Classic Birthday Cake Recipe (2024)

Made this a few days ago—my first pandemic cake. I cut recipe in half and used two 8 inch cake pans. Beautiful and delicious. The cake and frosting are very tender which means the chocolate frosting while “chocolaty” does not overpower the almost-delicate-cake. Follow recipe exactly and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best and easiest “yellow cake with chocolate frosting” recipes ever. P.S. If you do cut recipe in half, baking time in the two 8 inch cake pans is 25 minutes.

This makes a really big, spectacular cake. I made it for a staff gathering, and it was devoured within minutes. Next time I might double the frosting because I'm a glutton.

I wanted to make this in three 6-inch pans instead of 9-inch, so I cut the recipe by 1/3 and it came out perfectly! Here are the measurements for others looking to do the same. For family birthdays, I’ve found a 6-inch three layer cake to be the perfect amount of cake.150 g butter311 g flour1.5 scant t baking powder1 t salt1 t baking soda1 c buttermilk119 mL vegetable oil1.5 scant t vanilla266 g sugar73 g brown sugar3 eggs2 yolks

I added a lot more confectioner's sugar to the frosting than the recipe. I made it a bit sweeter and allowed for better whipping (a lot of the comments seemed to say the frosting was too bitter and heavy). 185 grams is very little for buttercream.. I probably added nearly double. Also, be careful adding warm chocolate to buttercream. If it separates, some time in the fridge and then beating the bejeezus out of it works to save it.

LINE THE PANS! I was surprised that the recipe didn't call for a circle of parchment or wax paper, but went against my better judgment and just used a generous coating of non-stick spray. Three beautiful cake layers stuck to the bottom of the pans. There is not enough crumb coat in the world to sort out this mess. What a disappointment.

This made a HUGE and really delicious cake for my Grandmother's 80th birthday. The buttermilk and sour cream in the cake batter and frosting, respectively, added a sophisticated tang which elevated the cake for adult enjoyment. My whole family loved it! I did not have the trouble that some other reviewers did with dryness or texture - the cake was beautifully moist and almost jiggly. I imagine those issues are due to overbaking or overmixing.

Bittersweet chocolate was not great w this. Loved the salt in the icing but would use semi sweet next time. Recipe should also say the middle of your cakes will still be wet after 40 minutes. They finish cooking out of the oven.

Love this recipe so much. I have made this many times for birthday celebrations: it’s dramatic, delicious, simple. I initially tried it with cake flour based on the note in her cookbook, but the middle of the cakes sank—these are big cakes and I think the cake flour is too light to support their bulk. All-purpose flour is the way to go, in my experience. What makes the cake is the frosting which is decadent but light, chocolatey enough and not saccharine, gritty, or greasy—my usual gripe.

This was fantastic! Best birthday cake ever. I used cake flour, which made for a really delicate crumb. Highly recommended. I made a classic buttercream frosting since we're not huge sour cream fans. Make this!

This was my first time making cake from scratch. I had access to a stand-mixer, which was a lifesaver. I followed the directions exactly as stated. The cake came out very well! The cake itself is lovely. Initially, I didn't think the frosting was for me. I could taste a little too much tang. However, I liked that it wasn't too sweet. A day later, the frosting was perfection––the flavors mellowed out. I would highly recommend making this the night before serving!

If you’re looking for a tangy, not too sweet cake this might be what you’re looking for. But if you’re looking for a light/airy/moist cake with a creamy or sweet frosting this isn’t it. I made it for a birthday party and everyone enjoyed it, but I feel like if I’m going to make a cake that doesn’t come from a box I want it to be perfect. This felt a touch dense/stodgy (similar to a pound cake) and the frosting with the sour cream was not quite right to me. Was beautiful tho.

As a less experienced baker, I wish the first step of this recipe (and many others) would be “take the butter out of the refrigerator two hours in advance to get it to room temperature”. This gets me every time.

Lesson learned: that chocolate sour cream mixture needs to be cool before it goes into the creamed sugar or it will melt all the butter! I did this and had to let the soup cool completely, then re-beat with some extra confectioners sugar to firm it up. Yeah yeah the recipe says “don’t let the chocolate get hot” but it really wasn’t clear why they was so important to me! Also, my cake turned out terrible. Texture of polenta cake. Nor sure where I went awry.

