Growing up, baking was something I loved to do with my grandma every time I would go over to her house. She taught me all her favorite recipes and I had tons of fun making them with her. Unfortunately, baking on my own is a different story. The results never turn out as good as hers and the kitchen is always a mess. So, when I attempted to make a birthday cake using my instant pot, I really wasn’t expecting much but boy was I wrong. It blows my mind that I was able to make a birthday cake, icing and all, with the help of my trusty instant pot.

How to Make The Best Birthday Cake in an Instant Pot

Author: Anna - MissWish.com
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 12 1x

Scale

For the cake:

6 oz cake flour
3 tbsp rainbow sprinkles (optional)
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature plus extra for greasing
1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream

For the buttercream:

3 cups confectioners sugar
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 cups assorted candies such as M&Ms and Smarties plus extra for decoration

Grease a 7 inch springform pan with extra butter and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
To make the cake, in a bowl place the flour, sprinkles, baking powder and salt and mix to combine.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners sugar until smooth and creamy, 5-6 minutes.
Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition.
Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
In three batches, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Place the trivet in the Instant pot.
Add 1 ½ cup of water.
Place the prepared pan on the trivet.
Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Close and seal the Instant pot.
Turn the venting knob to SEALING.
Press the PRESSURE COOK button and check to make sure the pressure level shows as “High” on the display.
Adjust the timer to 50 minutes.
When finished cooking, let the pressure come down naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
Remove the cake from the Instant Pot.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
Peel of the parchment, place the cake onto a rack and let cool completely.
To make the filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners sugar until smooth and creamy, 5-6 minutes.
Add the vanilla seeds and heavy cream and beat until well combined.
To assemble the cake, using a long, serrated knife, slice the cake into thirds horizontally to make 3 layers.
Carefully cut out a large circle (about 3 ½-4 inch) from the centre of the each cake layer using a pastry cutter.
Reserve one cake disk.
Place the bottom cake ring on a serving plate.
Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the bottom cake ring.
Place a second cake ring on top and spread with more buttercream.
Top with the remaining cake ring.
Fill the cavity with candies all the way up to the top.
Put the reserved cake disc on top of the candies to seal them in.
Ice the top and the sides of the cake with remaining buttercream.
Decorate with additional candies.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.