Birthday Cake

I have another birthday I'll be baking for. I love using new recipes as opposed to reusing my tried and true. The last time I did this, I ended up with a dry cake and ermine frosting that never came together--it was a mess, from what should be a trustworthy cookbook, no less. What are your favorite cakes--layer or otherwise (even cupcakes would do)--but should be somewhat festive?

Posted by: ATG117
March 17, 2012

6410 views
21 Comments

21 Comments

ATG117 March 22, 2012

Thanks again. Actually not my birthday. I guess my post wasn't clear: I'm baking for a friend's birthday. But, I appreciate all the ideas and will post back with results.

Dieselle March 21, 2012

Happy Birthday ATG117 I am making a birthday cake tonight, it is a N.Y. Blackout cake from Lovenbake.com. It is the real deal! http://americanalmond.com/store/pc/viewcontent.asp?idpage=31&p=924

Another cake I make frequently is Bakerella's Peanut Butter Cake http://www.bakerella.com/got-milk-i-hope-so%e2%80%a6/

You won't go wrong with either!

ATG117 March 20, 2012

Smitten Kitchen's cake must be polarizing. It got great reviews on her website, but I actually found it disappointing and dry.

Dona March 20, 2012

I Think Smitten Kitchen's yellow cake is the perfect birthday cake
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/

Sam1148 March 20, 2012

More snark..But I would LOVE a Discworld cake.

Sam1148 March 20, 2012

A bleeding Armadillo Red velvet cake.

ATG117 March 18, 2012

Thanks all. @hardlikearmour, I have seen and admired that German chocolate cake, but it's a bit more involved than what i want to commit to for this occasion. Great to know it's as good as it looks though. I hope to get to it one day when life's a bit less hectic. @petitbleu, I'd love to hear how the momo pistachio cake turns out. Based on what I have gathered of her recipes, it's probably also more that I want to commit to this once, but would be great to add to my list of must tries. I'm thinking of taking a stab at sdebrango's tender yellow. I have been on a hunt for the perfect yellow for quite some time. Looking for something very moist. Crematea, did you find this cake to be moist?

Stephanie G. March 18, 2012

If you are a chocolate person, there is no better layer cake than the double chocolate layer cake on Epicurious. The chocolate stout cake from Barrrington Brewery on the Epicurious website is a personal favorite too.

mrslarkin March 18, 2012

Happy birthday, ATG117!

That Barrington Brewery cake is one of my faves. I adapted it into cupcakes a couple of years ago: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2899_chocolate_stout_cupcakes I'm making it tomorrow for my daughter's 16th birthday and adding some red food color for a red velvet-style cake. Hope it works!

mrslarkin March 20, 2012

Here's my Red Velvet cake. It came out so moist and super delicious. Cream cheese frosting.

Sam that is an awesome bleeding armadillo. Never heard of Discworld. SyFy?

Another cake recipe I love is Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. Made it last year for my daughter's TARDIS cake. Lemony and moist.

Rhonda35 March 17, 2012

Amanda's (and my) mom's Chocolate Dump-It Cake.

http://www.food52.com/recipes/5102_chocolate_dumpit_cake

creamtea March 17, 2012

I make a chocolate roulade with whipped cream filling from Susan G. Purdy's A Piece of Cake, which is wonderful and light, or now, Sdebrango's Boston Cream Pie: http://www.food52.com/recipes/12124_boston_cream_pie_with_kahlua_ganache

petitbleu March 17, 2012

I always like to do something showstopping--it's a great opportunity for the avid baker to really have some fun in the kitchen, and for the birthday girl or boy to enjoy a truly magnificent creation. One that I really love is Fany Gerson's Mexican Opera Cake (My Sweet Mexico is the name of the cookbook)--it's absolutely incredible. This year, I'm making my fiancé the Pistachio Cake from the Momofuku Milk cookbook. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Devangi R. March 17, 2012

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meganvt01 March 20, 2012

Those heart cupcakes are adorable!!! How did you do that?

Devangi R. March 21, 2012

@meganvt01 - I made the batter of cake and divided the batter , added pink color in one of them and then baked the pink cake about 2 inches high in size so to get perfect sized heart in a square pan. Once they were done, let them cool and then cut the heart shapes with the help of a heart shaped cookie cutter and leave them aside. Take the cupcake liners in a muffin pan, add just 2 tbsp of plain yellow or white batter and place the cut out hearts in a similar pattern or such that all of them are facing the right way, this is important when you cut them to get the perfect hearts..and then add 1 tbsp of white batter , its ok if the heart is not covered because the batter will spread while baking and puff up and cover it . Then bake it at 350 F for about 20 to 25 minutes..and meanwhile i made the frosting , and when you are piping the frosting make sure to mark the it where to exactly cut the cupcakes to get that perfect heart ..Hope this helps understand the technique..

Devangi R. March 17, 2012

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Devangi R. March 17, 2012

Oh I second, drbabs the ganache cake makes it fancy also without all that fuss and delicious also..Mine is quite similar to hers as i too have chocolate fudge cake and ganache to top it off but I use few nice citrus fruits also like strawberries, kiwi's they real taste with contrast of choc ganache..another version that i recently made on v -day with a hidden heart is simple cupcake with flour frosting which is may be ermine frosting...I am attaching pictures just to show you ..an have an idea...

hardlikearmour March 17, 2012

The German Chocolate Cake that Bobby Flay made for one of his throwdowns is amazing: http://www.bobbyflay.com/recipe.php?id=196

drbabs March 17, 2012

I adapted a recipe from Gourmet last year and made this for my birthday: http://www.food52.com/recipes/8696_my_chocolateorange_birthday_cake

drbabs March 17, 2012

Oh, and Happy Birthday!!!

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