cooking

37 Birthday Cake Recipes to Celebrate in Style

From party-ready confetti cake to black sesame mochi cake, this collection has a birthday cake that’s just as special as you.
Cinematography by Cole Evelev, Editing by Melissa Lawrenz, Prop Styling by Doan Ly

Everyone has a birthday; therefore, everyone should have a birthday cake. Simple, right? Not quite. Your birthday cake should be about you, so one recipe does not fit all. That’s why we’ve gathered lots of options—for birthday maximalists, minimalists, and everyone in between.

This collection of our best birthday cake recipes includes something for every type of reveler, no matter your preferences or baking abilities. There’s a no-mixer cake for the beginner baker, an ambitious dome cake for the pastry pro, a chocolaty layer cake for your gluten-free friend, and a dairy-free number for your vegan cousin. As for personalities, we’ve got plenty of those: a torched banana cake for the friend who loves to set things on fire, an ice cream cake for the summer babies, and a chocolate-glazed matcha cake for the friend who’s a little too into Wicked. Still, if you don’t want to bake a cake from scratch, these boxed cake mixes are as good as they come (though, you can doctor them up all the same).

Wondering if you should spring for that pretty glass cake stand? We say yes! You’ll use it for more than cake. Opting for a layer cake? Read up on how to stack it like a pro. Now, scroll on to find your new favorite birthday dessert.

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

  • Sheet cake on a glitter background with flowers.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Floral Styling by LaParis Phillips 
    1/37

    Chocolate Sheet Cake With Brown Butter Frosting

    We’re starting this collection of birthday cake recipes with the ultimate crowd-pleaser: food editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s easy chocolate sheet cake with fluffy, toasty brown butter frosting. Buttermilk keeps the cake ethereally moist, so we don’t recommend using a DIY substitution.

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  • Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    2/37

    PB&J Dome Cake

    Baking this peanut butter and jelly–flavored masterpiece is by no means a piece of cake (ha!), but if you like a project, give it a go. The stunned look on your friends’ faces will make it worth your while.

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  • Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    3/37

    Confetti Cake With Chocolate Frosting

    Many consider confetti cake (or “funfetti cake,” as some call it) the ultimate birthday cake. With a reverse creamed, sour cream–enriched batter, this one is so, so much better than the ones from boxed mix. Happy birthday to you.

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  • Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    4/37

    Sweet Potato Cake With Salted Cream Cheese Frosting

    If you have a fall birthday, skip the canned pumpkin and make this plush, moist sweet potato cake instead. Note that you’ll need three round cake pans for this recipe and enough time for two separate cooling periods. It’s worth it for the towering triple-layered result.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Christina Allen
    5/37

    Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

    Bake this wheat-free, double-chocolate layer cake, and your gluten-averse friend will love you forever. The chocolate ganache–like frosting is so good, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.

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  • Photography by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk
    6/37

    Easiest Vanilla Birthday Cake

    Our easiest vanilla birthday cake recipe was designed to maximize ease (it’s in the name, after all) without compromising flavor or texture. It’s worth splurging on vanilla bean paste for the buttercream frosting, but if you’re in a pinch, a high-quality vanilla extract—like this one from Nielsen-Massey—will work well.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin
    7/37

    Ice Cream Cake With So Many Sprinkles

    All too often, summer birthdays go under-celebrated. But with this festive, cooling ice cream cake, all the Cancers, Leos, and Virgos finally get their due.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
    8/37

    Easiest Chocolate Birthday Cake

    “Pure homemade birthday love.” That’s how recipe developer Kat Boytsova described this extremely easy chocolate cake. Top it with swoops of chocolate–cream cheese frosting and (obviously) sprinkles.

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  • Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    9/37

    Victoria Sponge Cake

    Bake this Victoria Sandwich Cake for the friend who likes to pretend they’re on The Great British Bake-Off. (Psst: A stand mixer would make an excellent birthday gift.)

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Judy Mancini.
    10/37

    Brooklyn Blackout Cake

    Stack deep, dark chocolate cake layers with rich chocolate pudding for the most chocolaty cake imaginable.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau
    11/37

    BA’s Best Carrot Cake

    There are carrot cake people, and then there are the rest of us. We might not all understand the allure of veggie-packed cake batter—but hey, if carrot cake’s your thing, no judgment. Have your carrot cake and eat it too.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, prop styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    12/37

    Vegan Chocolate Cake With Chocolate-Orange Frosting

    This egg- and dairy-free chocolate cake recipe doubles down on the classic pairing of chocolate and orange, using the combination in both the crumb and the silky butterless buttercream frosting.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Summer Moore 
    13/37

    Raspberry Cake With Whipped Cream Filling

    Inspired by the fruity, lightly sweetened confections from Japanese bakeries, this cloudlike raspberry cream cake starts with two layers of plush chiffon sponge. Instead of buttercream, it’s frosted with raspberry-infused whipped cream.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
    14/37

    Tres Leches Cake

    Tres leches cake historically contains three types of milk: condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy whipping cream poured over the cake after it comes out of the oven. This one adds a fourth to the mix (whole milk, beaten into the sponge cake batter) for good measure.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens
    15/37

