Last week my youngest son turned 18. It hit me that he’s a man and about to head out into the world to make his mark. I am so excited for him and looking forward to watching him and his brother become their own men, but it’s a touch bittersweet to watch them take off into the world. This birthday will be marked by several cakes and desserts, as we do around here. For his actual birthday, I was traveling and left him a flan, a long time favorite birthday request. The next day, when I returned from my trip I was met by the latest Bake From Scratch cookbook and immediately flipped to the Birthday Cake chapter. Sometimes we just want the classics, and there is nothing better than a really good white cake with vanilla buttercream. It’s probably the most popular cake combination, for good reason. I am perhaps the last baker on the internet to make a Funfetti Birthday Cake, but this occasion called for a bit of celebratory color!! I simply added sprinkles to the Bake From Scratch White Cake.
In the spirit of my son’s birthday, I have partnered with Brian Hart Hoffman and the excellent folks at Hoffman Publishing to Give Away a Copy of the Bake from Scratch (Vol 3): Artisan Recipes for the Home Baker
People ask me where I find inspiration and the truth is, EVERYWHERE! The decorations for this funfetti birthday cake were inspired by a Netflix special and a place card. I was watching a documentary about the fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, and I told my husband his dresses would make incredible cakes, especially a dress covered in feathers that already looked like a cake. The place cards from my friends at The Punctilious Mr. P’s Place Card Company arrived and they were pictures of gorgeous birds that looked like cake toppers. It wasn’t inspiration as much as fate! The feathers are easy to make with white chocolate, which you can watch me make in my instagram video. Funfetti Birthday Cake recipe and chance to win the book are below!
(place cards and holders by Mr P’s Place Card Company)
Funfetti Birthday Cake with Chocolate Feathers
Funfetti cake:
White Cake recipe from Bake from Scratch (Vol 3), fold in 1/4 cup colored sprinkles just before pouring into prepared pans. I baked the cake in three 6-Inch Cake Pans
Vanilla Buttercream from Bake From Scratch
You can find my crumb coat and cake decorating videos on YouTube (where you will see some vintage Zoë):
White Chocolate Feathers – 6 ounces white chocolate chips
Thank you to Martin and Karen at Mr P’s Place Cards for the beautiful inspiration!
Perfect birthday cake is vanilla with whipped cream frosting and stuffed/topped with a bunch of glazed mangoes, strawberries, and kiwis.
Red velvet cake!
Probably a good old carrot cake (without nuts or raisins) with cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm…
My favorite birthday cake is German Chocolate! I could eat the entire cake. But so many friends and family members request a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. This year my husband asked for a white cake with 7 minute frosting. Total fail! His usual request is angel food which I actually enjoy making!
Oooh, my favorite is a strawberry cake my grandma makes with real strawberries dotted in it with strawberry frosting. It’s always my cake from her.
Inspiration? Right here, Zoe, on your site. You make me want cake at 8:10 in the morning! The most humble of cakes are elevated to special status with a birthday candle in it!
Perfect birthday cake for me would just a simple vanilla cake with a really good whip cream!
My perfect birthday cake would be a super chocolatey, super fudgey cake with lots and lots of sprinkles. But yours is beautiful!
Pineapple cake
I’m in college studying Economics but I love baking and my friends wonder how I bake during school!!! I really think that in the future aside from a job related to my studies I will pursue baking and I know the joy of sharing my food with others will be worth everything. I think my idea birthday cake would be something with a lot of mousse or cream and fresh fruits. I love when a cake isn’t just a cake itself but cream, fruits and other goodies.
Depending on which friends Birthday it is, I make Ginger sponge, Honey and Lemonmyrtle or Lemon and Wattleseed cake with flavoured buttercream filling and naked icing so they aren’t too sweet.
Oh my favorite is my mom’s red velvet cake with cooked frosting!
My dream cake would be a ruby chocolate and matcha terrine probably. The colours would look exquisite together
German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting is my favorite birthday cake.
It looks both beautiful and delicious.
What a beautiful cake! My perfect birthday cake is a light sponge cake with a chocolate mousse & berries. Most importantly, it must be big enough to share with my family & friends!
Zoe! Your work is an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your gifts.
I dream of a German chocolate cake with dark chocolate – does that make it just a chocolate coconut cake?
Lovely this FunFetti cake.
My perfect Birthday cake would be pecan cake with nutella and pecan filling with swiss meringue buttercream
Light, fluffy, and creamy!
I think any birthday cake made with love would be perfect !
But if I must choose … pistachio cake with a white chocolate frosting !
My current favorite birthday cake is a four layer chocolate cake with alternating chocolate malt Swiss buttercream filling and a toasted marshmallow filling, frosted with the chocolate malt Swiss buttercream and decorated with milk and dark chocolate malt balls!
My favorite birthday cake is anything my daughter bakes. For my birthday a couple of weeks ago she made me a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. It was so good!!
My perfect birthday cake will be a cook and I cake with mango
This cake is beautiful! I always learn so much from your Instagram stories.
Thank you!