Viral Dot Cake Recipe

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, Published Jun 17, 2026

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Looking for a homemade dot cake recipe? These nostalgic, single-serve cakes are easy to recreate at home and well worth the hype! The soft vanilla sponge, fluffy frosting and that famous ASMR sprinkle cake crunch are truly irresistible.

Homemade dot cakes: vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream and topped with nonpareil sprinkles, some with a spoon inside. The cups have blue and pink stripes and are arranged on a light pink surface.

If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok or Instagram lately, you’ve definitely seen the viral dot cups trend taking over. Dot Cakes are essentially single-serve mini cakes packed into an 8oz cup, frosted perfectly flat, and covered in nonpareils (those tiny round sprinkles known in the UK as hundreds and thousands).

Yes, they are essentially a giant cupcake and no, they are not anything new – in the UK, the classic school sprinkle cake has been around forever!

But that ridiculously satisfying ASMR crunch when you drag your spoon across the top is addicting and they are incredibly delicious so I just had to create an easy dot cake recipe for you so you can try them for yourselves.

A pink-striped paper cup filled with cake topped with colorful sprinkles, with a bite taken out, sits on top of other sprinkle-topped cups. The background is softly blurred.

What even is a Dot Cake?

Where did this viral sensation come from? The trend originated at The Dot Cakes, a bakery in Roslyn, New York, run by mother-daughter duo Alex and Sondra Posner. Alex started making sprinkle cakes back in 2017… and today their mini “Dot Cups” have become a massive internet sensation.

They do exclusive drops at NYC’s Butterfield Market where people literally line up around the block, paying $11 a pop to snag one before they sell out. Now, bakeries all over the world are jumping on the trend, but making your own dot cups is much more fun (and budget-friendly!).

What You’ll Need

I have seen social media recreations of dot cakes where people cut cup-sized chunks out of a sheet cake. Madness! You can bake your dot cakes right in 8oz paper cups or ramekin, eliminating waste (and mess). That way they look almost identical to the bakery version. Here’s what you’ll need to make the vanilla version:

All-Purpose Flour and Cornstarch: We use a mix of these to make a DIY cake flour for the softest, fluffiest sponge base.
Baking Powder: To give our mini-cake the perfect amount of lift.
Sugar: Superfine (a.k.a caster) or granulated sugar.
Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature.
Buttermilk: Alternatively, whole milk and lemon juice also makes the sponge incredibly moist and tender.
Eggs: Large eggs at room temperature.
Vanilla Paste or Real Vanilla Extract: Since this is a classic vanilla bake, use the good stuff!
Powdered sugar (Icing Sugar): Essential for whipping up a smooth, creamy, cloud-like American buttercream.
Nonpareils: These tiny round sprinkles are essential to create the signature “dotted” crust for these nonpareil cake cups.
Ice Cream Cups or Ramekins: The bakery uses 8oz paper cups so I bought some on Amazon for my dot cakes.

A top-down view of baking ingredients in bowls and cups, labeled for a Dot Cake Recipe: all-purpose flour, sugar, buttermilk, large eggs, unsalted butter, nonpareil sprinkles—perfect for making delightful Dot Cakes.

How to Make Dot Cakes (From Scratch!)

I am using my fave vanilla cake recipe that employs the reverse-creaming method for a super-soft crumb. We start by sifting the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
The butter is added next and is beaten into the dry ingredients. You want to mix on low speed until you have a fine, sandy texture.
We then add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and beat them until the batter is completely smooth.

Three photos show steps of cake batter preparation: first, an electric mixer blends ingredients; second, eggs and liquid are poured into a bowl of dry mix; third, a hand mixer blends smooth batter in a bowl.

The batter is divided between eight cups and baked for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
While the cakes are cooling, beat softened butter until pale and fluffy, then add powdered sugar, a splash of milk and vanilla and whip until the frosting is fluffy and creamy.
Top each cake with buttercream, adding just enough to fill the cup almost to the very top (leave a small gap for the sprinkles!). Level using an offset spatula – you want the buttercream to be perfectly flat.

Split image: On the left, an electric mixer whips creamy frosting in a white bowl. On the right, a hand spreads the frosting onto a cupcake with a spatula.

Top each dot cake with a generous amount of nonpareils, using your hand to lightly pat them onto the frosting. Tip the cup so that any sprinkles that are loose fall out.
Grab a spoon, do the mandatory ASMR scrape across the top, and enjoy!

Two images: On the left, a blue-striped cup of ice cream is topped with colorful round sprinkles; on the right, sprinkles spill from a pink-striped cup onto a gray surface.

Leftovers and Storage

Keep any leftover dot cups in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They stay fresh and moist thanks to that thick layer of frosting and sprinkles.

Store them in the fridge if your kitchen is very hot, but let them come back to room temperature before serving so the sponge and buttercream can soften up again.

Substitutions and Variations

Flavors: Swap the vanilla cake for a chocolate sponge or red velvet! If you want to make a funfetti dot cake cup, use regular “jimmies” in the batter, as nonpareils will bleed their color into the cake and disappear.
Fillings: Use a melon baller to cut out a small piece of the cake and fill with lemon curd, strawberry jam, Nutella or cookie butter.
Frosting: Switch out the vanilla buttercream for chocolate buttercream, cream cheese frosting or even a Swiss Meringue buttercream if you prefer something less sweet.
Cheat’s Version: Short on time? You can absolutely use boxed yellow or vanilla cake mix and store-bought frosting.

Can I use regular long sprinkles?

You can use whatever sprinkles you like but, to get the true NYC dot cake look, you really need the tiny round nonpareils. You can use different colors to suit the occasion if baking for a birthday party or baby shower.

Can I make these in jars instead?

Small, wide-mouth mason jars or 8oz ceramic ramekins work beautifully if you don’t have paper cups.

⚈ I hope you love making these viral Dot Cakes as much as I did! If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turned out. Follow me on Pinterest for more easy recipes and don’t forget to tag me on @Instagram or TikTok so I can see your creations.