Funfetti Pancakes
From scratch Funfetti Pancakes are the perfect way to start a celebratory day. Also known as Birthday Cake Pancakes, these easy homemade pancakes feature bright sprinkles and a scrumptious vanilla icing. No cake mix required. Makes 26 pancakes.
Love unique homemade pancakes? Learn How to make the Best Homemade Pancakes, and don’t miss Red Velvet Pancakes and Peanut Butter Pancakes with Raspberry Preserves Syrup!
We’re celebrating The Speckled Palate’s TENTH BLOGOVERSARY this week, and by golly, we’re going to celebrate with some Birthday Cake Pancakes.
Why Funfetti? In years past, I’ve made all kinds of goodies featuring sprinkles, including Funfetti Sugar Cookie Bars, Funfettini Birthday Cake Martini and Sour Cream Funfetti Cupcakes!
It feels fitting that for this site’s tenth birthday, that we’d do the same. And since funfetti is synonymous with birthday celebrations, how could I not take the favorite cake and transform it into a pancake since we love pancakes over here?
Why I love this recipe
These homemade Funfetti Pancakes are wonderfully fluffy and light. They’re slightly sweet and pair beautifully with a vanilla glaze icing and extra sprinkles.
I used my Old Fashioned Pancake recipe as the base for this homemade pancake recipe, and quite honestly, we only need a few additional ingredients to transform those classic pancakes into Funfetti!
Also, if you keep baking supplies in your pantry, chances are that you’ve got the ingredients to make these already!
Not only are these Birthday Cake Pancakes delicious, but they’re fun to make as a family. Both our daughters get involved in the measuring, whisking and stirring. And we can’t forget the taste testing, either. 😉
Other homemade pancake recipes you might enjoy: Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes | Strawberry Pancakes with Dark Chocolate Drizzle | Sweet Potato Pancakes | Pumpkin Spice Pancakes | Double Chocolate Pancakes | Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes | Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Tools to make Funfetti Pancakes
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- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- 2-tablespoon cookie scoop
- Cast iron griddle—you can also use an electric one if you have one
- Pastry brush—to brush oil or butter onto your griddle
- Metal spatula—if you’re using a nonstick skillet, make sure your spatula is plastic so it doesn’t scratch the surface!
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here is what you need to grab at the store to make from scratch confetti pancakes from scratch:
- All-purpose flour — we always have unbleached at our house, but the regular kind works perfectly, too! I have not tried this with a gluten-free flour blend and do not recommend it at this time.
- Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this sweetens the pancakes. There is no replacement.
- Leaveners — we use a combination of baking powder and baking soda to make these pancakes extra fluffy. Make sure yours are fresh!
- Kosher salt — medium grain kosher salt is my go-to for recipe development. You could use a similarly sized sea salt.
- Rainbow sprinkles — you want to use the cylinder shaped sprinkles, which are sometimes called jimmies. Why? They hold onto their shape and color better than nonpareils (the round ones), which will bleed color into your batter.
- Milk — over the years, we’ve made our pancakes with every type of milk available. Recently, we’ve made them with whole milk because we always have that on hand, but this pancake recipe works with any cow’s milk (from whole to skim), as well as almond, cashew and coconut milk.
- Eggs — large eggs from the grocery store are perfect here.
- Vanilla extract — the real deal stuff makes the rest of the flavors sing.
- Almond extract — this will give the pancake batter some flavors similar to that of a vanilla cake.
- Flavorless oil — avocado, vegetable or canola oil are perfect here! You can also use unsalted butter if that’s your jam, too. Melt the butter in the microwave. Let the melted butter cool slightly before mixing it with the other wet ingredients.
- Powdered sugar — this serves as the base for our vanilla glaze, and there’s really no replacement for it!
Variations on Funfetti Pancakes
I love these Birthday Cake Pancakes because you can change the colors to whatever you’d like.
Since themed sprinkle mixes are sold in stores and online, it’s fun to make twists on these classic birthday pancakes and transform them into holiday-centric pancakes.
- Red, white and blue sprinkles for July 4th
- Red and green for Christmas
- Pink and red for Valentine’s Day
- Orange and black for Halloween
- Green and gold for St. Patrick’s Day
How do you make Funfetti Pancakes from scratch?
First, we’re going to make our homemade pancake batter.
In a large bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and rainbow sprinkles. These are the dry ingredients. Whisk them together.
In a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine the wet ingredients. This means the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and oil.
Whisk them or stir them with a fork until everything is combined.
DID YOU KNOW?
If you don’t give the wet ingredients a good mix, there will be random ribbons of egg in your pancakes. It’s unpleasant, so please mix them well.
