Best Happy Birthday Cake Recipes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan or three 8- or 9-inch round layer cake pans.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each one. Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Sift together the baking powder, flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk. Blend after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat an additional minute.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a dash of salt until stiff peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it; gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
• Bake in preheated oven until cake springs back when touched lightly with a fingertip and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cake layers may be done baking after 25 minutes; a 9x13-inch cake may take 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

HAPPY LION BIRTHDAY CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Use a little of the butter to grease the sides and bases of two 20cm sandwich tins. Melt the rest of the butter in a small saucepan. Off the heat, add the milk, yogurt and vanilla, followed by the eggs. Beat well with a fork.
• Put the dry ingredients plus ¼ tsp salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine - this aerates and saves sifting. Tip in the wet ingredients and whisk to a smooth, silky batter.
• Don't hang around at this point. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tins and put onto the middle shelf in the oven. Bake for 25 mins or until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins in the tins, then carefully invert the cakes and leave to cool upside down on a cooling rack.
• Make the buttercream. Put the butter into a large bowl and sift the icing sugar on top. Add the vanilla and milk and a pinch of salt then beat for a few mins with electric beaters until creamy, pale and spreadable.
• Place one of the cakes onto the board or plate, and use a dab of buttercream underneath the cake to stop it slipping about. Spread with 1/4 of the buttercream and then all of the jam, if using.
• Sandwich the second cake on top. Set aside 1 tsp buttercream to affix the ears later, then mound the rest on top of the cake. Use a palette knife to paddle it evenly over and down the sides. Set aside.
• For the lion's mane and cheeks, use a little of the colouring paste to colour the sugarpaste yellow or orange, then split the paste in half. Add more colouring paste to one half and knead again to make it a shade darker. Roll two walnut-size balls of the darker paste to make the cheeks. Poke in the spaghetti to make whiskers, then set aside.
• Using a little icing sugar, roll out the rest to about 2 x £1 coin thickness then cut into 12 squares measuring about 4 x 4cm. Re-roll any trimmings. Shape two small blobs into ears.
• Position the squares around the cake, alternating lighter and darker yellow. Let the squares overhang the cake slightly with only the innermost corners meeting. Scatter the chocolate sprinkles into the gaps in-between.
• Unroll a Catherine wheel. Cut two lengths of 20cm. Loop one end of each piece, then position on the cake to make the eyes and sides of the lion's nose. Poke into the buttercream. Add another strip of liquorice down the centre of the nose and a wiggly line to one side to give it some shadowing, if you like.
• Make the bottom of the nose by snipping ever-decreasing lengths of liquorice and poking them into the buttercream.
• Add two more curls for his mouth and two for eyebrows. Position the round cheeks to the sides. Put the middles of the Catherine wheels towards the bottom of the eyes to make pupils.
• Put the cheeks onto the lion's face. Fix the ears on top using a small blob of leftover buttercream. Leave the cake to set for an hour before cutting. If the sponges are used fresh or within a day of baking (wrap well once cooled), the finished cake will keep in a cool place (not the fridge) for 3 days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAKE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Stir cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Coat a glass lightly with flour; flatten each dough ball into a cookie.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are slightly golden at the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• Place ice cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Blend on low speed until uniformly softened, 10 to 15 seconds. Add marshmallows; blend until incorporated.
• Line a rimmed 9x13-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread ice cream on top. Freeze until firm, 5 hours to overnight.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons frosting on the bottom of each cookie. Place 12 cookies frosting side-up on the baking sheet.
• Remove ice cream from the freezer. Cut ice cream into rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place ice cream rounds onto the cookies using a spatula or by pressing them out of the cookie cutter with a spoon. Press another cookie on top, frosting-side down.
• Place baking sheet in the freezer until ice cream cookie sandwiches are firm, 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour sprinkles into a bowl. Roll each ice cream sandwich in sprinkles. Place 1 sandwich into each sandwich bag; fold the edge and crease to seal. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours.
• Peel down bag as you eat, keeping the bag underneath to catch drips.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAKE RECIPE - (4.5/5)

Steps:

• Momofuku Birthday Cake: 1.Put a piec eof parchment or Silpat on the counter. inverst the cake onto it and peel off the parchment or Silpat from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake. These are your top 2 cake layers. The remaining cake "scrap" will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake. Layer 1, the bottom: 1.Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or Silpat. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring. 2.Put the cake scraps in the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer. 3.Dunk a pastry brush in the birthday cake soak and give the layer of cake a good, healthy bath of half of the soak. 4.Use the back of a spoon to spread 1/5 of the frosting in an even layer over the cake. 5.Sprinkle 1/3 of the birthday crumbs evenly over the top of the frosting. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in place. 6.Use the back of a spoon to spread a second 1/5 of the frosting as evenly as possible over the crumbs. Layer 2, the middle: 1.With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5-6 inches tall - high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the frosting, and repeat the process for layer 1 (if 1 of your 2 cake rounds is jankier than the other, use it here in the middle and save the prettier one for the top). Layer 3, the top: 1.Nestle the remaining cake round into the frosting. Cover the top of the cake with the last 1/5 of the frosting. Give it volume and swirls, or do as we do and opt for a perfectly flat top. Garnish the frosting with the remaining birthday crumbs. 2.Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freezer for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. 3.At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring (using a warm butter knife to loosen the cake helps too). Gently peel off the acetate and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days). 4.Slice the cake into wedges and serve. Birthday Cake: 1.Heat the oven to 350F. 2.Combine the butter, shortening, and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of hte bowl once more. 3.On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter and sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. Don't rush the process. You are basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn't want to make room for the liquid. There should be no streaks of fat or liquid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. 4.On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder, salt and the 50 grams of rainbow sprinkles. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 5.Pam spray a quarter sheet pan and line it with parchment, or just line the pan with a Silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 25 grams rainbow sprinkles evenly on top of the batter. 6.Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. THe cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly butter and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn't pass these tests. 7.Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer. The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days. Birthday Cake Soak: 1.Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Birthday Cake Frosting: 1.Combine the butter, shortening, and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 2.With the mixer on its lowest speed, stream in the corn syrup and vanilla. Crank the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is silky smooth and a glossy white. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 3.Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, baking powder, and citric acid and mix on low speed just to incorporate them into the batter. Crank the speed back up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have a brilliant stark white, beautifully smooth frosting. It should look just like it came out of a plastic tub at the grocery store. Use the frosting immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Birthday Cake Crumb: 1.Heat the oven to 300F. 2.Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt and sprinkles in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until well combined. 3.Add the oil and vanilla and paddle again to distribute. The wet ingredients will act as glue to help the dry ingredients form small clusters; continue paddling until that happens. 4.Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly moist to the touch; they will dry and harden as they cool. 5.Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe or scarfing by the handful. Store in an airtight container, the crumbs will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or1 month in the fridge or freezer.