37 Best Birthday Cakes To Bake For Your Person

40 Best Birthday Cakes To Bake For Your Person

I have had the same KitchenAid mixer since I was 19, and it has survived a thousand gingerbread houses and every birthday cake I have ever made for anybody. That is the whole argument for baking one yourself. A homemade birthday cake costs an hour of your day and it is the part people remember long after the gift is in a drawer somewhere. These birthday cake recipes run from a plain vanilla layer cake worth mastering to funfetti, Momofuku, red velvet, lemon blueberry, rocky road and a rainbow piped in buttercream. There are no bake, gluten free, paleo, stovetop and five minute versions too, for the ones you remembered this morning. Pick the flavor your person always orders at a restaurant and start there.

1. No Bake Golden Birthday Cake Oreo Cheesecake

Save This Post!

Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new posts from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save

REWRITE (the live paragraph is a run on question and says “easy to prepare” twice) A no bake cheesecake built on Golden Oreos, which means no oven, no water bath and no cracked top to apologize for. It sets in the refrigerator while you do something else, and it slices clean and tall. This is the one to make in July, or when the birthday person likes cheesecake more than cake and you have been pretending not to notice for three years.

Get the full tutorial at Life Love and Sugar.

2. Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph opens “I know everyone will agree when I say” and claims her opinion of a third party cake she has not made) Dark chocolate layers under shards of homemade honeycomb, which is the kind of thing that looks like a bakery commission and is really just sugar cooked to temperature with baking soda stirred in. The contrast is the point: dense fudgy cake against something brittle and airy that shatters under a fork. Make the honeycomb the day of, because humidity turns it sticky overnight.

Get the full tutorial at The Cake Blog.

3. Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph is a “Want the perfect…” question plus a “got you covered” line and sells nothing specific) Real vanilla bean speckled through a white cake, finished with piped buttercream roses that you can absolutely skip. Without them it is still a beautiful, simple, grown up birthday cake, which is the useful thing about this recipe. Use a vanilla bean or a good paste rather than cheap extract, because vanilla is the only flavor in the room and there is nowhere for it to hide.

Get the full tutorial at The Busy Baker.

4. Funfetti Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph is one long exclamation with “the perfect homemade birthday cake” and no substance) Snow white cake shot through with bright sprinkles under a sweet buttercream, which is what almost every child under twelve pictures when you say birthday cake. Use jimmies rather than nonpareils in the batter. Nonpareils bleed their color and you end up with a grey cake, which is a disappointment nobody recovers from quickly. Everything else about this one is forgiving.

Get the full tutorial at Preppy Kitchen.

5. Momofuku Birthday Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph says “I tell you, this is the ultimate birthday cake” and “will totally rock your world” about a cake she has not made) This is funfetti taken somewhere serious: naked layers, cream cheese buttercream, a milk crumb and a birthday crumb pressed between everything. It is a project, not a weeknight bake, and it needs an acetate collar and a night in the freezer to set properly. Read the whole method before you start. It is the cake people photograph, and the one they still talk about a year later.

Get the full tutorial at Liv for Cake.

6. Meringue Topped Layered Ice Cream Birthday Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph is “Wow, this cake looks insanely amazing!” plus a banned “head on over to learn how” close) Layers of ice cream stacked and crowned with mounds of meringue, which is a cake in the loosest possible sense and the best thing on this list for an August birthday. Everything happens in the freezer, so there is no oven and no crumb to worry about. Make it days ahead. The meringue goes on last, torched or browned quickly, right before anybody sees it.

Get the full tutorial at Simple Bites.

7. Dark and Dreamy Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph is a nine adjective pile ending “I cannot wait to try it for myself”, which is invented first person on a third party cake) Nine adjectives were used on this cake originally and it earned about six of them. Deep, dark, fudgy without being dense, and rich enough that the slices want to be small. Chocolate cake lives or dies on moisture, and this one uses the coffee and hot liquid trick that blooms the cocoa and keeps the crumb tender. You will not taste coffee. You will taste more chocolate.

