Birthday cake is one of those things that you just don’t outgrow — and really, why would you? A slice of decadent, fancy cake is a fun way to celebrate your birthday whether you’re nine or ninety.
And those cakes have been part of Western birthday traditions for quite some time. According to ProFlowers, the first birthday cake dates back to Middle Ages Germany. (That cake probably didn’t have sprinkles or buttercream icing.) Cakes got fancier and sweeter a few centuries later, but were still mostly the domain of the upper classes.
But these days, when you can look up cake tutorials online and get supplies at the grocery store, it’s much easier for lay bakers to make a great cake. That means your dreams of a birthday cake that’s decadent and beautiful can be realized even if you don’t place an order with a bakery.
These 28 cakes are very different but they all have one thing in common: they’re all special enough to be birthday-cake material.
