This Ultimate Sundae Birthday Cake features layers of moist chocolate cake filled with vanilla sprinkle buttercream, chocolate buttercream and caramel buttercream, then frosted in vanilla buttercream and decorated with sprinkles, ganache, caramel and cherries. If you love sundaes, this playful cake is a must-try.

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Post Updated: 10/13/2019

Ultimate Sundae Birthday Cake

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! To celebrate entering my twenties I made an extra-special cake: a tall, multi-layer chocolate cake built like a sundae, with three different buttercream flavors and plenty of decorative finishes.

Chocolate Cake Layers

This version uses four sturdy, moist chocolate cake layers. The updated cake recipe I used is the same fudgy, stable chocolate cake I rely on for other layer cakes, which helps prevent crumbling when stacking tall layers.

The method is straightforward: combine dry ingredients in one bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale (don’t skip this step — it takes 4–6 minutes), add eggs, then sour cream for moisture and flavor. I flavor the batter with vanilla and a touch of instant coffee to deepen the chocolate taste. Finally, alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk, then bake the layers until a toothpick comes out clean.

Three Frosting Flavors

Between the chocolate layers are three classic sundae-inspired fillings: vanilla sprinkle buttercream, chocolate buttercream and caramel buttercream. I start with a whipped vanilla buttercream as the base and divide it to create each flavor.

The vanilla sprinkle buttercream is simply vanilla buttercream folded with rainbow sprinkles. For the chocolate buttercream I add cocoa to the base buttercream, then drizzle with chocolate sauce and scatter chopped peanuts for a sundae feel. The caramel layer combines buttercream with salted caramel sauce and more drizzle on top. The contrast of these three flavors is delightful.

Colourful Sprinkle Frosting

To finish the outside, frost the cake with a teal-tinted vanilla buttercream and fold in extra sprinkles for visual texture. You can choose any color or leave it white for a simpler look. Press extra sprinkles against the sides for a playful edge.

How to Decorate the Ultimate Sundae Cake

Decorating this cake is easier than it looks. After crumb-coating and chilling, press sprinkles up the bottom edge. Make a simple chocolate ganache and a caramel drizzle. Pipe alternating ganache and caramel drips around the top edge so they fall down the sides for an indulgent look.

Finish by piping pink rosettes around the top rim, then pipe small white frosting swirls on each rosette and top with a maraschino cherry to mimic a sundae. Add more sprinkles and nonpareils across the top and center for a festive finish.

This cake is rich, colorful and fun—perfect for celebrations. Layer after layer of chocolate cake and three buttercream flavors produces a show-stopping dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

What a delicious way to mark the start of a new decade!

Did you make this Ultimate Sundae Cake? Share how it turned out in the comments and leave a rating if you enjoyed it.

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More Birthday Recipes:

Birthday Cake Oreo Cake

Banana Split Cupcakes

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Birthday Cake Oreo Fudge Brownies

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Ultimate Sundae Birthday Cake

Yield:
14-16 servings

Prep Time:
50 minutes

Cook Time:
25 minutes

Total Time:
1 hour 15 minutes

This Ultimate Sundae Birthday Cake has layers of moist chocolate cake, vanilla sprinkle buttercream, chocolate buttercream, and caramel buttercream, then it’s frosted and decorated with sprinkles, ganache, caramel and cherries.

Ingredients

• 1 recipe homemade salted caramel sauce, cooled completely

Chocolate Cake:

• 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 and ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 and ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 and ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 and ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 and ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 and ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 and ½ tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 2 and ¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature

Vanilla Buttercream (Base):

• 1 and ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 and ½ cups salted butter, room temperature
• 12 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• Teal gel food colouring
• Pink gel food colouring
• ½ cup rainbow sprinkles

Vanilla Sprinkle Buttercream:

• 1 and ¼ cup vanilla buttercream (from base)
• ⅓ cup rainbow sprinkles

Chocolate Buttercream:

• 1 and ¼ cup vanilla buttercream (from base)
• 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Caramel Buttercream:

• 1 and ¼ cup vanilla buttercream (from base)
• 3 tablespoon salted caramel sauce

Ganache:

• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Decoration

• 1 cup rainbow sprinkle mix
• Rainbow nonpareils
• Salted caramel sauce, for drizzling
• Maraschino cherries with stems

Instructions

For the Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Prepare four 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds and grease the sides.
2. Sift flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 4–6 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Lower speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined. Scrape the bowl as needed.
5. Combine vanilla and instant coffee granules in a small bowl. Add sour cream and the vanilla-coffee mixture to the batter and beat until combined.
6. Alternately add dry ingredients in thirds and buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Beat each addition until just combined. Divide batter evenly between pans.
7. Bake two layers at a time for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back lightly to the touch.
8. Cool cakes in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely. Layers can be wrapped and frozen or refrigerated until ready to assemble.

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butters on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5–6 minutes.
2. With the mixer on low, gradually add half the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add heavy cream and vanilla, then beat until combined.
3. Add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time on low speed until combined.
4. Increase mixer speed to high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5–7 minutes.

Make the Flavored Buttercreams:

1. Vanilla Sprinkle Buttercream: Transfer 1 and ¼ cup buttercream to a bowl and fold in ⅓ cup sprinkles. Set aside.
2. Chocolate Buttercream: Transfer 1 and ¼ cup buttercream to another bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. Caramel Buttercream: Transfer 1 and ¼ cup buttercream to a third bowl and mix in 3 tablespoons caramel sauce. Set aside.

For the Ganache:

1. Heat heavy cream until it begins to simmer. Pour over chocolate chips, cover and let sit 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

Assemble the Ultimate Sundae Layer Cake:

1. Spread vanilla sprinkle buttercream over the first cake layer. Top with the second layer and spread chocolate buttercream. Add the third layer and spread caramel buttercream. Place the final layer on top, face down. Apply a thin crumb coat of untinted buttercream and chill 30 minutes.
2. Reserve 1 cup buttercream and ¾ cup buttercream. Tint the ¾ cup pink and leave the 1 cup white. Tint the remaining buttercream sky blue and fold in ¾ cup rainbow jimmies.
3. Frost the chilled cake smoothly with the blue buttercream and press sprinkles up the sides.
4. When the ganache is not warm, pour it into a piping bag, snip a small tip and draw a line near the top edge to create drips down the cake.
5. Fill another disposable bag with caramel and pipe drips between the ganache drips. Chill the cake another 15 minutes.
6. Pipe pink rosettes around the top edge with a large star tip, then pipe a white swirl on each rosette and top with a cherry. Sprinkle nonpareils over the top and add extra sprinkles in the center.
7. Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

1. If your frosting uses only unsalted butter, add ½ teaspoon salt to taste.
2. Cake layers can be made ahead and frozen. Thaw wrapped layers in the refrigerator 24 hours before decorating.

BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

 

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