A high altitude Fruity Pebbles cake made with cereal flavored milk in the vanilla cake batter, frosted with vanilla buttercream, and covered with crunchy cereal. This cereal milk cake is fun and colorful, and sure to please both adults and kids!
You might also love these recipes for Cinnamon Toast Crunch cupcakes, vanilla malted milk cake, and brown butter Rice Krispie treats.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Perfect for Birthdays. Cute and colorful cakes with lots of sprinkles are what my kids always request on their birthdays. With all the rainbow colors and the crunchy, fruit flavored cereal, this Fruity Pebbles cake is a new favorite!
So Much Flavor. By soaking the cereal in milk first, then adding the flavored cereal milk to the cake, you’ll get even more of the flavor of the Fruity Pebbles in your cake.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Fruity Pebbles. You’ll need Fruity Pebbles cereal for both the cake and the buttercream. Milk soaked cereal is added to the cake batter for flavor and pops of color, then the frosted cake is covered with more crunchy cereal.
- Cake Flour. With a lower percentage of protein than all purpose flour, cake flour makes a lighter, fluffier cake.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottoms of three 8 inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the milk and the cereal. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, melted butter, oil, vanilla, eggs, egg whites and sugar, and whisk until combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake the cakes for about 21-25 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, and cool the cakes completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
- Add the vanilla; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. If it seems too thick, you can add a little milk, a teaspoon at a time.
- Stack and fill the cooled cakes with the buttercream, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Frost all over with a final coat of buttercream, then press the cereal all over the cake.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a smaller cake, you can make half the cake recipe, baked in three 6-inch cake pans. You do not need to cut the buttercream recipe in half.
Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days.
This cake is best served immediately, while the cereal on the buttercream is crunchy, as it will soften as the cake sits, especially once the cake is cut. If making the cake more than several hours in advance, you can just frost the cake with the crumb coat of buttercream to keep it moist, and cover the remaining bowl of buttercream. Before serving, finish frosting the cake and decorating with the cereal.
You Might Also Love
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Fruity Pebbles Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 8-inch cake pans (x3)
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites (save the extra yolks for another use)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp meringue powder, optional
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottoms of three 8 inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the milk and the cereal. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, melted butter, oil, vanilla, eggs, egg whites and sugar, and whisk until combined.
- Separately, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake the cakes for about 21-25 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, and cool the cakes completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
- Add the vanilla; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. If it seems too thick, you can add a little milk, a teaspoon at a time.
- Stack and fill the cooled cakes with the buttercream, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Frost all over with a final coat of buttercream, then press the cereal all over the cake.
About how many cupcakes do you think this recipe makes?
Probably 30.