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 originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips. 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!
- A memorable treat that isn’t cake for a birthday celebration
One reader, Lisa, commented: “These were a huge hit with my kids, and my husband and I loved them, too. They were so light and fluffy, and while they are definitely sweeter than a standard pancake, it isn’t overpowering. They were great the next morning as well, popped into the toaster to heat them up. Thanks, Sally! ★★★★★”
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.
Over-mixing your pancake batter will turn it a putrid purple/green/brown from all the sprinkles’ color. Not at all appetizing. Here are my success tips for beautiful rainbow pancakes:
- Use sprinkles that don’t easily bleed their color.
- Wait to add the sprinkles until you’re ready to cook the pancakes.
- Fold them in gently. Use a light hand and stir slowly.
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.
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.
For more pancake-perfecting tips, read this article on 10 Pancake Common Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them.
Easy Vanilla Icing
Vanilla icing is the perfect finishing touch for a tall stack of birthday cake pancakes. This addition definitely makes it feel like you are eating confetti cake for breakfast. I halved my original vanilla icing recipe because you don’t need as much.
Whisk together sifted confectioners’ sugar, a little milk, and a little vanilla extract. So simple!
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!*
More Pancake Recipes:
- Whole Wheat Pancakes & Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
- Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes
- Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
- Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Homemade Crepes
Birthday Cake Pancakes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 14–16 4-inch pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Packed with rainbow sprinkles and topped with vanilla icing, these buttermilk birthday cake pancakes are the sweetest way to wake up in the morning. Let the batter sit for a few minutes to thicken as you heat the stove.
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (480ml) buttermilk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract*
- 1/2 cup (85g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*
- for cooking: butter or nonstick spray
Icing
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1–2 Tablespoons milk
- for serving: whipped cream and more rainbow sprinkles
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.
- Make the icing: 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.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes freeze well up to 3 months. Reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave. Or you can reheat frozen pancakes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. Place pancakes on a lined baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 6–8 minutes or until defrosted and warm.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Mixing Bowls (preferably with a pour spout) | Rainbow Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Electric Griddle, Griddle Pan, or Shallow Skillet/Pan | Pancake Turner
- Can I make the batter the night before? No, I don’t recommend it. Baking powder is activated once wet. You can, however, mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and keep them separate and covered in the refrigerator until the morning. (But do not add the melted butter until ready to cook, because that will solidify in the refrigerator.)
- Can I make waffles instead? Absolutely. Use today’s batter and follow the same cooking instructions as these gingerbread waffles.
- Can I use whole wheat flour? I recommend making my whole wheat pancakes instead, and using 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and adding the almond extract and sprinkles.
- Buttermilk: Though I typically suggest a DIY buttermilk substitute using regular milk and vinegar/lemon, I highly recommend real buttermilk for these pancakes. I use low-fat buttermilk, but full fat works too. I do not suggest any substitutions. If you have leftover buttermilk, you can use it in any of these recipes.
- Almond Extract: This flavor addition is what makes these pancakes taste like cake batter. It doesn’t really taste like almonds. I also really like this cake & cookie bakery emulsion flavoring. You can use this flavoring to replace the almond or vanilla extracts.
- Sprinkles: Use rainbow sprinkles/jimmies. Do not use nonpareils (the tiny balls), which are prone to bleeding their color no matter how lightly you fold them into batter. In the photos, I used these rainbow sprinkles in the pancake batter, and these round confetti sprinkles on top of the cooked pancakes for serving.
- Update in 2023: This recipe used to call for 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, and 2/3 cup rainbow sprinkles.
- Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction Cookbook Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Delicious and so super tender! My kids raved about them!
there very good but why was the batter so lumpy???????????
Hi Katherine, it’s possible your batter just needs to be mixed a bit more. For next time, you can also try sifting your flour in order to rid of any large clumps of flour.
Hey Sally! Amazing pancakes! cant wait to try again, I was wondering can I sub the all purpose flour with whole wheat???
Hi Aria, you certainly can, just expect a denser pancake. Or, you might also enjoy these whole wheat blueberry pancakes!
needed more flour
needed more flour
These are very good Pancakes! I could have eaten the entire batch!
These are my mom and I favorite pancakes- we make them all the time! Our favorite
Hi Sally! I live in Turkey, and there is no buttermilk available. Can you please recommend a substitute?
Hi B! Though pure buttermilk is best in this pancake recipe, in a pinch, you can use a buttermilk substitute. Measure 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Add to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough whole milk to yield 2 cups. Whisk together, then let it sit for a few minutes before using in the recipe.
