Gluten-Free Confetti Cake Recipe makes a perfect birthday cake. The delicate yellow cake only requires one bowl to make. Then you stir in your favorite gluten-free sprinkles. It’s perfect for beginner bakers. Frost the cake with gluten-free vanilla buttercream frosting－and more sprinkles, of course!
It’s no surprise that I love a confetti cake. I mean, it has sprinkles. And I LOVE sprinkles. Honestly, if you don’t love sprinkles, we can’t be friends. (Kidding. Mostly.)
The recipe is quick to put together. It makes a perfect two-layer cake —which makes it great for birthday parties or other celebrations. Just be sure to have lots of gluten-free sprinkles on hand.
Is Confetti Cake the same as Funfetti Cake?
If you aren’t familiar with Funfetti®, I’m about to make your day! Funfetti® is white cake with sprinkles. Lots of sprinkles. Pillsbury is the creator of the Funfetti® phenomenon. They introduced it in 1989. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Funfetti® is their brand name for a confetti cake. A confetti cake is the homemade version.
What’s the Best Gluten-Free Flour to Use for Confetti Cake?
For this recipe, use a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. Without it, the cake turns out flat and dense.
I tested the recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. If your flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon to the recipe.
What Flavor is Confetti Cake?
There’s a lot of debate around this. I believe that the unique flavor comes from a combination of clear vanilla extract and a dash of almond extract.
It’s funny that I call for clear vanilla extract. If you’re familiar with vanilla, you know that clear vanilla is artificial vanilla. And that’s the point.
Boxed Funfetti® cake mix, the type you probably grew up eating, includes artificial vanilla. If that’s the flavor you crave, grab a bottle. It makes a difference! I’d use clear vanilla extract in my frosting too, for the full effect.
As for the almond extract, it adds an almost maraschino cherry flavor. (If you’re just realizing that maraschino cherries taste like almonds, raise your hand.) The almond extract isn’t required. Feel free to skip it if you don’t want to buy a bottle.
How to Make Gluten-Free Confetti Cake
- Prepare the Batter. This is an easy one-bowl recipe. Whisk together the dry ingredients, add the eggs, oil, and flavors. Stir. Done!
- Add the sprinkles. Be sure to use gluten-free sprinkles.
- Pour batter into greased cake pans.
- Bake until golden brown. A cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Cool the cake. It’s important to wait for the cake to cool. This is key. If you frost a warm cake, the frosting melts and drips down the cake. Remember: wait for the cake to cool.
- Frost. Use your favorite gluten-free frosting.
Are Sprinkles Gluten-Free?
It depends. Most sprinkles (also called Jimmies) are gluten-free. However, always read labels.
What Kind of Sprinkles Should I Use for Confetti Cake?
Good question! There’s lots of sprinkles on the market. For funfetti cake, I use “sprinkles”, they are also labeled jimmies. Don’t confuse these with nonpareils. “Sprinkles” are long and soft. Nonpareils are tiny, hard sugar balls. In batter, nonpareils tend to melt and bleed color, while sprinkles don’t–giving you nice bursts of color throughout the finished cake.
What Frosting Should I Use?
Classic vanilla buttercream frosting is traditional. But chocolate and cream cheese also make nice frostings for confetti cake.
Gluten-Free Confetti Cake
Easy gluten-free confetti cake. Loaded with sprinkles, this tender cake makes a fun birthday cake®－no mix needed!
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Funfetti Cake
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (see note) (11 ½ ounces; 326 grams)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (10 ½ ounces; 298 grams
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk, traditional or dairy-free
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil (4 ¾ ounces; 134 grams)
- 4 large eggs (about 8 ounces; 226 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure vanilla or clear (imitation)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract, optional
- ⅓ cup gluten-free sprinkles, plus additional for topping cake
Gluten-Free Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 cup butter, softened (8 ounces; 226 grams)
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (16 ounces; 454 grams)
- 4 tablespoons milk, more as needed (2 ounces; 56 grams)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.
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Whisk together gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil, eggs, and extracts. Whisk until a smooth batter forms. Add ⅓ cup sprinkles. Stir to combine.
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Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
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Bake until cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
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Remove cakes from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes. Then turn cakes onto the wire rack to cool completely.
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Once cool, frost with vanilla buttercream (recipe below) and sprinkle additional sprinkles onto cake.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Buttercream
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Cream butter until smooth in a medium mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix, on low speed, until smooth. If buttercream seems thick, add a teaspoon or so additional milk. Use as directed.
Recipe Notes
Gluten-Free Flour
Use a gluten-free flour blend that includes xanthan gum. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour recommended. If your blend doesn’t include xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon along with the flour. Whisk together.
