Great Balls of PRIDE: A Loud & Proud Confetti Cake for Pride Month

Every June, our office hosts a “Loud & Proud” bake sale to celebrate PRIDE Month and raise money for LGBTQ+ charities. It’s one of my favourite events to join—not just to show off my bakes, but because it supports causes that matter. This year, we raised funds for MindOut, a mental health service run by and for lesbians, gay men, bisexual, trans, and queer people. MindOut provides advice and information, advocacy, peer support groups, wellbeing activities, a peer mentoring service, and an out-of-hours online chat line—offering vital support to LGBTQ+ individuals.

For this year’s bake sale, I wanted to create something joyful, colourful, and unapologetically bold. I had already been testing a confetti cake recipe at home and for my daughter’s picnic. The goal was to achieve that perfect rainbow-speckled crumb using Get Baked UK’s bake-stable rainbow sprinkles. Unlike regular sprinkles, these ones hold their colour in the oven instead of melting into the batter.

Originally, I planned to finish the cake with a full rainbow buttercream, but I had a change of heart—thanks to a podcast. While gardening last weekend, I listened to a conversation about how we constantly distract ourselves with our phones, even during small moments like walking to the kitchen. The idea was to leave the phone behind and instead use those moments to reflect on your “MIQ” (Most Important Question). I tried it—and while I didn’t land on any deep personal truths, I did get the idea to skip the buttercream rainbow and go for rainbow-sprinkle-coated marshmallows instead.

It turned out to be the best decision. I’m not a fan of working with buttercream (I get messy!), so I made a kind of “naked cake” with just enough vanilla-pink buttercream to sandwich the layers and stick the marshmallows on top. I even asked ChatGPT to visualize it—and it nailed my vision, and I got below image created by ChatGBT. So I got baking.

🎂

Confetti Cake Recipe

(Adapted from

100 Afternoon Sweets

by Sarah Kieffer)

This recipe makes two 23x33 cm sheet cakes, which you’ll stack to create one glorious rainbow centrepiece.

Ingredients:

170g unsalted butter, melted & cooled

250g granulated sugar

210g egg whites (or 6–7 whites), room temperature

1 cup milk, room temperature

120g crème fraîche

56g vegetable oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

391g plain flour

100g bake-stable rainbow sprinkles (I used Get Baked UK’s)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan). Grease and line a 23x33cm cake tin with a parchment sling.

2. In a stand mixer, combine all ingredients except flour and sprinkles. Mix on medium-low for 1 minute.

3. Add flour, stir with a spatula first, then mix briefly on medium-high until smooth (about 30 seconds).

4. Fold in sprinkles just before pouring batter into the tin.

5. Bake for 32 minutes, rotating halfway through. A skewer should come out clean.

6. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then lift out and cool completely on a rack.

Note: I tried baking strips to reduce doming but found they caused underbaked sides. I recommend trimming the domed tops after baking instead.

☁️

Sprinkle-Covered Marshmallows

This recipe makes marshmallows in three sizes using silicone dome moulds (I used 6 large, 18 medium, and 15 small domes).

Ingredients:

165g egg whites

8 gelatine leaves

500ml ice-cold water (for soaking gelatine)

120ml water (for syrup)

150g liquid glucose

300g caster sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Food colouring of choice

Rainbow sprinkles (for coating)

Method:

1. Soak gelatine leaves in cold water. Put egg whites in stand mixer.

2. Heat sugar, glucose, and 120ml water in a saucepan to 121°C.

3. When syrup reaches 114°C, begin whisking egg whites until soft peaks.

4. Slowly pour syrup into egg whites with mixer on low. Then increase speed.

5. Melt gelatine gently and pour into mixture. Whisk for 7 minutes until glossy.

6. Add vanilla and colouring. Mix briefly.

7. Pipe quickly into silicone moulds. Chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

8. Pop out marshmallows, oil hands if needed, and coat generously in sprinkles.

🧁

Vanilla Buttercream

(for light coverage)

Ingredients:

450g unsalted butter, room temp

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp liquid glucose

350g icing sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Optional: food colouring (I used pink)

Method:

1. Beat butter and salt until smooth.

2. Add glucose, then icing sugar gradually.

3. Mix in vanilla and colour. Beat for 6–8 minutes until fluffy.

🏳️‍🌈

To Assemble:

1. Trim domes and sides of cooled cakes for a neat stack.

2. Spread ⅓ of buttercream over one layer.

3. Stack the second layer and lightly coat the top with more buttercream.

4. Lightly frost the sides to keep the crumb visible.

5. Decorate the top with rainbow sprinkles and cover with sprinkle-coated marshmallows.

This cake ended up being a showstopper and a conversation starter. I loved how the confetti crumb peeked through the thin frosting, and the marshmallows gave it that joyful “great balls of PRIDE” vibe. Most importantly, it helped raise funds for a brilliant cause.

Happy PRIDE, everyone—may your cakes be loud and your hearts proud.