Editors’ Collection

Our Best Birthday Cakes

Celebrate your favorite person with these delicious birthday cakes from NYT Cooking.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.

Recipes

Classic White Cake
Yossy Arefi
267 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
267
2 hours 20 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
1264 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,264
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Rainbow Sprinkle Cake
Julia Moskin, Candace Nelson
4470 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
4,470
1½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Strawberry Layer Cake
Lisa Donovan
204 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
204
2 hours 40 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Carrot Cake
Dorie Greenspan
11483 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
11,483
1 hour 30 minutes, plus at least 15 minutes' refrigeration
or to save this recipe.
Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake
Adrianna Adarme
98 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
98
1 hour 30 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Birthday Cake
Eric Kim
447 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
447
1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
or to save this recipe.
Strawberry Lemonade Cake
Yossy Arefi
1286 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,286
90 minutes, plus 50 minutes cooling and chilling
or to save this recipe.
Princess Cake
Nicola Lamb
400 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
400
About 3 hours
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Easy Chocolate Cake
Yossy Arefi
1765 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,765
About 2 hours
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Chocolate-Chocolate Birthday Cake
Dorie Greenspan
3381 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,381
Baking and cooling: About 3 hours
or to save this recipe.
Rum-Raisin Carrot Cake
Vaughn Vreeland
272 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
272
2¼ hours
or to save this recipe.
Baked Alaska
Lidey Heuck
140 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
140
About 7 hours 20 minutes
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Southern Red Velvet Cake
Kim Severson, Adams Extract Company
3571 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
3,571
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi
Sara Bonisteel, Sheldon Simeon
910 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
910
1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Vanilla Cake
Lidey Heuck
542 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
542
1 hour and 50 minutes
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Strawberry and Cream Layer Cake
Claire Saffitz
2480 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,480
2 hours
or to save this recipe.
Coconut Layer Cake
Melissa Clark, Larissa Raphael
1760 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,760
2 hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Yellow Sheet Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Erin Jeanne McDowell
2164 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,164
45 minutes
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Gluten-Free Yellow Sheet Cake
Brian Levy
95 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
95
1 hour 10 minutes, plus cooling (or 3 hours with frosting)
or to save this recipe.
Southern Caramel Cake
Millie Peartree
2017 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,017
50 minutes, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Classic Birthday Cake
Alison Roman
2310 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,310
About 1 hour 15 minutes plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Hawaiian Guava Cake
Kiera Wright-Ruiz, Alana Kysar
1420 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,420
50 minutes, plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Lemon Cupcakes
Samantha Seneviratne
275 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
275
40 minutes, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Cardamom Cream Cake
Melissa Clark
973 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
973
2½ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Black Forest Cake
Samantha Seneviratne
1109 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,109
1½ hours, plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Seis Leches Cake
Melissa Clark
1826 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,826
1 hour, plus cooling and chilling
or to save this recipe.
Blackout Cake
The New York Times, Ebinger’s
2293 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,293
3 hours plus chilling
or to save this recipe.
Sponge Cake
Claire Saffitz
2184 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
2,184
50 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Ambrosia Cake
Melissa Clark
503 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
503
3 hours
or to save this recipe.
Hummingbird Cake
Vallery Lomas
1818 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,818
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
Margaux Laskey, Odette Williams
731 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
731
50 minutes, plus soaking
or to save this recipe.
Magnolia Bakery’s Cupcakes
Susan Campos
3567 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
3,567
About 45 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Cranberry-Lemon Stripe Cake
Tejal Rao, Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh
565 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
565
2 hours, plus baking/cooling
or to save this recipe.
Devil's Food White-Out Cake
Emily Weinstein, Dorie Greenspan
295 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
295
1 hour 40 minutes, plus 1 hour's refrigeration
or to save this recipe.
Milk and Honey Cake
Melissa Clark, Odette Williams
1376 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,376
1¼ hours, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Ruth Reichl’s Giant Chocolate Cake
Kim Severson, Ruth Reichl
2312 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
2,312
1½ hours
or to save this recipe.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Millie Peartree
681 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
681
45 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Church Cake
Lisa Donovan
1911 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,911
1 hour, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Genevieve Ko
4721 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
4,721
1 hour 15 minutes
or to save this recipe.
Peach-Raspberry Ice Cream Cake
Samantha Seneviratne
335 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
335
1 hour, plus 8 hours' chilling
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake
Samantha Seneviratne
468 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
468
2 hours, plus 4 hours' chilling
or to save this recipe.
Lisbon Chocolate Cake
Dorie Greenspan
5132 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
5,132
About 1 hour, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Spumoni Ice Cream Cake
Ali Slagle
879 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
879
50 minutes, plus 6 hours’ freezing
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate Chestnut Cake
David Tanis, Alice Medrich
490 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
490
1 hour
or to save this recipe.
Birthday Baked Alaska
Dorie Greenspan, Zoë François
684 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
684
About 1 hour, plus at least 7 hours’ freezing
or to save this recipe.
Chocolate-Cherry Cake
Eric Kim
576 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
576
1 hour, plus cooling
or to save this recipe.
Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream Cake
Ali Slagle
791 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
791
20 minutes, plus 2 hours’ freezing
or to save this recipe.
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