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Funfetti Brownie Layer Cake – this cake is easier than it looks! There’s a layer of brownie and two layers of confetti cake, filled with a cream cheese frosting and topped with a hot fudge chocolate drizzle! It’s the PERFECT brownie birthday cake recipe.
Brownie Birthday Cake
If you’re looking for a fun and delicious cake recipe for a celebration, you should make this Funfetti Brownie Cake! I’m not a huge cake decorator so I’m always on the lookout for easy ways to make cakes and a sprinkle cake is one of my favorite things.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Starts with a box cake mix for the funfetti layers.
- Use a brownie mix for the brownie layer!
- Make homemade frosting and no one will guess you used box mixes!
- The sprinkles on the outside hide any imperfections…and it’s so pretty too!
Ingredients Needed
- Layer one on this cake is a fudgy brownie. I used a box mix but this homemade brownie recipe works as well.
- The other two layers are yellow cake mix I filled with sprinkles, but feel free to make my yellow cake from scratch and fill it with sprinkles.
- The most important thing to remember when you’re using a mix is that no one will notice if you make your own frosting, so I filled the cake with my favorite cream cheese frosting.
- The outside is full of sprinkles and the top is drizzled with an easy chocolate sauce and more sprinkles.
How to make a Brownie Birthday Cake
- Make the brownie mix according to package directions. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for about until a toothpick comes out clean 2” from the edge. Cool, then remove from the pan.
- Mix the cake mix with milk, oil, and eggs until smooth. Stir in sprinkles. Pour equally into two remaining pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from pans.
- Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then slowly mixing in the powdered sugar. Mix in vanilla and beat until smooth, then stir in sprinkles.
- Divide the frosting into three parts. Place the brownie layer on the bottom of a cake plate. Top with 1/3 of the frosting. Add one cake layer and another 1/3 of the frosting. Top with remaining cake layer.
- Frost the top of the cake with some of the remaining frosting and give the sides a light coating with the remaining frosting.
- To coat the sides with sprinkles, take handfuls and press them onto the sides of the cake.
- Place chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water in a small pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from the hot pan and let cool at least 10 minutes.
- Finish the cake by coating the top with the chocolate and drizzling it down the sides. Top with more sprinkles. Chill to set.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips for Brownie Cakes
- Be sure to use good quality sprinkles. I prefer jimmies for baking inside the cake. These Rainbow Sprinkles are the ones I always buy. They don’t melt like some of the cheaper ones do. Nonpareils will melt inside the cake, but are fine for the outside.
- I used 8″ round pans but you can use 9″ if that’s all you have, but make sure to use all the same brand and same size cake pan (this way the layers are all the same).
- Level the cakes as needed before stacking.
- Chill in between layers for easy decorating.
- I recommend adding the outside coating over the sink – it’s really messy.
Funfetti Brownie Layer Cake Recipe
Funfetti Brownie Layer Cake – this cake is easier than it looks! There’s a layer of brownie and two layers of confetti cake, filled with a cream cheese frosting and topped with a hot fudge chocolate drizzle! It’s the PERFECT birthday cake recipe.
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 3 hours
Ingredients
For the layers:
- 1 (approximately 18 ounce) box brownie mix , plus ingredients to make the brownies
- 1 (approximately 15 ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup (237ml) milk
- ⅓ cup (79ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sprinkles
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese , room temperature
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter , softened
- 4 cups (452g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sprinkles , plus more for the outside
For the chocolate drizzle:
- ¾ cup (128g) chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)
- 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter cubed
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) light corn syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons water
- Sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line one 8″ round cake pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Line two more with parchment paper (bottom only) and spray well with nonstick cooking spray or grease and flour the pans. (If you do not have 3 round cake pans, make the brownies first, let them cool, then make the cake layers.)
- Make the brownie mix according to package directions. Pour into prepared cake pan (the one with foil) and bake for about 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean 2” from the edge. Cool, then remove from the pan.
- Mix the cake mix with milk, oil, and eggs until smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in sprinkles. Pour equally into two remaining pans and bake according to package directions, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from pans.
- Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then slowly mixing in the powdered sugar. Mix in vanilla and beat until smooth, then stir in sprinkles.
- Divide the frosting into three parts. Place the brownie layer on the bottom of a cake plate. Top with 1/3 of the frosting. Add one cake layer and another 1/3 of the frosting. Top with remaining cake layer.
- Frost the top of the cake with some of the remaining frosting and give the sides a light coating with the remaining frosting. This is also called a “crumb coat”. You’ll still see the cake through the sides but that doesn’t matter because you’re coating it with sprinkles.
- To coat the sides with sprinkles, take handfuls and press them onto the sides of the cake. This is a messy step! Chill the cake until ready to finish it.
- Make the chocolate drizzle: place chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and water in a small pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from the hot pan and let cool at least 10 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Finish the cake by coating the top with the chocolate and drizzling it down the sides. Top with more sprinkles. Chill to set.
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to use good quality sprinkles. I prefer jimmies for baking inside the cake. They don’t melt like some of the cheaper ones do. Nonpareils will melt inside the cake, but are fine for the outside.
- I used 8″ round pans but you can use 9″ if that’s all you have, but make sure to use all the same brand and same size cake pan (this way the layers are all the same).
- Level the cakes as needed before stacking.
- Chill in between layers for easy decorating.
- I recommend adding the outside coating over the sink – it’s really messy.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 0.001g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 502IU | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Made this for my sprinkle-holic daughter in-law for her birthday. She LOVED it. So did my son. He thinks you should call it “Death by Sprinkles”. I wish I could attach a picture. Found a pink sprinkle and chocolate drizzle stuck in my diamond ring 💍 the day after I smashed sprinkles all over the cake!!
Haha I find them in my rings too!! The struggle is real.
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