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Birthday Cake Cheesecake

Celebrate a birthday with this decadent birthday cake cheesecake! A cake crust, funfetti cheesecake filling, and chocolate cake frosting combine in a fun dessert for birthday celebrations at any age!

A slice of cheesecake being pulled away on a serving spatula

Today I'm helping Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Cam celebrate twenty years of marriage! Just as she celebrated her wedding with cheesecake (not wedding cake), we're celebrating her 20th anniversary with cheesecake!

I'm also celebrating something myself. It's my 40th birthday! I gotta say, this is not how I imagined celebrating this milestone birthday, quarantined at home. I'm making the best of it, having a virtual "party" with friends through a video chat app.

I also made myself this incredible birthday cake cheesecake. It has a layer of funfetti cake, then a layer of classic cheesecake with sprinkles mixed in. And finally, it's topped with little dollops of fudgy chocolate frosting and more sprinkles.

A slice of cheesecake on a blue plate in front of a blue cake stand

What is Funfetti Cake?

It's a fluffy white cake with sprinkles in the batter. You can't use any old white cake recipe. It has to be thick enough to prevent the sprinkles from sinking to the bottom of the batter during baking.

I chose a fudgy chocolate frosting because when I was growing up, my birthday cake was always a yellow cake from a boxed mix with that creamy chocolate frosting from a tub. This frosting isn't exactly the same, but it comes very close.

A close-up of a slice of cheesecake topped with frosting and sprinkles

Tips for Perfect Cheesecake

Leave all of your ingredients on the counter at room temperature for at least one hour. Room-temperature ingredients blend together more easily, which means no lumps in your cheesecake batter.

The second key to no lumps to scrape, scrape, scrape. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl. I do it halfway through creaming together the cream cheese and sugar, and after each addition of egg.

A whole birthday cake cheesecake on a blue cake stand

Keep the mixer speed on medium-low. Cheesecake is a dense, not airy, dessert. You don't want to incorporate air into your batter.

Finally, bake the cheesecake in a water bath. The hot water adds moisture to the oven, which prevents the cheesecake from cracking. It also helps the cheesecake bake more slowly and evenly, so the egg proteins in the cheesecake set properly.

Birthday Cake Cheesecake

Birthday Cake Cheesecake

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Celebrate a birthday with this decadent birthday cake cheesecake! A cake crust, funfetti cheesecake filling, and chocolate cake frosting combine in a fun dessert for birthday celebrations at any age!

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 4 tablespoon (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon (2 ⅝ oz) sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ½ tablespoon veg oil
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon (2 ⅝ oz) cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup (4 fl oz) milk
  • 2 tablespoon (¾ oz) sprinkles

For the cheesecake

  • 24 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup (7 oz) sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¾ teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¾ cup (4 ½ oz) sprinkles

For the frosting

  • 1 tablespoon (½ oz) unsalted butter
  • ¾ tablespoon (⅛ oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • ½ cup (2 oz) powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla

For garnish

  • Sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Use the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan to trace a circle on a piece of parchment paper with a permanent marker. Cut out the circle, staying inside the marker line, and place circle in the bottom of the springform pan, then lightly spray the parchment with nonstick baking spray.
  2. With an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl until the mixture is fluffy. Add the egg white, and mix well. Mix in the vanilla and oil.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With your mixer running on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix to incorporate, then add half of the milk. Repeat with another ⅓ of the flour, the remaining half of the milk, and the final third of the flour. Fold in the sprinkles.
  4. Spread the batter in an even layer as best you can in the prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
  5. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees while you make the cheesecake filling.
  6. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy. On medium-low, beat in the sugar, vanilla and almond extract, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
  7. Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the sprinkles.
  8. Wrap the bottom of the springform pan in two layers of tinfoil. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the cake crust, and set the springform pan inside a larger baking dish.
  9. Transfer the larger baking pan to the oven and fill with water, taking care not to splash any water into the cheesecake batter. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until set but still wobbly in the center.
  10. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
  11. Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add the cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Add the milk and vanilla, and whisk until frothy. Make sure the cocoa powder has completely dissolved. With an electric hand mixer, beat the powdered sugar into the cocoa mixture a little at a time until fully incorporated. The frosting should be thick but spreadable.
  12. Scrape the frosting into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Pipe dollops of frosting around the edges of the cheesecake and garnish with sprinkles.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 453Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 286mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 0gSugar: 32gProtein: 6g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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Terri Steffes

Wednesday 25th of March 2020

Happy birthday to you and happy anniversary to Cam! The cheesecake looks wonderful!

Karen

Wednesday 25th of March 2020

Happy birthday! I bet this is not how you expected to celebrate! Your cheesecake looks like the perfect antidote.

Camilla M. Mann

Wednesday 25th of March 2020

Happy 40th! And thanks for celebrating my anniversary with me. Virtual parties are where it's at during this shelter in place order, right? Your sprinkles made me smile!

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