The Ultimate Birthday Cake. A sweet funfetti cake, topped with a cream cheese buttercream, and delicious cookie crumble.
To say that this cake was involved is an understatement. Not only did I have to purchase specific ingredients (cake flour, glucose, grapeseed oil, clear vanilla extract), I also had to buy new tools and equipment (quarter-sheet pan, 6″ cake ring, acetate). This was a project and I was totally up for it, especially since it was going to be for my husband’s birthday. I wanted it to be over the top and special.
If you know anything about Momofuku recipes, you know they are kind of ridiculous and there are multiple separate components that need to be created for the final product. Many people fail at making them for one reason or another. I’d made their cookies before as a sort of first easy (lol) stab at a Momofuku recipe. I didn’t fail on those, but they were definitely not easy. This cake on the other hand, even though it looks almost perfect, had some pretty epic fails.
After I’d finished making it, I vented over email to my friend Nancy @ Gotta Get Baked, so she’s already heard a (less censored) version of this story, but here goes…
Ok seriously, this god damn cake. It was all going to perfectly fine. I paced myself, measured EVERYthing in advance for each component, and organized myself like never before. I was on point. The crumble was super easy, as was the frosting, both worked out perfectly. No issues.
Then I got to baking. The cake was a frikken disaster. I had cake all over the bottom of my oven and what was left in the pan sank like a ton of bricks after I took it out. Epic fail.
Round 2, I figure I must have messed something up in the mixing so I try again, with the same sheet pan. In hindsight I don’t know what I was thinking, but she said quarter-sheet and I had a quarter-sheet! Basically a repeat of the first cake, except this time I put another sheet pan under it to catch the drippings. There were a lot of drippings. Sigh.
BOTH cakes were a total fail. And why? Pan size. Again, I got totally screwed over by pan size. I’d been screwed over by it before here and here and I’d learned my lesson, so I wasn’t going to mess with changing up the pan size again. So, I specifically purchased a quarter-sheet pan as Christina Tosi’s recipe calls for. Well, did you know not all quarter sheet pans are the same size? Apparently. Even though mine specifically says “quarter-sheet pan” on the back of it, it is evidently not even close to the quarter-sheet pan they use at Momofuku. I finally discovered (post cake completion) that hers are 10×15″ where the one I bought is actually 9.5×12″. That is a HUGE difference! You think they’d specify pan size specifically in their recipes. That’s a pretty standard thing to do!
That was only part of the problem. The cake took forever to set, and I like to rotate my pans part way because my oven sucks. Well when I went to check this one after 30mins, I must have nudged it a bit too much, because it literally deflated in front of my eyes. Many expletives were thrown. To top it off, the second cake wasn’t baked enough because I relied on Christina Tosi’s cake testing instructions of “poke it” and “looks like the centre is set” instead of my trusted method of a wooden skewer. I ended up using mostly the first cake with one layer from the second. All the layers were much thinner than they should have been, but I was done at that point.
Assembly was a bit of a pain as well, but I won’t bother you with the boring details there. Mostly stupid mistakes on my part, and rushing things, and having a disaster of a kitchen. As soon as I stuck it into the freezer, I swore I’d never make another Momofuku recipe again. Ever. But then I tasted it and o.m.g. It’s honestly the BEST cake I have EVER had. No joke. The cake is sweet, but the frosting isn’t, and the cookie crumble with it all basically makes the cake. I’ll definitely make the frosting again, and different versions of the crumble for cakes in the future. I’m for sure taking a Momofuku break for a while though…
So there you have it. Another baker taken down by a Momofuku recipe. Ok maybe I’m exaggerating. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out and it IS delicious, but I could have done without the fails.
Here are a few key things about this recipe, should you attempt it on your own, along with some insider tips now that I’ve gone through it once:
- Clear Vanilla Extract – Use it! Initially I wasn’t going to bother with this and just use my regular stuff, but I’m so glad I did. Christina Tosi says to use it for flavor, but the biggest factor for me was color. I’d seen some pics of other bakers who didn’t use the clear stuff, and their frosting turned out kinda beige. Not the pretty stark white. So, use the clear stuff!
- Citric Acid – I couldn’t find this at my local grocer and didn’t want to hunt it down for just a “pinch” in a recipe so I used a bit of lemon juice instead. Worked perfectly fine.
- Frosting – I used 1.5x the recipe for frosting. In my research, some bloggers were saying to double the recipe, but I opted to do 1.5x and it was perfect. I had a tiny bit left over, but otherwise I think it was a great ratio, even with my super thin cake layers.
