Our tradition is to make these Birthday Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze the morning of a birthday (hence the name). The bright colors make them so much fun and who doesn’t love a little dessert at breakfast time??? It is difficult to not make these year round, so they also get whipped up for various celebrations or “just because.”
You can go with a traditional syrup if you wish, or even a dusting of powdered sugar. But I love this glaze recipe (it is the same foundation as the glaze I use on my AMAZING and LIFE CHANGING cinnamon rolls!). They are also great alongside some bacon, sausage, and eggs, but they tend to steal the spotlight so anything on the plate that is not a pancake, glaze, or sprinkle tends to be overlooked.
The long, multi-colored jimmie sprinkles are my favorites to use here because they are not too hard and will melt into the pancakes, making the polka-dotted pattern that you see. They are also easy to bite into and do not have too much of a crunch. You can find specific colors online which is great, so if someone loves purple, you could make these with just purple sprinkles.
These Birthday Pancakes with Cream Cheese Glaze fluff up so well and look gorgeous! Making pancakes from scratch are really not that difficult and does not require much more work than the boxed mixes. Most of these ingredients you will likely have on hand anyway. I often do not have buttermilk, but you can combine regular milk with lemon juice instead which I LOVE because I can never get through all of the buttermilk. See the note in the recipe below on how to make this substitution.
Adapted from the Pancakes recipe in America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups buttermilk (see notes)
- 1/4 cup jimmie sprinkles (the long, multi-colored ones)
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 1/2 oz cream cheese softened
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp sprinkles
Instructions
Pancakes
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, and buttermilk.
- Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined. You will still have a few lumps which is fine.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon of oil and wait until it is warm. Add batter to the skillet in 1/4 cup increments, with 2 or 3 pancakes going at a time so that the pan is not over crowded.
- Cook the batter until bubbles start to form and the bottom is starting to turn brown, approximately 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until the pancakes are cooked through, approximately 2 minutes more.
- To keep the pancakes warm, you can put them on a wire cooling rack that is propped up on a cookie sheet in the oven on a warm setting (or 200F if you do not have a warm setting). The wire rack will keep them up off the flat surface and prevent them from getting soggy as the heat and moisture can escape.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- While you are cooking the pancakes, whisk the cream cheese in the bottom of a stand mixer until smooth.
- Add the milk and powdered sugar. Whisk on a slow speed so that the sugar stays in the bowl until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Use a spatula to get the remaining sugar off of the sides and mixed into the glaze.
- Add the sprinkles and stir in. Drizzle on top of the pancakes when ready.
So fun and so pretty!
Okay, so these look absolutely delicious! I am a big fan of anything birthday cake flavoured or with sprinkles so a big winner haha!!
Sian | https://buff.ly/21RTgBh
These look so tasty! I also love that you don’t use cake mix like a lot of other birthday pancake recipes I’ve seen!
This is a dream! What a fun breakfast for a sleep over!
Oh my gosh, my fiancé would just DIE over these pancakes! He loves everything that resembles funfetti cake even just a little bit, and with all these sprinkles and that delicious looking cream cheese glaze…. I know what I am making him for his birthday this year! Definitely pinning this 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I need to remember this recipe for my kids birthday in June. What a fun way to say good morning and happy birthday
This is such a sweet idea…how pretty! I would love to wake up to these. xo, Catherine
Wow what a great and creative idea! These are so cute and excited to make them for my hubbys bday next year!
Oh my goodness that glaze…!! I’m a sucker for anything with cream cheese. I love reading about family traditions and now I’m thinking about doing something like this for my family. 🙂
Who wouldn’t want those for their birthday? They look absolutely yummy. 🙂
I shared this on a Pinterest group board.
YUM! I’m going to make these “just because.”
What a great way to start a birthday
If I wasn’t so lazy, I would eat these every. day.
This is such a great idea. Sprinkles make everything better 🙂 And I would love to wake up to those on my birthday (and everyday!).
My oldest turns 17 this weekend. These will be a very special start to his day! 🙂
How perfect! Happy birthday to him!
Yummmmmy
Yum!
Yum. I going to make these for my kids this weekend.
Pancakes and Sprinkles! Super freakin’ cute birthday breakfast! Thank you lovely.xx
I so have to make this a new tradition in our household! We love pancakes!
Glaze looks luxurious! Interesting idea to add the lemon juice into pancakes, I have to try 🙂
Yummy!
what a great idea, they look so good! http://www.corner52.com
Oh my goodness I need these RIGHT NOW!
I love how colorful these pancakes are. Sprinkles make everything so festive!
Oh my gosh, those look amazing right now. That glaze sounds perfect, I love cream cheese, yum! I’ve put sprinkles in pancakes a few times and my kids always get a kick out of it, what a fun idea to do it for birthdays.
cream cheese anything Im in! these look so delicious
My kids would LOVE these pancakes! Anything funfetti is delicious!
Sooo cute!! I too love the crunch of a jimmy haha!
Will be making these in May
I would love a batch of these pancakes on my birthday. Sprinkles in pancakes would be a first for me!
hi can I leave out the buttermilk from the recipe or is it absolutely necessary?
Hi Jiselle,
You could try it with plain milk, but I have not attempted that before. I do not use buttermilk typically, so I make my own by mixing milk with lemon juice. You can substitute the buttermilk by whisking 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice with 2 cups of milk and setting it aside to thicken. Do this first so that it sits while you are mixing everything else and you will be good to go! 🙂