birthday cakes

This American classic is, in a nod to its Southern origins, hospitable as can be thanks to vanilla cake layers with a meringue frosting that conceals a creamy filling containing–surprise!–coconut, Maraschino cherry, and oatmeal cookie crumbs.

• 1 H
• 1 H, 25 M
• 6

Forever? Completely? Sounds like words used only in conjunction with things that inspire lasting love. Like this cake.

• 20 M
• 55 M
• 277

Sweet, light, and oh-so-chocolatey, despite being made without gluten, eggs, or dairy. Wonders never cease.

• Quick Glance
• 25 M
• 1 H, 15 M
• 0

Dubbed Company’s Comin’ Coconut Cake, this beauty of a pound cake will have you dreaming up excuses to invite guests for dinner—and dessert.

• 45 M
• 1 H, 20 M
• 33

Mmmm. Mocha chocolate cake slathered with an Irish whiskey-spiked chocolate glaze. A decadent, grown-up cake good for whatever ails you.

• Quick Glance
• 30 M
• 1 H
• 0

This stunning Southern belle and its dozen tiers—yup, 12—is astonishingly easy peasy to make thanks to a savvy cake-baking tactic.

• 1 H, 15 M
• 2 H
• 46

This caffeinated incarnation of a classic chocolate cake comprises cocoa-y layers that take their jolt from a cup of joe and ample fudgy ganache that make everything, even chocolate cake, better.

• 50 M
• 2 H, 30 M
• 36

This white cake has an understated elegance thanks to its tender crumb and lovely nuanced taste that everyone is calling unforgettable in the best possible way. Proof that basic doesn’t mean boring.

• 25 M
• 45 M
• 81

These white cupcakes smothered with a rich ganache frosting are sorta the cake lovers’ version of the black and white cookie.

• 40 M
• 1 H, 30 M
• 4

Layers of vanilla cake take turns with oodles of coconut filling and the whole shebang is slathered with fluffy white icing. Uh, yes please!

• 45 M
• 1 H, 15 M
• 27

We don’t know Italian, but we’re pretty certain this tart, with its molten filling and brownie crust, translates to “Damn good!”

• 40 M
• 3 H, 20 M
• 19

Sometimes called a volcano cake, this much ballyhooed molten dessert is, quite literally, bursting–er, oozing–with chocolate.

• 30 M
• 40 M
• 48

Fine-crumbed and sparely sweet, these sophisticated little cakes do wonders for white chocolate’s tarnished reputation. Confection perfection.

• 25 M
• 1 H
• 34

WHY DID NO ONE THINK OF PUTTING RED WINE IN RED VELVET CUPCAKES UNTIL NOW?! Okay. Got that out of our system. Whew.

• Quick Glance
• 15 M
• 1 H, 15 M
• 0