Cupcakes and Cashmere

Classic Birthday Cake

January 22nd, 2013

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Over the holidays when I was staying at my parents’ house, my friend and I had plans to spend a day at the spa for her birthday. Unfortunately we had to cancel our appointments since there was such a bad storm that we were terrified to get on the road. We ended up having a long, leisurely day of doing nothing – lounging by the fire, playing board games, and hanging out. And to our delight, my mom surprised her by baking the most epic birthday cake either of us had ever tasted. It’s a classic white cake with buttercream frosting, but with a layer of toasted almonds and raspberry jam that gives it amazing depth. I made one last week – there were no birthdays or anything in particular to celebrate, but it turned out to be just what we needed to make an average day feel special.

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  • http://tfdiaries.com tfdiaries by megan zietz

    mmmm yum! I actually just made a mocha birthday cake this afternoon! Xo Megan, http://www.TfDiaries.com

  • http://stylishlyinlove.blogspot.com Sofia

    This cake looks amazing!

    If you get a sec, check out my latest post… Chic in Valentino.

    XO
    Sofia

    stylishlyinlove.blogspot.com

  • http://www.creativityandchocolate.blogspot.com EVa
  • http://www.fashionistabarista.com Elisa

    THAT LOOKS DELICIOUS!!!!

    Check out how I styled my leopard cape today on Fashionista Barista!
    http://www.fashionistabarista.com/2013/01/a-leopard-cape.html

  • http://mademois-elle.com jamie-lee

    God this is gorgeous! Totally need to get a cake like this for my mum on Friday as it’s her birthday

  • http://lipglossandbows.blogspot.com Mallory

    Yum! That looks delicious! xo- Mallory

  • http://www.hiddenbaby.com Courtney

    Gorgeous cake! I love the rasberries, they add that perfect splash of color.

    http://hiddenbaby.myshopify.com/blogs/baby-blog

  • http://www.lizzieandleigh.com Mollie Elizabeth

    No way. That looks amazing!

    http://www.lizzieandleigh.com

    ♥L&L

  • http://www.pinkpeppercornandpaprika@blogspot.com Pink Peppercorn and Paprika

    almonds and raspberries make for a great combination!

    One of my favorite treats is dark chocolate covered marzipan with a raspberry filling.

  • http://perpetuallycaroline.blogspot.com Caroline L.

    Beautiful cake! I love how something so simple can make a day so extraordinary :)

  • http://www.evokela.com Evoke LA

    Looks so good and you always make everything look so easy!

    xo, Brittan & April
    http://www.evokela.com

  • http://www.goldendivine.blogspot.com/ Ashley

    This looks delicious! Sometimes it’s nice to just stay at home and eat cake with your girlfriends.

    Love how simple this looks too!

    xx
    Ashley
    http://www.goldendivine.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.lamamanheureuse.com La Maman Heureuse

    That cake looks like perfection and so delicious! Seems like the perfect cake for my little one’s birthday!

  • http://www.wolkenstaub.de Romy Wolkenstaub

    OMG this looks so delicious!!! I want it NOW :-)

  • Deborah

    This cake looks so delicious!Beautiful

    FASHION REVIEW
    FASHION REVIEW
    FASHION REVIEW

  • http://cleartheway.wordpress.com Kate

    GORGEOUS cake. The photos make me want to eat it, even though I know it’s not Gluten-Free or Vegan. SO tasty….

  • http://openedpackage.com/ Spreston

    I wish I had a peice right now. It looks yummo!

    http://openedpackage.com/

  • http://www.farmlovecooks.blogspot.com Posie

    Looks lovely, love that you just made an ordinary day extraordinary with cake! Good role model of life attitude there

  • http://friendsarefashion.blogspot.ca/ Friendsarefashion

    Looks yummy for sure!!
    xoxo

  • Jaime

    I really want to know where you got the cake stand! It’s so cute!

  • http://jerrellrenee.com Jerrell // JerrellRenee.com

    That looks amazing! My fiance’s birthday is next month, but I should probably practice making it ahead of time. Just in case :)

  • http://happymedlery.blogspot.com Anna

    This is looking great! Love the cake

    happymedley.blogspot.com

  • http://www.designerdreaming.blogspot.com Rach xo

    cake looks delicious! love the pictures! I am someone who’s always photographing my food. hehe.

    http://designerdreaming.blogspot.com/

  • http://strollingthecityinheels.wordpress.com/ Emma Finlayson

    I may try this for my sons birthday next week!

