Dot Cake

Name: Dot Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 43 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened; 2 egg; 1/2 cup whole milk; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup unsalted butter (for frosting), softened; 3 cups powdered sugar; 2 tbsp heavy cream; 1 cup rainbow nonpareils

The 2026 bakery-copycat trend: dome-frosted vanilla cake cups rolled edge to edge in a thick shell of rainbow nonpareils for a solid wall of color in every bite.

43 minMediumServes 12510 cal/serving

AmericanDessertOvenVegetarianLow-SodiumPork-FreeNightshade-Free

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter (for frosting), softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 cup rainbow nonpareils

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2

In a bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
3

In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter and 1 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in 2 egg and 2 tsp vanilla extract.
4

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two additions, alternating with 1/2 cup whole milk, and mix until just smooth.
5

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
6

For the frosting, beat 1 cup softened unsalted butter (for frosting) until fluffy, then gradually beat in 3 cups powdered sugar and 2 tbsp heavy cream until thick and spreadable.
7

Mound a generous dome of frosting on top of each cooled cake, smoothing it down over the sides to fully cover the top.
8

Roll or press each frosted cake in 1 cup rainbow nonpareils, coating the entire dome and sides in an even, solid shell of sprinkles.

Questions

Can I make Dot Cake dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1 cup unsalted butter (for frosting), softened, 2 tbsp heavy cream. Swap the butter for olive oil where it melts, or a plant-based block butter where it is creamed; the milk for unsweetened oat or soy milk; the cream for full-fat coconut milk or an oat cooking cream. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Dot Cake gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Dot Cake keep?

Store it airtight: two to three days at room temperature or up to a week refrigerated. It freezes for up to two months; thaw at room temperature.

Can I halve or double Dot Cake?

Yes. As written it serves 12. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Doubled, split it across two pans and rotate them halfway; one crowded pan bakes unevenly.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.