37 Birthday Cake Recipes to Make All Your Wishes Come True
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Whether you pick a towering layer cake or a one-bowl wonder, all of our favorite birthday cake recipes have a few things in common: They’re fun, festive, and require at least one candle.
Our best birthday cakes include an all-star classic yellow cake, some beloved regional favorites, plus cakes decked out with seasonal fruit, and lots of rich, fudgy crowd-pleasers (our Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake is a chocolate lover’s dream). With so many options, you can truly match the cake to the occasion: Want an elegant French gâteau for your friend saving up for a trip to Paris? A drip cake to impress your kids? A low-maintenance icebox cake for a poolside gathering? Cupcakes for a crowd? We have the answer for every type of birthday party below.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne1/37Super-Moist Yellow Cake With Rich Chocolate Frosting
For classic birthday cake flavor that doesn’t require heading to the grocery store for boxed cake mix, consider this from-scratch yellow cake recipe. The sponge gains its fluffy, delicate crumb from reverse creaming, a technique that starts with dropping the butter into the dry ingredients rather than whipping it with sugar. This is one of those never-fail birthday cake recipes that proves that there’s no better gift than homemade cake.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Anne Eastman, Food Styling by John Bjostad2/37Double Chocolate Layer Cake
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Emilie Fosnocht3/37Smith Island Cake
There are layer cakes, and there are many-layer-cakes, and this is one of the latter. Read our layer-slicing tip—hint, you need some toothpicks—before you start baking.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich5/37Lemon Chiffon Cake
Lighter-than-air lemon chiffon cake gets its lofty stature from whipped egg whites, cream of tartar, and a bit of baking magic. Garnish with a pile of fresh berries or top with whipped cream.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boystova6/37Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake
A glossy chocolate glaze coats the exterior of this just-sweet-enough German chocolate cake. But don’t worry; it still has the classic coconut-pecan frosting sandwiched between the layers.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano7/37Easy Chinese Bakery–Style Whipped Cream Cake
Because it uses vegetable oil instead of butter, this fluffy celebration cake stays moist and tender, even when refrigerated. Top with sliced strawberries and kiwis, or whole raspberries and blueberries.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich8/37Texas Sheet Cake
So the guest list grew a bit, and you need an easy cake recipe that serves a large group. This lush chocolate cake is your answer.
Photo by Joe Woodhouse11/37Giant Vanilla Donut Cake
The perfect birthday cake for doughnut lovers, this nostalgic, ring-shaped dessert tucks a buttery white cake beneath brightly colored icing. Use homemade or store-bought fondant to make the giant sprinkles for the top—or grab a box of pill-shaped candies like Good & Plenty or fruit-flavored Tic Tacs instead.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich12/37Louisiana Crunch Cake
For a twist on pound cake with real crunch, this Louisiana favorite gets baked with a layer of shredded coconut and granulated sugar lining the pan.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Sean Dooley13/37Malted Chocolate Cake With Namelaka and Cherries
If you love the flavor of a chocolate malt, this is your ideal cake. Adding super-silky chocolate cream and cherry jam brings a hint of Black Forest cake flavor to the dessert. You’ll need two 8-inch cake pans for this recipe.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou14/37Tahini Chiffon Cake With Burnt Honey Cream and Poached Rhubarb
This fluffy, light-as-a-cloud cake gets its rich flavor from nutty tahini and its delicate texture from cake flour—plus foamy egg whites, which are beaten with the whisk attachment rather than the paddle attachment of your mixer. Can’t find rhubarb near you? Sugared strawberries make an excellent substitute.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich15/37Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
It’s official: The best vegan chocolate cake is also the easiest chocolate cake, full stop, no stand mixer required. You can frost it any way you like: Our vegan fluffy buttercream frosting is pictured here, but you could go with a fudgy dark chocolate ganache frosting, nutty vegan peanut butter frosting, or whatever store-bought frosting you prefer.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks16/37Vanilla-Buttermilk Layer Cake With Orange Frosting and Raspberries
This version of our delicious buttermilk-vanilla cake is doubled up to make a pretty layer cake with orange cream cheese frosting, but it can easily transform into a sheet cake or a tiered beauty for other kinds of celebrations.