    Basque Cheesecake

    There are some people who dream of a big, colorful layer cake for their birthday. And then there are people who’d prefer a dense, creamy cheesecake. Birthday how you birthday.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    16/37

    Double Banana Cake

    For the friend who started baking banana bread during the pandemic and still hasn’t stopped, this double-banana cake is the one. It’s got mashed bananas in the batter and sliced bananas sandwiched between the layers.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'mytrek Brown
    17/37

    No-Mixer Vanilla Cake With Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting

    Want to bake a cake but don’t have any baking supplies? This no-mixer recipe is for you. Do seek out cake flour, though—it’s responsible for the cake’s plush, fine crumb. All-purpose flour will work in a pinch, but the resulting cake will be slightly dense.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou and Natasha Pickowicz, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky
    18/37

    Tiramisù Layer Cake With Mascarpone Mousse

    With vanilla genoise, a sweet Marsala soak, creamy mascarpone filling, and espresso Swiss meringue buttercream, this cake is a layered labor of love. Don’t skip the Marsala here: It gives the tiramisu-inspired cake a boozy, fragrant edge, playing well against the espresso’s bitterness.

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  • Photograph by Yudi Ela Echevarria, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Sean Dooley, Special thanks to Frank's House
    19/37

    Coconut and Cardamom Cake

    Bake this single-layer coconut cake for the low-key friend who insists their birthday “isn’t that big of a deal,” but secretly wants a party.

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  • Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    20/37

    Carrot Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Whip

    Inspired by Brazilian bolo de cenoura, this sheet cake has carrots blended right into the batter. The result? A sunset orange cake and no scratched-up knuckles (looking at you, hand grater).

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh
    21/37

    Chocolate-Matcha Butter Mochi Cake

    Splurge for ceremonial-grade matcha to get the most vibrant color possible in this green-tinted mochi cake.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley
    22/37

    Sticky Chocolate Cake

    If a chocolate lava cake and a soufflé had a baby, it’d be this sticky, half-baked chocolate cake. Don’t bother with the toothpick test here—the cake stays molten even when fully baked. It might not be a classic birthday cake, but stick a candle on top and nobody’s complaining.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kaitlin Wayne, prop styling by Christina Allen
    25/37

    Walnut-Buckwheat Toffee Cakes

    Break out the muffin tin. These individually portioned buckwheat cakes channel the spirit of sticky toffee pudding, with whiskey-spiked toffee sauce drizzled overtop. They’d fit right in at a high tea–themed birthday party.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    26/37

    Red Velvet Sheet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

    In this recipe, food editor Shilpa Uskokovic reimagines classic red velvet cake as a party-ready sheet cake. Shilpa says to be sure to use bleached all-purpose flour here: “In a cake as soft and tender as this one, with a higher amount of sugar than flour (called a high-ratio cake in professional circles), only bleached flour can absorb and withstand the extra moisture,” she explains.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata.  Food Styling by Cyd McDowell.  Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    27/37

    Torched Banana Cake

    Nothing says celebration like a tableside flambée. The caramelized banana top doubles as decoration, so there’s no need for frosting.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
    28/37

    Ginger-Raspberry Icebox Cake With Caramel Cream

    If your birthday falls at the height of summer, consider a cooling caramel-tinged icebox cake decorated with lots of fresh fruit.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou and Natasha Pickowicz, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky
    29/37

    Vanilla Layer Cake With Mango Curd

    Yes, you can (and should) soak your cake with tequila. It adds agave-like sweetness while keeping the sponge moist.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon
    30/37

    Giant Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

    Sure, you could stop by the grocery store and pick up a cookie cake. But this homemade version is so, so much better. Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream.

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  • Alex Lau
    33/37

    White Cupcakes

    Not every party needs a supersized layer cake. Sometimes, you just want a tray of portable, low-maintenance cupcakes. These start with a white cake batter, made with more egg whites than yolks for a snowy hue. Frost them with vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
    34/37

    Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake

    Who said you can’t have a loaf cake for your birthday? Not us. This apple cider doughnut-inspired loaf will be perfect for any fall celebration.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig
    35/37

    Easy Sheet Cake With Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

    There’s something so perfectly nostalgic about this yellow cake recipe. Topped with a silky chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles, it comes together with only a hand mixer. It’s sure to be your go-to from now on—no more store-bought mixes.

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  • Photo by Joshua Kissi, food styling by Roscoe Betsill, prop Styling by Amy Wilson, cake by Flour Shop
    36/37

    Life-of-the-Party Layer Cake

    Light up the party with rainbow-dyed and frosted cake layers, plus a festive surprise inside. It’s the perfect birthday cake for the friend who’s the life of any party.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    37/37

    Appalachian Apple Stack Cake

    With six layers of spice cake and an orchard’s worth of apple butter, this Appalachian apple stack cake IS the party. It’s ubiquitous at holidays and weddings in Virginia but also a showstopper of a birthday cake recipe.

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Before joining the SEO team at Bon Appétit and Epicurious, Zoe spent 3 years working full-time in pastry. She churned ice cream at an artisanal creamery in Alabama, baked banana bread at an organic farm-bakery in Maui, and worked the line at a Michelin-starred restaurant in NYC. As someone who learned how to cook... Read more
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