Celebrate With These 19 Birthday Cake Recipes

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

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!

Classic Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe

A slice of classic vanilla butter cake, three layers, with frosting and sprinkles. The entire cake with a slice removed is out of focus in the background. — 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

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

Dark chocolate and Dutch cocoa make this devil’s food twice as chocolaty.

Double-Strawberry Cake

Strawberry in two forms infuses this layer cake with beautiful color and natural flavor.

White Cake With Brown Butter and Toasted Sugar

This is not a traditional “white” cake by any stretch; brown butter and toasted sugar boldly amplify its vanilla flavor.

Triple Coconut Cake

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.

Strawberry 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

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.

Chocolate 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

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

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.

Blackberry and White Chocolate Layer Cake

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

With moist chocolate cake and luxurious peanut butter-chocolate ganache, this is an uber-rich, super-tall cake that will have everyone swooning.