Happy Birthday Sprinkle Cake for YOU!

Add a sweet sprinkle of color to your table with this easy rainbow sprinkle cake recipe.

Sprinkle Cake

One year seems to have flown by, and in another sense it feels as if I’ve been blogging about sweet confections for… well, forever!  One might say that it’s easy to savor life when you measure your year in desserts.

I knew that the Sprinkle Bakes birthday cake could be no less than sprinkle encrusted.  It’s even sprinkled on the inside!  For several years I’ve requested a Funfetti cake for my birthday, but now I’ve worked out a recipe for a scratch made version.  It is made with buttermilk, so it’s extra moist and not overly sweet – but you couldn’t tell from looking at it.  It’s a visual sugar rush!

Sprinkle Cake

Special guests.

To keep the mood festive, I’ve made birthday hats for the guests.  They do not love this idea. Can you tell? Haha! Churro’s little worried face is hilarious. I made sure they didn’t have to endure this humiliation very long.

Gummy bear love.

Have you seen these enormous gummy bears yet?  I laughed when I first saw them and said “Who on earth would buy that?!”…ahem.

And then I walked out of the store with one.  But hey, it makes a pretty cute cake topper!

Sprinkle Cake

Apply a mixture of fun sprinkles to the sides of the cake! Pat handfuls of sprinkles up the sides, or just kind of toss them on. The latter technique is fun, but makes a mess! Sometimes you just have to be at peace with the mess.

Sprinkle Cake

This cake is sprinkled inside and out! There’s a bit of a tie dye effect in places that I just love.

Biscuit nearly wrecked the whole cake! But he was very patient wearing his birthday crown, so I figured he deserved just one lick.

Rainbow Sprinkle Cake

Heather Baird
Add a sweet sprinkle of color to your table with this easy rainbow sprinkle cake recipe.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Equipment

  • 9" cake pans (2)
  • or 8" cake pans (3)

Ingredients
 
 

Sprinkle Cake

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles, jimmes variety found in the ice cream section

Meringue buttercream frosting

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 6 sticks of softened butter yes, 6 sticks!
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • sprinkles and allsorts for decorating

Instructions
 

Sprinkle Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease the bottom and sides of two 9″ (or three 8″) pans and line with parchment paper. Grease parchment and set aside.
  • In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat all ingredients together except rainbow sprinkles. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. When thoroughly mixed, gently fold in rainbow sprinkles. Stir only briefly, because the colors will begin to run quickly.
  • Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks.

Meringue Buttercream

  • In a small saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil and cook until 240 degrees is reached on a candy thermometer.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. While mixer is running, add the hot sugar syrup to the egg whites in a thin stream. Temper the mixture slowly and carefully.
  • Switch whisk attachment for the paddle attachment, and add the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Frost cooled cakes with buttercream.

Assembly

  • While the buttercream is fresh, add the sprinkles and candy topping.
  • Add a variety of nonpareils, sprinkles, quins, sugar confetti and anything else you want to throw at this cake. Sprinkle to your heart's content!
Keyword buttermilk, rainbow sprinkles, swiss meringue buttercream
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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the10thjenerator
the10thjenerator
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was the cheesecake my mom made me for my 18th birthday. Better than all the other grocery store cakes I had as a kid! 🙂 I love the gummi bear above. yummm!

Maria
Maria
13 years ago

Happy Birthday! Love the cake. My favorite is chocolate with toffee ice cream on the side:)

onetoughcupcake@gmail.com
onetoughcupcake@gmail.com
13 years ago

the world's most awesome birthday cake was for my half birthday, since december is too cold for camping and i ALWAYS wanted a camping birthday party! orange cakes are spherical cupcakes baked inside hollowed out orange peels and cooked in campfire coals… mmm, the best!

Lee Ann L.
Lee Ann L.
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake one my Mother started making years ago. It's so simple. It's called Chocolate Sheet cake. My second favorite is Boston Cream Pie.

Jess
Jess
13 years ago

My mom made me a caterpillar cake out of cupcakes one year. It was such a hit, and so delicious!!!

Jessica @ How Sweet
Jessica @ How Sweet
13 years ago

I follow you already!

