Festive Birthday Cake Pancakes (From Scratch!)

Start the day with a stack of pure celebration! These homemade Birthday Cake Pancakes are fluffy, fun, and made entirely from scratch—no cake mix needed. Topped with a sweet glaze, a dollop of whipped cream, and plenty of sprinkles, they’re the perfect way to turn any morning into a party.

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As far back as I can remember I would buy a box of funfetti cake mix and make my kids birthday pancakes and serve them on an iconic red plate, which the kids called the special plate. Well they're all grown up now, and so are my Birthday Cake Pancakes made from scratch!

Now, we're talking about some pretty special birthday pancakes here, so I've included instructions on how to make a simple milk glaze and the easiest whipped cream, but you can top them however you like. These are party pancakes and it's your party and you'll top them how you want to!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Made with simply ingredients, these colorful sprinkle pancakes aren't just for birthdays and special occasions anymore. Why can't Tuesday or Thursday be special enough for these delicious pancakes? Now they are! Here are the major ingredients along with suggestions for where you can make changes if you need to:

• Self-rising flour - This recipes uses the same self rising flower that I used to make my quick bagels, my no yeast English muffins, and my two ingredient biscuits. If you don't have self rising flour, you can make your own. Check out the note below this section for the details.
• Milk - I use full fat dairy milk because it's my birthday, but you can use whatever milk you prefer. Plant-based milks are fine, although having one with some fat content will make them taste better.
• Yogurt - I like to add just a little bit of vanilla yogurt to the pancake batter. I think it adds a richness and a little bit of a tanginess that reminds me of birthday cake. You could substitute with plain yogurt or sour cream if that's what you have, or leave it out and add a couple more tablespoons of milk.
• Egg - One egg is all you need for these birthday pancakes. If you are living in the part of our timeline where eggs are astronomically expensive, check out my eggless pancakes recipe. Spoiler alert: if you want to skip the egg, you can use ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce in its place.
• Oil - Most of my pancake and waffle recipes call for butter, but I wanted these pancakes to taste like funfetti birthday cake, and butter kind of takes away from that flavor. I use a neutral vegetable oil, but if you just really want it, add melted butter in its place.
• Almond extract - Again, to really keep that birthday cake vibe, I use almond extract instead of vanilla extract. If you don't have almond extract feel free to leave it out or add vanilla extract in its place.
• Sprinkles - The best sprinkles for birthday cake pancakes are rainbow sprinkles, or jimmies (the long, skinny ones) because they keep their shape and color in the batter. Nonpareils (aka "hundreds and thousands" or the tiny round sprinkles) are too crunchy for soft and fluffy pancakes and can melt and make the colors run, so they don’t work as well. Jimmies help your pancakes stay bright and fun!
• Sugar - I only add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the pancake batter because the sprinkles will really bring a lot of sweetness. If you still like your pancakes less sweet, leave the sugar out. If you like them more sweet, add a little bit more, but be careful!

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Self-rising flour tips

Self-rising flour is simply all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt already mixed in. If you don’t have it, for every cup of flour needed for your recipe, simply use 1 cup of all-purpose flour plus 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt.

Since this full recipe calls for 2 cups of self-rising flour, you would substitute with 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt.

Table salt is actually saltier than kosher salt, so if you do not have kosher salt, use half the amount of table salt, or ¼ teaspoon total for this recipe.

Quick Recipe Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

Making pancakes shouldn't be difficult, and these certainly aren't. I've broken it down into easy to follow instructions and given you lots of pictures to guide you on your way. As always, I advise you to read through the whole recipe, look at the pictures, gather ingredients, and make some fun pancakes!

• Use your choice of nonstick pan, a well-seasoned cast iron pan, or an electric griddle (set at 325°F) to make your pancakes.

Make your toppings (optional)

Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and a couple of tablespoons of milk, along with a tiny pinch of salt. Continue whisking until smooth.

Step 2: In a larger bowl, use a hand mixer, or a whisk and your very strong arm, to beat together heavy cream, powdered sugar, and a tiny pinch of salt. Continue whisking until it holds fairly stiff peaks when you lift the beaters.

Make the batter

Step 1: In a large bowl, mix together self rising flour and your sugar.

Step 2: Add milk, yogurt, almond extract, neutral oil, and one egg to a measuring jug or measuring cup.

Step 3: Mix together until thoroughly blended.

Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and begin mixing.

Step 5: Keep mixing until all dry pockets of flour have been incorporated into the batter. Some small lumps are normal. Allow batter to rest for 15 minutes.

Step 6: Add sprinkles and fold and gently, stopping when they are evenly distributed. Do not over mix or the colors may smear into an unpleasant blend (remember when you mashed all your Play-Doh's together? Yeah, like that.)

Cook your pancakes

Step 1: Heat a nonstick pan, or well seasoned cast iron skillet, over medium-low heat. Add a teaspoon of butter or oil if desired, and then portion ⅓ cup (or your preferred amount) of batter into the pan. Let the pancake cook until bubbles form on the surface and the edges start to look set (about 2 to 3 minutes).

Step 2: Use a spatula to flip the pancake carefully. Cook the other side until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat with remaining batter. Place cooked pancakes in a covered pancake warmer, or on a plate covered with aluminum foil in a 200°F oven to keep them warm while you finish the rest.

Top your pancakes

Drizzle with your sweet milk glaze.

Top with whipped cream. Store-bought is absolutely fine!

Make a wish: Make a wish and blow out your candle like you were a 10-year-old kid again. There's something out there that all of us are wishing for. Go for it!

Recipe FAQs

Pancakes that kids (of all ages) will love!