- Timing – I wouldn’t recommend trying to do this all in one day. It’s certainly doable, but for sanity’s sake, make the crumble and cake one day, then do the frosting and assembly the next day.
- Pan Size – For the love of all things baked and delicious, make sure your “quarter-sheet pan” is 10×15″ before you attempt this!! I’ve also thought about using three 6″ cake rounds and seeing how that would turn out. The layers might be a bit thicker and have more of a finished look on the outsides, but I’m sure it would taste just as delicious, and would likely be a lot easier to manage.
This cake is not for the faint of heart. It’s a ton of work, but the effort will be worth it in the end when you finally have a slice or two of this amazing cake!
Momofuku Birthday Cake
Ingredients
Crumble
- 100 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup
- 25 g light brown sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp (tightly packed)
- 90 g cake flour 3/4 cup
- 2 g baking powder 1/2 tsp
- 2 g kosher salt 1/2 tsp
- 20 g rainbow sprinkles 2 Tbsp
- 40 g grapeseed oil 1/4 cup
- 12 g clear vanilla extract 1 Tbsp
Cake
- 55 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 Tbsp, 1/2 stick)
- 60 g vegetable shortening 1/3 cup
- 250 g granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups
- 50 g light brown sugar (3 Tbsp tightly packed)
- 3 large eggs
- 110 g buttermilk 1/2 cup
- 65 g grapeseed oil 1/3 cup
- 8 g clear vanilla extract 2 tsps
- 245 g cake flour 2 cups
- 6 g baking powder 1 1/2 tsp
- 3 g kosher salt 3/4 tsp
- 50 g rainbow sprinkles 1/4 cup
- 25 g rainbow sprinkles for sprinkling 2 Tbsp
Frosting (1.5x the original recipe):
- 172.5 g unsalted butter at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
- 75 g vegetable shortening 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup
- 82.5 g cream cheese 3 oz
- 37.5 g glucose 1.5 Tbsp
- 27 g corn syrup 1.5 Tbsp
- 18 g clear vanilla extract 1.5 Tbsp
- 300 g powdered sugar sifted, 1 7/8 cups
- 3 g kosher salt 3/4 tsp
- .38 g baking powder pinch
- .38 g citric acid I used 1/4tsp lemon juice
Soak
- 55 g milk 1/4 cup
- 4 g clear vanilla extract 1 tsp
Instructions
Crumble:
- Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all dry ingredients (sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, sprinkles). Mix on low until well combined.
- Add oil and vanilla, mix again on low to distribute until small clusters form.
- Bake for 15mins.
- Cool completely before using on cake.
- Store in an airtight container for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer.
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a quarter-sheet pan (10”x15”) cooking spray and line with parchment or a silpat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and 50g (1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles). Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and sugars. Beat on med-high for 2-3mins. Scrape bowl if necessary.
- Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Scrape bowl.
- Turn mixer to low and stream in buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase mixer to med-high and beat for 4-6minutes until mixture is light, fluffy, and no streaks of fat or liquid remain. Scrape bowl.
- On low speed, add flour mixture and mix just until batter comes together, 30-60 secs.
- Spread cake batter in an even layer in the pan and sprinkle with remaining 25g (2 Tbsp) rainbow sprinkles.
- Bake for 30-35mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners sugar, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and cream cheese. Beat on med-high for 2-3mins until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape bowl.
- Turn mixer to low and stream in glucose, corn syrup, and vanilla. Increase mixer to med-high and beat for 2-3mins until smooth and glossy white. Scrape bowl.
- Turn mixer to low and add in sugar mixture and citric acid (I used lemon juice). Once combined, turn mister to med-high and leaf for 2-3mins until white and smooth.
- Use immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Soak:
- Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Assembly:
- Cut acetate into two 3” high and 20” long strips.
- Place a piece of parchment or silpat onto the counter and invert cake onto it. Peel off parchment/silpat from bottom of the cake.
- Using the cake ring, stamp out 2 circles (start in the corners to be able to get 2 full ones). These will be your top and bottom layers. Stamp out 2 half circles from the remaining scraps.
- Clean cake ring and place in the center of your quarter-sheet pan lined with parchment or a silpat.
- Place 1 strip of acetate inside the cake ring to line it. **Make sure the cake ring is completely dry or you won’t be able to get it out of the ring after freezing!!**
- Place your less pretty full layer into the bottom. Dip a pastry brush into the soak and brush onto the cake layer.
- Using the back of a spoon, spread 1/5 of the frosting in an even layer over the cake.
