If you’re looking for a fun and easy cake but don’t want to spend too much time making it, then this is the perfect recipe for you. The color from the popcorn brightens up the simple flavors of confetti cake and vanilla buttercream. You can either use fruit flavored or rainbow kettle popcorn. Both are similar in color, so choose whichever taste you prefer. Because the cake is so colorful and festive, I recommend bringing it to any party you attend!
Recipe
Confetti Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cup sugar
4 eggs room temperature preferred 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup yogurt
¾ cup milk
½ cup sprinkles
Vanilla Buttercream frosting:
6 sticks butter
8 cups powdered sugar
4 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon salt
Rainbow Popcorn:
¼ cup popcorn kernels
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon canola oil 1 tablespoon water pinch of salt
5-6 different colors of food coloring
Directions-
Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line with parchment paper three 8-inch pans. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix the milk and yogurt in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
Bake until the cakes are lightly browned on top and the centers spring back when pressed, about 30 minutes. Let cakes cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and transfer to cooling racks and let cool 45 minutes to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper.
Frosting:
Beat the butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Mix in vanilla extract and salt and beat the frosting on high until it whitens about 2 minutes.
Popcorn:
Line one sheet pan per color of food coloring you have. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Set aside.
Pop your popcorn.
Stir the sugar, oil, water, and salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat until the mixture is completely liquified.
Drop 2-3 drops of each food coloring into separate small bowls.Evenly divide the sugar mixture into the small bowls. Mix the sugar mixture and food coloring together in each bowl.
Stir some popcorn into each bowl of colored sugar mixture and stir until the popcorn is completely coated.
Pour the popcorn onto the sheet pans and allow to dry until no longer soggy about 2 hours.
Once dry combine all the colors of popcorn in a large bowl.
Decorating:
Step 1: Place your first cake layer on a ten inch cardboard round.
Step 2: Spread your favorite frosting and continue with the rest of the layers without frosting the very top or the sides.
Step 3: Optional but helpful: place the filled cake in the freezer for 15-30 minutes to chill the frosting and the cake, which will make it easier to decorate.
Step 4: Completely frost the outside and the top of your cake; using a flat frosting spatula (offset spatula).
Step 5: Pile the popcorn on the top and rim the bottom of the cake with the remaining popcorn pieces.
Enjoy!