Birthday Party Recipes

A super-easy chocolate layer cake belongs in every cook's recipe repertoire. This chocolate-buttermilk cake is luscious enough for a special occasion but easy enough for everyday desserts. And the recipe gets brownie points(!) for using just a single bowl. You can also use this cake batter to make two dozen cupcakes: fill lined tins two-thirds full and bake for 20 minutes, rotating once. A decadent chocolate frosting is the finishing touch and your cake is ready for its star turn at a birthday, anniversary, or pretty much any celebration.

With just five pantry ingredients, you've got a simple cinnamon roll glaze to whisk together. Everyone needs a vanilla glaze like this, sure it's perfect over Cinnamon-Bun Bites but it's also worth trying for Bundt cakes, loaf cakes, or donuts. It's your homemade glaze for a myriad of baking adventures.  

This light, flavorful dessert, filled and topped with seven-minute frosting and coconut, is a little slice of heaven.

What's gooey on the inside, crackly on top, and supremely delicious all over?Our fresh take on this crowd-pleasing dessert. Unsweetened chocolate and brown sugar impart a rich, well-rounded flavor, while adding a bit of oil to the batter results in the addictively chewy texture that makes this version an instant classic.

The most popular flavor at the celebrated New York City bakery is vanilla for a reason! With a moist, tender crumb and rich buttercream frosting, these cupcakes are a true classic. This recipe comes from "More from Magnolia: Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen."

If you don't own a candy thermometer, this cake offers a good excuse to buy one. It sounds a little nitpicky, but the caramel should reach exactly 238 degrees. (Any less and the cake layers won't hold together properly; any more and the caramel will turn hard.) Precision will also pay off with the chocolate frosting—it achieves its ideal spreading texture after standing for 30 minutes.

While cake donuts are traditionally fried, they're just as delicious baked in the oven, with far less cleanup. Toss in powdered sugar or finish with a simple glaze and sprinkles or toasted coconut -- you can't go wrong!

These blueberry cupcakes are breakfast for dessert. Fresh blueberries are mixed into vanilla cake -- rather than muffin -- batter, which is then topped with cinnamon streusel and swirls of blueberry-cream cheese icing. This recipe appeared in episode 308 of Martha Bakes.

Cake, cream, and berries combine in a treat that's twice as delectable as the sum of its parts. The buttery cake soaks up the strawberry juices, while the whipped cream adds an airy richness.

With three shades of chocolate, these cakes are as pleasing to the eye as they are to the sweet tooth.

This ganache recipe (which can easily be multiplied) is the base for Apricot and Ganache Tartlets, Chocolate Cakes with Ganache Glaze, Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies, Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Ganache, and Peanut Butter Truffles. For step-by-step photos, see our handy 101.

For a handheld treat that takes the cake, try these cute confections -- they combine the flavor of classic banana bread with a creamy spiced frosting.