Cake Batter Pancakes

I’ve always told Joe that if we ever have another baby, we need to try to time it so that the baby is born in February. We have the rest of the first five months of the year covered. Will’s birthday is in January, mine is in March, Joe’s is in April and Andrew’s is in May. We’re just missing February to make it five straight months of family birthdays. I really like little patterns/coincidences like that, because I’m a dork.

Anyway, because Will and I have already had our 2012 birthdays, we’ve already eaten these pancakes twice this year. The first time I made them (for Will’s birthday in January), I knew they would become a tradition in our family. They’re so delicious! And what a fun way to wake up on your birthday – to fragrant, cakey pancakes that are drowning in sprinkles and sugary glaze. Happy Birthday, indeed!

Cake Batter Pancakes
adapted from How Sweet It Is

For the pancakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 cups milk
Sprinkles or non-pareils

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, egg and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Start with 1 cup of milk and add more if needed (you want the batter to look like regular pancake batter, not too thick and not too thin).

2. Preheat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Fold desired amount of sprinkles into batter. Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute more.

3. To make the glaze, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until glaze forms, adding more sugar and/or heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over pancakes and top with additional sprinkles or non-pareils.