My Favourite Birthday Cake

Sometimes when cooking you just want something simple that you know is going to work.  Personally, I love experimenting in the kitchen, but when it comes to serving food to a crowd, tried and true is usually best.  If I really want to try something new, I’ll often test drive it before hand and you know what, sometimes, it’s disgusting.  When my friend was looking for a birthday cake for her daughters birthday (above), I recommended a recipe from Chatelaine.

I think I used it for my sons first birthday cake, (but am not entirely sure!)  Regardless, the cake at my friends fiesta themed first birthday party was a hit, and the next day another friend made it for her daughter’s birthday!

Except she tripled the recipe and stuck it in 9″ pans instead of 6″ pans.  What a monster!

Then it was my turn! We celebrated my mom’s birthday at the lake last week, but her real birthday is TODAY!  I used the original recipe and split it into two 9″ pans.   They were a wee bit thin, but it still worked.  Unfortunately, the cake wasn’t tall enough to be able to really get the ombré effect on the side so instead I created my own little pattern, which kinda worked.  And, as a surprise I coloured the cake blue to celebrate the upcoming birth of my sisters new baby boy.  Her and her husband were right there celebrating with us at the lake in Northern Sask, my sis having flown in from London and her husband from Accra, Ghana where he was on a work assignment!  Ghana to Saskatchewan direct!

As I was mixing the batter I realized blue cake is not… that… appealing… but it was too late so I just ran with it.  The cake was excellent, and it’s now my go-to reliable cake.  I would however invest in three 6″ pans to be able to do the ombré effect on the side right.  And Happy Birthday Mom!!  We had a great time and can’t wait to see you again!

Find the recipe for the cake here on Chatelaine!