Homemade Birthday Cake Recipes

I believe that a homemade cake is the best birthday gift you can give a loved one or a friend. The cakes my mum baked for me as a child, especially, the bunny cake and the bus cake, are the ones I'll always fondly remember.

Baking a cake for a birthday requires some planning. Ingredients need to be bought along with cake tins or appliances.

There is a wide range of ideas to pick from, if you are baking a cake for your own child or someone else's. No matter how old the child is, there is always an appropriate cake option. All you have to be cued in about, is the current obsession of the child, be it soccer or Barbie. Popular character cakes are Winnie the Pooh, Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Elmo, Curious George, The Wiggles and Backyardigans. Little girls prefer Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Hello Kitty, Barbie or princess cakes. While pretty and pink suits the girls, the boys appreciate special powers or anything on wheels! Little boy favorites are Spiderman, Superman, pirates, dinosaurs (especially Barney), trucks, cars, trains, Bob the Builder, Star Wars, Scooby Doo, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Thomas, the Tank Engine cakes. Sports theme cakes are popular among teenage boys.

If you are making a cake for an adult, you can focus on the quality of the cake over its décor. Here too, there are myriad options. These are my favorites...

Rich Moist Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 3 medium eggs
• 200g butter, cut in pieces
• 85g self-raising flour
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 85g plain flour
• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 25g cocoa powder
• 200g good-quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids
• 75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
• Grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

For the Ganache

• 200g good-quality dark chocolate, as above
• 284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Preparation

1. Coat a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) with butter and line the base with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 140 degrees. Then chop up the chocolate into pieces, and place them in a medium sized, heavy-based pan. Add the butter to the chocolate. Next, stir the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and add it to the chocolate. Now, slowly heat this mixture over low heat until all the contents have melted. Ensure that it doesn't overheat. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl. Mix well so that it blends well, ensuring that the bicarbonate of soda is evenly distributed and press out any lumps that may appear. Start whipping up the eggs in a bowl, while adding the buttermilk to it.
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and gradually stir in the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture. You can do this by hand, using a hand-held mixer or in the blender. Continue mixing until the ingredients are well-blended and you have a smooth, slightly runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. You can keep inserting a skewer in the center of the cake to check and when it comes out clean, that means your cake is baked. Allow it to cool in the tin itself. It may dip in the center, but don't let that worry you. Once it reaches room temperature to touch, turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. The next step is to make the ganache. Start by chopping the chocolate into small pieces and putting it in a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, place it on medium heat and add sugar while bringing it to boil. Take it off the heat before it begins to boil and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
4. Once the cake is cold, cut it into three layers. Place a little of the ganache between the layers. Pour the rest over the cake, letting it fall down the sides. Use a palette knife to scoop up the excess ganache and cover the sides evenly. The last step is to grate the chocolate over the cake or use chocolate curls to decorate it. Your yummy chocolate cake will stay moist and gooey for 3 to 4 days.

Scarlet Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 bottles (1 ounce each) red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• Butter for greasing pans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour and a little extra for dusting pans

For the icing

• 4 egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, softened, additional if needed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, bourbon or rum
• Chopped or halved pecans for decoration

Preparation

1. Evenly coat the entire inner surface of two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and then dust them with flour. Mix flour, cocoa and salt in a large bowl and then pass the mixture through a sifter at least three times for the cocoa powder to mix thoroughly. Keep it aside. Next, use an electric blender to beat the sugar and the shortening together. Blend in the eggs, one at a time. Ensure that you blend well after you add each egg. Once all the eggs are added, continue to blend, for another minute or so, till smooth.
2. Blend the flour mixture (in four parts) and the buttermilk (in three parts) alternatively, into the sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and food coloring to this, mixing it well till it achieves even coloring. Dissolve the baking soda in vinegar and add it to the mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Distribute the batter equally between each prepared cake pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You can test it by inserting a skewer into the center of the cake and when it comes out clean, that means your cake is baked. The two cakes will be your first and second layer. Allow them to cool in the pans and then turn them out onto wire racks and let them cool completely.
4. Start whisking the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar, until you have a thick pale yellow mixture. It should form a ribbon when a spoonful is dropped on the surface. Heat the milk till it is almost boiling and add it to the egg mixture, a little bit at a time. Cook this mixture in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture has a custard like consistency. As soon as this happens, place the pan in cold water and whisk until its temperature drops to slightly warm. Transfer the batter to another bowl and add softened butter by spoonfuls. Mix in the vanilla, bourbon or rum. Your icing is now ready and should be smooth and thick. If it appears grainy or curdled, add some more softened butter, one teaspoonful at a time. Place it in the refrigerator, until it is cold but still spreadable.
5. Sandwich the icing between the two layers of cake and coat the top and sides with the remaining icing. Adorn the top with pecans, sprinkled or neatly placed around the edge.

Strawberry Cream Cake

Cake Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 175g self-raising flour
• 175g unsalted butter , softened
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Filling and Topping

• Pink or red colored granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp strawberry jam
• 2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
• 284ml carton double cream or whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Coat two 18cm sandwich tins with butter and line the base with parchment paper. Mix all the cake ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth. Divide the batter equally between both the tins and level it out.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cakes have risen well and are spongy. You can test them by inserting a skewer into the center of each cake. If it comes out clean, you know, your cake is baked. Cool the cakes in their tins for 5 minutes and then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.
3. Lightly whip the cream while adding the icing sugar and vanilla.
4. Peel off the paper from the cakes. Use one cake as the bottom layer and spread the jam on top of it. Spread the whipped cream on top of the jam. Place the other cake on top of the cream, forming the upper layer. Spread the remaining cream over the top with a palette knife.
5. Sprinkle sugar in the shape of a heart on the top of the cake.

While baking a cake, it is a good practice to have all the ingredients measured and kept ready. This will make the process go smoother and faster. Try not to sample too much of the batter as you prepare it; enjoy the aroma that permeates your home while you bake the cake.