Ultimate Birthday Cake (video)
My ultimate birthday cake is an over-the-top, crazy-looking, ocean and coral inspired creation! It’s made with funfetti vanilla cake layers, vanilla buttercream and white chocolate ganache! I enjoyed adding all the little details like the rainbow sprinkles, blue ganache and the purple sugar crystal. If you’re looking for a creative birthday cake, try making this one for an unforgettable dessert! I love celebrating birthdays (my favorite day of the year!) and the special day calls for a special cake!
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How to Make the Ultimate Birthday Cake!
I start this fun birthday cake out with relatively simple vanilla cake dotted with rainbow sprinkles to make it extra festive. The cake is then frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream. Both my vanilla cake and buttercream have in-depth video tutorials that can help if need extra tips. And that’s where the basic stops!
To garnish this cake and take it to extraordinary, I pressed rainbow sprinkles directly on the sides of the cake, because who doesn’t like sprinkles? Watch my video recipe to see how it’s done! To add some more bright color, I also finished the cake with a blue-colored white chocolate ganache. It’s such a fun addition to this birthday cake! And for the topping, I added sugar crystals, dollops of cream and match green tea poke sticks. Feel free to add your own touches to the cake!
Purple Sugar Crystals
To take this birthday cake from ordinary to extraordinary, I made my own purple-colored sugar crystals! These are actually very easy to make and they look so impressive. To make the crystals, combine the 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook the syrup over medium heat until the syrup caramelizes into an amber color but don’t allow it to get too dark! Add in the purple food coloring, then pour the hot syrup over a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Be extra careful!! The sugar syrup will be extremely hot! Allow the sugar to set, then break apart with your hands.
More Recipes!
Enjoyed this fun and creative cake recipe? Check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- Coconut Kahlua Cake – with chocolate ganache, coconut cookies and truffles on top!
- Neapolitan Cake – have all three cake flavors in one – strawberry, vanilla and chocolate!!
- Rose Cake – this stunning rose cake topped with roses is perfect for special occasions and birthdays!
- Summer Sangria Cake – delicate and packed with flavor, this cake is bound to be a favorite!
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Ultimate Birthday Cake (video)
Ingredients
For Vanilla Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
For Butter Cream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 to 6 cups confectioner's sugar
For Blue Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- white food coloring
- blue food coloring
For Sugar Crystals:
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
For Decorating:
- white edible pearls
- white chocolate wafers
- Match Green Tea Pocky sticks
- gold dust
Instructions
- Prepare the vanilla cake layers. Preheat oven to 350F and line 3, 8-inch cake rounds with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix together, then add to the cake batter. Whisk just until the flour is incorporated; avoid over-mixing. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles. Divide the dough evenly between the three prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely on wire racks.
- Prepare the butter cream. Whisk the softened butter on high speed until light and fluffy and white in color. Add the vanilla, salt and begin adding the confectioner's sugar. Whisk well after each addition of the sugar and scrape down sides of bowl. Reserve about 1 cup of the frosting in a separate bowl and color it pink for decorating the top.
- Assemble the cake. If you wish to add more flavor to the cake with fruit preserves or flavored sugar syrup, do so between each layer. Frost each layer with buttercream, then frost top and sides. Level the top and sides with a flat spatula.
- Transfer the cake onto a cardboard round and onto an inverted bowl/cup over a baking tray. Measure out about 1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles and use your hands to gently press the sprinkles into the sides of the cake. Once sides are well-covered, transfer cake into the refrigerator and allow it to chill for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate ganache. Combine the white chocolate and cream in a small bowl and heat in microwave until smooth. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of white food coloring; this will make the ganache less opaque and the food coloring more vibrant. Add the blue food coloring. Allow the chocolate ganache to cool slightly.
- Transfer the ganache into a disposable bag, cut off the tip and drizzle down the sides of the cake and over the top. Chill the cake again and allow the ganache to set up a little bit before decorating the top.
- Transfer the reserved pink buttercream into a pastry bag and pipe onto the cake. Garnish with broken sugar crystals, pocky sticks, pearls, chocolate wafers and gold dust. Keep cake refrigerated; remove about 1 hour prior to serve to allow the buttercream to soften.
- To prepare the purple sugar crystal: combine the 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook the syrup over medium heat until the syrup caramelizes into an amber color. Add purple food coloring, then pour the hot syrup over a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Allow the sugar to set, then break apart with your hands.
I was wondering when you put the rainbow sprinkles by hand does is it normally the buttercream still soft ? Isn’t it will stick in your hands?
I actually put them on while the buttercream was still soft. I think once the buttercream is refrigerated and set, the sprinkles don’t stick on too well.
Privet; Tatyana!
I always wanted to ask but really don’t know who and where. 😉
Why in American buttercream you usually put so much sugar? For example, 300 gr of butter and 600 gr of sugar. Is it not so sugary?
Hi! 🙂 The confectioner’s sugar is what thickens the buttercream, otherwise it would be more runny and harder to work with!
