In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar. Whisk together to combine.
Pour in the boiling water and whisk again until fully combined. Tip in the funfetti sprinkles and use a spatula to gently incorporate. The mixture will be very thin, this is normal!
Transfer the cake mixture to the prepared baking pan. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the cake is golden brown, shrinking away from the sides of the pan slightly and feel springy when touched with your finger.
To make the cream cheese frosting, put the soft butter and cream cheese into a mixing bowl and beat on a low speed until smooth and combined.
Add the powdered sugar and strawberry preserve (or strawberry extract if using) and beat until smooth and creamy. At this point, you can add a touch of pink food coloring if you would like the frosting to be a brighter shade of pink.
Use a spoon to dollop the frosting on to the cooled vanilla sheet cake. Spread the frosting with an off set spatula into an even layer across the entire surface of the cake.
• This is a sublimely moist and flavorful vanilla cake packed with funfetti sprinkles and topped with a strawberry flavor cream cheese frosting. The cake is very light and soft thanks to the buttermilk. It takes very little effort to make and can all be mixed in one bowl!
• If you don’t have buttermilk you can substitute with sour cream or plain yogurt. Alternatively, you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk.
• Use a flavorless oil such as canola oil or vegetable oil.
• The cake mixture for this vanilla sheet cake will be very thin and runny, which is normal for this
type of cake.
• The outside layer of the cake will be golden brown however the inside will look pale in color with
flecks of Funfetti running throughout.
• We used Fancy Sprinkles Funfetti because they are bake stable and don’t run during baking.
• As mentioned in the recipe, you may substitute the strawberry preserve with 1 teaspoon of strawberry
extract. We have found strawberry preserve to give the most authentic and natural strawberry
flavor.
• The strawberry preserve will add a hint of pastel pink to the frosting. Feel free to add pink food
coloring for a more vivid color.
• Cream cheese frosting is a different consistency to pipeable buttercream. Since this is to frost a
sheet cake the frosting is lighter, creamier and not as thick.
• If the frosting is too runny simply add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too thick you
can add a splash of milk or heavy cream.
• Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. The vanilla sheet cake can
be frozen (un-frosted) for up to 1 month.