Recipe courtesy of Danielle Sepsy
Recipe courtesy of Danielle Sepsy
Watch how to make this recipe.
Best Birthday Cake
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- Level: Easy
- Total: 2 hr (includes cooling and thickening time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 10 servings
- Calories
- 1087
- Total Fat
- 57 g
- Saturated Fat
- 31 g
- Carbohydrates
- 138 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 108 g
- Protein
- 10 g
- Cholesterol
- 203 mg
- Sodium
- 413 mg
Every year, I make my own birthday cake. Don’t feel bad for me, I genuinely love it. This way, I know it’s exactly how I want it, and it feels like the sweetest way to start another trip around the sun. For years, I was a devoted double chocolate cake girl, but lately my birthday cake of choice has been a perfectly fluffy, buttery yellow cake with a rich, fudgy chocolate ganache frosting and a generous shower of rainbow sprinkles. It strikes the perfect balance of sweetness and richness, which is probably why I always end up going back for a second slice. This frosting is one of my favorites because it combines the best qualities of a classic ganache with the fluffiness of a buttercream. It starts with melted chocolate and hot cream, then butter and powdered sugar are beaten in to create a frosting that's glossy, silky, and deeply chocolatey. As it sits, it firms up into the perfect fudgy texture for swooshing, swirling, or piping. If you don't feel like fussing with layer cakes, this recipe also bakes beautifully in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Simply halve the frosting recipe (or don't). Is there really such a thing as too much chocolate frosting? You can also bake the batter into cupcakes and pipe the frosting on top for the perfect birthday treat, no matter the occasion.
- Level: Easy
- Total: 2 hr (includes cooling and thickening time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 10 servings
- Calories
- 1087
- Total Fat
- 57 g
- Saturated Fat
- 31 g
- Carbohydrates
- 138 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 108 g
- Protein
- 10 g
- Cholesterol
- 203 mg
- Sodium
- 413 mg
Ingredients
Yellow Cake:
Chocolate Frosting:
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Directions
- For the yellow cake: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using electric hand beaters, beat together the granulated sugar, butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Next, beat in the whole eggs and egg yolks one at a time until combined. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk in 3 installments, just until incorporated.
- Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line them with parchment paper at the bottom, then grease the tops of the paper (you can also use 3 smaller round cake pans but watch the baking time). Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake springs back in the center when you touch it. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully flip the cakes out onto the rack and remove the parchment paper. Let cool completely.
- For the chocolate frosting: Meanwhile, pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Pour it over the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let it stand for 3 to 4 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- With electric hand beaters or with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat in the butter cubes until incorporated. (The butter must be soft and room temperature but not melted. I leave mine out overnight.)
- On low speed, beat in the cocoa, vanilla, and salt until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and blended. It will be too loose at this stage. Allow the ganache to sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring every so often to allow it to cool and thicken up. You want it to be a spreadable texture. (You can also refrigerate it, but you will need to stir it every 7 minutes or so to prevent it from hardening too much. Once a silky, spreadable texture, you’re ready!)
- Once your cakes are cooled and your frosting has thickened, you can ice your cakes. If you’d like, you can trim the domes off the cake layers to help them stack more cleanly, and or even use a cake dowel in the center to help them stay put. Put about a 1/2-inch layer of the frosting in between the two cake layers and then refrigerate about 30 minutes to allow it to set (leave the remaining frosting at room temperature or it will harden too much).
- Once the filling is set you can frost the rest of your cake, decorate with rainbow sprinkles if using, and then serve. I leave mine in a sealed plastic cake holder at room temperature to keep its glossy, smooth finish. If you like a firm ganache you can refrigerate it.
Cook’s Note
If your eggs are not super yellow and you want your cake yellower in color, you can add a couple drops of yellow food coloring. I used 10 ounces of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips and 6 ounces of Ghirardelli bittersweet chips for the chocolate. This cake can be made as a sheet cake in a 9-by-13in baking dish. To make a confetti cake, add 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles to the batter before baking.