My favorite cake is red velvet. 🙂

Mrs. Puma
Mrs. Puma
13 years ago

My Grandma lived in Florida while we lived in Oklahoma for my whole childhood, but she taught cake decorating for Michael's and when we'd visit in the summer she'd always make us a birthday cake. My ultimate favorite was out of the Wilton yearbook around 1997 and it was a big round pastel yellow cake with a big smiling face and these arms that stuck out of the sides. I wish I had a photo to share!

taylor
taylor
13 years ago

my favorite birthday cake was always a spice cake with cream cheese frosting. i looooove cream cheese frosting. plus, the cinnamon/spice/nutmeg flavoring reminded me of the holidays because my birthday is right after christmas. mmmm! it makes me happy just thinking about it! thanks for the contest & congrats on your first birthday!

rachel e.
rachel e.
13 years ago

My mom made a little mermaid cake for me when i was super little. loved it!

C&C Cakery
C&C Cakery
13 years ago

Ice cream cake. Always ice cream cake.

Kimber
Kimber
13 years ago

My birthday cake every year is Red velvet with cream cheese icing…YUMMO!

Julie
Julie
13 years ago

I always got a character designed ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins as a kid and carried on this tradition till the last few years. Then I ceased to get a cake at all. I'm the only baker of my friends so I'll have to do it myself, but my favorite cake would be plain and simple like yours!

hana.k
hana.k
13 years ago

My favorite cake is Korean cake with fresh cream and fruit.
I love the gummy bear topper btw! So cute~

sarah da spicemaster
sarah da spicemaster
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was on my 16th birthday- I was traveling in Turkey with my mom and we were out at a cute little outdoor restaurant in Istanbul. She told the owner that it was my birthday and he didn't have any cake but he called a friend at a local hotel and had a chocolate and raspberry cake sent over in a taxi. What a surprise to see it taken from the backseat of a cab to my table!

The Urban Baker
The Urban Baker
13 years ago

I am a follower, a fan, and an admirer! My favorite birthday cake was the Seven Layer Cake from Weby's bakery. My dad and I would go to Weby's every Sunday morning and we would buy a sliced onion bread, cookies of some sort and a slice of seven layer cake. On my birthday, my dad would get a whole cake and most years I ate most of it myself!! My love for sweets started at a very young age. I miss my dad. Yet, now – on my birthday- my husband gets me a seven layer cake. I enjoy… Read more »

Mrs. Waki
Mrs. Waki
13 years ago

As dorky as it is, I look forward to an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen every year. 🙂 I also love my mom's angel food cake– I wish I could make it as well as she does.

Heather
Heather
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was the ice cream cone shaped cake my mom made for my 5th birthday. She kept asking me what kind of cake I wanted and my response was "ice cream" every time so she got creative 🙂

ashley
ashley
13 years ago

My mom used to buy the wilton pans and decorate us the most fabulous cakes. My favorite was the minnie mouse. I'm gonna recreate it for my daughter.

Skinnie Piggie
Skinnie Piggie
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was the one my sister helped my mom bake when she was only 6yrs old, she kept saying "I bake it just for you."

Desiree Garcia
Desiree Garcia
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was a Canon DSLR Camera shaped cake my best friend made me. It even had a photo of us on the back screen.

Domanique
Domanique
13 years ago

my favorite cake is the ice cream cake i bought for myself last year.

eidolons
eidolons
13 years ago

my favorite birthday cake was an egyptian chocolate cake i made for my oldest son's first birthday.

Quest
Quest
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was one I made for myself because my birthday is right before Christmas and everyone forgets it. I was 10 and made a sheet cake with a landscape of little ponies. My fingers were dyed green for three weeks afterwords!

Brooke
Brooke
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake is one I made for my daughter. It can be found at

http://brookecrismond.blogspot.com/2010/03/aubree-turns-2.html

Bricks and Porter
Bricks and Porter
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake = Carrot Cake from Termini Brothers.

care
care
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake was a carebear shaped cake — I don't know how old I was, but I still remember it and have pictures! Now for my birthday I love any decadently rich chocolate cake with lots and lots of ganache!

pinkbuttercream
pinkbuttercream
13 years ago

My favorite birthday cake is from a local bakery where I grew up in Pittsburgh. It was a marble cake filled with chocolate buttercream, frosted with vanilla buttercream and topped with all pink flowers (always all pink). So delicious and the only not from scratch cake I really crave!!

Cate
Cate
13 years ago

Happy birthday to my favorite baking blog! My favorite birthday cake is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

My favorite cake is funfetti with a homemade jelly filling. It's delicious!

Laura
Laura
13 years ago

In my family we always make a butter recipe bundt cake topped simply with powdered sugar. It isn't the most exciting or unique cake, but it is a tradition and a birthday to me is not the same without it! I love it!

