Momofuku Milk Bar's Birthday Confetti Cake

5 from 2 votes

Momofuku Milk Bar's Birthday Confetti Cake

The Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake has three soft, scrumptious layers of vanilla cake loaded with sprinkles and crunchy cake crumbs sprinkled in with the dreamy light frosting. It's perfect for all kinds of celebrations and special occasions without a trip to NYC!

Prep Time2

Cook Time45

Chilling Time3

Total Time5 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 779kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Equipment

1 6-inch cake ring or springform mold
2 strips acetate (flexible plastic paper), each 3-inches wide and 20-inches long

Ingredients

Cake

2 cups cake flour, scooped & leveled (240g)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons rainbow sprinkles, divided
½ cup buttermilk (120ml)
⅓ cup grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons clear imitation vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (248g)
⅓ cup vegetable shortening (61g)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (57g)
3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature

Crumbs

¾ cup cake flour or all-purpose flour, scooped & leveled (90g)
½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup grapeseed oil (60ml)
1 Tablespoon clear imitation vanilla extract

Frosting

½ cup salted butter, room temperature (227g)
¼ cup vegetable shortening
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon clear imitation vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (142g)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Cake Soak

¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 10x15-inch rimmed jelly roll baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. Set aside.
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and ¼ cup sprinkles together in a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Beat granulated sugar, shortening, butter, and brown sugar together in a large bowl for 3-4 minutes until creamy and light using an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Continue to beat, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice, for another 3-4 minutes until almost doubled in volume and very light. The color will turn a pale yellow.
Add buttermilk mixture on low speed, mixing just until combined. Add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining sprinkles over the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a light golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Crumbs

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, sprinkles, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add oil and vanilla, then mix until evenly moistened. Squeeze handfuls together to form large clumps, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet, breaking up into clusters of varying sizes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crunchy. It will firm up more as it cools.

Frosting

Beat butter, shortening, and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes in a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy and light. Add corn syrup and vanilla extract. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and very light in color, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Add powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon juice. Beat on low speed until incorporated, then increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat another 3-4 minutes until bright white, fluffy, and smooth.

Assembly

Make cake soak by combining milk and vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.
Invert cake onto a clean piece of parchment paper and peel off the back piece. Use the cake ring to cut out two 6-inch cake rounds. Cut out two additional half-circles from the scraps to piece together a third 6-inch cake round.
Place a clean piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, then place a 6-inch cake ring on it. Line the inside of the cake ring with 1 of the acetate strips. Arrange the two half-circle cake pieces in the bottom of the ring, filling in any gaps with cake scrips to form the bottom layer. Brush with about half of the cake soak to evenly moisten.
Spread about 3 tablespoons of the frosting over the bottom cake layer with the back of a spoon or spatula. Evenly sprinkle ⅔ cup of the crumbs over the frosting, then spread another 3 tablespoons of the frosting over the crumbs as best you can.
Add the second acetate strip to create a 5- to 6-inch tall ring. Nestle the next cake layer down into the acetate ring. Brush with the remaining cake soak and repeat the frosting-crumbs-frosting layer.
Add the last cake layer on top of the frosting, then cover with the remaining frosting. Top with the rest of the crumbs.
Freeze for at least 3 hours to set the cake and filling. Remove from freezer at least 3 hours before serving and peel off the acetate strips. Thaw in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

Notes

Yield: Makes one 6-inch layer cake. It may not seem large, but it's plenty for 8-10 people. The nutrition was calculated for 10 servings.
Make-ahead: You can make the cake layer 5 days ahead and store in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap until ready to assemble. Crumbs can be made 5 days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Frosting can be made 1 week in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Let come to room temperature for 2-3 hours, then beat again before using.
Storage: Cake will keep well for up to 1 week in the fridge wrapped well in plastic wrap or up to 1-2 months in the freezer.
You may want to double the frosting. The original Milk Bar birthday cake isn't overly heavy on the frosting and personally I like it that way. But you could definitely do 1.5x or even double the amount and not overwhelm the cake if you like frosting.

Nutrition