When you're making your own birthday cake, what do you make? - Page 3

I have a deal with one of my cake friends, I make her cake and she makes mine. As we both know no one in our families will bother . I did a Giant cupcake for her last year and she did a rose swirl cake for me.  

I hate making cake for myself! On my last birthday I asked my best friend to make my cake instead of buying me a gift! It was great! I was very happy! :)

It depends on what I'm doing for my birthday but last year I decided months before my birthday that I wanted a chocolate rum cake that I had made years ago. It is soo tasty and rich but a lot of work so I have only made it a handful of times but I decided I wanted it for me this year:) friends were coming a few days before for the weekend so I made it in time to share with them but made sure there was some left for me to have on my actual birthday! To be honest even if they werent coming I probably would have made it for myself.

This year I did really well on birthday cakes :) we had a family celebration a few weeks before my birthday and my sister made a great cake which is what we had for birthdays for years growing up - sponge cake with butter cream and chocolate pieces filling with butter cream holding marshmallows around the outside.

The friends who came for the weekend also brought me a gingerbread railway (me and one of them work on the railway) they had made which was really thoughtful and sweet of them. I dont normally get cakes made for me so this year was a nice treat!

I just like a simple victoria sponge ;-)

I make a trip to Costco and buy mine.  LOL!

But seriously, my favorite cake is yellow with vanilla icing, so usually I will use my bday as an excuse to try a new recipe.

I rarely make my own birthday cake, but if I did it would be chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Usually my husband just picks one up at the store for me. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl 

For myself: either spice (DH mix, with maple or maple-cinnamon BC) or strawberry marble (white cake mix, with seedless strawberry jam, artificial strawberry extract, and a tiny bit of red food coloring for the contrast batter, with strawberry jam BC), made as a single-layer sheet cake, typically served in-pan. With one or two unfrosted sections, at one or both ends, for my mildly-type-2-diabetic dad.

 

For my mother: chocolate (DH Swiss chocolate mix) with DH canned chocolate frosting, again as a single-layer sheet cake, served in-pan. Again, with the one or two unfrosted sections.

 

For my dad: pound cake, in a Bundt mold, no frosting except for minimal decoration.

 

Candles in traditional flower-shaped candleholders (of which, thankfully, I have a large stock, given that they're almost impossible to find any more. White candles (usually in colored holders) for decades, colored candles (usually in white holders) for single years.

 

i'm curious--are you overseas from america? do you mean duncan hines with the dh's? you can get dh there???

i'd have never thought of a candle arrangement like that--very interesting

and so easy to be shocking and use white candles on the off year ;)

yes those little candle holders are quaint and i never realized they are scarce

but the stuff you can get now!!

multi-colored candles shaped into the words h-a-p-p-y b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y--get outa here!

i mean c'mon!

but i was looking and they still have those hb royal icing letters you can peel off the backing

that's cool old stuff huh!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbquikcomjamesl 

Born in Los Angeles, raised in Orange County, CA, and I've been to all 50 States. I've only been on foreign soil about three times, all three in Canada.

i have peeps in your neck of the woods

interesting! you always seem a bit british or scottish or irish-y to me-- in a good way of course

cool

How is this different than the standard coconut-pecan frosting?

You're not the only person I know who MUCH prefers pie to cake when eating it themselves. I worked with a woman for 15 years who made one of the best carrot cakes most had ever eaten. However, when it came time for her birthday she didn't want to see a cake in the place, she wanted pie. I've often found that however that great cake bakers are also great pie makers too.  I'm a bit funny with my pie and cake however, I prefer my cake warm, especially if it has a normal frosting such as chocolate or cream cheese and my pie cold. I know much of the country has this thing about hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream, it too like that hot and cold contract in foods but when it comes to pie, give it to me cold, firm and well set.  When I have hot apples and a pastry I want apple dumplings with ice cold milk.  I grew up in a family that not long before my birth they ran a dairy and often had extra milk to use.  As a result of this they put milk on EVERYTHING. Surprisingly, even though they also produced and sold ice cream they rarely put ice cream on anything.  Odd, but that's the way it was. But no matter, I'm still a big dairy person no matter what it is, even pie!  Give me an egg custard any day and I'll be happy.

That is SO nice of your husband and family, even if it is for only one day.  Be grateful for him wanting to do this. I know of SO many men, including many husbands, who can barely remember their wives or girlfriends or mother's birthday let alone want to do anything for them. I've never been married and having dated one too many self-serving, narcissistic, overly-large ego men in my life who were completely involved in THEIR lives and want I could do for THEM is probably why I'm so happy you have a considerate man in your life that care about you in this way. My dad has always been very good about remembering my mom (although not with a cake, that was MY job as soon as I could bake) so I guess I expected other men to behave like NORMAL individuals.  I don't think the type they grew when my father was little they make any longer. I think they broke those molds a long time ago and a considerate husband doesn't exist in this world anymore.  If they do I don't kow where they keep them!

For my husband, he loves carrot cake with all the trimmings, I found a very moist recipe on line, had been baking the same carrot cake for him. For me, I love Apple Strudels, hmmmmmpppppp, with freshly made cream, but for my birthday, I insists on Black Forest Gateaux, yummmmmm.

Red velvet, always a red velvet.

Home made Waldorf-Astoria, store bought, or from a box mix, I don't care. As long as it's got that vinegar zing I love it. Though I would much prefer to just be left alone to eat the cake batter than the baked cake, haha.

That said, I usually don't really like cake, I prefer pie or cookies. But it's tradition in my family to make me a red velvet.

Since I'm not married the only way I get a birthday cake is from my mother or if I do it myself. Every so often people are work decide to go through a phase and do birthday cakes but I'm usually the one making for other people. If I bake the cake I want my first choice ALWAYS is the classic German Chocolate cake with coconut-pecan frosting. If I have a second choice then it's an angel food cake. As oddly as it sounds since I bake cakes constantly and LOVE to decorate them I personally can not STAND the traditional sickening sweet decorating frosting.  I have some recipes for some that aren't QUITE as sweet but they aren't my first choice when it comes to doing decorating, especially the more intricate designs.  I know many people in this world absolutely LOVE that awful Wilton sweet frosting but even as a small child I couldn't stand such a thing on a cake. I began scraping the frosting off of cakes very early in life. And then, as Motel sang in "Fiddler on the Roof", MIRACLES of MIRACLES my great-grandmother (yes, my greatgrandmother who was my babysitter) introduced me to the German chocolate cake with the coconut pecan frosting. As I loved any nut and loved coconut we were a match made in heaven. 

I also always loved an angel food cake and while most people in my family like it kept plain, a friend introcued me to a great "frosting" (using that term loosely here) for an angel food cake. Combine a small package of instant chocolate pudding mix, one cup of whole milk, and a regular size container of Cool Whip.  Spread liberaly over the cake and as an option for a party, place ripe juicy whole strawberries around the base of the cake on the cake plate.  Extremely yummy, beautiful presentation, and best of all, as easy as it can be!  Enjoy.

Since I've seen a fair number of cake bakers mention here they also like the German chocolate cake I wondered how many knew this cake is not German as in from the country. It's called a German chocolate cake because the last name of the man who created this recipe was called German. It may have just as easily ended up as the Miller Chocolate cake or the Foust Chocolate cake.....you get the idea. However it happened, I'm just SO glad he did it!