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This Funfetti Cheesecake Cake has two layers of funfetti cake with a layer of cheesecake in the middle. It’s covered with cream cheese frosting.
Hey everyone! RecipeGirl (RecipeBoy’s Mom here) sharing a cake I made for Brooks’ 18th birthday. EIGHTEEN! I know it’s crazy. This kiddo started RecipeBoy when he was ten. My husband and I gave him the blog for his tenth birthday. And now he’s 18, and getting ready to go to college. I can’t believe it has been ten years.
Brooks has had a very busy senior year getting college applications done and finishing up a rigorous course schedule. He’s very excited to share a post with you (coming up soon) about where he’s choosing to attend college. In the meantime, let’s celebrate his 18th birthday with this Funfetti Cheesecake Cake!
The birthday plan:
I had an idea for how to celebrate his birthday, so I started planning it a couple of months ahead of the big day. He got 18 gifts with 18 balloons. I purchased a wide variety of gifts (umbrella for college, food gift cards, t-shirts, summer clothes, cash, book, college bookstore gift card, cologne, etc). When he got up in the morning, he walked down the hallway and opened each gift.
The trail of balloons and gifts ended at the kitchen table, where I had photos from all of his birthdays from age one to age seventeen. It was a fun trip down memory lane. We sat down and talked about what we did for each birthday and who was there.
It was a pretty fun birthday morning for this 18 year old!
Now, let’s talk about this Funfetti Cheesecake Cake. It’s really very simple to make. I baked a Funfetti cake. The recipe calls for the boxed kind of Funfetti cake, but it’s jazzed up with some extra ingredients so it tastes a lot better than a regular boxed cake. I also baked a simple vanilla cheesecake. The cheesecake is placed in between the cake layers- adding a delicious filling between the cakes!
And I covered the whole cake with cream cheese frosting. It’s so delicious!
This cake was a very big hit on RecipeBoy’s 18th birthday. He loved it. And he was very appreciative of the amount of effort that Mom put into creating a special birthday morning for him!!
Stay tuned… RecipeBoy will be posting here in a few weeks sharing all about his plans for college. They grow up too quickly, don’t they??
Here are a few more cake recipes that can be used for special celebrations:
- Cookies and Cream Cake
- Snickers Cake
- Kit Kat Cake
- Easy Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
- Banana Pudding Layer Cake
Funfetti Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients
CHEESECAKE:
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FUNFETTI CAKE:
- one 15.25-ounce box Funfetti (or rainbow sprinkle cake mix)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1⅓ cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ to ⅓ cup rainbow sprinkles
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- 2½ cups powdered sugar, sifted to remove lumps
- two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the cheesecake: Preheat oven to 325℉. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese- blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy. Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely. This can be done in several hours or overnight.
- Prepare the cake layers: Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round pans. It's easiest to get the cake out of the pans if you line them with rounds of parchment paper too. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add the remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Be sure to fill them ¾ to 1 inch below the top of the pan. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Watch closely. Check after 35 minutes and then every 5 minutes until they test done.
- Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not over beat).
- Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan. Peel off the parchment. Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers. If the cheesecake layer turns out to be a slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
- Frost the cake: Use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. Once the first layer of frosting is applied, add more to cover bare spots. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake. Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake too. You can use a piping bag to add a decorative edge. Add more rainbow sprinkles on top, if desired. Keep this cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Keep leftovers refrigerated too.
Nutrition
This recipe comes from RecipeBoy.com
Happy birthday! I remember following him almost from the beginning of his blog. He has really grown up so fast. Have fun.
Thanks for following for so long- he’ll still be popping in now and then!
I love this recipe! It turned out absolutely peeerrrrfect for my husband’s birthday. I was trying to find a neat spin on funfetti cake since that is his a favorite. This cake is it. The best most delish!! Thankyou for sharing I will have to make this again I am sure of it.
oh, how he’s grown. I have been following this blog too, for a very very long time. Glad to see him growing up!
What a great way to celebrate Brooks’ 18 birthday! Enjoyed this story, and the cake looks epic. Thank you and Happy belated Birthay, Brooks!
For the Funfetti cake layer do you Mix In the listed ingredients as well as the ingredients listed on the Funfetti cake mix box? Confused as to if the recipe is in addition to what the box already says to add.
Nope- just follow the recipe as indicated, using the cake mix as an ingredient.
Cheesecake layer fell and did not maintain its thickness uniformly. Quite sure I followed directions and am very experienced in making cheesecakes. Only thing that might have affected it was that I used cream cheese that had been frozen and was thoroughly thawed and at room temperature.
Hmmm, I have no idea how that happened unless the freezing messed with the consistency of the cream cheese. Sorry!
How long before assembling/serving the cake do you need to remove the cheesecake from the freezer? Do you make the cheesecake in a water bath?
You do not need to make the cheesecake in a water bath. If it cracks– it doesn’t matter because you won’t see the cracks. You can assemble the cake using the frozen cheesecake. It will defrost in the fridge.
This cake looks awesome and I’m going to attempt it for my husband’s 31st birthday today! Do you do a crumb coat when making this, and also to get the sides all fancy and even should I possibly make a double batch of frosting or would the one batch be plenty? Thanks! – Cassy
Sorry I missed this- how did it go?
What’s the purpose of adding the cup of flour and sugar to the cake mix? Does it make a better cake texture? or is it to make more batter?
The brands have reduced the cake mix sizes, so this compensates for that.