Funfetti Cake Butter

Spreadable funfetti cake? Yeah, we went there. Think of nutella or cookie butter spread, and substitute the sweet, buttery vanilla flavors of funfetti cake with little rainbow sprinkle fireworks. It’s a whimsical indulgence that will have your taste buds donning tiny party hats and singing happy birthday. 

You may be thinking, “What do you put this stuff on?” Well, if you manage not to eat all of it with a spoon, you can spread funfetti butter on crêpes, using this recipe. It tastes great in or on pancakes or waffles — coarsely stir funfetti butter into the batter, or put a scoop of it on top. Coat the funfetti butter in chocolate, to make quick cake truffles; layer it in a yogurt parfait or dessert trifle; add a scoop to an ice cream sundae or milkshake; or just dip some fresh fruit or cookies in it. Believe me, this deliciousness has no problem finding a willing partner. 

Like Cookie Butter But Different

I compared funfetti butter to cookie butter above. If you don’t already have the pleasure of being acquainted with cookie butter, then that is another delicious confection that you are missing out on. For the uninitiated, cookie butter is a magical spread made from speculoos cookies. Speculoos cookies are a lightly spiced belgian cookie with characteristic flavors of caramelized sugar and cinnamon, reminiscent of gingerbread cookies. 

The largest and most recognizable producer of speculoos cookies is Lotus Biscoff brand — you may have seen some of their single serving packages as airline snacks. Trader Joe’s has also been quite successful selling their own speculoos cookies and cookie butter spread, but the cookies were popular in Europe long before they went mainstream in the USA. 

The story of how cookie butter was invented is actually quite interesting. Before cookie butter, sandwiches filled with speculoos cookies and butter were a popular snack in Belgium. When these shameless sandwiches were packed and taken to school or to work, the cookies would soften and take on a spreadable consistency. Two people in particular recognized the potential, and both entered The Inventors, a competition TV show for inventors and start–up businesses, with competing ideas for their speculoos cookie butter spreads. Neither won the contest — a real strike against the competition judges if you ask me — but got Lotus Biscoff brand’s attention, which bought the rights to the recipes and promptly had their own cookie butter on the market. 

Cakes and Celebrations

Cakes and celebrations go hand in hand. Layer cakes, sheet cakes, cupcakes, bundt cakes — no matter the style, serving cake makes any gathering feel like a special occasion. Today the association is so ingrained that most people don’t stop to wonder how or why the tradition of cakes began. Of course cakes are sweet and delicious; and they can be decorated in countless ways, becoming beautiful centerpieces. But there is much more to it than that…

In the beginning, cakes used bread recipes, enriched with butter or eggs, and sweetened with honey, dried fruit or nuts. The results were therefore *surprise*, hardly distinguishable from bread. I’m sure these cakes were still very tasty, but I doubt they made their mark for their memorable looks or flavor. What made cakes special was the nature of the ingredients used. Butter, eggs, honey, fruits and nuts were all expensive commodities, used sparingly and reserved for special occasions. To serve them to guests or offer them to the gods was therefore a show of great respect. (For more about the history of honey, read this post for Hot Honey)

Simply based on the resources used to make them, cakes held special significance from the very first, which is believed to have been in Ancient Egypt. Cakes were often used as offerings to the gods, and in Ancient Greece, the first recorded cakes with candles in them were offered to Artemis, the goddess of the moon. Later, in Ancient Rome, cakes were first used for celebrations such as important birthdays and weddings, but given the cost of ingredients, the practice was reserved for the wealthiest citizens. In the 17th century, with the advent of new technologies and cooking techniques, the first cakes were made that resemble our modern day versions — with layers, frosting and decorations. 

The Germans in the 18th century were the first to introduce birthday parties for children called kinderfeste, meaning simply “children’s party”. At these birthday celebrations, a layer cake decorated with frosting and adorned with candles was brought out in the morning. The candles were allowed to burn all day, even being replaced if need be, until finally after dinner the guest of honor could blow out all the candles and dig in. Children must have been better behaved back then — I don’t know any kids who could stare at a cake all day without being able to touch it, and not have a meltdown. Come to think of it, I don’t think most adults could make it either. 

Cakes finally became widely available to the average household during the industrial revolution, in the late 18th century. Improved manufacturing processes, and mass production lowered the cost of cake–making ingredients. Cake may no longer be a luxury good, but its appeal and celebratory nature was only multiplied when more people were able to share in the fun. 

Funfetti!

Funfetti cake is rooted in nostalgia. Rainbow sprinkles and boxed cake mix certainly are not hallmarks of sophisticated adult celebrations, but let’s be honest, if you’re at a kids birthday party, what adult isn’t patiently longing for a cupcake. 

Before we could have funfetti cake we needed sprinkles, because funfetti cake without sprinkles would be nothing — actually, it would just be vanilla cake. The precursor to modern sprinkles is French nonpareils, which loosely translates to “without equal” or “beyond compare”. These tiny white spherical sprinkles originated in the 18th century and were used to decorate pastries and cakes. By the 20th century they had evolved into the multicolored oblong sprinkles that we know today. 

In the spirit of making funfetti butter as traditional as possible, I highly recommend that you use a boxed cake mix, such as Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines. I am someone who likes to make as much from scratch as possible in the kitchen — I like to know what’s in my food. But I admit it’s hard to believe that a powder from a box turns into such a rich, moist, delicious cake, and ultimately that’s exactly what funfetti butter is supposed to taste like. Even if your homemade cake is better, there’s just something unique about the flavor, and texture of those boxed mixes that keeps this recipe young at heart. 

What You’ll Need

For this recipe and for so many other versatile applications, I recommend having a food processor. This Cuisinart model is a top pick for quality and longevity.

A kitchen scale is one of the quickest ways to improve your cooking, especially when baking. This model from Nicewell is affordable and reliable.

Notes

• Bake the cake according to the instructions on the boxed cake mix. Let the cake cool fully before making the funfetti butter.
• This recipe uses about half of one boxed cake mix. The recipe was tested using “Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake Mix”, but any vanilla flavored cake from any similar brand will work. White cake will provide the best color contrast with the rainbow sprinkles. Different brands may vary slightly, so it is important to weigh the cake. 
• If you do not have a kitchen scale, after pulsing the cake in a food processor in step 1 of the recipe, the cake will measure about 3 cups (not packed).
• Leftover cake can be wrapped tightly and frozen; or frosted and eaten as is; turned into cake pops; toasted and crumbled into a garnish; or perhaps best of all, just double this recipe and use all of it. 
• Funfetti butter can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
• If using salted butter, omit the added salt in the recipe. 
• The recipe can be made gluten–free by using a gluten–free cake mix.

Suggested Recipes

• Crêpes — Made–To–Order Recipe Series
• Hot Honey