This fruity pebbles cake is a moist three layer cake flavored with fresh citrus zest, frosted with luscious cream cheese frosting and topped with fresh fruit. Fruity pebbles fans will love this cake!
This three layer cake is made with fruity pebbles cereal and real fruit flavor. It’s topped with a flavorful citrus cream cheese frosting.
I had been wanting to make a funfetti cake with fruity pebbles for so long! This cake is as fun and delicious as I had imagined!
If you’re looking for another fruity dessert recipe, try my Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake, Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake, and these Strawberry Blondies!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Fruity pebbles cake: This cake has fruity pebbles cereal in the batter and frosting. It is flavored with fresh citrus zest and fruity Pebbles!
- Citrusy cream cheese frosting: Cream cheese gives this frosting a fresh, tangy taste. Citrus zest gives this cake so much fresh, fruity flavor.
- Perfect for any occasion: This is the perfect dessert for any occasion. It doesn’t get more festive or fun than a fruity pebbles birthday cake!
INGREDIENTS
Below are some notes on some of the ingredients for this fruity pebbles cake recipe. Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients.
- Cake flour: Cake flour is lighter than standard all-purpose flour. It makes this cake soft and tender.
- Butter: Use unsalted, room temperature butter.
- 4 eggs: This recipe uses 4 large room temperature eggs. Take eggs out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before baking.
- Citrus zest: Fruity Pebbles don’t actually have fruit in them! They have a fruity flavor, but are artificially flavored. This cake, however is filled with real fruit flavor! Both the cake batter and the cream cheese icing are flavored with flavorful citrus zest!
- Buttermilk: Use room temperature buttermilk.
- Strawberries: Pulse strawberries in a food processor or chop them with a knife.
- Blueberries: Toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour. This will prevent the berries from sinking as the cake bakes.
- Cream cheese: Use the block of cream cheese rather than a container of whipped cream cheese)
- Powdered Sugar: Take the extra minute to sift powdered sugar before using to avoid any lumps in the frosting.
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1 -Combine dry ingredients. Whisk to combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
STEP 2-Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Next, mix in the eggs one at a time. Add the zests, strawberries, and vanilla extract.
STEP 3-Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk. Toss the blueberries in a tablespoon of flour and add them to the batter. Finally, stir in the Fruity Pebbles.
STEP 4-Bake the cakes. Pour batter into 3 greased 6-inch cake pans. Bake for 23-27 minutes. Remove from oven turn cakes out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
DECORATING THE CAKE
I recommend frosting the top of each layer with 1/2 cup-3/4 cup of frosting. It’s pretty much a personal preference how thick you want your layers of frosting to be.
- Fruity Pebbles in the layers: For additional Fruity Pebble Crunch, you can add a layer of Fruity Pebbles on top of each layer of frosting.
- Naked Cake: Frost each layer but leave the sides frosting free.
- Semi Naked Cake: Frost the sides, but use a cake scraper to scrape off excess from the sides.
- Frosted Cake: Frost the sides of the cake with fruity pebbles mixed into the frosting. Alternatively, frost the cake and press or throw some Fruity Pebbles sideways at the frosting right after frosting it.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Since cakes don’t always come out of the oven in uniform shape, it’s a good idea to trim the tops. Use a long serrated knife and a turntable to slice off the tops of your cooled cakes. Ashlee Marie has a super helpful tutorial called How to evenly level your cake layers every time that I highly recommend watching!
Store this Fruity Fruity Pebble Cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
OTHER RECIPES TO TRY
Print
Fruity Pebbles Cake
- Prep Time: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 slices
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This fruity pebbles cake is a moist three layer cake flavored with fresh citrus zest, frosted with luscious cream cheese frosting and topped with fresh fruit. Fruity pebbles fans will love this cake!
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 3/4 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup strawberries, lightly pureed
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh blueberries (tossed in 1 tablespoon all purpose flour)
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Fruity Pebbles
FOR THE FRUITY CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 1/2 unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 – 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 6″ straight edge cake pans. Line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Wash and dry blueberries. Set aside. Wash and dry strawberries. Remove tops and cut into quarters. Pulse a few seconds until lightly chopped. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand held mixer cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lightly pureed strawberries and blend til combined. Add the vanilla extract and zests of lemon, lime and orange and mix til combined.
- Stir in half the dry ingredients with a spatula. Stir in the buttermilk. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients til just combined. Toss the blueberries with flour then gently stir into the batter. Stir in the Fruity Pebbles just til combined.
- Pour batter evenly into greased layer pans. Bake for 23-27 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Remove from oven and place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The cake should fall to the rack on its own.
- Allow cakes to cool at room temperature before trimming tops. Once cooled, use a cake leveler or a sharp bread knife to trim the tops of the cakes to make sure you have even layers. Wrap cake layers tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge or freezer til ready to assemble.
- When ready to assemble, spoon 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup frosting on top of the first layer. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting. Repeat with remaining layers. Frost sides as desired. Stir Fruity Pebbles into frosting or frost the cake and add Fruity Pebbles to the frosted cake. Top with more Fruity Pebbles and fresh fruit, if desired.
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and the cream cheese on medium until combined. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar, lemon zest, lime zest, orange zest, vanilla extract and salt. Beat 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a tablespoon more of milk until desired consistency. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time.
Keywords: fruity pebbles, cake, fruit, cereal, layer cake, cream cheese frosting, icing, lemon
We made this cake for a family celebration and it was a hit! Everyone loved it and raved about the icing. The instructions are easy to follow and the end result will boost your confidence in the kitchen.
★★★★★
Hi Britt! Thank you for making this recipe for a family celebration! So happy it was a hit and thanks so much for your kind message! Xo Natalie