Birthday Party Recipes

Staff Picks

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

Birthday? Anniversary? Going-away party? This super-easy, one-bowl layer cake is the perfect dessert for any gathering of chocolate buffs.

Coconut-Sugar Hummingbird Cake

This classic southern cake can be over-the-top sweet. Enter coconut sugar, a sweetener from the sap of the coconut tree's flower buds. While it has no coconut flavor, it does bring a caramelized, almost savory complexity to baked goods. It's perfect in a cake that's plenty sweet (as well as moist), thanks to the fresh banana and pineapple. This recipe appears in our cookbook, "A New Way to Bake" (Clarkson Potter).

Lemon-Meringue Sheet Cake

This burnished beauty gets its flavor from fresh lemon zest, and its stature from not-too-sweet meringue. (More than half of the sugar gets boiled into a syrup that you beat into egg whites—the result is cool, thick, and silky.) Dollop tons on top for a dramatic presentation, and if you don't have a kitchen torch, brown the peaks with a quick blast under the broiler.

Chewy Brownies

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.

Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Talk about a delightful twist on berries and cream! This light and airy chiffon cake will instantly transport you to cloud nine, and the luscious fruit filling is what summer dreams are made of.

Salted-Caramel Six-Layer Chocolate Cake

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.

Coconut Cloud Cake

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

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blueberry Cupcakes

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.

Strawberry Cream Cake

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.

Baked Cake Donuts

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!

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

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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.

Inspiration and Ideas

30 Kid-Friendly Birthday Cake Recipes for Your Next Celebration

Meyer-Lemon and Coconut Layer Cake

A truly memorable way to feed a crowd, this dessert alternates between moist coconut cake and rich coconut-lemon curd on the inside and is covered with coconut buttercream frosting and shredded coconut on the outside. Homemade candied Meyer lemon slices and fresh mint decorate the top.

All Birthday Party Recipes

Martha's Lady Baltimore Cake

White cake is layered with a fruit and nut filling and slathered with fluffy frosting in this traditional Southern dessert. Martha made this recipe on Martha Bakes episode 709.

Strawberries-and-Cream Cheesecake

This dessert is proof that cheesecake can be as unexpected as it is delicious. Thanks to intense oven-roasted strawberries, folded into a blend of tangy mascarpone and cream cheese, this treat will please on every level.

Ganache

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.

Grasshopper Dome Ice Cream Cake

Our grown-up ice cream cake is baked in a heatproof bowl, then hollowed out and filled with mint-chocolate-chip ice cream -- and finished with a crisp, shiny chocolate shell.

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

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This recipe for delicious strawberry cupcakes is from Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes. There is fresh strawberry purée in both the cake batter and the buttercream frosting.

Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cakes

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

Vanilla Glaze for Cinnamon-Bun Bites

Make this glaze while the Cinnamon-Bun Bites are baking. Recipe adapted with permission from "Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen," copyright 2009 by Maria Helm Sinskey and Williams-Sonoma, published by Weldon Owen, San Francisco.

1-2-3-4 Lemon Cake

The name of this old-fashioned lemon cake comes from the simple formula used for measuring the main ingredients: one cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups flour, and four eggs.

Sponge Cake

"After baking countless cakes over the past 11 years for our pages, I've come back around to appreciating the versatility of a sponge cake," says Jennifer Aaronson, editorial director of food and entertaining. Explore the test kitchen's step-by-step guide to making sponge cake and discover three ways to use this flexible favorite.

Light and Fluffy Yellow Cake

Whipped egg whites are the secret behind this airy, moist cake. Decorate each layer with our Chocolate Frosting for a spectacular birthday or special-occasion dessert.

Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake

Martha recreates the iconic dessert from Blum's Bakery in San Francisco. It teams a light sponge cake with rich coffee frosting and crunchy shards of coffee-flavored candy. Martha made this recipe on "Martha Bakes" episode 710.

Coconut Layer Cake

For the coconut lover, a teetering creation of tender sour-cream cake, coconut filling, and piles of seven-minute frosting. This recipe yields a six-layer cake. However, if you prefer the look of five layers, the extra cake layer makes a delicious snack.

Chocolate Beet Cake

You won't taste the pureed beets, but they make this cake extra moist and play up its deep chocolate flavor.

Chocolate Sprinkle Sheet Cake

A light chocolate cake is not a contradiction in terms; it's a splendid anytime snack. Here, some of the flour in our basic recipe is replaced with a half-cup of cocoa powder for a deep chocolate flavor. Sour cream creates a tender crumb, and buttercream frosting gets whipped until airy with an electric mixer. Last but by no means least: Sprinkles make everything joyous.

Devil's Food Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting

This devilishly delicious, light and airy, all-occasion cake recipe was adapted from "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook," and the frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked.

Basic White Sheet Cake

Our classic white sheet cake is the tried-and-true foundation for a traditional birthday cake. The cake ingredients are enough to make one layer; you will need two to assemble the cake.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

This deep, rich confection topped with fudgy frosting is ideal for special occasions or simply for chocolate lovers. Martha's uses Valrhona cocoa powder; for best results, use the highest-quality ingredients you can find. For an impressive presentation, let the layers cool completely before assembling, dust off any loose crumbs, and use the better layer for the top.

Lady Baltimore Cake

This delicious Lady Baltimore cake recipe is from "I Like You," by Amy Sedaris.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake

The cake starts out sturdy but softens overnight in the fridge. At that point, it can be sliced into pieces like a traditional cake.

Devil's Food Cupcakes

We mixed sour cream into the batter to add moistness and a subtle tang. Silky smooth ganache makes a rich topping; other options include seven-minute frosting and cream-cheese frosting. The chocolate curls are easily made with a few strokes of a vegetable peeler.

Perfect White Cake

A white cake is an all-American classic recipe. This white cake recipe will become your favorite for celebrations and holidays -- and it tastes just like the white cake you'd find in your local bakery. (Don't worry. We won't tell your guests how easy it is!)

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

This sweet and simple sheet cake marries two great flavors that just plain belong together: rich and tender chocolate cake, and creamy peanut-butter frosting. For maximum fluff, go for a classic smooth variety of peanut butter, and plug in your mixer—manpower alone won't be enough. Scatter chopped peanuts along the edges for any crunchy fans in the house.

White Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Hi-Hat Cupcakes

These adorable little Hi-Hat cupcake are topped with a white cloud of frosting encased in chocolate. It's a fun and delicious dessert everyone will love.

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