15 Best Birthday Cake Recipes Worthy of a Celebration
Everyone deserves a sweet treat, no matter how old they are!
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Let's be honest: No matter how old you are or how big the party is, a birthday celebration isn't complete without a cake. Sure, you can order a birthday cake for delivery, but there's something so special about making and serving one to the guest of honor. If you have someone in your life celebrating another year around the sun, we've found some of the best birthday cake recipes.
You can go all out and try cake recipes made from scratch or take a shortcut and elevate a boxed cake mix instead. (Heck, that's even Ree Drummond's top-secret cake solution!) Either way, it will give you the chance to try different cake decorating ideas and impress everyone. Don't worry though, you don't have to be a professional when it comes to frosting cakes. There are plenty of easy options like covering a cake in coconut or Ree's genius idea of putting out bowls of candy and letting the kids do it!
Here, you will find all kinds of classic choices like chocolate, vanilla, and funfetti, and fun twists like colorful rainbows and stacks of brownies. You don't need to make a layer cake either. For a crowd, make a sheet cake recipe that's super easy to serve. For a small group, a mini-sized cake pairs nicely with a birthday wish for your best friend. But no matter what flavor or shape you decide to make, baking a cake will be such a treat. It can even double as a birthday gift for her or birthday gift for him, no wrapping required.
Chocolate Birthday Cake
This fun cake can work for any age, whether you're celebrating 13 or 103. Ree's secret is putting out bowls of candy and letting everyone decorate it before digging in. Genius!
Get Ree's Chocolate Birthday Cake recipe.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
If you want to feed a crowd, opt for a sheet cake like this Drummond family-favorite. Ree 100% guarantees moans and groans of delight from everyone, which is exactly what you want to hear when people take a bite!
Get Ree's Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe.
Ice Cream Cake
Ice cream is always a good idea, so why not make it into a cake? You can make the ice cream from scratch or use store bought varieties to make life easier. It will be delicious either way!
Get the Ice Cream Cake recipe.
Coconut Layer Cake
There's double the coconut for double the fun in this beautiful layer cake. Both coconut extract and shredded coconut add a ton of flavor, and the flakes do the decorating for you!
Get Ree's Coconut Layer Cake recipe.
Coffee-Toffee Crunch Cake
Coffee lovers will get a caffeinated kick out of this fun idea! With coffee flavor infused in both the cake and the frosting, they'll get a jolt of excitement in every bite.
Get Ree's Coffee-Toffee Crunch Cake recipe.
Sigrid's Carrot Cake
This classic carrot cake recipe is from one of Ree's mom's longtime friends and it's not only delicious but versatile as well. Turn it into a sheet cake for easy slicing or make a traditional layer cake. But either way, don't forget to slather on the cream cheese frosting!
Get Ree's Sigrid's Carrot Cake recipe.
Vanilla Birthday Cake
A classic vanilla cake with old-fashioned vanilla buttercream is going to be a crowd pleaser for sure. With just a hint of almond extract and a few sprinkles to decorate, it has just enough oomph to impress any guest.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Peanut butter fans, rejoice! Between the layers of this chocolate cake is a thick, delicious peanut butter frosting. Top it off with a ganache drip and peanut butter cups to garnish, and you'll never want any other cake again.
Get the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake recipe at The Novice Chef.
Lemon Layer Cake
Add a little zest into the birthday celebration―literally! This lemon cake has lemon extract and a whole tablespoon of lemon zest for extra zing. Cream cheese frosting adds the perfect balance.
Funfetti Birthday Cake
Sprinkles just make everything better, don't they? Skip the boxed mix and make a funfetti cake from scratch, complete with vanilla buttercream frosting.
Fudgy Brownie Cake
There are cake people, there are brownie people, and then there are people who like both. This rich and decadent brownie cake is the best of both worlds, complete with chocolate frosting and a ganache drip. Yum!
Southern Caramel Cake
Most Southern households will recognize this classic cake, but you will find it irresistible no matter where you live. Once the sweet caramel frosting is prepared, you have to work quickly before it sets. But each bite is worth the effort!
Strawberry Cake
This might be the berry best birthday cake for fruit lovers! Fresh strawberries get some extra help from freeze dried strawberries in the frosting. And that pretty pink hue? A natural stunner!
Oreo Cake
This Oreo cake just begs for a tall, cold glass of milk! With crumbled cookies mixed into the batter, you'll get that classic flavor in every bite. Decorate with more cookies so your guests know what they're about to enjoy.
Get the Oreo Cake recipe at Sugar Geek Show.
Rainbow Poke Cake
Take a boxed mix to the next level with this bright and delicious poke cake! The secret is adding different kinds of Jell-O after the cake has baked for stripes of fun flavor.
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