Sprinkle Birthday Cake
One of the easiest birthday cake designs I LOVE - make this super-easy Sprinkle Birthday cake with your favorite sprinkle mix!
Equipment
- 1 10 inch cardboard cake circle (an 8-inch circle would work; I just find moving cakes on larger circles easier)
- Cake topper (I used one from this set!)
Ingredients
Sprinkle Birthday Cake Layers
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, room temperature
- 5 eggs
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese one package; softened
- 1 cup butter two sticks, softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
Decorations
- Sprinkle mix (es) of your choice! (you can use one or several! To decorate the cake in the photos/video I combined a few leftover mixes with metallic square dragees and some rainbow jimmies!)
Instructions
Sprinkle Birthday Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined. Mix chunks of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.
- Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on a low speed. Add in vanilla, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
- Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)
- Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled if needed, and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. (Be sure the layers are completely cooled before trimming so they don't crumble or break!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting.
- Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula for this part. Don’t worry about getting it perfectly smooth; you're just going to texture it with the spatula!
Decorating
- To texture the frosting on the cake sides, I worked my way up the sides of the cake with an angled offset spatula, adding a slanted texture to the frosting on the sides of the cake.
- (I'd recommend setting the cake in a large pan or tray to contain the sprinkles - or you may have a huge mess on your hands!) Add sprinkles up the sides of about ¾ of the cake, pressing them into the frosting gently but firmly with your hands or a large spatula or spoon. Push the sprinkles up over the top edge of the cake a bit. (I left about 1/4 of the cake uncovered, slanting the sprinkle line up toward the top of the cake on both sides. But you can cover the entire cake if you'd like!)
- Add sprinkles until the cake is covered to your liking - and then add your topper on top! Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1seringCalories: 782kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 9gFat: 38g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I actually had a few leftover mixes from Sweetapolita from other projects, and mixed them with a few metallic square dragees and some rainbow jimmies!
Did you make this Sprinkle Birthday Cake?
Let me know how it went - or find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!
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