Was not moist, cook for less time and add more moist ingredients

Hi there! For a buttermilk substitute I’d recommend 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar and enough milk to fill up to 1 cup. Sour cream in the buttercream would probably work with creme frâiche, mascarpone, or Greek yogurt!

I made this sour cream buttercream frosting, slathered on and sandwiched between layers of Claire Saffitz' sponge cake recipe along with Sam Sifton's modified strawberry compote (no bananas and rum instead of bourbon) for my 39th birthday cake. All of these are in the NYT Cooking treasure trove. Oh, what a joy of a frankencake to eat. It's a childlike wonder on the outside and adult and sophisticated on the inside. Love.

This was fantastic -- cake was light, moist, and flavorful, and the icing was delightfully balanced. Because this was for a child, I substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips for bittersweet and added about 1/2 cup more confectioner's sugar in the icing. Followed the instructions carefully, and it turned out wonderfully. I've tried many different birthday cake recipes over the years, and this is my new go-to.

Cake was perfect. Frosting was too intense. I’d probably mix up bittersweet with either milk or normal dark next time to make it more delicious.

Used AP flour and turned out perfectly fluffy. Highly recommend using springform pans for the cake, but needed to use an extra 5-10 min for the pan & layer size I had!

Yum! I'm surprised by the mixed reviews. This was the most involved cake I've made before, but everything worked as it should. I followed Shelley's measurements to cut by 1/3 and made 2 9-inch layers instead of 3. That's still a LOT of cake! Cake was moist. Used semi-sweet chips and the icing was to die for - light and not too sweet (and I usually am sensitive to overly sweet desserts). Only thing is most of what I tasted was the icing... not the cake part. Good thing the icing's delicious!

One question though - the comment says both the cake and the frosting can be made ahead. Some guidance on that would be appreciated - how far ahead, and what to do with it while you wait? Can/must everything be refrigerated? Can anything be frozen? I made my cake ahead and let it sit on the counter for a day and a half, but I was scared to try with the frosting lest it get too stiff sitting in the fridge, or go bad sitting on the counter with the cream cheese...

Should the finished cake be stored in the fridge or on the counter?

Too sweet for me. Made the cake, not the frosting. Cake is moist, with a soft crumb and medium-light texture. But if there's a next time, will cut 100g of granulated sugar and maybe sub 75g almond flour for AP flour to retain moisture. I was disappointed I used 8 eggs for a cake I don't really like the flavour of.

Made this for a 4 yr olds birthday party so made some tweaks: cut sugar in half (plenty sweet still) and subbed half ww flour. Super tender and moist. I made two of these cakes - one used a cream cheese frosting (needed a white frosting) and the other was adapted GF and dairy free with this chocolate frosting. I thought it still came out very good as GF and dairy free, a bit drier; husband however felt that there was something “off”. This makes a lot of batter - I made a tall six layer cake.

I never comment on recipes but this was a fabulous cake!!

Delicious cake. Used King Arthur Unbleached all-purpose flour and it came out light and fluffy. It was a big hit with the family. I made it a double layer instead of triple and made cupcakes with the rest.

Made for my girlfriends birthday. She loved it. Used olive oil instead of vegetable, tasted great and cake was nice and moist even next day. Frosting recipe makes a ton of frosting and I ended up using slightly less then double the amount of powdered sugar and maybe only 75% of the chocolate. Ended up with a good balance of sweetness, not cloying at all.

The notes regarding frosting??? The version of the recipe I see and just made 5/6/23 has no frosting, just a suggestion about serving with whipped cream, fruit or ice cream???

Really loved this cake. It was very easy to whip up. I halved the recipe and made it as a sheet cake for easier serving at a party. I was skeptical about the sour cream in the frosting but…it was the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had. Really silky. I used semisweet chips because I had them on hand and decreased the sugar. Perfect.

Use deep pans because the batter will rise. If you're greasing the pans instead of using baking paper, be generous with the butter.Buy an oven thermometer if you have an old oven.