Photo by Jocelyn Delk Adams17/37Red Velvet Cake With Blackberry–Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting
A stunner of a cake, especially in blackberry season. Looking for a version without food coloring? Try this beet-tinted red velvet instead.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne18/37Marjolaine
For a birthday cake that’s sure to impress, dedicate a few hours to constructing this French classic. Hazelnut powder and sifted all-purpose flour give the base a buoyant crumb—all the better for layering with nutty meringue, chocolate ganache, and not one, but two buttercreams.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova19/37Fancy Dirt Cake
The best birthday cake recipes are unapologetically fun, and this spin on the childhood favorite is no exception. You can use chocolate shortbread or even Oreo cookies for the “dirt”; decorate with edible flowers or gummy worms.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton20/37Tre Latte Olive Oil Cake
Senior editor Joe Sevier declared this spin on tres leches one of the best desserts he’s ever made. The cake itself is made with lots of large eggs, olive oil, and vanilla bean paste, and the soaking liquid combines whole milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and more olive oil. Don’t skip the tangy mascarpone whipped cream on top, which balances the sweetness of the sponge.
Photo by Oriana Koren21/37Chocolate Doberge Cake
Recognizable by its seemingly endless layers of chocolate sponge, sandwiched with rich cocoa pudding and German buttercream, this sky-high Louisiana classic can be found at parties across the American South. Yes, you’ll need a stand mixer (or a very large bowl) and a whopping 22 eggs (plus two yolks!) to make it—it’s a true special occasion cake, worth every bit of effort.
Photo by Dana Gallagher22/37Sheet-Pan Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake
No round cake pans? No problem. Bake the lemon cake batter on a sheet tray, let cool on a wire rack, then invert onto parchment paper and cut the sponge into circles for easy layering. This cake gets a simple frosting made with room-temperature cream cheese, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton23/37Blackberry and Chocolate Ice Cream Icebox Cake
Why choose between an ice cream cake and a cookie cake when you can have both? This icebox cake, layered with blackberry jam and crushed chocolate graham crackers, is far easier to put together than it looks.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone24/37One-Bowl Milk Chocolate Cake With Chocolate-Caramel Frosting
Often baked in a 13x9" pan, sheet cake recipes are the ideal bake for portability: Cover the top in plastic or a baking pan lid and tote it along to a birthday celebration at the park.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson25/37Baked Alaska Saint Pierre
Why light candles when you can light the whole cake on fire? Frost a dome of ice cream and orange sorbet—set atop a Grand Marnier–flavored sponge—with meringue. Once the cake’s assembled, drizzle on more liqueur and (briefly, safely) set the whole thing ablaze.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton26/37Dr. Bird Cake
Chopped pineapple, ripe bananas, and flaked coconut come together in this classic Jamaican cake, which you might know as Hummingbird Cake. It’s the perfect way to celebrate a summer birthday or brighten a winter occasion.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne27/37Gâteau Chocolat-Menthe (Chocolate-Mint Cake)
Adapted from a recipe by famed Parisian patissier Christophe Michalak, this dessert features two gently sweetened chocolate cake layers, mint-infused whipped cream, candied mint leaves, and fluffy chocolate ganache.
Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine28/37Rainbow Cookie Loaf Cake
Italian rainbow cookies go oversized in this fun cake from cookbook author Dan Pelosi. You’ll need three bowls to tint each layer a different hue.
Photo by Linda Xiao29/37Crepe Cake
Nothing says “happy birthday” quite like stacks upon stacks of orange-scented crepes layered with pastry cream (it’s easier to make than you might expect). The cake requires at least six hours in the fridge to chill, so plan accordingly.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano and Stevie Stewart31/37Original New York Cheesecake
Photo by Justin Walker32/37Ovenly’s Brooklyn Blackout Cake
A signature of New York City bakery Ovenly, this charcoal-hued blackout cake gets its rich flavor and color from Dutch-process cocoa powder and chocolate stout. The filling—a salted dark chocolate pudding—is so good we sometimes make it on its own.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert33/37Chiffon Cake
If you’re picturing a birthday cake that’s light and fluffy—even fluffier than angel food—this recipe will deliver.
Photo by Peter Cassidy34/37Prinsesstårta
Baking and assembling a Swedish princess cake is a labor of love, but the flavors are unmatched. There’s a reason it has become so beloved in San Francisco—and everywhere else it has traveled.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne35/37Marguerite Cassis
Whipped cream flavored with crème de cassis—black currant liqueur found in classic cocktails like the Kir Royale—keeps this birthday cake light and airy. Scatter a handful of fresh blackberries or currants on top of the cake for an especially pretty presentation.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Christina Allen36/37Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
You absolutely don’t have to skip birthday cake at a gluten-free celebration. This fudgy dessert, made with oat and rice flours, will delight everyone who tastes it.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore37/37Raspberry Cake With Whipped Cream Filling
