Do you make your own birthday cake?

16 years ago

I'm going to and my daughter wants to help. In the past my husband has brought home something a little less desirable (one year was stale and the next was frozen solid) and when I complained about it I got something way too expensive for just a family cake - granted it was good but for 8 servings for $40 it better be. This year I said I will make my own and he calls it "weird". If I'm fine with it it's okay, right?

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Comments (27)

gardenguru1950
16 years ago
Are you kidding us??!!

Is it possible that in some families or cultures a birthday cake is supposed to be "bought"? Otherwise, it's considered "wierd"?

Go for it girl. And I'm sure many here will post the BEST birthday cake recipes you'll find.

By the way, who's getting the cake? Child, teen, you, or ???

Joe
User
16 years ago
What a timely question for me to answer, as my birthday is this week.

Since I was in grade school I've loved berry picking and I would head out early in the morning and pick quarts of wild raspberries on an old logging road in the woods near my home. They were just ready to pick in time for my birthday. I would request raspberry dumplings instead of a cake, and my mother would put a candle in one of the dumplings for me to wish on.

She continued the tradition for many years, long after we moved away from where the wild berries grew. Instead we would go picking at a local farm.

When my Mom was no longer able to do it, I began making a berry dessert for myself to have with my birthday meal. Sometimes I did the dumplings, some years a pie. Last year was a blueberry pie, as I happened to be on my mission to perfect a homemade pie crust.

I love to bake, so this never seemed like a chore to me. Instead I got to choose to make something I'd relish having on my BD, and got to share it with my family, too.

My DH's BD is 4 days after mine. We've been married 32 yrs. & I've made him the same cake every year - a Milky Way cake that has several full-size candy bars melted into the batter! It's a cake that I only bake once a year, and only for him.

We don't do big presents for birthdays in our family. Just a special meal and a special homemade "cake."
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gardenguru1950
16 years ago
Hokley smokley amck! That brought a tear to my eye.

A birthday cake SHOULD be SUPER special.

And I think that starts with being homemade and then being EXACTLY what the birthday person wants.

Joe
cookie8
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, growing up I always had a Jeanne's cake (local to Winnipeg) and have since moved away so I was going to make one for myself. So wish us luck as it will be a copycat recipe. I will leave the mess for someone else to clean up though;) I mean, it is my birthday.
gardenguru1950
16 years ago
cookie:

I just read that Jeanne's Bakery in Winnipeg ships to everywhere in Canada.

And it's a good thing you're getting your daugther involved in the making -- you're going to start a tradition.

Joe
Lars
16 years ago
I've been baking my own birthday cake since I was ten years old. My favorite cake to make then was Angel Food, but then I progressed to Chiffon or Sponge cake. I had the most fun decorating it and got very creative with icing colors. These days, however, I tend to make a Chocolate Hazelnut Bavarian Cream Pie instead of a cake.

Lars
lowspark
16 years ago
Heck yeah! Well not cake necessarily, but if I want something special for my birthday, I would not hesitate to make it. Why not??

I've made him the same cake every year - a Milky Way cake that has several full-size candy bars melted into the batter!
amck, You have to know that you cannot post that statement here and not accompany it with the recipe. Give! ;)
dgkritch
16 years ago
Nope. I don't like cake. Would rather have homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, or strawberry rhubarb pie, or ooey, gooey, fudgy brownies.

I don't think it's weird to make your own though! I just would make something other than cake! LOL

We'll definitely be needing that Milky Way Cake recipe though. I might have to make it for someone else!!!

Deanna
annie1992
16 years ago
Heck, yeah! My girls have made my birthday cake with varying degrees of success, LOL, like the year Ashley made a Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix with canned chocolate frosting, ate a piece smack out of the middle and couldn't get the pastry bag to work well so she started "happy birthday" and only got "Ha". (grin)

My secretary always bakes my favorite, lemon bars. I'm not a huge fan of cake, I much prefer fruit based desserts like crisps and cobblers, and if a birthday dessert gets baked here, I usually bake it myself. It's my own treat to myself.