Carol Ann Rickard says
I made this cake to and really loved the flavour and for the most part the texture was great. It did have a little thicker, gummie area near the middle, bottom. I used Presidents Choice GF All Purpose flour that does not contain any rice flour. It has Xanthan Gum in it. Perhaps I beat it to much, I used my stand mixer, not a whisk. Any tips would be appreciated to avoid the settling, gummie result.
Elizabeth says
Hi Carol Ann,
I don’t think it’s you. I think it’s the flour. I tested it with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free flour. If you’re able to find that flour, I think you’d get a better result. I hope this helps!
Carol Ann Rickard says
Thanks Elizabeth, I made the cake again yesterday. Used Robin Hood GF all purpose flour which has rice flour in it. I mixed it in one bowl by hand with a whisk. It turned out perfectly. Not sure which change made the difference perhaps both. Thanks again for your reply!
ANNABELLE LOOS says
Could I use namaste gluten free flour? Thanks much
Elizabeth says
I haven’t tried it with Namaste but I know people really like it! I think it should work
Glenys Lowes says
The sprinkles in my cake seemed to disappear in the cake and not show the colour. the cake itself was delicious but disappointed when I cut into it and didn’t see colour of sprinkles.
Wondered if you could help with this.
Elizabeth says
The color of the sprinkles really depends on the brand. The ones that are naturally colored tend to fade when baking. The easiest thing to do would be to try a different brand.
Brooke Z. says
This cake was absolutely delicious! It had an amazing texture and great flavor! I used King Arthur 1 for 1 cup which worked perfectly. You couldn’t even tell it was gluten free! The sprinkles were evenly distributed throughout the cake as well! The only change I may make would be to include slightly less almond extract in the frosting (but I would still include it) and do 3/4 of the frosting recipe since I had left over! Amazing flavor!
Alemat Senoj says
My daughter has a gluten allergy and so I made this cake for her. I looked at all of the comments for the best outcomes. I made only one substitution because of what was on hand, which was I subbed shortening and butter for the amount of oil. I made cupcakes instead of a whole cake and my daughter stated that the cake was fluffy and tasty. Delicious. When I make this again, I will use quality sprinkles. The ones that I got from Dollar tree melted, so we will call them multicolor sunbeam! The frosting is, great too! I give you A+.
Gena says
Thank you for the recipe. I followed it exactly with the Bob’s 1:1 flour. The cake tester came out clean, but there was a considerable “gummy” area on the top of the cakes. I am worried it was gummy throughout. Any suggestions? I used almond milk and real Mexican clear vanilla.
Elizabeth says
Hmm…the cake shouldn’t have been gummy. If you see that again, I’d try baking it for a few more minutes.
Darlene Guidry says
Really good! I used butter in place of oil, beat eggs in one at a time, and GV gluten free flour.
Spencer says
I made this with Trader Joe’s GF flour, and used 1:1 replacement of butter for the oil. It turned out great!!! Will definitely be remaking this for GF birthday celebrations.
Sam Wade says
Lovely easy sounding recipe…made it for a birthday cake unfortunately ours came out solid and like glue all through like someone had sat on it!! 😂
Not sure what we did wrong….
The guests very kindly ate it- fluffy it wasn’t 😏
Elizabeth says
That’s so disappointing. I’m sorry. What flour blend did you use?
SR says
I was a professional baker (many moons ago). My daughter has a gluten intolerance that has required us to shift everything to GF. Since I don’t have a baking background inGF, it’s been HARD trying to create something from scratch for her. Then I found your website *cue angelic music*! I have used many of your recipes (and they’re all great). But THIS ONE I have used each and every year for my daughter’s birthday! It is her all time favorite cake — tender crumb, delicious almond tones, and beautiful when it’s cut! What’s not to like? Thank you for sharing your recipes with those of us who so desperately need them. You’ll never know how many people you’ve helped! 🙂
Lynn says
Can I ask what brand of GF flour you use?
Sofia Gutierrez says
Yikes! Sorry for the super late reply! I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
SR says
Yikes! Sorry for the super late reply! I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
Olivia says
the texture was actually really nice, but had basically no flavour, and kind of eggy.
Megan says
I love this recipe and everyone requests it for birthdays (even friends that aren’t GF)! It makes 24 cupcakes and I check them at 18 minutes but lighter pans tend to bake closer to 20-22. I’ve also done a 3-layer 6” that’s adorable! Have you ever made a sheet cake with it? I’m going to give it a shot for Valentine’s Day and am wondering about cook time and if there would be enough batter.