- Sprinkle 1/3 of the crumble evenly over the frosting. Press down with the back of your hand to anchor them in place. (I reserved the chunkiest crumbs for the very top).
- Using the back of a spoon, spread 1/5 of the frosting in an even layer over the crumble.
- With your index finger, tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall – high enough to support the height of the finished cake.
- Place the two half circle cake pieces on top of the frosting layer and press in additional cake scraps to fill in the layer. Use the back of your hand to press the scraps together into a flat even layer.
- Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8.
- Place the remaining cake round onto the frosting and cover the top with remaining 1/5 frosting. Spread frosting evenly or a bit messier if you like.
- Top with remaining crumble — either around the edge or in the center, however you like.
- Place sheet pan into the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours. Cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
- At least 3 hours before serving, remove the cake from the freezer and using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate and transfer cake to platter or stand.
- Let it defrost in the fridge or counter for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).
Liza says
Thanks for the info. I ended up hating the flavor of the clear vanilla flavoring. There was a chemical taste that I am super sensitive to. For instance I can’t stand the taste of artificial sweeteners.
Olivia says
Hi Liza! The clear vanilla is not to everyone’s taste for sure.
Sosse says
Hello,
Tried this recipe today and honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought! Only issue I had was that the cake didn’t really rise as much as I thought it would. Any idea why? I followed ingredients and I tray thins to a T and I have a pretty good oven
Olivia says
Hi Sosse!The cakes don’t rise a ton, but they should rise. Have you tested your baking powder to make sure it’s not expired? Also be careful not to overmix the cake batter as this can cause a denser, shorter cake.
Sabrina says
I made the birthday cake today with my sister. I bought the 10×15 sheet pan. Mine is two inches deep. It took me about 2.5 hours to make. Your recipe was very easy to follow and I appreciate the tips with pan size etc. The cake is delicious! I had some left over pieces and decided to make more birthday cake soak for it. The Cale was a tiny bit on the dry side. Since I added more milk to the left over pieces and like it better, I think I would almost double the birthday soak for a moister cake. The cake is a sponge like cake that can handle more soak. Thank you Liv For Cakes!
Olivia says
Hi Sabrina! Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m glad you found all my tips useful 🙂
Kimm says
I have been so intimidated by the Milk Cookbook since I received it for Christmas!! I was like you, Liv, and made some cookies first. They were delicious. I have read just about the whole cookbook from start to finish trying to get my head around it. You are right about so many components to all the recipes that it has scared me off quite frankly. I also don’t really want to purchase extra equipment. After reading your blog and all he comments, I’m ready to give it a try. I’m going to use cake pans and frost and stack like a regular cake. The crumble sounds awesome and I want to use them for other cakes for sure. Thx for all the tips and for all the comments on fails and successes. I’ll let you know how it goes when I decide to bake it!! Here’s to trying new things!!
Olivia says
Hi Kimm! I’m so glad you’re going to give it a try! I honestly think that the cake pans and stacking as a regular cake will take away a lot of the work/stress and it will be just as delicious. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Shana says
Okay, I am back to report about baking the cake in round pans. It works well! I baked the cake in my 6″ x 3″ round pans. Based on the fact that there are scraps when you make the cake in the sheet pan, I opted to have some extra batter and just made a few mini cupcakes out of it (samples — yum). I only have two pans, so the first round, I put 300g of batter in each pan, and they came out about 1.5″ high. This was significantly taller than how it comes out in the sheet pan, so for the third layer I only used 240g of batter and it came out 1.25″ high, which I think is slightly better for a 3 layer cake. I would advise 25-30 min of bake time for the 240g layers. Watch it carefully and stick to using a toothpick to test for doneness, because it came out even lighter and fluffier than it has for me in the sheet pan, which made it quite challenging to use Tosi’s poke test. I froze the layers because they are so tender I’m afraid to stack and decorate them even at room temp.
Olivia says
Hi Shana! Thanks for reporting back! I’m sure this will be helpful to those that want to try it with round pans instead 🙂
Shana says
About the pan size…it specifically says in the front section of the Milkbar cookbook that her quarter sheet pans are 10×13. Perhaps the depth of your Nordicware pan is shallower than whatever commercial brand Tosi uses? I don’t own a quarter sheet pan, so I use my Silverwood adjustable size cake pan (it’s 12x12x4 with dividers, they have it on Amazon, pricey but worth it) when I make her cakes and adjust it to be 11×12 (so it’s 132 square inches versus 130). Using a 10×15 inch pan will most certainly result in a thinner cake than is intended. I get great results with the Silverwood pan, and the bonus is that it’s 4″ deep, so I’ve never had an overflow problem.
