Pancakes aren’t just for breakfast anymore! Now you can have this pancake cake with maple cream cheese frosting and eat it for breakfast, dessert or a snack!
My college roommate and I were born two days apart, and we try to celebrate our birthdays together every year. This year was no different. I drove down to visit her last weekend, and she mentioned that she wanted to bake this pancake cake with me. We had fully intended on baking this on Saturday afternoon, but the chaos (and fun!) of the day made it impossible.
We made plans to visit one of her favorite brunch places the next morning, but we were disappointed to find out that they didn’t open until 10am. I was hoping to return home around that time, so I suggested making this cake for breakfast as an alternative. This turned out to be a fabulous idea since we were both hungry, and what better way to celebrate our birthdays than to eat cake for breakfast?
I was in charge of making the pancakes, and it could not have been easier. I mixed the dry ingredients together, the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then combined the two to make the batter. We cooked the pancakes on top of a griddle and set them aside. My friend made the frosting and graciously offered to let me lick the beaters (I politely declined) since the cream cheese confection was so good. She stacked the layers on top of each other, and we had our pancake cake ready to eat in almost no time at all.
Each of us had a slice of the finished cake and promptly went back for seconds. Each pancake was soft yet fluffy, and the maple cream cheese frosting was a fantastic addition to each layer. I’m fairly certain we both licked our plates clean.
So for those of you who like to eat cake for breakfast, go ahead and make this cake. It is made of pancakes, so it’s perfectly acceptable to eat right after you wake up.
Pancake cake with maple cream cheese frosting
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup rye or whole wheat flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornmeal
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cups milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted, plus more for the pan
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 11 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 5 Tablespoons maple syrup divided
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the pancakes
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, sugars, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla.
- Transfer the milk/egg mixture to the large bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk until everything is just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Grease the surface with non-stick spray or butter.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the pancake batter onto the pan or griddle and cook for about 1 and 1/2 minutes or until many bubbles appear on the surface. Flip and cook for another 1 and 1/2 minutes. Remove pancake from pan or griddle and set on a plate and allow to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter. You should have about 6 pancakes.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, mix the cream cheese and Greek yogurt together on medium speed until well mixed. Add in 4 Tablespoons of the maple syrup and powdered sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Assemble the cake
- Place one pancake at the bottom of a plate or cake stand. Spread about 5 Tablespoons of frosting on top. Add another pancake, and repeat. Drizzle the remaining 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup on the top layer over the cream cheese frosting.