Funfetti Snack Cake with Cake Batter SMBC

Snack cake — It’s sheet cake’s little sister. Baked in a smaller pan, (I always grab my 9X9) makes about 9 servings, and therefore doesn’t need a special occasion to make an appearance in your kitchen. And this funfetti snack cake is unreal good. So fluffy and packed with my favorite rainbow sprinkles from Sweetapolita. (Not an ad, but the ONLY rainbow sprinkles I use – there’s just something about the colors that is so perfect.) And if that didn’t convince you to make it, I’m sure the Cake Batter Swiss Meringue Buttercream that sits on top it will.

How to Make Funfetti Snack Cake

Start by preheating the oven to 350 and line a 9X9 baking pan with some nonstick spray. I also lined mine with some parchment paper to help make it extra easy to lift the cake from the pan after it cools.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and vegetable oil. (Canola oil is a great substitute if needed) Cream the mixture on medium speed for 5 minutes. It will lighten in color and become very fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and egg whites, mix to combine.

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Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk. Set aside. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate medium sized bowl. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the butter and egg mixture, starting and ending with dry ingredients. (ie: Add 1/3 of dry ingredients, mix. Add 1/2 of buttermilk, mix. Repeat.)

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Stop mixing when a few streaks of flour remain. You’ll finish incorporating the flour as you mix in the sprinkles. Add the sprinkles to a small bowl along with 2 TBSP of flour. Toss to coat the sprinkles. This helps the sprinkles stay suspended in the cake batter as it bakes rather than sinking to the bottom of the cake pan. Once sprinkles are coated in flour, fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool completely.

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Alternatively, you can make this into a small layer cake. Line 2 6″ cake pans with parchment and nonstick spray. Divide the batter between the pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. I would do it this way for a small intimate birthday party, or anytime you want to use this recipe and make it a little more elevated in the presentation. It will make 10 servings.

Make the Cake Batter SMBC

Do we all know about Swiss Meringue Buttercream? I grew up on American Buttercream. It’s all I knew even existed. Then I discovered Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC) and I’m never going back.

American Buttercream is basically butter and a ton of powdered sugar. Super super sweet. While SMBC starts with an egg white and granulated sugar syrup, whipped into a meringue, then softened butter is added at the end. The result is super smooth, and still sweet, but more buttery in flavor compared to American. Just for comparison – when I make a 3 layer cake, it would take 8-10 cups of powdered sugar in American buttercream to fill and frost it. Same size cake with SMBC – 1 cup of granulated sugar.

Start by adding the egg whites and sugar and a pinch of salt to a double boiler of medium heat. (A glass bowl over a sauce pan works great and is what I usually do!) Constantly whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches 150-155. A candy thermometer is helpful for this, but if you don’t have one I have a trick! Just put a bit of the mixture in between your fingertips and rub them together. If you can feel the granules of sugar, it’s not ready. As soon as it’s completely smooth with no sugar granules, you’re good to go!

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Put the egg white mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high until mixture cools and stiff glossy peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Add vanilla and cake batter flavor. If you can’t find cake batter flavor, imitation vanilla flavor will give you that cake batter flavor! Mix to combine.

Switch to the paddle attachment. Cut the softened butter into small chunks, and with the mixer on medium low, start adding in the butter slowly, one chunk at a time. Once all of the butter is incorporated, continue to mix until the mixture thickens and becomes glossy and completely smooth. If it curdles a little, don’t panic, just continue mixing and it will come together! Add food color gel if desired! For this recipe, I used three drops of Americolor Dusty Rose and 1 drop of Mauve.

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Assembly

Once the cake is completely cooled, remove it from the pan using the parchment overhang. If you didn’t use parchment, just run a butter knife along the edges to release and flip the cake over to remove it. Add SMBC to the top and spread it evenly using an offset spatula. Top with extra rainbow sprinkles. Slice and serve. Keep in the fridge for up to a week. Full disclosure – I had a slice 6 days after baking and it was still. so. good.

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For the Layer Cake Option –

I like to decorate layer cakes with the layers at fridge temperature. After the cake bakes and cools, pop it in the fridge for 30 min-1 hour. (You can also tightly wrap it in saran wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight if you want to break up the work into multiple days)

When the cake is chilled, apply a crumb coat and let chill for 30 min. Then add another layer of SMBC and smooth using a cake comb. Decorate with sprinkles.

If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out my Cookie Butter Rice Krispie Treats, and my Thick and Fudgy Brownies.

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