Annie
jojoco
16 years ago
If I don't make my own, I get a crappy P&C variety with an ingredient list full of things I can't pronounce. It is my day, and I can indulge in any way I want.
(my dh still buys the store bought one, I just eat mine instead. He thinks it is a nice thing to do)

Jo
beachlily z9a
16 years ago
Annie, you blueberry crisp has become legendary among my friends! So easy! SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing that recipe.
annie1992
16 years ago
Beachlily, you are so welcome. Actually, it's my Grandma's recipe, so I can't take any credit other than for passing it on, but I love it too. I think Grandma is looking down, just smiling and shaking her head, thinking of her simple recipes that we're discovering all over again.

Oh,and cookie, happy birthday!

Annie
User
16 years ago
lowspark & others who would like my "Milky Way Cake" recipe - I just discovered that I don't have it here at the lake! Yikes! I'm so glad this post prompted me to look for it as I need it for next week.

One day we'll move up here permanently and I'll have all my cookbooks in one place. These days I'm dragging my favorites back & forth between homes.

I will get it and post it by Monday - latest!
althetrainer
16 years ago
Always! Homemade is better than store bought. Not only my cake doesn't have any preservatives but it's also made to my exact likings! Absolutely nothing wrong with making my own birthday cake. Go for it, girl!
rachelellen
16 years ago
** a Milky Way cake that has several full-size candy bars melted into the batter! **

GOOD LORD!! I'll be waiting for that one too!

I used to make cakes for folks when I worked at the restaurant, because there was a whole crew to eat it. Nowadays, it's just my husband and myself (and neither of us really need to be eating cake) so I haven't baked one in ages.

Now I'm wanting to bake a cake. I'll have to have some friends over and make them take the rest of it home!
susytwo
16 years ago
I really dislike store-bought cake, unless it's from a reputable bakery. I'm also kind of picky about cake, in that I don't like frosted cakes, preferring those made with real whipped cream or buttercream instead.

For my own birthday I absolutely make my own cake, if we are expecting company. However neither my son nor my husband like cake (crazy!), so if I made one just for us, I'd be eating the whole thing myself.

I usually treat myself to something from our local German bakery.
claire_de_luna
16 years ago
amck, I want the recipe too! (Susytwo, I only wish I had a German bakery around here.) Cookie8, if my husband didn't bake one for me, I'd definitely bake my own cake. It's always German Chocolate for both of us, but lately I think I could almost switch to Coconut. (Nah, it's tradition.) Although a really decadent thing to do would be to make both! Anyway, he learned how to make it, because he liked it well enough to want to eat it twice in a year's time. (Who am I to complain?) Last year was the first time he ever told me it was kind of fun making it. (He's since learned all my tricks/tips, and only had to ''ask'' me one question. After 28 years.) You know for some people, these things take time. I really think it's perfectly fine to teach your family what your expectations are, even if you have to show them by doing it yourself. There may come a time when they might surprise you by learning something from it.

I probably shouldn't confess this, but Sometimes I made an extra cake around my birthday (any flavor, just not this one), so I don't always have to share MY special cake. I used to have certain neighbors who would anticipate it, then ''drop in'' just to eat it. For several days! (Yes, it is THAT GOOD.) Then it would be gone! Part of it for me, is to make it last as long as I can so I can enjoy it as long as possible. I can only have the smallest piece anyway, so it's really a treat. I think birthdays should last as long as you can drag them out, don't you? I'm so bad. I don't mind sharing, usually!
dgkritch
16 years ago
Alright claire de luna...........

You're gonna have to post that german chocolate cake recipe too. It's one of the few I'll eat! And.............I just happen to have enough coconut pecan frosting in the freezer to frost one........and it needs used up!!!

