Blueberry Pancake Cake

slice of cake coming out of a pancake cake

Cake for breakfast? Absolutely! This blueberry pancake cake is actually made from a buttermilk pancake mix and you only need milk and blueberries to bake it up into three delicious layers. Some maple buttercream frosting and fondant bring this cake to life as a realistic-looking stack of pancakes.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Decorating Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings cups

Calories 743kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

3 8" x 2" cake pans

Ingredients

Blueberry Pancake Cake

4 cups pancake mix Krusteaz buttermilk
2 ⅔ cups milk
2 ½ cups fresh blueberries or frozen
¼ cup melted butter for brushing

Gummy "Syrup"

2 teaspoons gelatin powder
½ cup cold water
1-2 drops brown food coloring

Fondant Decoration

1 pound white fondant
1-2 drops ivory food coloring for the pancakes
1-2 drops yellow food coloring for the butter
3 Tablespoons Everclear
4 to 5 drops brown food coloring for the pancake edges

Maple Frosting

2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
7 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

The Blueberry Pancake Cake Layers

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/176ºC and prepare three 8-inch round cake pans with cake goop, parchment paper, or another preferred pan release.
Add the pancake mix and milk to a large bowl and whisk it together until just combined. Do not overmix! It’s okay if the flour mixture is lumpy.
Fold in the fresh blueberries and let the mixture sit for 2 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake the cakes for 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
While the cakes are still warm, brush the tops with melted butter.
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then flip the cakes out onto a wire rack.
Cool the cakes completely at room temperature, or wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes or overnight.

The Maple Buttercream Frosting

Mix the room-temperature butter in a large separate bowl with a hand mixer until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until it's fully combined.
Pour in the vanilla and maple syrup and mix together until the frosting is smooth, light, and fluffy.

Assembling the Cake

Trim the top of the 2 cake layers so they are flat, and leave the 3rd full to be the top.
Place the first cake layer down on a cake board and spread a layer of buttercream evenly across the top.
Repeat this process with the remaining 2 layers.
Spread a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake as a crumb coat. Leave the cake at room temperature while you decorate so that the buttercream stays sticky.

The Pancake Fondant Decoration

Add the Everclear and brown food coloring to a medium bowl and mix them together. This will be your “paint” for coloring the golden brown edges of the pancakes.
Color about a pound of fondant with a few drops of ivory food coloring.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on the work surface and roll out about ½ cup of fondant into long strips, about ½ inch thick.
Cut the strip in half lengthwise with a pizza cutter.
Starting at the bottom, place a strip on the cake with the flat-cut side facing the cake. It should stick to the buttercream, but you can dab a little bit of water to help.
Spread some of the brown mixture with a paintbrush onto the top and inside of the fondant strip. It doesn’t need to be fully covered or perfect, it will just help the fluffy pancakes look more realistic.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 and works up to the top edge of the cake.
Roll out a piece of fondant into a large circle about ½ inch thick. Then place it on top of the cake and paint it to look like a pancake.
Use a small ball modeling tool to create small dots on the side of the fondant to represent air bubbles.

The Gelatin Syrup and Butter

Sprinkle gelatin onto a small bowl of cold water and microwave it for about 15 seconds until just melted.
Add a few drops of brown food coloring and mix it together.
Drizzle spoonfuls of gelatin “syrup” from the top of the cake and let it drip down the sides.
Pour the rest of the gelatin mixture on top of the cake.
Color about ¼ cup of fondant yellow and form it into a ½ inch thick rectangle.
Cut the yellow fondant into 2 equal-sized squares with a knife or bench scraper. These will be the “butter” pieces.
Add some fresh blueberries and the “butter” pieces on top of the cake before the gelatin fully cools.
Now serve and enjoy! This cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Notes

It’s important to not overmix the cake mix, or it will have a dense texture. The light and fluffy texture comes from mixing just until the batter is incorporated.
You can also bake this in a sheet pan, two 9" cake pans, or a bundt pan. Just bake them at different times.
Practice Mise en Place (everything in its place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
For extra blueberry flavor, add some homemade blueberry sauce in between layers.

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