A fluffy, tender gluten-free funfetti cake recipe that makes the best gluten-free birthday cake. I’ve included instructions for making a three-layer cake and tips on what sprinkles to use.
Looking for a smaller gluten-free birthday cake recipe for your little one? I’ve included gluten free smash cake instructions below.
If you love funfetti, you'll want to try this Funfetti Ice Cream.
Gluten-Free Funfetti Cake
This gluten-free birthday cake recipe is a spin off my gluten free vanilla cake. You guys have been asking for the best gluten-free birthday cake recipe and here it is!
It’s light, tender, and it’s simple to make. No need to ever buy a gluten-free funfetti cake mix at the store again.
Please read through this entire post. It’s chalked full of tips for making the best gluten-free funfetti cake.
Tips for making gluten-free funfetti cake
There are a couple of tips and tricks to getting the right texture with this gluten-free funfetti cake recipe. First, you have to follow the recipe. So many people comment on recipe posts saying that they made a ton of substitutions and the recipe didn’t turn out. If you make a substitution, you are doing so on your own.
Other than the dairy substitute, I haven’t tried other substitutes in this recipe.
Second, you want to mix at the right time and not over-mix. When you are beating the oil, sugar, and eggs you’ll want to beat it for the time listed. This adds air which in turn helps the cake rise. Beating any longer will cause the batter to stiffen.
Last but not least, you want to use the right kind of sprinkles and you want to fold the sprinkles in. This will prevent the coloring from the sprinkles bleeding into the batter and ruining your cake color.
How to make Gluten-Free Birthday Cake
- In a medium mixing bowl combine oil and sugar.
- Add eggs and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for one minute.
- Add flour, salt, baking powder, dairy-free milk, and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute.
- Gently fold the sprinkles in. See the note in the recipe card about which sprinkles to use.
- Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the centers springs back when touched and cakes are lightly browned.
- Let cool in the pan on rack for five minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans onto rack and cool completely before frosting.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes only. Please see the printable recipe card below.
How to make Gluten-Free Smash Cake
To make a gluten-free smash cake, cut the recipe in half. Pour the gluten-free funfetti cake batter into two six-inch cake pans, instead of two eight- or nine-inch cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the center is set.
Cool cakes completely before frosting. When you’re ready to frost your gluten-free smash cake, cut the frosting recipe in half and frost the tops of each layer, stack one layer on top of the other, then frost the sides.
What causes a cake to crack on top?
You might see cracks if your temperature is too high, or your gluten-free birthday cake is placed in the oven too high. The heat of baking activates the baking powder and causes it to release carbon dioxide, which forms bubbles and raises the cake. If your oven is too hot, that process is sped up. Make sure to place your cake in the center, and regularly check your oven’s temperature.
Another reason is if you are at a high altitude. If you are baking this gluten-free funfetti cake at a high altitude consider cutting the baking powder in half.
Why did my cake sink?
There are several reason why gluten-free cakes sink, one is from over beating the batter and adding too much air. Also, cakes often will sink when there is too much moisture.
It’s common in humid climates where added moisture can collect naturally in ingredients such as flour. When this occurs, the center of the gluten-free birthday cake rises rapidly and then falls during baking.
In higher elevations, the leavening agent works twice as hard and may cause the batter to rise rapidly and sink before it’s had a chance to set up. All these tips are relevant to most cake recipes, not just this gluten-free funfetti cake recipe.
Some of my favorite gluten-free cake recipes for birthdays:
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Grain-Free Hummingbird Cake
- Gluten-Free Lemon Cake
If you are looking for cupcake recipes, just search cupcakes in the search bar on the right.
If you made this gluten-free birthday cake recipe I want to hear from you! Please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know what you thought.
Gluten Free Birthday Cake
A fluffy, tender gluten-free funfetti cake recipe that makes the best gluten-free birthday cake. I’ve included instructions for making a three-layer cake and tips on what sprinkles to use. Gluten-free smash cake instructions and dairy-free options included.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (8 oz.) vegetable oil (or oil of choice)
- 1 ¼ cups (265g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs (220g.), room temperature
- 3 cups (425g.) all purpose gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, NOT the Bob's All Purpose GF Flour)
- ½ teaspoon (3 g.) salt
- 3 teaspoons (12g.) baking powder
- 1 cup (8 oz.) milk (or dairy-free milk of choice)
- 1 teaspoon (2.5g.) gluten-free vanilla extract
- ½ cup colored sprinkles
For the frosting:
- ½ cup (115g) butter (or dairy-free butter)
- 1 ½ teaspoons (4g) gluten-free vanilla extract
- 4 ½ cups (450g) powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (40-60g) milk (or dairy-free milk)
Instructions
- For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven. Grease two 8" or 9" pans with oil; set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine oil and sugar.
- Add eggs and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, milk, and vanilla; beat at medium speed for one minute.
- Gently fold the sprinkles into the batter.
- Spoon batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the centers springs back when touched and cakes are lightly browned.
- Let cool in the pan on rack for five minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans onto rack and cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting: In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Slowly beat in milk. Beat in additional milk if needed, to obtain desired consistency.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- Use sprinkles or round sequin sprinkles, do NOT use nonpareil sprinkles or they may bleed through the batter.
- This gluten-free birthday cake may also be made in three 9" pans. Decrease the baking time and start checking the cakes for doneness around 25 minutes.
- This recipe works best with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. It DOES NOT work with the Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free flour.
- When working with or measuring gluten-free flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the gluten-free flour. The best method really is to weight it but I don't have the ingredient weights for all my recipes yet.
- Dairy-Free Option: you can use dairy-free milk and dairy-free butter in this cake recipe.
- Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
- Gluten-Free Smash Cake: To make a gluten-free smash cake, cut the recipe in half. Pour the gluten-free funfetti cake batter into two six-inch cake pans, instead of two eight- or nine-inch cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the center is set. Cool cakes completely before frosting. When you’re ready to frost your gluten-free smash cake, cut the frosting recipe in half and frost the tops of each layer, stack one layer on top of the other, then frost the sides.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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Tiffany
So incredibly good! I made this for my birthday the last week of December and it was so good that my husband, who has no food restrictions, asked me to make it again this week lol. The first time I made it I used 1/2 cup dairy free butter and 1/2 cup oil because I didn't have enough oil on hand. This made the cake a bit heavier but still a great flavor. The second time I made it with all oil and it came out lighter and fluffier, still great flavor. Just wanted to share in case anyone wondered if they could sub butter in place of oil. The top of my cake cracked the first time so I thought I put it on the wrong rack and/or cooked it too long. So the second time I started checking it sooner and put it on a different rack. It still cracked on the top but not as bad. Not a big deal since you slice off the domed part in order to ice it and make it level. I think its an issue with our oven temp fluctuating too much. Like I said, no big deal. The cake is still so good. And the icing recipe is perfect. I'll never buy store bought icing again!
Zoe
Yay! So happy you and your husband enjoyed! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Caitlin Williams
Could I substitute half of the oil for melted butter? I like the flavor that butter gives but I also like the moisture from the oil, and I have read that sometimes bakers can do both in a cake. Thanks!
Wendy Stoltz
Hi Caitlin,
We have not tried it, it should hoever work. Let us know how it goes when you try it.