Only a homemade birthday cake will do

Hi there! I wanted to share my latest baking adventure with you. My mother in law turned 90 this past week, and I volunteered to make the cakes. It took me all day to bake 2 cakes and make 2 kinds of frosting. It was a long day...but it was fun! I'm a baker at heart, so what can I say? For this first cake, I used this recipe for "Classic Vanilla Butter Birthday Cake" from Sweetapolita and it turned out great!  I decided to go with a flags/bunting type of decoration for her main cake. I think buntings are just so adorable on cakes, and I've been wanting to make one. My mother in law got a kick out of the flags as well, and was excited to put them on display in her China closet where she keeps such memorabilia. I made my bunting with scrapbook paper, bakery twine and a dowel rod.

And.......onto the chocolate cake! Once again, I used a recipe from Sweetapolita. For the cake part, I used this recipe called "Chocolate Celebration Cake". For the frosting, I used this recipe: Nutella Cloud Frosting. I loved the flavor and texture of this cake...so dense and such a deep chocolate flavor. The key ingredients are dark cocoa powder, dark chocolate and strong coffee! So delicious!!

I've baked many birthday cakes in my time....for my kids, my hubby, my parents, my co-workers, friends, extended family. It is my personal belief that everyone deserves a homemade birthday cake for their birthday!

Do you enjoy baking birthday cakes for your family and friends?