I’ve heard other people complain about the overflow with her cakes. She directly addresses it in the book: take it slow! You have to really beat the you-know-what out of the wet ingredients to homogenize it. Not in this recipe, but in other of the cake recipes she warns about the potential for overflow if you don’t mix the wet ingredients well enough. I find it easier to get everything to combine when I beat the butter, sugar and eggs until fully incorporated and lighter in color (2-3 min on high) before adding the buttermilk and oil. Once you have really homogenized the butter and eggs, the buttermilk and oil emulsifies right into it and thickens up quite quickly. Oddly, sometimes for me it doesn’t thicken up quite as much as she describes (especially the chocolate cake for some reason), but the cake still comes out great!
Can you tell I’ve read the whole book and baked the cakes multiple times!? Lol. I’m about to try this recipe in 6″ round pans. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Olivia says
Hi Shana! Thanks for the detailed input. The book I have states that her quarter sheet pans are 10×15, but it only states that at the beginning of the book, and to be honest, I often don’t read those parts! And even if I did I’m likely to forget. Since there is such a variation in quarter sheet pans on the market, it would have been best for her to list the specific pan size in each recipe — this wouldn’t have been that hard to do! It certainly would have saved me and others some frustration 🙂 Thankfully the cake was delicious and totally worth the effort.
Shana says
Weird that our books have different sizes! I would say that maybe you have an older copy of the book or something? BUT, good gravy! Would you believe that my All About Cake book by Tosi compares the quarter sheet they use to a 9×13″ jelly roll pan!? So we have three books with three different sizes! Not exactly precision, is it!? I completely agree that listing the pan size in the recipe would be helpful.
Kristen says
Hello! I’m in the early stages of making this cake and just wondering…do I need to cover with plastic wrap when I stick it in the freezer?? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Kristen! I didn’t cover mine.
Chris Garrison says
Liv, I just bought Christina Tossi’s new cookbook. She has the recipe for making this ‘birthday cake’ (and other MilkBar cakes) in sheet cake form. I have spent 2 weeks gathering all the necessary ingredients, have spent a lot of money and do not want to mess up. But alas, I have hit a snag. No where can I find anything but low-fat buttermilk and I live in a major city and went to 4 stores. Please tell me the low fat will work!
Olivia says
Hi Chris! I think the low-fat buttermilk will work just fine. Let me know how it turns out!
Shana says
Chirs, you’ve probably already made the cake, but this information may come in handy later. Buttermilk is naturally low-fat. That’s the only way they sell it. It’s so annoying that they feel the need to label it “low-fat,” but that is the ingredient you are looking for. I have made many of Tosi’s (and other recipes) with it. Where I live, I can also only get it in a quart size. However, it freezes really well. I have several ziploc bags of pre-portioned and frozen buttermilk in my freezer that I defrost and use to bake regularly.
colleen says
Wondering if this recipe could be made in 2 8 inch cake pans?
Olivia says
Hi Colleen! I haven’t tried it myself but it should work ok. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Kate T says
Hi Liv! First of all, love your blog. I’m on day 2 of assembling these components. Weirdly my crumb didn’t come together in big clumps (even on the second try), and it was getting too wet adding more oil. I’ve now got two batches of pretty measly-looking crumb. Any suggestions?
Olivia says
Hi Kate! Strange about the crumble! Did you make any substitutions? Did it just remain powdery? If you try it again, I would add the oil in slowly and stop when it starts to clump. Are you using a stand mixer to make it?
Maeve says
This happened to me too! I found that the rarely used melon scooper was my hero and I made many little balls but left a lot of the small crunchies too.
Jennifer says
I made the Milk Bar Birthday Cake this weekend for my brother’s birthday. I read through all of your post several times to get it right. I actually thought this cake was quite easy overall. Not having to worry about frosted sides helped a lot! I used a 10×15 pan on your recommendation but then the cake seemed too thin. It did rise so I don’t think that was the problem. I just can’t figure it out based on watching other videos and reading posts from people that used a 10×13. Every individual component is super delicious, but once I put it all together it was way too sweet. I think after tackling many other Liv for Cake cakes with a SMB, our taste buds couldn’t handle it. Liv, thanks again for breaking down the recipe and for all of the helpful tips!
Olivia says
Haha I know what you mean! It is a very sweet cake for sure — can’t have too much of it! I’m glad you tackled it though and thanks for your input!!