Once the wet ingredients are well combined, pour them directly into the dry ingredients.
Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them together until just combined.
If you overmix the pancakes, they will become tougher, so just stir until the flour is incorporated. It’s OK if this homemade batter has lumps.
Set the homemade pancake batter aside, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
While it rests, heat your griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat and when it’s hot, grease lightly with butter, oil or cooking spray.
Use a cookie scoop or a measuring cup to dollop the pancakes onto the preheated skillet. I like to make 1.5-tablespoon silver dollar pancakes, but you can make larger ones, too.
When several bubbles have formed on the surface, flip the pancakes, and cook through. Repeat until all batter has been made into pancakes.
Pro tip!
Do NOT press down on them after you flip them! This will deflate them!
Make a stack of pancakes, and serve with vanilla icing, homemade whipped cream and extra sprinkles.
How to make Vanilla Icing
We’re making our job easy with this Funfetti Pancake Icing and making it in the food processor.
Throw together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, and blend until smooth.
You can make this in advance or put it together while the pancakes cook. Just make sure it’s ready to drizzle on top of stacks of made pancakes!
How to Choose the Right Sprinkles
There are so many sprinkles on the market out there. We’ve had the best luck with cylindrical-shaped sprinkles, which are also known as jimmies. They hold their shape, and their colors typically don’t run.
Stay away from nonpareils, colored sugar and quins, which are all colorful and fun, but will bleed color into your batter.
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
Birthday Cake Pancakes for an at-home birthday brunch? Oh my word, YES.
While pancakes are something that I previously thought might be a fussier item to prepare for a brunch at home situation, you can absolutely make them for brunch! It just requires a little patience, planning and working ahead to get ‘em made before guests arrive.
Here are a few tips and tricks to transforming these pancakes into a brunch centerpiece:
- Depending on the amount of people you’re serving, you can double this recipe. You can also half it if you’re not feeding a crowd.
- Make the pancakes before guests arrive, and keep them warm in the oven. We put ours on baking sheets* (affiliate link) and keep them warm in a 200°F oven.
- Transform your table into a pancake bar! Offer various toppings, like the vanilla glaze, as well as maple syrup, sweetened whipped cream and extra sprinkles. (You can even make them into a Pancake Board if you’re feeling creative!)
What can I make these Birthday Cake Pancakes for?
If you don’t think just because is an answer, here are a few other celebrations you could make these pancakes for…
- A birthday
- Mother’s Day or Father’s Day if the person being celebrated loves sprinkles
- The first day of a vacation (or staycation)
- Any holiday that has fun colors… think of adding red and green jimmies to these Funfetti Pancakes to make Christmas Pancakes; red and pink for Valentine’s Day, black and orange for Halloween, red, white and blue for July 4th, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
In my opinion, to secret to fluffy pancakes is mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately so you don’t overmix the batter once they’re combined. Also, making sure your baking powder and baking soda are both fresh.
To get a crispy exterior on your pancakes, your griddle needs to be warmed up, as well as have a little fat on it. We like to brush ours with butter between pancakes, but you can also use an unflavored oil if that’s more your speed.
If your pancakes are flat and rubbery, you probably overmixed them. The more you mix the ingredients together, the more gluten forms, which will change the texture.
This batter is kind of in between super thick and runny. The key is letting it be lumpy and just stirring until all the flour is incorporated so the pancakes will be nice, light and fluffy.
Quick Tips and Tricks for the Best Pancakes
- Don’t overmix your batter! Just mix the batter until it has just come together. Lumps are OK. If you mix until it’s smooth, the pancakes won’t be as fluffy.
- When do you know how to flip? When big ‘ol bubbles start to form in the batter. Lift up the edge a little bit with a spatula to confirm the color on the other side before committing… because when you flip them, you won’t flip them again. (Yep. We only need to flip our pancakes once.)
- Once you’ve flipped your pancakes, don’t press down on them! This will deflate them. Obviously, we want them to puff up and be as light and airy as possible.
- How to store: If you’ve got leftover pancakes, let them cool completely and place them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in the toaster oven, if you’d like for the to be crispier.
- How to freeze leftovers: Line a baking sheet with wax paper, and pop them in the freezer for 4-6 hours. When the pancakes are fully frozen, transfer them to a freezer baggie. Reheat in the toaster oven, toaster or the oven until warm.