Hi Tatyana! I wanted to ask where you bought your cake turn table from? And what essential tools would you recommend to someone who is starting out with cakes?
Hi! The turn table is by Ateco, best tool for cake decorating! You can find it on Amazon.com here: https://www.amazon.com/Ateco-612-Revolving-Cake-Stand/dp/B000BVFYUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1470783549&sr=1-1&keywords=ateco+turntable
As far as other tools, I recommend stocking up on metal spatulas (off-set, flat, wide, mini), decorating tips, I love disposable pastry bags (less to wash!) and good quality baking pans. I typically use 8-inch rounds, also spring form pan for cheesecakes 🙂
Hi there just wondering what kind of white coloring did you used? I’m new in baking stuff..im not familiar with those. Thanks.
No problem! I use a powder white color, you can find it in bakery supply stores or online! 🙂
Hi Tatyana,
Just wondering did you cut the top of the cake before you put the filling in it?
How many grams should be in each pan?
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes ?
Yes, this is a great recipe for cupcakes. The full recipe will yield 24 cupcakes; you can cut the recipe in half for 12 🙂
What’s the difference between this vanilla sponge and the perfect sponge cake video on your YouTube channel ? Which one is better and more moist?
My vanilla ‘sponge’ cake is more of a traditional cake with butter and milk. It’s very moist and works well for buttercream cakes. The ‘perfect sponge cake’ is a very basic cake that’s best used when adding fruit preserves and whipped cream frosting. The cake itself is dry but it will absorb anything you add on top 🙂
Hey dear…as per your recipie i added eggs n milk together and beat it until mixed on medium speed but the mixture got curdled…can you suggest me what could be the reason…
Also when should we remove from tin…immediately or after the pan is touchable…i continued baking cake despite of curdled mixture n it came out lovely but would still like to know the reason….i just moved the knife around the edges immediately after taking out but the sides of cake got uneven ..is it that i did in hot cake ,should have waited…plz revert as your reply is precious…thanx
Regards
Shradha
Hi! I am making this for my daughters 2nd birthday this weekend and can’t wait! I do need your advice.. I want to prep this the day before and I am wondering at what point in the process of assembly/decorating would be best to stop and put in the fridge for the night and resume in the morning the day of the party? Also, what is the best way to store it in the fridge?
Thank you for your time!
Shelby
Hi! Happy birthday to your daughter! I’m sure she will love the cake! I recommend decorating the cake entirely, except for the pocky sticks and sugar glass, which are tall and might not fit into the refrigerator. You can add them right before serving. As long as the cake is frosted, you can store it in the refrigerator with no cover.
Hi there can you make it in 2 x8″inch pans and bake them for a fraction longer or keep it at the same time ? Thankyou
Hello Tatyana – I tried this cake last night for my daughters birthdays and it turned out great. Thanks a lot for this recipe. I wanted to make it bluish but my color mixing went a little hazy and it turned out to be more teal. Added Golden sprinklers and choco sticks and it did look cery good. Too bad I cant share a picture
Awesome! So glad it was a hit! I’m sure it looked beautiful! 🙂
Hi Tatyana. Thank you for this beautiful cake.
Can I use your stabilized whipped cream recipe instead of buttercream for frosting? Is it ok to pour ganache over whipped cream?
I just read (too late!) on the baking blog that you should never put round sprinkles into batter, or else the sprinkles will bleed and make the batter look muddy. Well that’s exactly what happened to my batter – the second I put the sprinkles in, they dissolved and ruined the color of the batter!
Second, that cake has so much butter in it, it’s ridiculous! One cup goes into batter and 2 cups go into frosting, plus 4 cups of sugar!! I followed the recipe, but when I tasted the frosting – YUCK!!! It tastes like stick of butter dipped into powder sugar and salt. I am wondering if I should pour it over with blue colored white chocolate ganache….I can’t imagine my kids eating such concoction! Plus, I am nervous that the sprinkles on the frosting will bleed (and I had good quality sprinkles!).
Anyway. The cake looks stunning but it tastes disgusting. I’m also making your strawberry zefir cake and no way I’ll be smothering it in buttercream! I’ll have to make my own cream cheese-whipped cream frosting or something way lighter than pure butter with 4-6 cups of sugar!
I think anyone attempting to make that cake should know that it won’t taste good (really, just look at the ingredients – butter on top of butter all rolled in pounds of powdered sugar, and a ton of food coloring), and they should know that sprinkles will absolutely ruin the batter.
Hi Anna! Sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe. This is a classic American cake with American buttercream. Maybe try using one of my European cake recipes next time if you are looking for something different. If you want to make a cake with sprinkles, make sure to use high-quality sprinkles that don’t bleed. I’ve never had this problem when I used good-quality sprinkles.
Beautiful cake that always wows everyone! The birthday cake I always make for those I love!!!
It makes me so happy that you’re enjoying the recipe! Perfect for any birthday celebration!