Birthday Cake Ideas

It’s less than a week until my birthday (next Wednesday, October 6, if you haven’t heard me babble about it yet), so naturally I’m already wondering what the cake will be like. I’m not planning anything, but I kind of want to make my own birthday cake. I’ve never actually made a layer cake before, but I figure, if I’m gonna mess a birthday cake up, might as well be my own. Plus, I’d like to practice my layer-caking abilities before Thanksgiving and the holiday season.

My inspiration comes from, of course, Deb at smitten kitchen. It’s probably a little embarrassing how often I read her blog, and she is a celebration cake extraordinaire. For convenience, she recommends baking the cake layers in advance and then freezing them tightly wrapped, which makes them a) easier to frost, and b) allows me to bake them ahead of time. I’ve had my eye on her Pink Lady cake for a while (strawberries! pink!), so I think I’ll test it out. I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese frostings, so maybe I’ll swap in the swiss buttercream frosting that she lavishes such praise on.

But I’m not tied down to any one thing yet, so if you’ve got a favorite birthday cake recipe, please send it my way! Also, layer cake-baking tips would be VERY much appreciated!