These Birthday Cake Recipes Are Worth Celebrating

“Baking and icing a cake from scratch can be daunting. But you don’t have to do it all in one day,” says Rosie Daykin, the cheerful and talented owner of Butter Baked Goods, in Vancouver. Bake the cakes first and let them cool; the next day, make the frosting and assemble the cake.

The flavors of roasted pistachio paired with citrusy notes, a sesame custard sauce, and creamy frosting make for a luscious cake.

Chef Mona Johnson, co-owner of Tournant catering in Portland, Oregon, created this recipe in honor of Springbrook Farm, which was a century-old hazelnut farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The torte was the finale to a lavish Thanksgiving dinner at Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery—so she topped the torte with malted whipped cream.

Moist, dense, and foolproof, this cake by Naomi Robinson, the blogger behind Bakers Royale, includes a mix of cocoa and chocolate chips for fudgy flavor. You can vary the intensity by adjusting the amount of chocolate chips, but don’t pass up the silky caramel sauce.

Jane Ingraham of Santa Barbara reworked her great-grandmother’s recipe to lower the fat. She calls this rich, dark cake “my number one favorite dessert.”

This chocolate peanut butter cake is like eating a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup, perfect for lovers of this classic flavor combination!

This four-layered chocolate raspberry cake features a tangy raspberry filling and a rich foolproof buttercream icing. Top the cake with fresh raspberries for a simple and elegant presentation.

Use charcoal briquets instead of wood to more precisely control the fire’s heat. Top with sweetened whipped cream for a special touch.

Single-Girl Melty Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake is the perfect sized dessert for that sweet craving. A winning duo of chocolate and peanut make up this single-serving cake. This version of a standout recipe in Joy the Baker Cookbook by Joy Wilson adds peanut butter or bourbon, two of Joy’s favorite flavors.

Strawberry jam and rose water are baked directly into the vanilla cupcakes to infuse delicate, fragrant flavor into these party-ready cakes. Garnish with fresh rose petals in the colors of your party.

To create this single-serving update on the retro Baked Alaska, scoop strawberry ice cream onto cupcakes, cover them generously with meringue, and toast the meringue using a culinary torch.

The berry and chocolate flavors in Zinfandel pop in sweet, late-harvest versions. You can’t go wrong when your dessert includes them too.

This dessert is great for backyard barbecues and birthday parties alike: Make everything ahead, then quickly assemble and serve. The cake is denser and more buttery than classic shortcake.

This delicate, cloudlike cake from Kristen Murray, pastry chef and owner of Maurice restaurant in Portland, is an adaptation of one from her great-aunt Crys, using rice flour for regular flour so the cake is gluten-free, with a little crunch.

It’s not a direct translation, but think of pionono as Spanish for jelly-roll cake. This spongy berry version, which our reader inherited from a close family friend, creates a big ta-da at the table for very little effort.

Every good cook needs a nice moist, dense cake in his or her repertoire. This one—loaded with orange flavor and tender flecks of peel, and not too sweet—is perfect for brunch as well as dessert on your birthday.

Kai Loebach has adapted this crowd-pleaser to make it gluten-free by using tapioca flour. “I didn’t say it’s fat-free,” he says. Because that would be no fun.

This classic vanilla cake, with a soft crumb and subtle sweetness, will pair well with the frosting of your choosing.

This recipe for buttery cake layers can be used with a variety of frostings. For an impressive presentation, slice each layer horizontally to make a beautiful four-layer dessert. Just add birthday candles.

The secrets to this celestial buttercream, writes Vancouver baker Rosie Daykin in her first book, Butter Baked Goods are “making sure your butter is not too cold, and then whipping it like crazy!” When properly whipped, buttercream is supremely fluffy—and extra tasty.

Rich and luxuriously smooth, this cocoa goodness elevates the flavor of any cake it graces.