Classic Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe
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Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This classic birthday cake base is tender, fluffy, and perfectly moist. We offer a detailed guide for making a layer cake and upping your birthday cake game, including how to level layers, what is a crumb coat, and recommendations for storing and serving.
Chocolate Birthday Layer Cake
![A chocolate-frosted layer cake with billowing swirls of frosting, birthday candles, accompanied by serving plates, forks, and blue glasses of water against a yellow background.]()
Serious Eats / Robby Lozano
This easy, moist chocolate layer cake gets deep flavor from cocoa powder and espresso powder and moisture from vegetable oil.
Red Velvet Cake
![Overhead view of a two layer velvet cake with a slice removed. Slice is on a white cake plate.]()
Serious Eats / Debbie Wee
Flavored with bittersweet cocoa and tangy buttermilk, then stacked with tart cream cheese frosting, this red velvet cake will keep you coming back for more.
Devil's Food Cake
![A slice of three layer devil's food cake.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Dark chocolate and Dutch cocoa make this devil's food twice as chocolaty.
Continue to 5 of 19 belowDouble-Strawberry Cake
![A slice of double strawberry cake on a plate. A fork, knife, and cloth napkin are out of focus in the background.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Strawberry in two forms infuses this layer cake with beautiful color and natural flavor.
White Cake With Brown Butter and Toasted Sugar
![A slice of three layer white cake with brown butter and toasted sugar frosting on a blue plate.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This is not a traditional "white" cake by any stretch. Brown butter and toasted sugar boldly amplify its vanilla flavor.
Triple Coconut Cake
![A slice of three layer triple coconut cake on a plate, the cake is on a pedestal in the background.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This riff on the Southern classic incorporates coconut in every form, giving the cake an all-natural flavor and super-moist crumb. The caramelized white chocolate coconut ganache is an optional extravagance, but don't skimp on the toasted coconut!
Oreo Cake With Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting
![Slice of oreo cake on a green plate.]()
Serious Eats / Julia Hartbeck
This simple yet impressive chocolate cake is layered and topped with Oreo whipped cream.
Continue to 9 of 19 belowStrawberry Buttercream Birthday Cake
![A strawberry cake on a white cake stand with lit birthday candles against a red background.]()
Serious Eats / María del Mar Sacasa
Layers of tender yellow cake are put together with sweetened condensed milk and a generous coat of billowy, strawberry-flecked buttercream.
Fluffy and Nutty Almond Layer Cake
![A three layer slice of fluffy almond cake with chocolate frosting on a blue plate. The full cake with a slice removed is on a cake stand in the background.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
A substantial proportion of almond flour in the batter results in a dessert that strikes a balance between a fluffy American cake and a hearty European torte.
Brown Butter Carrot Cake
![Taking a bite out of a brown butter carrot cake.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Brown butter and toasted pecans make a carrot cake that's extra nutty and rich.
Texas Sheet Cake
![a piece of sheet cake on a white plate beside a full sheet pan full of cake.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik This option is a delightful combination of fluffy cake and fudgy frosting that should be in every baker's repertoire.
Continue to 13 of 19 belowChocolate Cherry Layer Cake
![A slice of two layer chocolate cherry cake on a plate. The cake is just behind on a cake stand.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Dark chocolate and tart cherry juice come together in this rich layer cake.
Classic Chiffon Cake With Vanilla Chantilly
![Removing a slice from a classic chiffon cake covered with vanilla chantilly and blueberries and blackberries.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Chiffon is a quintessentially American cake, similar to angel food but delicately rich thanks to the addition of both egg yolks and oil.
Pumpkin Cake
![A slice of pumpkin cake, sprinkled with toasted pecans.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Made in the style of a yellow layer cake, this rich and moist pumpkin cake uses squash purée and autumnal spices to evoke the classic flavors of pumpkin pie.
Buttermilk Cappuccino Cake
![An overhead view of a buttermilk cappuccino cake decoratively frosted and dusted with chocolate.]()
Serious Eats / Lauren Weisenthal
The cake is moist and tender, with the subtle tang from the buttermilk and just a hint of nutmeg. Soak the layers in a coffee syrup to add additional moisture and flavor, and then cover it with an espresso-flavored Swiss buttercream.
Continue to 17 of 19 belowBlackberry and White Chocolate Layer Cake
![A blackberry and white chocolate layer cake on a cake pedestal, mounded with blackberries.]()
Serious Eats / Mimi Ritzen Crawford
This beautiful lemon layer cake is accented with blackberry preserves, white chocolate icing, and wafer cookies.
Coconut Layer Cake with Chocolate Glaze
![A three layer coconut cake with chocolate glaze.]()
Serious Eats
This layered coconut cake is enrobed in a chocolate glaze and sprinkled with toasted coconut.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
![An overhead view of peanut butter chocolate cake.]()
Serious Eats / Yvonne Ruperti
With moist chocolate cake and luxurious peanut butter-chocolate ganache, this is an uber-rich, super-tall cake that will have everyone swooning.
19 Birthday Cake Recipes to Make This the Best Year Ever
Chocolate! Vanilla! Strawberry! Coconut! There's a cake on this list for everyone.
By
Anna Thomas Bates![Anna Thomas Bates]()
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Anna Thomas Bates is a food editor.
Learn about Serious Eats'
Editorial Process
Updated May 24, 2024
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Serious Eats / Robby Lozano
Nothing says "Happy birthday" like a stunning layer cake. And when it's homemade? Even better! These 19 birthday cake recipes offer something for everyone—from classic chocolate to a simple, delicious vanilla, and everything in between. So go on, get out the hats, light those birthday candles, and let them eat cake!
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