20 Birthday Cake Recipes That May Just Be Better Than Store-Bought (2024)

Just as your mind thinks you're biting into some plain ole' vanilla cake, BAM, your taste buds meet rich, white chocolate.

Recipe: White Chocolate Birthday Cake

A fluffy, moist banana cake perfectly balanced with a chocolate buttercream frosting, and most importantly topped with sprinkles? Wow, suddenly today is my birthday.

Recipe: Banana Birthday Cake With Chocolate Frosting

Birthdays are meant to be fun, so turn up the fun not just with the festivities, but with the cake color too! Plus, the blue raspberry frosting will add a unique but delicious touch.

Recipe: Tie-Dye Cake With Blue Raspberry Frosting

This is a cake you certainly donut want to miss out on baking.

Recipe: Giant Donut Cake

Believe it or not (you won't believe it when you taste it), but this cake is gluten-, dairy-, egg-, and refined-sugar free!

Recipe: Classic Cashew Vanilla Birthday Cake

Because choosing between cake and cookies would be cruel and unusual punishment on anyone's birthday.

Recipe: Cookies & Cream Birthday Cake

No one will believe you made a cake this pretty by yourself — but you did. Talented cake decorating legend, we HAVE to stan.

Recipe: Confetti Cake With Ombré Frosting

CAKE POPS! CAKE POPS! BUT IN THE SHAPE OF CAKES! We are lucky to be alive at a time like this.

Recipe: Happy Birthday, Cake Pops

Pretty much the ultimate classic birthday cake — confetti cake, vanilla frosting, and covered in sprinkles, but all baked right in the comfort of your own home.

Recipe: Baked Ultimate Birthday Cake aka Very Vanilla Sprinkle Cake

You could spend the entirety of your last paycheck and get this delivered to you, or you could just have fun baking it and cut your costs! Win/win!

Recipe: Momof*cku Birthday Cake

It's like taking a bite out of springtime, even if you're celebrating a winter birthday.

Recipe: Pastel Layer Cake

This candy-coated cake is a dark chocolate mud cake with coffee liquor and filled with boozy raspberry sauce and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. The outside? Pink and blue vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream with dripping rainbow-colored white chocolate ganache. Pretty sure if Willy Wonka was asking you to make him a birthday cake, this is the one he would ask for.

Recipe: Rainbow Lollipop Birthday Cake

You can never go wrong with cheesecake. Ever. Unless they're lactose-intolerant or vegan, of course.

Recipe: Birthday Cheesecake

Six layers of strawberry deliciousness, with the prettiest cake exterior you've ever seen.

Recipe: Strawberry Birthday Cake

Vanilla is delicious. Chocolate is delicious. They deserve to live together in perfect harmony.

Recipe: Better Together Chocolate Vanilla Birthday Cake

Chocolate cake and coconut whip are here to prove that just because a cake doesn't contain gluten or dairy, it doesn't mean it lacks DELICIOUSNESS.

Recipe: Vegan Gluten-Free Birthday Cake

You already know where everyone is going to want you to cut them a slice off of this cake.

Recipe: Chocolate Birthday Cake

Just the cutest cake in the entire world. It's perfect for making for a kiddo's birthday — but let's be real, any adult would get a kick out of this precious cake too.

Recipe: Blue Bear Birthday Cake

Classic yellow cake with a chocolate hazelnut twist? Yes please.

Recipe: Classic Yellow Birthday Cake with Nutella Buttercream Frosting