As they say, “Build it and they will come.” Dan and Frances built it and they came. It was our granddaughter Grace’s 7th birthday party and she requested FunFetti cupcakes as her party dessert. With an anticipated attendance of 100 kids and parents I figured 10 dozen cupcakes would be plenty. Well, I was wrong. They managed to eat only 40 cupcakes and we gave away an addition couple of dozen. Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!

FunFetti Cake

makes one 3-layer 8″ cake or 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
CAKE:
• 2 ½ c AP flour
• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 ½ c sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 c vegetable or canola oil
• 1 Tbl clear imitation vanilla
• 3/4 c whole milk (2% OK)
• ½ c rainbow sprinkles (artificially colored cylinders)

Pairs nicely with Edna’s Crusting Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream or Less Sweet Buttercream.

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºf. Grease and line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans or line 24 cups of two muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg whites, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the oil and the extract.
4. By hand add the dry mixture and the milk in two or three alternating batches and mix until just barely combined, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sprinkles until they’re evenly distributed. Distribute the batter among the cake pans or muffin cups, spreading it out evenly if using cake pans.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (~200 F. Do not overbake!) Begin checking for doneness at 20 minutes for cakes and 15 minutes for cupcakes.
6. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream Frosting – Less Sweet

For 3 cups of buttercream:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
• 2/3 cups (208g) light corn or glucose syrup
• 1 1/4 cups (141g) powdered sugar (unsifted)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine salt (to taste, start with a pinch)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-6 tablespoons of heavy cream, room temperature
• purple gel food coloring (optional)

METHOD

1. Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until it’s paler in color and slightly more voluminous.
2. Add the corn syrup in 3 to 5 additions. Stop the mixer, add a little bit first, and mix it in at medium speed (still using the whisk attachment). Repeat until all the corn syrup has been added. Scrape down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is mixed well.
3. Once all the corn syrup has been added, mix at the highest speed for two minutes. This is an essential step, so make sure to time it. You need the butter to emulsify the sugar syrup, which won’t be visually apparent because the syrup is clear. If you under-whip at this step, your final frosting will have an overly buttery (fatty or greasy) feel. Proper emulsification will ensure that the syrup integrates evenly within the butter, giving it a much more pleasant texture.
4. Now give the frosting a taste. It should be smooth, creamy, and very buttery, with a slight sweetness. This is to gauge how much powdered sugar to add in this step. Notice how glucose (the sugar type in corn syrup) is not as sweet as the sucrose in powdered sugar.
5. Add the powdered sugar in a few additions, mixing on low speed to reduce the mess.
   Once all the sugar has been added, mix on high speed for 30 seconds. Give it another taste. Do you want it sweeter or need a firmer consistency of buttercream? Add more powdered sugar.
   You can add as much powdered sugar as you like. This buttercream can handle more, but remember that the more you add, the sandier the finished frosting will be.
6. Now let’s flavor and color the buttercream. Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt, and, optionally, a toothpick’s end of purple food coloring (to achieve a whiter shade). Mix on high speed for another minute.
7. Give it a taste. If it’s too buttery, add some heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you like the consistency. Whip it in on high speed for at least one minute when you like the texture. (See my footnotes about this below.)
8. Switch over to a paddle attachment and run the frosting on low speed to get out any large air pockets. The finished buttercream will have minimal air bubbles and be ready to use.