Good morning Sally. So I have not made this recipe yet but looks mouthwatering! In my family we have one with a gluten allergy, and another that does well with whole wheat. Could we make this recipe Gluten Free or Whole Wheat Buttermilk?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free or whole wheat flours, but let us know if you give either a try. When trying whole wheat, expect a heartier, denser pancake. We love these Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes if you’re looking for other ideas!
Sally, you never disappoint! The kids lovvvvved them (as did I!; this is my official go-to pancake recipe now. Thank you for all that you do! (And a very belated congratulations on your sweet baby girl! )
This recipe was such a fun addition to our Easter breakfast. They were a huge hit with my kids and my husband and I loved them too. They were so light and fluffy and while they are definitely sweeter than a standard pancake it wasn’t overpowering. They were great the next morning as well, popped into the toaster to heat them up. Thanks Sally!
Hey Sally,
I always love your recipes! Being 39 weeks pregnant and stuck at home, I find myself baking a lot with your recipes, especially these days. I’d like to make these for my husband for his birthday but the store is out of flour. Can I substitute cake flour?
Thanks again for filling my days with something both fun and delicious. 🙂
Hi Kristine! You can use cake flour, but the pancakes will be very light. I also have a large section of recipes using cake flour if you’re interested!
Can this batter be made the night before, stored in the fridge, and made the next morning?
I don’t recommend it. The baking powder is initially activated once wet.
These pancakes are so fresh, fluffy and taste so real! I’m so happy I found this recipe thank you again Sally, I will never make any other pancake recipe again
These were delicious! And fun to make with my 3 year old. Thanks for the recipe Sally!
Full disclosure: after we finished eating I put the remaining batter in the freezer and as I cleaned up the kitchen I found my no-longer-melted butter in the microwave that I had clearly forgotten to add to the pancakes!! I did think the pancakes had been a little…dense…? And not spectacular. Well I quickly realized why. So I pulled out my batter, re-melted the butter and mixed it in. Cooked them up and they were way better! Haha surprised it still turned out but very happy
These pancakes are absolutely MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOOD!!!
These pancakes were perfect for my grandson’s 1st birthday breakfast!! The “adults” wanted to be healthy and asked not to have the sprinkles so I just added the sprinkles on top of the batter after pouring it on the griddle. SO yummy!! And yes, all the adults ate the sprinkle pancakes after tasting them. The almond extract in this batter is genius!!
Happy first birthday to your grandson! Agree- sprinkles are for all ages 🙂
Hi! These sound delish! What is the best way to reheat these frozen pancakes?
I highly recommend the toaster!
just finished making a half batch of these pretty things but in waffle form (my daughters favorite) they are so cute and so yumay so fun for a Sunday morning! thanks
These were insanely good. So glad we tried them!! It was the yummy taste of a cupcake or a donut in a pancake. Perfect for Christmas morning or a special sleepover breakfast. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Hi Sally! Im a big fan of funfetti so when I found this recipe I was so excited! However, whenever I make it my pancakes come out flat with lots of little air bubbles. Do you know what im doing wrong?
Theo– air bubbles usually come from overmixing your batter. Another cause could be that the heat isn’t distributing evenly in your pan– make sure it is centered on the heat. Hopefully these help!
these look so good! I was wondering….can this recipe be used in a waffle iron?
Yes!
Your funfetti pancakes are amazing!!!!!
Hi! So I just made these and they look great! My only thing was that mine were NOT think (as in the batter was pretty runny). I have looked over the recipe 4 times and cannot figure out what I did wrong as I know I measured everything correctly! They still taste great, just wondering why this might have happened? I’ve made your pumpkin ones and they were fantastic!!!
Delicious pancakes! I left out the sprinkles and glaze but topped them with blueberry syrup and all I can say is WOW! They were awesome. I did have to cook them just a little bit longer than I am used to (before this I used box recipe pancakes) but these are definitely a winner!
Just made these and they are amazing and so fun! Thanks so much for the recipe Sally!
I made these last night and they wouldn’t cook? I’ve never had this problem with pancakes before, but even on a very low heat, the outside would burn before the inside would cook. I followed the recipe with no substitutes, do you have any idea why they didn’t turn out?
Hmm. Did the pancake batter spread as you poured it onto the pan/griddle? I would flatten the pancake out a little with the spatula after you flip it so the batter in the center can go to the edges and cook through.
These pancakes look amazing! I was wondering, can the batter be prepared the night before serving or does it need to be cooked right away?
Must be cooked right away – baking powder is activated once it hits the wet ingredients. You *could* mix the dry up in 1 bowl and mix the wet up in another bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate both overnight. Then mix together as instructed and cook the pancakes in the morning.
I made these for my son’s 7th birthday on Saturday! He loved them and they were a fun birthday surprise! Thanks, Sally!