Get the full tutorial at Sweetapolita.

8. Fresh Strawberry Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph opens “I am a sucker for strawberries… this cake is definitely a winner for me”, which is invented first person on a third party cake) A rich, moist vanilla pound cake split into three layers, slathered with whipped cream and cream cheese frosting and overflowing with fresh strawberries. Pound cake is the right structural choice here, because a light sponge collapses under that much fruit and cream. Assemble it the day you serve it and keep it cold. Summer birthdays have been waiting for this one.

Get the full tutorial at Yellow Bliss Road.

9. French Buttercream and Chocolate Coffee Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph is four adjectives and a banned “read the full tutorial and watch the video” close) French buttercream is the one made with egg yolks, and it is richer, silkier and far more stable than the American powdered sugar kind. It holds a piped shape through a whole party without weeping. Here it sits on a chocolate coffee cake, and the coffee is doing the same job it does in every good chocolate cake, which is making the chocolate taste more like itself.

Get the full tutorial at Tatyana's Everyday Food.

10. Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake

REWRITE (the live paragraph ends “an over-all super fabulous cake perfect for any occasion”, which is filler) Moist chocolate layers, peanut butter frosting and chopped Reese’s over the top, which is the cake to make for the person who eats the peanut butter cups out of the Halloween bowl first. Use a commercial peanut butter rather than the natural kind that separates, because the oil breaks a buttercream and there is no saving it once it goes.

Get the full tutorial at Life Love and Sugar.

11. Oreo Cake

POLISH (the live “a name that promises and delivers”, “milk becomes mandatory tableside” and “formally promoted to centerpiece” cut) The Oreo cake takes the world’s favorite cookie apart and rebuilds it at birthday scale: dark chocolate layers, cookies and cream frosting flecked with crumbs, and whole Oreos standing guard around the top. The ring of cookies is the decorating cheat that looks professional with no piping skill whatsoever. Put a jug of milk on the table beside it, because somebody is going to ask.

Get the full tutorial at Liv for Cake.

12. Extremely Strawberry Cake

REWRITE (the live item has an EMPTY alt attribute, no image title and no pin description, and a two sentence paragraph. This is a DIY JOY original, so first person is hers and it comes from her own live post copy.) This is our own strawberry cake, and it has been my favorite since I was little. It is still almost always what I ask for when somebody offers to make me a birthday cake. Strawberry Jello in the batter plus fresh strawberry puree is what makes it taste this loudly of strawberry instead of vaguely pink. It stays moist for several days, though it has never made it past day two in my house.

Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.

13. Basic Vanilla Cake

POLISH (the live “that box mixes chase and miss” and “basic in name, definitive in practice” cut) This is the foundation every other cake on the list is standing on: the vanilla layer cake that any filling, frosting or theme can be built onto. The reverse creaming method is what gives it that tight, velvety crumb instead of a coarse one. Use real vanilla bean or a good extract, because there is nothing else in it. Master this one and the rest of the list becomes variations.

Get the full tutorial at Baked by an Introvert.

14. White Chocolate Birthday Cake

POLISH (the live “wearing celebration white from crumb to finish”, “like fresh snow takes footprints” and “rare diplomatic range” cut) White chocolate melted into both the batter and the frosting gives this cake a rounded sweetness that plain vanilla never quite reaches. The melted chocolate enriches it without making it heavy, and the frosting takes sprinkles beautifully. A whisper of salt in the frosting keeps the sweetness in check, which matters more here than on any other cake in this list. Elegant enough for adults, sweet enough for the kids’ table.

Get the full tutorial at The Kitchen Is My Playground.

15. Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

POLISH (the live “the internet’s most trusted measuring cup” and “sunshine, layered and frosted” cut. Sally’s Baking Addiction is one of Stephanie’s own idols, per the ledger, so the credit line is warm and true.) Lemon layers studded with blueberries under cream cheese frosting, and spring birthdays finally have their cake. The trick that makes it work is tossing the berries in flour first so they stay suspended instead of sinking to the bottom. Lemon zest goes in both the cake and the frosting, which doubles the brightness. It slices into a stained glass crumb worth photographing before anyone touches it.

Get the full tutorial at Sally's Baking Addiction.

16. Classic Vanilla Birthday Cake

Our own classic vanilla birthday cake, built on buttermilk and both butter and oil, which is the combination that gets you butter flavor and a crumb that stays soft on day two. The frosting is a cream cheese buttercream with heavy cream whipped in, and confetti sprinkles go over the top. This is a beginner cake and it does not behave like one.

Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.

17. Brownie Bottom Chocolate Mousse Cake

POLISH (the live “in textural argument form” and “their cake exists” cut) Silky chocolate mousse poured over a fudgy brownie base, which settles the cake or brownie argument with a firm both. The dense bottom holds up the airy top, and the whole thing sets in the refrigerator, so there is no frosting to smooth and no crumb coat to fuss over. A crown of chocolate curls finishes it dark and glossy. This is the cake for the person who orders brownies off every dessert menu.

Get the full tutorial at Beyond Frosting.

18. Lemon Raspberry Cake

POLISH (the live “looks like a garden party and eats like one too” and “nature showing off” cut) Lemon cake ribboned with raspberry filling and finished in a blushing pink buttercream that has not seen a drop of food coloring. The berry filling bleeds prettily into every slice and does all the color work for you. Fresh raspberries on top when they are in season. The sweet and tart balance is what keeps grown ups coming back for a second piece, which sweeter cakes rarely manage.

Get the full tutorial at Baker by Nature.

19. Pastel Buttercream Sprinkle Birthday Cake

POLISH (the live “dominates birthday boards”, “twice as fashionable” and “style, sweetly taught by an actual stylist” cut) Pastel watercolor buttercream, blended shades swept around the sides with sprinkles drifting up from the base. The technique is palette knife painting with frosting, and it is far more forgiving than piping because blended edges are supposed to look uneven. The sprinkle gradient at the bottom hides every beginner seam. It photographs like something you paid a bakery for.

Get the full tutorial at Style Sweet CA.

20. Circus Animal Cookie Cake

POLISH (the live “in Beyond Frosting’s second appearance”, “which is a genuine achievement” and “all grown up and still celebrating” cut) The pink and white circus animal cookie, scaled up into a whole cake: vanilla layers tinted pink and white, frosting to match, and the frosted cookies themselves parading around the top rim. Nonpareils scatter the signature confetti over everything. The nostalgia hits harder than the sugar does, which is saying a great deal. A checkerboard interior is there for anyone feeling ambitious.

Get the full tutorial at Beyond Frosting.

21. Vanilla Bean Pistachio Cake

POLISH (the live “familiar from our snacks list”, “reads European bakery counter” and “understated is a birthday option too” cut) Vanilla bean layers with pistachio buttercream, which is a pairing sophisticated enough for a milestone birthday and pretty enough that it barely needs decorating. Real ground pistachios go into the frosting, so the flavor is honest and the green is the soft natural kind rather than a food coloring green. Chopped pistachios pressed into the sides finish it and add crunch. Not every birthday cake has to shout.

Get the full tutorial at Tornadough Alli.

22. Rocky Road Cake

POLISH (the live “the full rocky road toolkit”, “the design brief and the delivery” and “reliable in every format” cut) Chocolate layers loaded with everything rocky road asks for: toasted marshmallows, almonds and a fudge frosting carrying pieces of both. The torched marshmallow crown is the showpiece, and it brings a little campfire drama to a birthday table. There is texture in every forkful, which is the entire point of the flavor. Toast the marshmallows right before serving or they slump.

Get the full tutorial at Preppy Kitchen.

