding fillings between the cake layers. Try fruity options like strawberry or blueberry pie filling for a refreshing twist.
🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
Added Color: If desired you can add up to another 1 cup of rainbow jimmie sprinkles for added color.
🔪 Instructions for Easter Confetti Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Spray the inside of 3 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and cut a circle of parchment paper to fit at the bottom of the pan. The spray will hold the paper in place, and the paper will prevent the cake from sticking.
Step 3: Place your dry cake mix, dry pudding mix, flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl (Image 1).
Step 4: Whisk together until well blended (Image 2).
Step 5: In another mixing bowl, add your sour cream, milk, vanilla, oil, and eggs (Image 3).
Step 6: Whisk together until well blended (Image 4).
Step 7: Add the wet mixture to the bowl with the dry mixture (Image 5).
Step 8: Whisk together until the cake batter comes together, and no flour streaks remain (Image 6). Do not overmix.
Step 9: Add your rainbow colored sprinkles to the cake batter (Image 7).
Step 10: Mix well until evenly distributed (Image 8).
Step 11: Divide the cake batter between your prepared cake pans (Image 9).
Step 12: Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean (Image 10).
Step 13: Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping it onto a wire rack and removing the pan and parchment.
Step 14: Allow to rest until fully cooled. You can place the cakes into the freezer for faster prep if needed.
I recommend freezing the cake layers after they've cooled a bit. They'll be much easier to handle if fully or partially frozen. You can freeze them while you make the filling and have it chill, and then remove the cake from the freezer after you've prepared the buttercream.
Prepare the Filling
Step 15: Make your cook and serve pudding according to the package directions. Let cool completely before using.
If desired, you can make the filling lighter in texture and more mousse-like, by folding in an 8-ounce tub of thawed cool whip.
Prepare the Buttercream
Step 16: In a large mixing bowl, cream together 3 sticks of softened butter and 4.5 cups of powdered sugar (Image 11).
Step 17: Add in 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3-4 tablespoons of milk. Beat again until incorporated (Image 12).
Assembly
Step 18: Place some or most of the buttercream into a piping bag and snip a large corner off of the end. You won't need a fitted tip for this part.
Step 19: Place a layer of cake onto your cake board or display surface (Image 13).
Step 20: Pipe a round rim around the top of the layer of cake (Image 14). This will work like a dam to prevent the filling from leaking out. Go over the rim twice if needed.
Step 21: Spoon your filling into the center and gently spread it out to the edges (Image 15).
Step 22: Add a layer of cake on top (Image 16). Try to position it evenly centered above the other layer.
Step 23: Repeat the frosting rim and filling as you did before (Image 17).
Step 24: Add the final cake layer on top (Image 18). Center it well.
If it's slippery, you can use plastic straws or wooden dowels in the center of the cake to help give it support. You can also freeze the cake at this point for an hour to make it easier to handle.
Step 25: Add your frosting around the edges and the top of the cake (Image 19).
Step 26: Spread the frosting around until smooth (Image 20). There should be just enough frosting to coat the cake without embellishments.
Step 27: Place the cake into the freezer to chill for an hour.
Step 28: Repeat the buttercream frosting instructions and make a second batch of frosting.
Step 29: Take out about (4) ¼ cup portions of buttercream into separate bowls.
Step 30: Add a little food coloring to each bowl, a different color per bowl. I chose pink, blue, yellow, and purple. Mix well until the color is evenly distributed.
Step 32: Spoon a little bit of differently colored frosting around the sides of the cake. Scatter them around so that they don't look uniform (Image 21).
Step 33: Spread the frosting around the sides using a cake scraper or frosting spreader. As you go around, the colors will fade together and create a fun design.
Step 34: Continue to spread the frosting around until you're happy with the results (Image 22).
Step 35: Place your remaining white frosting into a piping bag with a large fitted tip (I like 1M).
Step 36: Pipe a border or peaks around the top of the cake (Image 23).
Step 37: Line some bunny peeps along the bottom edge of the cake (Image 24). If they won't stick to the frosting, pipe a small dollop of frosting on the back to help them adhere.
Step 38: Decorate the cake with shredded coconut, Easter egg candies, and more peeps if desired.
Step 39: Place your cake into the fridge and allow to chill until ready to serve.
Step 40: Slice into it and enjoy the fun rainbow colors throughout the cake layers.
Happy Easter!
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Don't be afraid to chill. If the frosting gets messy, chill the cake in the freezer and frosting in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. I share this tip in my Southern Banana Pudding Cake and Tres Leches Layered Cake. Professional decorators often chill cakes between steps for neatness and ease of application.
- Straight edges are important. For spreading frosting, use a large frosting leveler (which can be found on Amazon for under $10) or alternatives like a butter knife or clean office ruler. These tips work well for various cake recipes, including my Easy Rainbow Unicorn Cake Recipe.
- Hide your mistakes festively. If your Easter Confetti Cake's sides look a little too messed with for your liking and you want to cover it up, you can do as I did and just strategically place candy over those spots! These simple tricks can elevate your cake decorating game effortlessly.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
Cake Layers Preparation: Prepare the cake layers up to two weeks in advance. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer until needed.
Buttercream Preparation: Make the buttercream ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before use, and remix it before applying.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Refrigeration: Store the cake in the fridge, well covered, for up to 5 days to maintain its freshness.
Room Temperature: Avoid leaving the cake out at room temperature for extended periods; limit it to 1-2 hours at a time, depending on the room temperature.
💭 Recipe FAQs
What's in a name? The only difference between the two is that Funfetti is a trademarked word owned by Pillsbury. They both mean the same thing.
