How long it takes: 10 minutes to make the batter, a few minutes per batch to cook the pancakes Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, griddle Servings: makes 15 pancakes My neighbor makes these for every birthday in her house (including the dog’s!) and her whole family looks forward to this simple but special tradition. Topped with whipped cream, candles, and a few extra sprinkles, a stack of these colorful cakes looks like a breakfast birthday cake. Truthfully, there’s no wrong time to whip up a batch of these happy pancakes. You’ll love how quickly and easily they come together.
Birthday Cake Pancakes
An easy birthday cake. Birthday cake pancakes are light and fluffy, making them perfect for cake-like layers. Topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, this is the easiest layered birthday cake you’ll ever make. The sprinkle-filled pancakes are festive and colorful. No crazy ingredients. You probably have everything you need already in your pantry to make birthday cake pancakes. All you need are simple baking ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, and so on. Add a couple of eggs, butter, and milk, and you’re go to go! Cake-like flavor. I can hear you asking, but do they taste like cake? I like to add a bit of vanilla extract and almond extract to flavor the pancakes. It gives them a subtle sophisticated twist that elevates them to birthday cake status. Perfect for any occasion. By using different types of sprinkles, you can match the pancakes to any occasion. Try stars for patriotic holidays, or red and green sprinkles for Christmas. The choices are practically unlimited. If you like the idea of using festive sprinkles, try my funfetti cookies, funfetti pudding pops, cake mix blondies, or frosted sugar cookie bars.
Ingredient Notes
All-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. You likely have all of these ingredients in your pantry especially if you make pancakes on a regular basis. Eggs, melted butter, milk. Again, nothing crazy here! If you prefer oil, you can use that instead of butter but we love how butter is reminiscent of the flavor of birthday cake. You can use pretty much any type of milk. We like to use whole milk for the most tender pancakes. Almond extract, vanilla extract, and sprinkles. These are the extras that make the pancakes taste just like birthday cake. Toppings. I like to serve the pancakes with a drizzle of maple syrup, a dollop of whipped cream, and more sprinkles. Don’t forget a birthday candle!
How to Make Birthday Cake Pancakes
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. A whisk works well to lightly stir the mixture. Mix wet ingredients. In another smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until they’re blended. Add the milk and melted butter. I like to add the milk to the eggs before the butter because the butter may be a little hot, and could possibly cook the eggs if it’s poured directly onto them. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. Be sure to measure them carefully; almond extract is quite strong-flavored so you don’t want to accidentally add too much. Whisk the wet ingredients until they are well-blended. Combine. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Whisk or stir until the batter is fairly smooth. You may see a few small lumps but you don’t want to overstir, which can result in tough pancakes. Add sprinkles. Add your choice of colorful sprinkles and gently fold them in. Again, you don’t want to stir them in too briskly. Some sprinkles may start bleeding color into the batter if you overstir. If that happens, don’t worry too much. The flavor of the pancakes won’t be affected but they may not look as pretty. Cook the pancakes. Heat a griddle over medium to medium-low heat. If you have a nonstick griddle, you probably won’t need to grease it. Spoon the batter by quarter-cupfuls (or whatever size you like) onto the hot griddle. Once bubbles form on top and start to pop, flip the pancakes over and cook the other side. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes per side if the griddle is hot. Serve immediately. Put the pancakes on serving plates, either stacked or individually. Top with syrup and whipped cream. Add a few extra sprinkles for garnish.
Recipe Variations
Use your favorite pancake mix. If you want to take a shortcut, simply add the extracts to a pre-made pancake mix, and stir in sprinkles. Try my healthy pancake mix, made with whole wheat flour. If you add the extracts, your pancakes will taste even more like cake. My homemade buttermilk pancakes work well, too, or mix the sprinkles into chocolate pancakes. Make a layered birthday cake. Whipped cream is a festive easy topping but you can also make a “layer cake” using frosting between each layer. The stack of pancakes can be cut into wedges like a layer cake. Tint the frosting, if you like. Match the sprinkles to the occasion. Perhaps it isn’t anybody’s birthday but you still feel like celebrating. Any type of sprinkle can be used to match any occasion. Use your imagination. Want to celebrate a special person? Decorate the pancakes with their favorite colors, maybe even team colors.
Serving Suggestions
Round out your pancake breakfast with candied bacon or hash brown breakfast casserole. A smoothie is always a popular choice too. I love this tropical smoothie! Fruit kabobs with cream cheese fruit dip are a fun breakfast idea, too.
Make Ahead & Storage
You can easily make a double batch of pancakes and freeze the extra so you always have a quick celebratory breakfast at hand. Cool them on a wire rack before storing them in a freezer-safe container or bag. I usually put a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper between the pancakes to make sure they don’t stick together. They’ll keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or a couple months in the freezer. For best results, reheat the pancakes in a toaster oven (don’t thaw them first). They’ll taste like they’re fresh off the griddle!