23. Ferrero Rocher Cake

POLISH (the live “with pastry-case polish”, “rations the luxury precisely” and “the fanciest thing in the checkout aisle” cut) The gold wrapped hazelnut truffle rebuilt as a whole cake: chocolate hazelnut layers, Nutella buttercream, a wafer crunch layer that honors the original’s architecture, and the candies themselves crowning the top. That crunch layer is the engineering detail that makes the whole impersonation land, and skipping it turns this into just another chocolate cake. One candy per slice on top does the portioning for you.

Get the full tutorial at Tatyana's Everyday Food.

24. Simple Stovetop Chocolate Birthday Cake

Our own no oven birthday cake, and it is about five ingredients. Oreos ground with milk become the batter, the cream filling becomes the frosting, and the cake cooks in a covered pot over low heat on a wire stand for 35 to 40 minutes. It also bakes conventionally at 180 degrees C if you would rather. This is the one for a dorm room, a rental with a broken oven, or a birthday nobody warned you about.

Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.

25. Moist Red Velvet Cake

POLISH (the live “boxes betray”, “consider this cake constitutional” and “velvet, verified” cut) Red velvet done properly is a texture first and a color second, and this version gets that order right: a tender, faintly cocoa crumb with the buttermilk tang that actually defines the thing, under real cream cheese frosting. The red stays rich rather than radioactive, which is a matter of how much coloring you use and nothing else. Southern birthday tables have been serving this cake for a very long time.

Get the full tutorial at Savory Spice Rack.

26. Tiramisu Layer Cake

POLISH (the live “the technique tiramisu always knew”, “orders dessert only in Italian restaurants” and “sophisticated, caffeinated, celebrated” cut) Tiramisu translated into birthday form: coffee soaked layers, mascarpone frosting and a cocoa dusting over the top. The soak is what keeps every layer plush, and it is a technique worth borrowing for other cakes once you have done it here. Ladyfinger crumbs between the layers keep the source material honest. Make it the day before, because it is better cold and better after a night in the refrigerator.

Get the full tutorial at Eat Love Eats.

27. Browned Butter Cake With Vanilla Honey Frosting

POLISH (the live “reliably the stylish table”, “gilds it precisely enough” and “quiet luxury, cake edition” cut) Browning the butter first perfumes this cake with a toasted, nutty depth that plain butter never reaches, and the vanilla honey frosting answers it in the same register. The decoration stays minimal because the flavor does not need help. Once you have browned butter for a cake you will start doing it for cookies too, so consider this a technique you are learning rather than just a recipe you are making.

Get the full tutorial at Spoon Fork Bacon.

28. Celestial Sweet Sixteen Cake

POLISH (the live “baking’s resident artist”, “milestone birthdays deserve theater” and “the photos circulate for years” cut) A night sky painted across a sweet sixteen showpiece: deep blue buttercream blended galaxy style, gold star details and a metallic crescent moon on top. The galaxy buttercream is guided painting rather than freehand art, so a careful amateur can genuinely build it. Edible gold stars are what take it from a nice cake to an event. Milestone birthdays are the one time the extra two hours is obviously worth it.

Get the full tutorial at Sprinkle Bakes.

29. Piped Rainbow Buttercream Flower Cake

POLISH (the live “a bakery flex simultaneously” and “joy, piped generously” cut) A full rainbow flower garden piped across the top of a cake, which reads like a bouquet showed up to the party. Simple piping tips build it bloom by bloom, stars, rosettes and leaves, and every flower is forgiving because a real garden is irregular anyway. The color mixing gets careful attention in the tutorial, which is the part most people get wrong. It suits every age that likes flowers, so all of them.

Get the full tutorial at Coco Cake Land.

30. Best Buttermilk Birthday Cake

POLISH (the live “Sweetapolita’s second entry stakes the classic claim”, “the platonic memory of birthdays” and “here are the reasons, frosted” cut) Buttermilk layers under swiss meringue buttercream, which is the cake that tastes the way you remember birthdays tasting. The buttermilk is doing the work, delivering a tender crumb and a gentle tang that vanilla only recipes miss entirely. Swiss meringue frosting spreads like silk and takes color beautifully, and it is worth learning even though it takes a thermometer. This is wedding cake technique aimed at a Tuesday.