Deanna
cookie8
Original Author
16 years ago
I don't think we have Milky Way bars here either. I think Mars bars are similar - I would try this one.
Mine turned out super heavy. I did the mixing and then poured them into the pan and realized I forgot the salt and baking powder so I had to pour them back into the bowl and remix. I had set aside two cups of mix which I forgot to include to make chocolate marble cake so the chocolate went in without the two. I always mess up my baking like that.
I am not too fond of my own baking (on the same day) but my husband said it tasted like the Jeanne's cake I was aiming for. I didn't think so.
sheesh
16 years ago
Cookie8, I forget things, too, when I'm baking/cooking, so I always put a little symbol of some sort next to the ingredient when I put the ingredient in the recipe. You should see some of my recipes! I have to use new ink colors and devise new symbols for my most-used recipes, but I'm usually sure I put everything in the recipe this way.

You're being too hard on yourself. I'm sure your cake was delicious. And, yes, I make my own birthday desserts. We put birthday candles in everything around here - whatever the celebrant's favorite is, it gets b'day candles on it that day.

Are you SURE you don't have Milky Way Bars where you live?
claire_de_luna
16 years ago
Cookie8, I almost always end up rewriting recipes, so I can make them in the order I need to. (Starting with preheat the oven to...) The way some recipes are written, reading ahead is necessary, although not always an option. I find it makes the instructions much longer, which makes the recipe look more intimidating. The truth is, if I can follow it easily to the letter, I find my results are more successful. Sometimes, I'll rewrite a recipe several times before it's where I need it to be. You didn't really ask, but I always get out every ingredient, bowl, spatula measuring cup/spoons and mixer that I'm going to need before I even start. I measure it all, and set everything on a tray, so all I have to do is mix everything together. (If a recipe has multiple parts, I set up different trays.) That way, when you read through the recipe, it's all set up and easy to ''check off'' while you're baking. I hope you try again. Determination is a fine quality to possess! I have an easy one bowl chocolate cake recipe, if you need something to go to, that's tasty, easy and worthy of a birthday cake. I usually make it with a Cinnamon Buttercream Icing, and get requests for it often. Just let me know if you'd like the recipe.

Deanna, I always use the recipe on the back of a bar of Bakers Sweet German Chocolate. It's no secret, but rather more time consuming to make as a cake, than anything else. It's our favorite as the buttermilk always makes it so moist, and it's a cake that only gets better with time. We always make it the day before, so the flavors have time to meld. It's also fun to anticipate eating it, when it looks so good sitting under a glass cake cover.
Fori
16 years ago
Sometimes I do. After the spouse's attempt at angelfood I think I will always! (I do make everyone else's cakes because I like an excuse to make one.)
sooz
16 years ago
Oooooh, claire, I'd love to have your recipe for Cinnamon Buttercream Icing! Please post it and share it with all of us! :O)

As for making my own b'day cake, unless Hubs gets a cake from my favorite little local bakery (they also sell cake by the slice--their chocolate mousse cake and their white chocolate/raspberry cake is divine!), I'll make my own if we have company coming over to help with the celebration, or, if it's just us, I may opt for my fave dessert, ice cream!

Smiles,
Sooz
claire_de_luna
16 years ago
Sooz, here you go:

Cinnamon Buttercream
1 cup butter
1 T. vanilla
1 T. ground cinnamon (PenzeyÂs Vietnamese Cinnamon)
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 T. Half and Half or cream

The cinnamon buttercream is a perfect topping to chocolate cake, or cupcakes.
sooz
16 years ago
Girl, you are FAST with a response! ! Thank you so much!!!! Looks easy and delish, and cinnamon is a favorite to use in our home!

Smiles,
Sooz
cooksnsews
16 years ago
I like baking cakes and am the only one in my extended family who can do so without a mix, so I've made a few for my own BDs. This year, I got called in for urgent surgery the day before, so that didn't happen. But urgent surgery ain't what it used to be, and I was up and able to party at my brother's on the appointed day. He and SIL brought in Italian pastries from a quality bakery. Very nice, but nowhere to put the candles!
dgkritch
16 years ago
Thanks Claire! Now I'll have to pick up the chocolate and wait for this darned heat wave to pass. It's supposed to be close to 100 degrees for the next several days.

Ain't NO way I'm baking anything!!

Deanna

Do you make your own birthday cake?

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