What better way to celebrate than a batch of Birthday Cake Pancakes? Fluffy cake batter pancakes are topped with a sweet icing and so many sprinkles!

This post was originally published on March 23, 2015. It has since been updated to include new photos and helpful tips.

It is a BIG day in our household. Today my husband turns… Well, old. While he does not necessarily care to celebrate, we love to spoil him rotten.

First thing? We are starting our day with cake mix pancakes! These pancakes taste soooooo good. It is like diving into a cupcake, but since they are pancakes I feel like they are more acceptable as a breakfast.

Cake Batter Pancake Ingredients

The ingredient list for these pancakes is short. The recipe is quick, easy, and uses items that most of us already have in our pantry!

Pancake Mix- I mainly use Bisquick, but I am certain other options will work just as well.
Yellow Cake Mix- DRY. Do not prepare the mix at all. You want the powder to be stirred in with the pancake mix.
Milk- Whole milk is my preferred. It seems to give you a more full pancake.
Eggs- Large eggs are best.
Lemon and Vanilla Extract- Always, always, always use pure extracts and try to stay away from imitation varieties.

Birthday Cake Pancakes with whipped cream

How to make IHOP Cupcake Pancakes:

With the short list of ingredients, it is no secret that this recipe is going to be EASY.

Whisk the pancake mix, yellow cake mix, milk, eggs, and both extracts in a medium mixing bowl until batter is smooth. Gently fold in the sprinkles. Set aside.
Heat a griddle or large pan over medium heat. Grease with cooking spray or butter.
Spoon 1/3 cup of batter onto the surface. Cook until the edges are lightly browned (1-2 minutes) flip and cook until the remaining side is golden.

A few tips before I send you off to cook up your own batch:

The sprinkles will start to add lines of color to the batter if you stir it too much. Gently fold them into the batter and stop as soon as you see them incorporated.
These can be a little tricky to flip. I like to gently run my spatula around the edge of my pancake as soon as I see the edges curl. This helps to loosen it from the pan and makes turning it a little less of a mess.

Like my mini pancakes, this recipe is super freezer friendly!

Easy Birthday Pancakes on a white plate with sprinkles

What to put on top of your pancakes:

Ok, well… Since these are birthday pancakes, I dived right into the sugar rush and topped these with a quick icing. I listed that below, but wanted to give you a few other fun ideas.

Butter
Powdered sugar
Sliced fruit (we like bananas, strawberries, or blueberries)
Warm syrup
Whipped cream

Vanilla Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Whisk all of the icing ingredients together, starting with 1 tablespoon of milk. Slowly add additional milk until desired consistency is reached.

2. Spoon or spread over warm pancakes.

More Pancake Recipes:

More Birthday Recipes: