Birthdays in my family are a big deal. I’m talking sneaking-over-to-the-cousins-house-at-night-to-decorate-their-rooms-while-they-are-sleeping kind of big deal (with parents permission of course). So, birthdays end up being this never-ending extravaganza. Friends parties, family party, special breakfast, lunch brought to school, special dinner… it never ends. So, when my niece had her birthday this week, AND it happened to be a pajama party, AND they were having breakfast for dinner, I had to offer to make a waffle cake. Yes, you heard it, a cake made of waffles. I mean, how cute is that! This would be equally as good for a birthday morning breakfast because it’s ok to eat waffles (ok, cake), for breakfast. Right?
This cake is actually probably one of the easiest cakes to make. So easy in fact, I ended up making two different versions. A really rainbowy, unicorn kind of fun cake with sprinkles. And of course, we can’t forget to add some fresh strawberries to make the “healthier” version.
You can make your cake either using your favorite cake recipe, or a cake box, like I did. I love a good from-scratch cake, but sometimes, especially when there are 10 nine-year olds involved, cake box works just as good. Adding some sprinkles to the batter makes this cake pink, girly and fun.
After mixing up the cake, start making waffles like you would any lazy Sunday morning. Each cake box made 5 waffles and since I only used 4 per cake that left a little leftover to nibble on. I mean we all need a little snack while we cook, right? As I made the waffles I made sure to put them on a rack. I put the first one straight on a pan to cool and the moisture from the heat made the bottom soggy. So, using a rack kept them fresh and crispy.
Now, for this waffle cake, I had to top it off with a yummy whipped cream to make it breakfast like, but I knew whipped cream wouldn’t hold up too well. So, I ended up making a whipped buttercream frosting. This frosting is so light, airy and creamy and such a perfect match to these delicious rainbow waffles.
Stack the waffles with lots of whipped buttercream between each layer – I used an icing tip and pastry bag to make it look extra decadent and fun. I finished it off with a few more sprinkles and pink tinted white chocolate drizzled on top.
Mmmmmm. Doesn’t this look so good!
For the next cake I used the same cake batter, although next time I would omit the sprinkles. The only change in the layering is to add sliced strawberries along with the whipped cream between each layer. Add a nice mound of icing and strawberries on top as a finishing touch. Because I had leftover pink white chocolate, I used it to dip a few strawberries to help decorate the cake. YUM! This is the birthday edition of a strawberry shortcake. So good!
Ready to make this yourself? Here’s a printable recipe for your convenience.
Waffle Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup water
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients together.
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Add sprinkles.
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Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray.
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Cook to your waffle maker directions.
Whipped Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Simmer milk and vanilla over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour until fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Cook until mixture thickens to the texture of yogurt. Remove from heat, but continue to stir for a minute or so since the it will continue to cook as it cools.
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Cook milk mixture completely. (If you add it to the butter mixture while still warm it could melt the butter.
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Cream butter and sugar together on high until fully combined and fluffy. Approximately 5 minutes.
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Slow mixer down and slowly incorporate milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Beat on high until light and fluffy. Approximately 5 minutes.
