Birthday Cake Pancakes
Make the most important meal of the day the most FUN meal of the day with birthday cake pancakes, aka funfetti pancakes! Homemade buttermilk pancakes get some extra oomph with the addition of colorful sprinkles. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday and want to make birthday pancakes, or you just want to make a weekend breakfast a special occasion, these pancakes are the best way to start a birthday (and a great way to start any other day).
Rainbow sprinkle pancakes are perfect if you have a household like mine! If you love sprinkles, and in particular funfetti, make sure to check out my recipe for Funfetti Cake, Funfetti Cookies, and baked Funfetti Donuts, too.
Why This Recipe Works
- Homemade funfetti pancakes. Looking for a recipe for birthday cake pancakes without cake mix? Look no further! I’ll walk you through how to make birthday cake pancakes from scratch in this recipe.
- Perfect fluffy pancakes. This recipe uses all of my favorite tips and tricks for the best, fluffiest pancakes, like separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites. I know you’ll love these pancakes.
- Great for celebrations. Festive funfetti pancakes with sprinkles are perfect for birthday celebrations. Make them for a birthday breakfast, birthday dinner, or even a dessert served with ice cream for a birthday party. These fun pancakes would also be a hit at a brunch or as a holiday breakfast—you could even swap the rainbow sprinkles for seasonally appropriate sprinkles. Valentine’s Day pancakes or Christmas pancakes, anyone?
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: My preferred flour for fluffy pancakes.
- Granulated sugar: For just a touch of sweetness. Using white sugar also ensures we keep a more funfetti-like color in these pancakes.
- Rising agents: Baking powder and baking soda make an appearance to help these pancakes rise to the fluffiest heights!
- Eggs: We’ll separate two eggs, whipping the egg whites until soft peaks form then folding them into the rest of the batter gently to make the final pancakes airy and light.
- Melted butter: You can use oil in pancake batter, but I find that butter has much better flavor.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk will also help the pancakes rise when it reacts to the baking soda in the batter. It also gives these pancakes a slight but tasty tang. Make sure to bring your buttermilk to room temperature so it blends more easily with the rest of your liquid ingredients.
- Clear vanilla extract: Although obviously similar to regular vanilla extract, clear vanilla extract is traditionally used in funfetti or white cakes to help preserve the color. It does have a different flavor, so I do recommend using it for more of a funfetti/birthday cake flavor, but you can use regular vanilla extract if that’s all you have.
- Rainbow sprinkles: Also known as “jimmies,” these are the most critical ingredient to turn regular pancakes into birthday cake pancakes!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients. To a large bowl, add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- Separate egg yolks. Separate 2 large eggs. Add the 2 egg yolks to a medium bowl and add the 2 egg whites to a small bowl. Whisk the egg whites (an electric mixer is great for this) until soft peaks form and set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients. To the medium bowl with the 2 egg yolks, add 2 cups room temperature buttermilk, ¾ teaspoon clear vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Whisk together.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients mix for just a few seconds. Don’t try to mix it completely at this point, as we still need to fold in the egg whites.
- Fold in egg whites. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Don’t overmix—it’s okay to have small pieces of flour here and there.
- Add sprinkles. Pour ¾ cup of rainbow jimmies (rainbow sprinkles) into the batter and gently fold them in. Again, be careful not to overmix. Overmixing pancake batter leads to tough pancakes. Let your batter rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. If it rests any longer than 5 minutes, the dye from the sprinkles may start to melt into the batter.
- Prep griddle or pan. Heat your preferred griddle or pan to medium heat. I cook my pancakes at 300°F. Grease it well, as the sprinkles can be a bit sticky.
- Cook pancakes. Use a ⅓ measuring cup to scoop pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Wait until bubbles form and pop all over the surface of the pancakes before flipping them. For me, this takes 3-4 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Your pancakes should be golden brown.
- Serve and enjoy. Serve pancakes immediately with your favorite pancake toppings.
Recipe Tipes
Don’t turn up the heat for your pan or griddle too high. I like to heat mine 300°F. If the heat is too high, your pancakes will burn on the outside while staying raw in the middle.
Make sure to grease your pan really well, because the sprinkles tend to stick.
If you let your pancake batter rest too long, the dye from the sprinkles will run and start to color the batter, so just be aware of that.
You can use regular vanilla extract if you can’t find clear vanilla extract. These pancakes will still be delicious, even though they’ll taste a little different. For more birthday cake flavor, you can also add cake batter extract! Almond extract would also be a delicious addition.
I like these pancakes with regular old butter and maple syrup, but for even more birthday flair, serve these pancakes with some Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, Nutella Whipped Cream, Greek Yogurt Whipped Cream, or Raspberry Sauce. Don’t forget the extra sprinkles! You can also whip up a simple vanilla glaze by mixing powdered sugar and vanilla with milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
Use different colored sprinkles to make these pancakes appropriate for any holiday! Orange and black sprinkles for Halloween, pink and red for Valentine’s Day, red and green for Christmas, red, white and blue for the Fourth of July, and so on.
Other add-ins that I think would be tasty include raspberries or strawberries, or white chocolate chips.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: You have a couple options for making these pancakes ahead. First, you can try making the batter and storing it in the fridge for a couple of days. Don’t add the sprinkles until right before you plan to cook them so the colors don’t run. You can also cook pancakes and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer to eat later.
Storing: Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container or zip top bag in the fridge for 3-4 days. I prefer to reheat them in a toaster oven or in the oven so they get a little crisp on the outside, but you can also just microwave them.
Freezing: Freeze pancakes by flash freezing them on a parchment lined baking sheet before transferring them to a zip top bag or airtight container. Store for up to 2 months. Allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight, or toast them directly from the freezer.
Recipe FAQs
Wait until bubbles don’t just form, but pop on the surface of the pancake before flipping.
You may have overmixed the batter. This knocks the air out and also builds gluten, which leads to flat, chewy pancakes.
Pancakes can be left out while you are eating. Since they are cooked, they won’t spoil quickly, but leftovers should be stored in the fridge.
More Pancake Recipes
- Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Lucky Charms Pancakes
- Cinnamon Chip Pancakes
- Banana Pancakes
Birthday Cake Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs - separated
- 2 cups buttermilk - at room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- 3/4 cup jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl add the egg yolks, buttermilk, clear vanilla extract, and melted butter. Mix to combine. I keep it simple and just use a fork and mix until the yolk is nice and broken up and combined with the other ingredients.
- In a small bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Mix for a few seconds (again, I just use a fork). When the flour and wet ingredients are partially combined, fold in the fluffy egg whites. Don't overmix. It's fine to have small pieces of flour here and there.
- Fold in the sprinkles. Let the pancake batter rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. In the meantime, preheat a griddle or pan to cook the pancakes on. (TIP! Don't let the batter sit too long otherwise the sprinkle dye will turn the batter colors).
- Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop the batter onto a buttered 300°F griddle. Cook on each side for approximately 3-4 minutes. Serve warm with butter and syrup drizzled over the top.
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