Birthday Cake + Barb's Kitchen Commentary

In honor of Debbie Whitley's birthday this week, we're bringing back our Chapel cookbook recipe for "birthday cake." Happy birthday, Debbie! (...and all our other springtime babies!)

You'll find all the recipes compiled by our Chapel community in our cookbook, Gather Round Our Table, available to order online here (or we have some copies available at the Chapel).

Barb's Kitchen Commentary

(Originally published October 2023)

•••  Ahhhhhhhh...birthday cake! What fantastic memories those two words conjure up! Birthday cakes come in all shapes and sizes and colors and flavors and layers! I think back on my own birthday and as a child, my birthday cake was whatever my mom was in the mood to make. There was nothing fancy about it unless you consider the Cake Mate Candy Decorations that spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY as fancy. But when I had kids of my own, we had their favorite cake - usually with whatever the popular character of the time was. We had a Bugs Bunny Cake, a Teddy Bear Cake, a Princess Cake, a Hulk Cake - cakes with army men, cakes with cars, cakes with puppies - I even made a Darth Vader cake one year with the cake mold! For my son's 41st birthday, we had a Frankenstein cake! It doesn't matter how old you are - you're always a kid when it comes to your birthday and you deserve whatever kind of cake you want. Me - I want a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I hope all our October [and springtime!] babies get the cake they want this year and may all our wishes come true! ••• 

What's your favorite birthday cake? Did Barb's commentary spark any memories? Drop a comment and let us know!

Can you figure out what flavor this particular "birthday cake" will be??

Did you make it so you could find out? Let us know!

BIRTHDAY CAKE

(but what flavor...?)

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

5 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon juice or lemon zest

2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup milk

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 lb confectioners sugar

Directions

Cake:

Set the oven to 350°. Cream butter, beat in sugar a little at a time. Add flavoring to yolks of eggs. Beat together and add to butter. Beat egg whites until light. Add milk and then add flour and egg whites alternately. Bake for one hour.

Cream Cheese Icing:

Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla. Gradually add sugar and beat well.

​If the mixture is too thick to spread, add a few drops of milk.