Funfetti Cake Bars With Chocolate Glaze

If you've found yourself in the baking aisle of a western supermarket, chances are you've noticed the word "funfetti" on lots of products. But what exactly is it? Very simply, a dessert that has rainbow colored sprinkles mixed into the batter as opposed to just being used as a decoration on the top is considered "funfetti." While baking, the sprinkles slowly dissolve and create brightly colored, confetti-like, spots inside the batter.

Rainbow sprinkles are made of sugar, waxy shortenings and brightly colored dyes. And they've been enormously popular ever since the late 80's when a funfetti cake mix was introduced. It was the first time that the sprinkles were used to color the batter and kids loved it. Now you can find them in all manner of baked goods and now even as part of pop culture design.

Just as with that cake mix, rainbow sprinkles previously used only as decoration on cakes, cookies, and cupcakes after they're baked are used to color the batter in the case of funfetti bars.

Most recipes for the bars call for a box of yellow cake mix, the addition of the rainbow sprinkles in the batter, something gooey like sweetened condensed milk, and a good dose of chocolate chips, most often white. The result is a crispy exterior and soft moist center and they are off the charts sweet.

This version, however, is made from scratch with no box mix. The recipe is still super simple, but the flavor has a better homemade taste. The white chocolate chips in the dough are omitted in favor of a semi-sweet chocolate glaze over the top of the bars. Make no mistake, though. These might be a little bit more adult-friendly but they're still powerfully sweet.

Cut them into 9 or 12 bars and watch them quickly disappear.