Confetti Cake with Homemade Sprinkles (Jimmies)

Whether you call them Sprinkles or Jimmies, as my friends from New England do, you have to admit they make any cake festive.  Non-pareils or sprinkles date back to the late 18th century, but a company called "Just Born" located in Brooklyn, NY is credited with calling them "Jimmies, which were chocolate-colored; not necessarily containing chocolate. Jan Freeman from the Boston Globe wrote, after mentioning the word "Jimmies" in a column, got several letters stating the term shouldn't be used because it was a racial slur for African Americans. However, after much research, that was a theory that could happily never be proven. These sugar strands of confection have made cakes, ice cream, and other desserts pretty popular as a topping and I so enjoyed making up my own colors for a dessert on Easter Sunday.

Confetti Cake with Homemade Sprinkles (Jimmies)

Homemade Sprinkles (Jimmies)
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 T Light Karo Syrup
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 -2 T water (add slowly since you need only make the consistency of "glue")

In a small bowl, stir the Karo Syrup and vanilla extract into the confectioners' sugar. Add water just until you achieve the consistency of glue.

Separate the "glue" into 3 bowls and add a few drops of food coloring.  Place the icing into a pastry bag with a #3 or #4 tip and pipe lines on a sheet of parchment.

Best results if you do this the day before, but allow at least 8 hours for drying.

I made these early morning, then went out to spread mulch in my flower beds for the day:-D

Confetti Cake

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Brush a 9" x 13" cake pan with melted butter, line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper that extends 2" on either of the long sides (helps remove the cake after baking), butter the parchment paper, then dust the pan surface with flour.  Set aside.

I used the "reverse creaming" method on this cake and it turned out perfect!

3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour (plain flour)

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 T baking powder

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups whole milk

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2/3 cup Homemade Sprinkles (Jimmies)*

*I added 1/3 cup of the Homemade and 1/3 cup of "store bought" for Easter!

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the first four "dry" ingredients.  While the mixer is running, add the soft butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the mixture is crumbly.

Mix the milk, eggs and vanilla in a 2 cup measure and, while the mixer is on low, add half.  Beat 1 minute until fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, if needed, then slowly add the remaining liquid. Stir in the Sprinkles and pour batter into the prepared pan.  Smooth the batter out and place in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Transfer pan to a rack and cool completely.  If you like, you can remove the cooled cake to a serving platter, using the extension of the parchment on the sides.  While the cake cools, make the frosting.

Cooked Milk Frosting (this was a recipe my mom made when we had run out of Confectioners' (icing) sugar)

1/4 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

In a small sauce pan, whisk together the flour, milk and vanilla.  Whisk constantly until mixture comes together, the consistency of thick pudding.  Transfer to a glass bowl, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface.  Place in the refrigerator to cool completely--30 minutes.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, scrapping down the sides as needed.  Add the cooled milk/flour mixture and continue to beat until it resembles whipped cream--about 2 minutes.  Frost the cake and add Sprinkles (Jimmies).

 I will certainly make these Sprinkles (Jimmies) again because it was fun to customize my own colors.  I hope you all had a lovely Easter and Spring is showing it's colors-mine have come to an end, but here are some of the beauties that appeared early with our warm temperatures.  Enjoy!