Here’s how you can make them at home…
Funfetti Pancakes (Birthday Cake Pancakes)
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 38g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 12g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda 4g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt 3g
- ¾ cup rainbow sprinkles not nonpareils
- 1 ⅔ cups milk
- 2 eggs ~100g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 6g
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract 3g
- 2 tablespoons flavorless oil avocado, vegetable or canola oil all work (30g)
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar 114g
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 18g
- A pinch of kosher salt
Garnishes
- Extra sprinkles
- Homemade whipped cream
- Vanilla Icing recipe above
Equipment
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Instructions
Make the Pancakes
- In a large bowl, measure out the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sprinkles. Whisk together until incorporated.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract and oil. Whisk together with a fork until combined — you want to ensure that the egg is completely incorporated.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this will affect the texture and rise of the pancakes.
- Set aside the batter, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
- While the batter rests, heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. We want the griddle to be hot, but not scorching hot.
- Grease the pan lightly with butter or cooking spray.
- Dollop the pancakes onto the preheated skillet when ready. I like to use a cookie scoop to measure my pancakes out into 1.5-tablespoon silver dollar sized ones, but you can use a larger measuring scoop if you’d rather larger pancakes.
- When several bubbles have formed on the surface, flip the pancakes, and cook through. Repeat until all batter has been made into pancakes.
Make the glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, too.
- Blend until smooth.
- Make a stack of pancakes, and serve with the vanilla glaze, whipped cream and extra sprinkles.
Notes
Variations on Funfetti Pancakes
I love these Birthday Cake Pancakes because you can change the colors to whatever you’d like. Since themed sprinkle mixes are sold in stores and online, it’s fun to make twists on these classic birthday pancakes and transform them into holiday-centric pancakes.- Red, white and blue sprinkles for July 4th
- Red and green for Christmas
- Pink and red for Valentine’s Day
- Orange and black for Halloween
- Green and gold for St. Patrick’s Day
What can I make these Birthday Cake Pancakes for?
If you don’t think just because is an answer, here are a few other celebrations you could make these pancakes for…- A birthday
- Mother’s Day or Father’s Day if the person being celebrated loves sprinkles
- The first day of a vacation (or staycation)
- Any holiday that has fun colors… think of adding red and green jimmies to these Funfetti Pancakes to make Christmas Pancakes; red and pink for Valentine’s Day, red, white and blue for July 4th, etc.
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I’ll definitely be making these the next time my granddaughter visits! So fun and so tasty!
We had our granddaughter for the night over the weekend and we made these together the next morning. She hasn’t stopped talking about them and her mother says I’ve created a funfetti monster LOL!
I loved that these were from scratch! I used organic jimmies and everyone went bonkers for these fun, festive pancakes!! Woot!!
These are SO MUCH FUN! I surprised my hubs for his birthday and the whole family LOVED them!
Followed all directions to a T. Hubs is the pancake maker but since it was his birthday, I figured I’d give these a go! Looked noms. They were a major, rubbery flop unfortunately. Too much liquid to flour ratio. I did not over mix, which would be an immediate consideration. I’d say cut the milk back to one cup. I’ll try that next time.
My kiddos loved these and they are super picky about their pancakes. These are so fun and so tasty! Thank you for sharing. PS..and I never write reviews about recipes lol!
I cannot wait to try these pancakes! They look absolutely scrumptious! Thank you sooo much for sharing!
I cannot wait for you to try these pancakes! I hope you enjoy them as much as we have–they’re sure fun to make any time!
This recipe was supposed to be adapted from your old fashioned pancakes recipe, but you decreased the flour and increased the milk without compensating the dry ingredients. I made this recipe for my daughter’s birthday, followed it to a T, and the batter was turned out runny and not suitable for pancakes. I’d also like to point out that sugar and almond extract are never mentioned in the recipe instructions. Even so, I don’t know how anyone could follow a recipe with more milk than flour and NOT get a runny batter. I highly suggest revising this recipe to help others avoid a birthday morning disappointment.
Hey there, Morgan. I’m so sorry this happened. I’ve been working on updating some of my old recipes to adjust the flour measurement to be more accurate and it looks like you found one I haven’t gotten to. I know it won’t make up for a disappointing birthday morning for your daughter, but I appreciate you taking the time to let me know I missed this one, as well as the information about the sugar and the almond extract. I’m correcting the recipe for anyone else making this in the future.
If you change from 1x to 2x or 3x the recipe the dry ingredients weight don’t change, making everything very watery. Should be corrected and would be fine.
Hey Ryan. I’m sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work out for you and understand that frustration when realizing that the recipe card did not do the math you asked it to after getting into the making of the pancake batter. Unfortunately, since I manually add the weighted ingredients to the recipe card, it does not automatically link to the 1x, 2x, 3x functionality. I am working to find a workaround to address this and appreciate you bringing it to my attention but am sorry that it impacted your breakfast.