Birthday Cake Brownies (Easy & Fudgy)

If you're not a fan of a big birthday cake on your birthday, then you need to try these birthday cake brownies. I'm using my favorite chocolate brownie recipe (which is also the same base recipe as my M&M brownies, white chocolate chip brownies, brownies with chocolate ganache and brownies with cream cheese frosting) and then topping them with confetti birthday edible cookie dough!

You don't need a mixer to make the brownies and it's super easy to make the birthday cake layer!

Recipe Testing

When I originally made this recipe back in 2021, I did a combination of brownies and baked cookie dough in the oven. It was kind of like a birthday brookie situation! But whenever I've made brookies, I've always felt like it gets slightly too dry. When I make brownies I want them to be super fudgy and chewy, I'm not a fan of cakey brownies!

What I decided to do when revamping this recipe was make my regular fudge chocolate brownies but top them with some confetti edible cookie dough! This means you still get a super fudgy brownie, but a birthday cake flavor from the rainbow sprinkle cookie dough.

Grab your ingredients!

• Cocoa Powder: I recommend using Dutch-process cocoa powder in this recipe. It will give you a much darker and richer flavor, but you can use natural unsweetened cocoa powder in a pinch.
• Butter: I always use European-style butter in all of my recipes. This will make your brownies and edible cookie dough so much richer and creamier, due to the higher butterfat content.
• Espresso Powder: totally optional but this is really going to pump up the chocolate flavor. I promise it won't make the brownies taste like coffee, it just enhances that chocolatey taste.
• Sprinkles: it wouldn't be a birthday cake recipe without rainbow sprinkles! I'm using rainbow sprinkles but you can swap them out for other sprinkles, maybe even switching up the colors depending on the season! You can also swap them out for mini chocolate chips.
• Heavy Cream: this is optional but you might need to add a bit of heavy cream to the edible cookie dough to make it more spreadable.

How to make birthday cake brownies

Step One: Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Add the chopped chocolate and let sit for a minute, then whisk together.

Step Two: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar for 1-2 minutes, or until it becomes slightly paler in color and has bubbles on the surface.

Step Three: Pour the sugar mixture into the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla extract and mix, then the flour, salt and espresso powder. Mix until just combined.

Step Four: Pour the brownie batter into a greased and lined 8x8 baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 26-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan.

Step Five: While the brownies cool, make the birthday cake layer. Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit. Place the flour in a small baking pan or on a sheet tray and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Let the flour cool completely. Once cool, whisk so it isn't clump and add the salt.

Step Six: In another large bowl, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, and sugar together with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix again. Pour in the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined, then stir in the sprinkles. If you're finding that it's too thick, you can add a bit of heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until it's the consistency you want.

Step Seven: Scoop out the Funfetti cookie dough and place it on top of the cooled brownies. I like using a cookie scoop to do this but you can just use a spoon or rubber spatula.

Step Eight: Use a rubber spatula, offset spatula, or your hands to spread the confetti layer on top of the brownies evenly. Add some extra sprinkles if you wish! I recommend chilling the brownies for at least 20 minutes to let the layer set before slicing and enjoying.