Not really. The confetti cake may have a stronger vanilla flavor to it than a regular vanilla cake, but it's all about personal tastebuds. The colors added can often make it feel fancier or more enhanced though.
Yes and no. While you can add any kind of sprinkle to cake batter, it's important to note that not all sprinkles work the same. Nonpariels and confetti sprinkles may cause color bleeding or textural changes in the cake, whereas Jimmie sprinkles won't bleed colors and will melt when baked so that there's no textural change in the cake.
❤️ More Delicious Easter Recipes
If you tried this Easter Confetti Cake, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Easter Confetti Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Confetti Cake
- 1 box (15.25oz) white cake mix ($1.00)
- 1 box (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix ($0.98)
- 1 cup all purpose flour ($0.13)
- ¾ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.36)
- 1 cup sour cream ($1.00)
- 1 cup milk ($0.20)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract ($0.09)
- ½ cup vegetable oil ($0.35)
- 4 large egg whites ($0.30)
- 2 large egg yolks ($0.15)
- ½ cup rainbow jimmie sprinkles ($1.28)
Vanilla Filling
- 1 box (3oz) vanilla cook and serve pudding ($1.32)
- 2 cups milk ($0.40)
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (can be halved)
- 6 sticks butter, room temp (3 cups) ($5.94)
- 9 cups powdered sugar ($3.24)
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract ($0.09)
- 6-8 Tablespoons milk ($0.07)
- food coloring in desired colors
Optional Seasonal Decorations
- Peeps
- toasted shredded coconut
- Easter egg candies
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray the inside of 3 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and cut a circle of parchment paper to fit at the bottom of the pan. The spray will hold the paper in place, and the paper will prevent the cake from sticking.
- Place your dry cake mix, dry pudding mix, flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together until well blended.
- In another mixing bowl, add your sour cream, milk, vanilla, oil, and eggs.
- Whisk together until well blended.
- Add the wet mixture to the bowl with the dry mixture.
- Whisk together until the cake batter comes together, and no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Add your rainbow colored sprinkles to the cake batter.
- Mix well until evenly distributed.
- Divide the cake batter between your prepared cake pans.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping onto a wire rack and removing the pan and parchment.
- Allow to rest until fully cooled. You can place the cakes into the freezer for faster prep if needed.
- I recommend freezing the cake layers after they've cooled a bit. They'll be much easier to handle if fully or partially frozen. You can freeze them while you make the filling and have it chill, and then remove the cake from the freezer after you've prepared the buttercream.
Prepare the Filling
- Make your cook and serve pudding according to the package directions. Let cool completely before using.
- If desired, you can make the filling lighter in texture and more mousse like, by folding in an 8 ounce tub of thawed cool whip.
Prepare the Buttercream
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together 3 sticks of softened butter and 4.5 cups of powdered sugar.
- Add in 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 3-4 tablespoons of milk. Beat again until incorporated.
Assembly
- Place some or most of the buttercream into a piping bag and snip a large corner off of the end. You won't need a fitted tip for this part.
- Place a layer of cake onto your cake board or display surface
- Pipe a round rim around the top of the layer of cake. This will work like a dam to prevent the filling from leaking out. Go over the rim twice if needed.
- Spoon your filling into the center and gently spread it out to the edges.
- Add a layer of cake on top. Try to position it evenly centered above the other layer.
- Repeat the frosting rim and filling as you did before.
- Add the final cake layer on top. Center it well.
- If it's slippery, you can use plastic straws or wooden dowels in the center of the cake to help give it support. You can also freeze the cake at this point for an hour to make it easier to handle.
- Add your frosting around the edges and the top of the cake.
- Spread the frosting around until smooth. There should be just enough frosting to coat the cake without embellishments.
- Place the cake into the freezer to chill for an hour.
Second Batch of Frosting
- Repeat the buttercream frosting instructions and make a second batch of frosting.
- Take out about (4) ¼ cup portions of buttercream into separate bowls.
Decorate
- Add a little food coloring to each bowl, a different color per bowl. I chose pink, blue, yellow, and purple. Mix well until the color is evenly distributed.
- Spoon a little bit of differently colored frosting around the sides of the cake. Scatter them around so that they don't look uniform.
- Spread the frosting around the sides using a cake scraper or frosting spreader. As you go around the colors will fade together and create a fun design.
- Continue to spread the frosting around until you're happy with the results.
- Place your remaining white frosting into a piping bag with a large fitted tip (I like 1M).
- Pipe a boarder or peaks around the top of the cake.
- Line some bunny peeps along the bottom edge of the cake. If they won't stick to the frosting, pipe a small dollop of frosting on the back to help them adhere.
- Decorate the cake with shredded coconut, Easter egg candies, and more peeps if desired.
- Place your cake into the fridge and allow to chill until ready to serve.
- Slice into it and enjoy the fun rainbow colors throughout the cake layers.
- Happy Easter!
Notes
- Cake mix: You can use any boxed cake mix, but white or yellow cake is recommended for the best results.
- Sour cream: Greek yogurt can be used as a substitute for sour cream.
- Butter: Crisco shortening can replace butter in the frosting for a dairy-free option.
- Pudding mix: Any flavored pudding mix can be used, and even chocolate pudding can be used for the filling.
- If the frosting becomes messy, place the cake in the freezer and the frosting in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up.
- Various tools can be used for frosting, including a large frosting leveler, a butter knife, or a clean office ruler.
- If the cake's sides look messy, strategically place candy to cover them.
- Cake layers can be prepared up to two weeks in advance and stored in the freezer, well wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and mix before use.
- Keep the cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours at a time, depending on the room temperature.
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