Let’s be honest for a second: anniversaries and birthdays are the perfect excuses to eat plenty of desserts. You might be craving a towering layer cake for a long time, but buying one on a regular Thursday afternoon without something to celebrate might seem out of hand.

Plus, it could set a precedent for your lifestyle, and we all know how that ends, right? That’s why celebrating something is the perfect reason for a big cake. And if you feel like you have enough patience, we have prepared our favorite cake recipes for you to try! And they’re all DELICIOUS!

Perfect Birthday Cake

This Funfetti cake for adults is definitely the birthday cake anyone dreams of. It has three layers of vanilla cakes, that are covered with a not-so-sweet buttercream.

How to:

• Preheat your trusted oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper
• In a big bowl, use the hand mixer to beat together the butter and sugar until it’s all light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, while beating well after every addition. Add in the vanilla and mix until everything is combined well.
• In another big bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Add half of your dry ingredients to the wet ones, beating until everything is combined. Add the milk and mix everything until is fully incorporated. Include the rest of your dry ingredients and stir until they’re all combined. Fold in sprinkles.
• Divide the results evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake until they turn golden on top and use a toothpick to see if it’s cooked. The middle of the toothpick should come out clean, after 30 to 35 minutes. Let it cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the buttercream in a bowl, by using a hand mixer. Beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add some powdered sugar, sour cream, vanilla, heavy cream, and some salt, and beat everything until it turns smooth.
• Assemble the cake, by placing the bottom layer of the cake on your serving platter, and spread with some buttercream. Repeat the exact thing with the second layer of cake. Place the last layer of the cake on top, then frost with what’s left of the buttercream. Garnish with more sprinkles.

German Chocolate Cake

Have you ever heard of the German Chocolate Cake? If not, then I am so glad you’ve arrived here! This sweet chocolate cake is frosted with sticky, tasty coconut, and pecan filling. Even if the name would say otherwise, the recipe isn’t German at all. As you probably guessed already, it’s an American creation.

How to:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment and grease with some cooking spray. In a big bowl, whisk some flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
• In another large bowl, whisk some vegetable oil, sugars, and eggs and whisk until they are fully incorporated, then add some melted chocolate and vanilla. Add some chocolate mixture, buttermilk, and coffee to dry the ingredients and mix until they’re combined.
• Divide the batter evenly between prepped cake pans and bake until a toothpick that you will insert comes clean in the middle. It should last around 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, take care of the filing: Spread the coconut and pecans on 2 separate baking sheets. Toast in a 350-degree oven until the coconut is golden and the pecans are darkened (but not too dark). Coconut will take around 10 to 12 minutes and pecans will require 15 to 18 minutes. Combine everything into a large bowl.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the evaporated milk, egg yolks, sugar, and salt. Whisk until everything thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. The sauce should be able to coat the back of the wooden spoon. Remove it from heat and stir in your butter and vanilla until it’s incorporated. Pour some pecans and coconut and stir to coat. Let it cool completely. The sauce will keep on thickening the more it cools.
• For the ganache: place the chocolate chips into heat-safe bowls. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm some heavy cream until the bubbles appear around the edges. Pour some heavy cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit for 1 minute, then whisk until everything is smooth. Let it cool until the ganache is thick enough to spread it, a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Assemble everything: Place one layer of the cake into a cake stand. Spread 1/3 of the ganache on top, then spread 1/3 of the coconut filling on top. Add the second layer of cake and repeat with what’s left from the ganache, coconut filling, and cake.

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake

This is my all-times-favorite recipe. I personally couldn’t think of anything better than an ice cream cake. What makes things even worse (and by that, I mean better), is that it’s super easy to do it!

How to:

• Line the bottom and side parts of an 8-inch baking pan with some parchment paper.
• Then, in a food processor, blitz 20 golden sandwich cookies and salt to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are the texture of wet sand. Press it into the bottom of the prepared pan and freeze for 15 minutes.
• In a big bowl, mix 4 cups of vanilla ice cream until fully smooth and spread on frozen crust. Freeze for 30 minutes or even more. In the same bowl, mix the strawberry ice cream until it smoothes. Stir in half of a cup of freeze-dried strawberries. Spread a vanilla layer, and freeze for 30 minutes and more.
• Pulse the remaining 10 sandwich cookies and the remaining 1 cup of freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor, until they turn to crumbs.
• In the same bowl, mix the remaining 1 and a half cups of vanilla ice cream until smooth, and spread it on the strawberry layer. Sprinkle the crumbs on top, pressing down to ensure the stick. Freeze for a minimum of 4 hours or until firm, or cover and freeze up for 1 week. Lift the cake out of the pan, and with a sharp knife, cut it into 9 square pieces and serve.

If you enjoyed any of these recipes, we’re waiting for some pictures! We would love to see how our readers made any of these delicious cakes. Also, we also recommend: Matcha Tea: 8 Benefits Backed by Science