Easy Funfetti Birthday Cake Mix Pancakes Recipe

Why you’ll love these birthday cake pancakes

• Using a box cake mix to make pancakes results in an extra-fluffy pancake.
• Fluffy funfetti pancakes are the perfect way to make a special breakfast. 
• The entire family is going to love these. We don’t even have little kids at home and everyone loved them.
• They only require simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen so all you have to do is get the box of cake mix. And extra sprinkles, of course.  

Ingredients

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredient Notes

cake mix – we use the store brand cake mix because it cost $1.00! Your favorite brand works great. If you can’t find funfetti you can use either a yellow cake mix or a white cake mix and just add rainbow sprinkles to the pancake batter.

eggs – we use two large eggs. If you want the pancakes to be lighter inside, more like white cake then you can use four egg whites. The pancakes have a very light golden brown tint anyway so I don’t care about the inside of the pancake being lighter in color. 

canola oil – vegetable oil or melted butter can be used. Or if you want you can swap out the oil for unsweetened applesauce. I have not tried it but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work. 

water – you can swap out the water for whole milk, 2% milk, 1% milk or nonfat milk if you want. I like the little bit thinner consistency you get from using water. 

non-stick spray – I like the way the pancakes look when I use the spray to keep the pancakes from sticking to the griddle, you can use melted butter. 

powdered sugar – this is the main ingredient to make a sweet glaze that is similar to frosting.

butter – we use unsalted butter for this but either unsalted or salted butter works perfectly.

milk – whole milk or whatever you have on hand, even heavy cream or half and half can be used in the frosting. 

vanilla – pure vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla. 

sprinkles – we love Jimmies but you can use any type of sprinkles you like. 

whipped cream – this is optional. 

How to make the optional vanilla icing

1. Microwave the butter in a glass measuring cup, or other microwave safe container, for about 15 seconds to soften it just a bit. 
2. Sift the powdered sugar and add it to the butter, add the milk and vanilla and stir until combined. Make this icing as thick or thin as you like by adding additional milk. We like ours to be thick but pourable.

How to make fluffy cake batter pancakes

1. Preheat an electric griddle pan to 300°or a large skillet to medium heat. If using a skillet and the pancakes brown to fast reduce it to medium-low heat.
2. Spray just a bit of cooking spray onto the griddle, or you can use a little butter. 
3. Pour the dry cake mix into a large bowl, add the eggs, oil and water and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
4. Pour one-third cup of batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake. Cook until edges dry out, gently flip and cook the other side. 
5. Serve warm with butter and syrup or vanilla glaze.

Things to avoid so you have perfect funfetti cake batter pancakes

• Don’t over-mix the pancake batter. Even when using cake mix to make pancakes you don’t want to mix it too much. Mix until no dry ingredients remain, there will most likely still be lumps and that is okay. 
• Regular pancake batter needs to rest for about 5-10 minutes before you make them. I start cooking these just as soon as the griddle is hot enough. Since not all of the batter gets cooked at the same time some of the batter rests while you are making the first batch(es) of pancakes and that is fine. 
• Do not get the griddle or pan too hot. This will result in the outside getting too brown while the inside remains raw. 
• Not getting the griddle hot enough. Your pancake batter will start to soak up some of the oil if it takes too long to cook. 
• Flipping them too much. Pancakes need to be flipped one time. You will know it is time to flip them when the edges start to dry out. These cake mix pancakes don’t really get lots of bubbles like regular pancakes do so you will need to pay attention to the edges to know when to flip them. You can also peak at the bottom of the pancake by lifting it up a little with the turner to see if it is getting too brown. 
• Set the temperature a little lower for these pancakes. I set the temperature on my griddle to 350° when making regular homemade pancakes and set it to 300° when making cake batter pancakes. 
• Gently flip the pancakes so the edges stay intact. If you flip them too hard they will splatter and the this will result in uneven edges. 

You can always experiment by making one pancake to see if your griddle or pan is just the right temperature and then make the rest of the pancakes after you are sure it is.

Is pancake mix the same as cake mix?

Cake mix usually has more fat and sugar than pancake mix. Cake mix also has leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda. Pancake mix typically has less fat and sugar and also has powdered milk or powdered buttermilk. 

Storage & Reheating

Store in an airtight container or zip top bag for several days. Reheat by popping them into the microwave for a few seconds. 

More pancake recipes

• Oat Banana Nut Pancakes
• Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
• Pumpkin Pancakes

Other recipes using cake mix

• Carrot Cake Cookies
• Duncan Hines Cake Mix Cookies
• Blueberry Muffins