Get the full tutorial at Sweetapolita.

31. Strawberry Chamomile Naked Cake

POLISH (the live “like the cake steeped in a garden afternoon”, “as the source well knows” and “vacations in a linen dress” cut) Chamomile infused layers, mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries spilling down exposed sides. Naked frosting means the assembly is the decoration, so it is rustic on purpose and forgiving by design, which makes it a good choice if piping makes you nervous. The chamomile perfumes it gently rather than tasting like tea. Assemble it close to serving, because naked cakes dry out at the edges if they sit.

Get the full tutorial at Half Baked Harvest.

32. Twix Chocolate Layer Cake

POLISH (the live “where baking science meets candy ambition”, “declare the theme” and “elected to centerpiece” cut) The Twix bar rebuilt at cake scale: chocolate layers, caramel filling, a shortbread crumble and milk chocolate ganache holding the whole coalition together. The shortbread layer is the detail that makes it Twix rather than a generic caramel chocolate cake, so do not skip it in the interest of time. Candy bar halves on top say what it is without a word. Salted caramel dripping down the sides finishes the argument.

Get the full tutorial at Handle the Heat.

33. Cookie Dough Brownie Cake

POLISH (the live “answers both bowl-licking cravings”, “out-muscles regular cake for the assignment” and “two forbidden bowls, one legal cake” cut) Brownie layers frosted with safe to eat cookie dough, which handles both of the bowls you were not supposed to lick as a child in one slice. The dough frosting is egg free and made with heat treated flour, and it spreads thick and studded with mini chips. A fudgy brownie base holds up better than regular cake under that much weight. A chocolate drip and dough balls on top finish it.

Get the full tutorial at Lemon Sugar.

34. Lemon Elderflower Cake

POLISH (the live “brings the palace flavor”, “garden-party proper” and “the commoner’s coronation cake” cut) The royal wedding made lemon elderflower famous and this is the home version: lemon layers brushed with elderflower syrup under a delicately floral buttercream. St-Germain or elderflower cordial supplies the signature note, and either works. It reads sophisticated without leaving the safety of crowd pleasing citrus, which is a hard balance to strike. Candied lemon and a few small blooms on top are all the decoration it needs.

Get the full tutorial at Follow the Ruels.

35. Amazing Paleo Chocolate Cake

POLISH (the live “needs no asterisk”, “passes the skeptical-uncle test blind” and “inclusive and indulgent, finally in the same sentence” cut) Almond and coconut flour layers, rich cocoa and a whipped ganache frosting that gives up nothing to a standard chocolate cake. Grain free, dairy flexible and genuinely fudgy, which is the combination most paleo desserts promise and miss. Every guest list has somebody who needs a cake like this, and the good news is that the rest of the table eats it without noticing anything is missing. Serve it and say nothing.

Get the full tutorial at Downshiftology.

36. Buttercream Rainbow Cake

Little buttercream rainbows piped all the way around the sides with white clouds tucked underneath them, and a braided rainbow border around the top edge. The whole thing comes off one multi-coloured piping bag, which is why it looks far harder than it is. Plan on about half a batch of vanilla buttercream for the rainbows and the clouds. Of all the birthday cakes on this list, this is the one people photograph before anybody is allowed to cut it.

Get the full tutorial at Cake by Courtney.

37. 5-Minute Birthday Cake

Our own microwave birthday cake, which exists for exactly one situation: you forgot. Whisk butter, sugar, yogurt, milk, flour, baking powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt in one bowl, pour it into a microwave safe dish and cook it for five to eight minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Frost it with a simple buttercream, or with canned frosting if the clock is really against you. Sprinkles cover a multitude of sins.

Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.