Our Favourite Birthday Cake Recipes
We have many excellent cake recipes. But when it comes to birthday cakes, we want icing, and lots of it. Layers, if we're feeling fancy. And it has to be the kind of cake that looks good covered with multicoloured sprinkles and, of course, candles. This is the place to bust out classic recipes for chocolate and vanilla, though we're offering a few more forward-looking flavour combinations, too. And, while a double or even triple layer is often traditional, simpler cupcakes and sheet cakes will never go amiss. Here are our favourite birthday cake recipes.
Classic Yellow Cake
This coconut shag cake is a staff go-to recipe, with an easy swap at the end—vanilla for coconut extract, and milk for coconut milk—to turn it into an ultra-classic yellow cake with vanilla icing. It's made with butter as well as vegetable oil, which guarantees it's extra moist. If you're going to pick one cake on this list, start here. Get this coconut cake recipe.
Classic Vanilla Layer Cake
This cake is easy, fast and spectacular. It looks best in two 8-inch cake pans; for 9-inch pans, decrease the baking time to 30 min. Get this classic vanilla cake recipe.
Easy Chocolate Cake
In search of a classic, kid-pleasing chocolate sheet cake ideal for covering with a ton of sprinkles? This riff on McCain’s Deep n’ Delicious cake is one to keep in your back pocket at all times. Get this easy chocolate cake recipe.
Chocolate Cake With Mocha Frosting
Our former food editor Irene Ngo has baked this cake for several birthdays. She says "one of the things I love about this cake is that it doesn’t rise too much when it bakes, and remains fairly flat-topped. This makes it so much easier to frost and decorate. Depending on my mood, I sometimes omit the coffee/espresso in the icing (especially if there will be kids eating the cake). It doesn’t affect the decadence of the cake at all. We recommend keeping the cake for just two days at room temperature—a past birthday cake beneficiary admitted to eating his over a week and it still tasted delicious. (But we still recommend following our guidelines)." If you keep the coffee/espresso in the icing, it makes for a rich, deeply flavoured contrast to the chocolate cake. Get our chocolate cake with mocha frosting recipe.
Pistachio Cake With Orange Blossom Icing
If a spring blossom were a cake, it would be this gorgeous, moist and fresh flavoured delight. Get this pistachio cake with orange blossom icing recipe.
Cherry Cake With Marzipan Roses
This dense, nutty cake—created in the 2010s—has remained a staff favourite. Get our cherry cake with marzipan roses recipe.
Grand Marnier Chocolate Torte
Readers requested this citrusy layered cake recipe from the 1970s so often that we reprinted it in 2000, then again in 2024 with a little ’70s swagger in the decoration. You'll be smitten with our Grand Marnier chocolate torte recipe.
Strawberry And Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes
My daughter loves fruit, and isn't into anything overly sweet. For her birthday, she requested strawberry cupcakes. These are easy lemon cupcakes, topped with a tangy strawberry-cream cheese icing. They froze well and made it to her party intact, too. Get the strawberry and lemon cream cheese cupcakes recipe.
Toasted Coconut Cupcakes
I've made these for bake sales as well as birthdays; they're easy and delicious. Get our toasted coconut cupcakes recipe.
Lemon-Elderflower Cupcakes
Pick up elderflower syrup at your next Ikea stop for these pretty, floral-flavoured treats that bring a touch of spring to any gathering. Get our lemon-elderflower cupcakes recipe.
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Born in London, Ont., Gillian was Chatelaine’s former deputy editor, digital. She has also worked at Toronto Life and the National Post. Gillian cares deeply about fighting climate change and loves birds, sad lady singers, bikes, baking and wide-legged denim. She lives in Toronto's east end with her partner, two children and Rosie, her very exuberant Bouvier des Flandres.