Jacqueline
Jacqueline
13 years ago

Happy birthday! My birthday is right before the 4th of July, so I always got ice cream cakes from Baskin Robbins. Mmm!

Caroline
Caroline
13 years ago

Any blackbottom cake my mom made me. Always a favorite!

HelloBillieJo
HelloBillieJo
13 years ago

I was a truly stupid child. Every year I wished for an ice cream cake, and my mother told me our freezer wasn't cold enough to keep it frozen for the party.

So, with that, when I figured it out and bought myself my own ice cream cake for my birthday… it was the best cake ever.

Manasi
Manasi
13 years ago

I loved this cake that my mom used to get from the local bakery. It was a white cake with this awesome fresh fruit filling, but the best part was that they wrote the happy birthday message on a piece of marzipan and whoever's birthday it was got to eat it! I liked it more than the cake I think!

lo
lo
13 years ago

Happy Birthday!

My fave birthday cake (my birthday is next week hooray!) is an almond cake with raspberry and chocolate mousse filling and a chocolate ganache on top. I had it once in a cafe and I've been dreaming of it ever since!!

Alex M
Alex M
13 years ago

I Lambchops cake! Always a winnner 🙂

Bethany
Bethany
13 years ago

Happy Birthday SprinkleBakes!

I have received the same birthday cake for as long as I can remember: a chocolate turtle cake! So rich and yummy, yet not so pretty :).

Megan
Megan
13 years ago

Happy Birthday dear Sprinkle Bakes! Thank you for the wonderful year.
This cake is beautiful. My hubbys favorite cake if the Funfetti and he would LOVE this cake for his birthday on Sunday.
My favorite cake would have to be a pumpkin cake with a maple frosting. Anything pumpkin for this girl! In fact, my birthday is on the 8th, I might have to make one! Gotta recipe?

Persnickety Hall
Persnickety Hall
13 years ago

My fave birthday cake was my 25th birthday one. Growing up i never celebrated birthdays (family religious reasons) and the night before my 25th birthday my hubby took me out to dinner. It turned out to be a surprise birthday dinner with our close friends, and he had brought in a special double chocolate cake for me. Was the sweetest thing ever!

Caitlin the lexicomane
Caitlin the lexicomane
13 years ago

My favourite birthday cake is pineapple upside-down cake!

Dani Leigh
Dani Leigh
13 years ago

my family has a tradition of big cookie cakes for our birthdays. the doubled up kind with frosting in the middle. sugar coma!

Lisa
Lisa
13 years ago

Happy Blog Birthday Heather! I laughed when I saw the giant gummy bear.. I contemplated buying one, but the shipping would have cost more than the bear! It was lovely to see the video of you too, what a sweetie you are! 🙂

Sarah
Sarah
13 years ago

Happy birthday! I almost died laughing when I saw your guests in their party hats… Lovely post as usual!

Johnny
Johnny
13 years ago

Well my little brother always got the best birthday cakes – don't think my mum bothered with us two older ones as much. My favourite cake is probably the one I made myself for my 30th! All my favourite flavours (3 tiers of carrot, lemon and chocolate) and so 80's inspired!

Sue
Sue
13 years ago

Heather, What a fitting birthday cake for you! It looks awesome:) LOVE your video too…So nice to see you and Biscuit come to life:) Happy Birthday to you and your blog…You have a phenomenal following after just one year!

The only birthday cake I remember was when I turned 12 and my mom put on a surprise slumber party for me, including a birthday cake from a bakery (I thought it was so cool to have a cake from a bakery, finally) with the whole Peanuts gang on it…Snoopy was my favorite! 🙂

MeeshOne.Love
MeeshOne.Love
13 years ago

i am a huge fan of ice cream cake…the vanilla kind with the chocolate crunchies in the middle. so good!

Callie @ Callieflower Kitchen
Callie @ Callieflower Kitchen
13 years ago

Happy birthday to SB! 🙂 I love all your recipes and your photos are so gorgeous, I'm glad you found a year of success!

My favourite birthday cake was a homemade ice cream came my mom and I made a few years ago. It looked pretty horrendous, but was super tasty 😉

Shannon
Shannon
13 years ago

I am a follower!! The cake is beautiful!! I remember my favorite cake being a very girly, pink ice cream cake my Mom got me when I was in the 2nd grade. Happy Birthday!!!

Colleen
Colleen
13 years ago

a homemade ice cream cake made by my grandma!

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

Today was my birthday, actually. I made a triple chocolate mousse cake that was *amazing*