Packed with rainbow sprinkles and topped with vanilla icing, these buttermilk birthday cake pancakes are the sweetest way to wake up in the morning. A stack of these colorful pancakes makes for an extra-special start to a birthday, a fun ending for a sleepover party, or any celebratory occasion that calls for sprinkles for breakfast!
. I have also made a few small changes to the recipe, which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
For the most part, I try to make healthy, wholesome (but still tasty!) breakfasts for my family, like these fluffy whole wheat pancakes and whole wheat banana pancakes. But there are a few special dates on the calendar every year when normal rules don’t apply… and that’s when it’s time to break out the sprinkles and make a batch of birthday cake pancakes!
I started with my favorite buttermilk pancake recipe (in my first cookbook!) as the base for this funfetti-style version. I love this classic buttermilk pancake recipe because it makes the fluffiest, softest, most tender pancakes ever. Have you tried them?
I changed the recipe by adding a touch more baking powder and sugar, a little almond extract, extra vanilla extract, and a whole lotta sprinkles. The extracts, along with the melted butter, gives these pancakes the most delicious buttery cake batter flavor. Paired with sweet vanilla icing (and maybe a little whipped cream—why not go all out!?), it’s absolutely considered dessert. For breakfast.
Living the dream.
What You’ll Love About These Birthday Cake Pancakes
- Quick and easy to make
- Fluffy, buttery, and tender
- Loaded with colorful rainbow sprinkles
- Flavors of vanilla and almond extract make them taste like cake batter
- Topped with sweet vanilla icing (and more sprinkles!)
- Almost like having confetti cake for breakfast!
By the way, if you have a little extra time on your hands you’ll also love these sprinkle loaded birthday cake cinnamon rolls!
Key Ingredients to Use & Why
- Butter: Melt the butter first, to give it a chance to slightly cool before you mix it into the other wet ingredients.
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of the pancakes. See recipe Notes for info on using whole wheat flour and my whole wheat pancakes recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: Just enough to sweeten the batter, because you’ll add sweet toppings like vanilla icing or maple syrup.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: Both give these fun pancakes some serious fluffiness.
- Salt: To balance the sweet.
- Eggs: To bind the ingredients together.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk’s lactic acid, as well as its subtle tangy flavor and creamy texture, is required. Though I often suggest a DIY buttermilk substitute using regular milk and vinegar/lemon, I highly recommend using real buttermilk in these pancakes. I usually use low fat, but full fat works too.
- Vanilla Extract: A kiss of vanilla is the perfect flavor enhancer. You could also use vanilla bean paste.
- Almond Extract: This flavor addition is what makes these pancakes taste like cake batter. It doesn’t really taste like almonds—it’s the flavoring we always use in sugar cookies! By the way, have you ever tried this cake & cookie bakery emulsion? You can use this flavoring to replace almond or vanilla extracts in certain recipes, including today’s.
- Rainbow Sprinkles: Make sure you use the “jimmies” style of rainbow sprinkles, the waxy strands. Rainbow confetti quins (the flat pastel-colored discs) work, too. Other types of sprinkles, such as nonpareils, will bleed their color in the batter, turning it muddy—which isn’t the look we’re going for here!
Make the Pancake Batter
Preparing the batter takes just a couple minutes. Whisk the dry ingredients in 1 bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients in another, then pour wet into dry and whisk together to combine. I like to use a large mixing bowl with a pour spout. Makes pouring the batter onto the pan/griddle much easier.
Success Tip: Let Your Batter Take a Nap
Let the batter rest for a few minutes while you preheat your griddle/pan and make the icing. This gives it a chance to thicken up, which makes for even fluffier birthday cake pancakes.
How to Keep Sprinkles From Bleeding Their Color?
Because there are so many brightly colored sprinkles going into this birthday pancake batter, let me take a moment to emphasize how important it is to avoid over-mixing.
Also! Over-mixing will give your pancakes a dense, tough texture. A far, far cry from the fluffy stack of rainbow pancakes you see here today.
For more pancake-perfecting tips, read this article on 10 Pancake Common Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them.
Easy Vanilla Icing
The sweet buttery pancakes are amazing even without the vanilla icing on top (and this is coming from a pancake condiment junkie). The candle and extra sprinkles on top, however, are obviously necessary.
*Make a wish!*
Birthday Cake Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Melt the 6 Tablespoons of butter first. Microwave or stovetop—either is fine. Set aside to slightly cool. You do not want it piping hot.
- In a large bowl preferably with a pour spout, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract together until combined, and then whisk in the cooled melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk to combine. Make sure there are no patches of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. The batter is thick and a few lumps are fine.
- Let the batter sit for 5 minutes as you heat the stove in the next step. This gives the batter a chance to thicken. You will fold in the sprinkles right before cooking.
- Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Once it’s hot, fold the sprinkles into the batter.
- Drop/pour a heaping 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake’s surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 1–2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet with butter or nonstick spray again, if needed, for each batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked.
- Whisk the icing ingredients together and pour over pancakes before serving. Feel free to add whipped cream and more sprinkles on top, too.
- Serve pancakes immediately. Cover and store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best temperature for cooking pancakes is 375ºF (190ºC). If you're cooking on an electric griddle, you can simply set it to heat to that temperature. If you're cooking in a griddle pan or large skillet on the stove, allow the pan to preheat for several minutes over medium heat. Don't be tempted to crank the heat up to high; that will lead to unevenly cooked, burnt pancakes.
To test if the pan is ready, flick a few drops of water from your fingers onto the pan. If they sizzle in place and disappear, it's not quite hot enough yet. If they "dance" around on the surface before sizzling out, your pan is good to go!
Many pancake recipes instruct you to flip when you see bubbles forming on the surface, but you're actually looking for holes. Your pancakes are ready to flip when the bubbles are popping, forming little holes in the surface. Cook until the edges look set and you notice holes in the pancake's surface around the border, about 2 minutes. Flip, then cook for another minute.
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