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Birthday Cake
Recipe video above. With three layers of soft, buttery Vanilla Cake slathered with My Favourite Chocolate Frosting, this is the Birthday Cake I always wished I had as a kid. The kind every “normal” kid seemed to get, and I was quietly jealous of! The frosting is totally dreamy - rich chocolate flavour, way less sweet than buttercream, completely smooth, it tastes like the most delicious chocolate mousse you've ever had. The perfect all-rounder - spread, layer, pipe tall swirls, stays creamy even when refrigerated, rich but not overly so. Finish your cake with a generous shower of sprinkles. Because, birthdays! 🎉
👥 12 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 57 min⏳ Prep: 35 min🔥 Cook: 22 min👤 Nagi📖 recipetineats
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pan
- ●whisk
- ●oven
- ●bowl
- ●stove
- ●microwave
- ●knife
📝 Preparation Steps
1
ABBREVIATED
2
Vanilla cake - Beat eggs and sugar until triple in volume, fold in flour. Whisk hot milk + butter + oil + vanilla, temper with bit of batter, then slowly beat into cake batter. Bake in 3 pans for ⏱️ 23 minutes, cool inverted then frost.
large eggs (50 - 55g / 2 oz each), at room temp (Note 3)4(250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (Note 9))2 cupsmilk (, full fat (Note 5))1 cup
3
My Favourite Chocolate Frosting - Bloom cocoa, mix into melted chocolate. Cream butter, beat in icing sugar, then cream cheese and chocolate mixture. Fridge ⏱️ 2 hours. Whip with cream. Use immediately.
4
FULL RECIPE
5
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) for ⏱️ 20 minutes before starting the batter (Note 11). Place shelf in the middle of the oven.
6
Pans - Grease 3 x 20cm / 8” cake pans with butter, then line with parchment / baking paper. Best to use cake pan without a loose base, if you can, as the batter is quite thin. (Note 12)
7
Dry ingredients - Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
8
Beat eggs until triple - Beat eggs for ⏱️ 30 seconds on speed 6 of a Stand Mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or hand beater. With the beater still going, pour in the sugar over ⏱️ 45 seconds, then beat on speed 8 for ⏱️ 7 minutes until the eggs triple in volume and become white.
large eggs (50 - 55g / 2 oz each), at room temp (Note 3)4(250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (Note 9))2 cups
9
Heat Milk-Butter - While egg is beating, place butter and milk in a heatproof jug and microwave ⏱️ 2 minutes on high until the milk is hot and butter is melted (or use stove). Don't let the milk boil over.
milk (, full fat (Note 5))1 cup(250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (Note 9))2 cups
10
Add flour in 3 batches - When the egg is whipped, add the flour in 3 batches beating for ⏱️ 5 seconds on Speed 1 in between. Once all the flour is in, beat for another ⏱️ 5 - 10 seconds until you can't see any flour, then stop beating straight away.
11
Combine milk, vanilla & oil with batter - Pour hot milk, vanilla and oil into the now empty flour bowl. Add about 1 1/2 cups of cake batter into the hot milk bowl (no need to be 100% accurate with amount). Whisk vigorously using a handheld whisk until smooth and a bit foamy.
milk (, full fat (Note 5))1 cup(250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (Note 9))2 cups
12
Slowly beat in milk - Turn beater back on Speed 1 then pour the Milk mixture into the cake batter over ⏱️ 15 seconds, then turn beater off.
milk (, full fat (Note 5))1 cup(250g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (Note 9))2 cups
13
Scrape and final mix - Scrape down sides and base of bowl. Beat on Speed 1 for ⏱️ 10 seconds - batter should now be smooth and pourable.
14
Bake:
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Divide batter between three pans (370g / 13 oz batter per pan). Bang each cake pan on the counter 3 times to knock out big bubbles (Note 13).
16
Bake ⏱️ 23 minutes or until golden and toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean.
17
Cool & frost:
18
Cool - Remove pans from oven. Cool in cake pans for ⏱️ 15 minutes, then gently turn out onto cooling racks. Cool upside down - slight dome will flatten perfectly. Level cake = neat layers.
19
Refrigerate - Once fully cool on the counter, refrigerate for ⏱️ 30 minutes before frosting (makes it easier to frost as cake is firmer when cold).
20
Frost - Use the cake layers upside for flat surfaces. Spread 1 cup Chocolate Frosting on each layer, then frost the sides and surface generously. Use leftover frosting to pipe decorative swirls on the top.
21
Sprinkle! Decorate with sprinkles as desired. How I decorate the base - place sprinkles around the base, then use a butter knife to scoop them up and press onto the sides. See video for visual demo.
22
Chocolate Frosting:
23
Bloom cocoa – Heat the cream in a heatproof bowl until hot but make sure it doesn't come to a boil. Add cocoa powder and whisk until lump free – it will be like a thin paste. Set aside ⏱️ 5 minutes to bloom (brings out chocolate flavour).
24
Melt chocolate – Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave in bursts until smooth – ⏱️ 30 seconds on high, stir, then ⏱️ 20 second increments.
25
Chocolate paste – Add the cocoa paste into the melted chocolate. Whisk until combined and smooth, it will be like a thin paste. Cool for ⏱️ 15 minutes on the counter – it will thicken. Don't worry if a skin forms on the surface, it will beat out in the next step.
26
Cream cheese whip – In a separate large bowl, beat butter with a handheld mixer until soft and fluffy (about 1 1/⏱️ 2 minutes on high). Add icing sugar and beat until sandy and no large butter lumps remain (~ ⏱️ 30 seconds). Add cream cheese and beat until smooth and creamy (~⏱️ 30 seconds), stopping once no yellow butter bits remain.
27
Beat in chocolate – Add all the chocolate paste and beat until combined. Taste. Yum!
28
Refrigerate – Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for ⏱️ 2 hours until properly fridge-cold (stick the beaters in the bowl). You can leave it in the fridge at this point for days.
29
Fluff frosting – Remove bowl from the fridge. Add the 1/2 cup of cream and salt. Beat on high for 1 1/⏱️ 2 minutes or until you have stiff peaks (ie upright Santa hats, not floppy elf hat). The frosting should be beautifully creamy like buttercream but fluffy like whipped cream. Use immediately (see My Favourite Chocolate Frosting full recipe for notes on keeping, shelf life, etc)
Nutrition Facts
calories
339 kcal
fat Content
13 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
1 g
sugar Content
31 g
sodium Content
97 mg
protein Content
6 g
cholesterol Content
91 mg
carbohydrate Content
51 g
saturated Fat Content
7 g
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