Fatima says
Hi i really want to attempt this recipe. I have found everything except for the cake pan in that size. I live in Australia and can only find a smaller size pan. Where did you purchase yours?
Olivia says
Hi Fatima! I bought mine at a local discount store. Are you able to order from Amazon at all? https://amzn.to/2Qb0XEf
Tash says
Hey liv, I love love loveeee your recipes pictures and
Explanation. 😊 but I had a question about the
Ring size for assembly ?
Is it a 6 inch cake ring or 8 ?
Olivia says
Hi Tash! I used a 6″
Gema says
Hi, I was wondering how your crumb is not darkened? I made a batch and the bottom side is darker. I used clear extract and it was on parchment paper in the top rack of the oven.
Thanks for your help!
Olivia says
Hi Gema! Is it possible your oven runs a bit hot? How long did you bake for?
Karolina says
Hey! I would like to try this recipe as well but as I was reading it through there is no way I can find some of those ingredients in Greece, such as vegetable shortening, clear vanilla extract, corn syrup etc. Is there any way I could replace those ingredients with something similar? I read online that vegetable shortening is basically just fat whereas butter has also 20% water. Is it even worth trying to make this recipe by replacing some of the ingredients? Maybe I will try and let you know how it goes.
Olivia says
Hi Karolina! I would replace as follows:
Shortening with butter
Clear vanilla with regular vanilla
Corn syrup & glucose – not critical, I would leave out
The changes will mostly affect the color of your frosting — it won’t be a pure white, but more yellow. I don’t think it will have too much of an impact on taste. Let me know if you try it!
Haylie says
I am getting jazzed up to make this for my husband’s 30th birthday! Where did you find the glucose? Is it a syrup or a powder? All I have found is Wilton’s syrup!
Loved reading this and learning from you before I set out on this venture myself!
Olivia says
Hi Haylie! The glucose is a syrup, I actually found it at Michaels, Wilton brand https://amzn.to/2K9UdTr. I’m excited that you’re going to try this one! It was totally worth the effort 🙂
Sharon Bruhn says
I made the chocolate malt version of this cake and my layers were really dense, I figured it would be more fluffy. That said, the chocolate one is incredible and so rich! I’m trying this one for my hisband’s birthday next weekend, thanks for the tips! I was also thinking about using round cake pans and then cutting out the circles from those rather than the sheet pan.
Olivia says
Hi Sharon! I’m not sure what the chocolate malt version is, but I don’t think the layers should be dense if it’s the same kind of recipe! Round cake pans would for sure be easier — I would do that next time. Let me know how it turns out!
Rav says
Hi Olivia I am baking this cake for my mom on mother’s day this is a little short notice but on Bon Appetit it says to use the 9 x 13 pan and it has the same cooking time and amount of ingredients. So should I use the 10 x 15 or the 9 x 13. And you have experience with the 10 x 15 so could you tell me any tips about the cake baking? Thank You
Olivia says
Hi Rav! Sorry for the delayed reply. I hope it worked out for you! I would use the 10×15 in pan and follow the recipe and times as written.
Kendra says
I saw a TV show discussing this cake, and immediately got to work finding a recipe for it! This recipe was wonderful! I really enjoy baking, and have a decent amount of experience doing so. That being said it may not be a ‘beginner’ recipe, but it’s a manageable recipe (albeit time consuming) if your comfortable in the kitchen. Just to note, I didn’t have the recommended items on hand (clear vanilla, citric acid, and no acetate paper). Ingredients wise, the cake didn’t suffer! It was great! But I would recommend getting the right materials 😉 Thanks for the share, my husband and guests loved it!
Olivia says
Hi Kendra! So glad you loved this one, it’s amazing!! And glad to know it worked well without those few things 🙂
Mightysprite says
I find your comment about the pan size to be very interesting (and a good warning) and I’m just about to purchase a new quarter sheet pan for this purpose, however, it’s confusing to me that Tosi says (according to your commenters) she uses a 10″x13″ pan and then other bloggers have not made any comments using generic “quarter sheet pans” for their birthday cake attempts, which according to my Amazon and general web research is 9.5″ x 13″.
Olivia says
Hi there! Definitely buy the 10×15 size pan for this. I’m not sure why no one else ran into the issue, but my quarter sheet pan from Nordic Ware was much smaller than I needed for this cake! I think it’s always better to call out actual dimensions 🙂
Kelly says
I used this pan and it worked out perfectly!Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Jelly Roll Baking Sheet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INRW7GC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_QmlXBb609KA97