  • http://prettypreened.blogspot.com Linsey @pretty preened

    i am in if there is raspberry jam involved!! looks simply divine.

  • http://slidingdrawersblog.blogspot.com/ ellen

    Such a beautiful cake! You always inspire me to bake!

    http://slidingdrawersblog.blogspot.com/

  • http://checkout-fashion.blogspot.com/ check out fashion

    looks amazing, love the cake

    visit me at:
    http://checkout-fashion.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.delolovesdesign.com Dee

    So yum!!!! what a nice gesture your mom made for a dear friend. Moms are the BEST!

    http://www.delolovesdesign.com

  • http://www.lelivingandco.blogspot.ca Le living and co.

    How very sweet!! It looks like the cake my mom makes for my birthday every year (with strawberry filling).

  • http://www.losofancy.blogspot.com Laura

    The simplicity of this cake makes it look so delectable!!

  • http://www.hannamarielei.com hanna

    That looks so good! My blog

  • http://www.shoegaloutintheworld.com/ Shoegal Out In The World

    Amazing, yummy birthday cake… I will definitely make it for my next birthday…

    xo, Violeta

    http://www.shoegaloutintheworld.com/

  • Jessica

    How perfect! Today is my birthday!

  • http://alyxtheprincess.blogspot.com Alyx Cohen

    Now, I want cake. Thank you ;)

    http://alyxtheprincess.blogspot.com

  • Justine Marks

    I have to say that you have wonderful pictures and posts…but the thing that irks me the most is what other readers have cited and I wish that you would really take this into consideration because you are basically plagiarizing in a very sneaky way…Please cite your sources without trying to take the credit for yourself by putting the recipe under your blog titles…and then just putting a little link under it, or sometimes no link. You are a writer and I am surprised that you do not follow this more sensitively.

    • Abbey

      agreed!

    • Roberta Whittiker

      Totally disagree with you. The source is cited and nowhere is the claim made that this is her own recipe. This is a recipe that worked well for her and that she is sharing. What is your problem?

      • justine

        U obviously are not very observant. Have u seen her other posts? I have…and she just recently started to put links on and added some to her old posts but still titles them as her own… but just puts a link on some. I stand by my post that as a writer who has written for publications, she is being very sneaky and is only doing it now because many have called her out on it.

  • http://buttercreamstilettos.blogspot.com erin g.

    That sounds and looks like a really delicious cake. Gotta try this when I have time :) Thanks for sharing it!

  • http://www.piesandplots.net Laura Dembowski

    The cake is gorgeous! I would love a slice to celebrate my birthday today :)

  • http://cupcakeobsessions.blogspot.com/ Courtney

    WOW! What a delicious looking cake! YUM!

  • http://winerequired.wordpress.com Mari

    1/22 is my birthday. I was gifted your book and this birthday cake showed up on your site. I think I’m loving that coincidence. This looks amazing!

  • http://www.blog.recreativeworks.com Renee

    Wow this looks and sounds so delish! I love a raspberry and almond combo!

  • http://sassysouthernliving.com/ Lindsey Long

    That looks wonderful, I just love fresh raspberries!

  • sophia

    is the cake made with 12 tsp of butter or 12 tablespoons? 12 tsp seems like a tiny amount for a whole cake!

  • http://www.ellebeautiful.com Elle

    You are so talented! Looks divine!

    xo

  • Cassandra

    From everything you say about your mom, she sounds like an amazing woman. I’d love to see a post about her an how she’s inspired you! I love hearing about classy women from other decades.

  • Alex

    Your photoshop skills are incredible! Maybe you can post a how to video, and include important steps like turning on the computer, and opening the program, just like you usually do in your tutorials. As always thanks for the inspiration Em!

  • http://phantasmagorical-wanderer.tumblr.com/ Anya

    This looks so amazing. Going to make it today :)

  • http://www.TheSkinnyConfidential.com Lauryn

    YUM! Thanks for sharing! I love that you celebrated with birthday cake even though it was no one’s birthday : ).

  • http://www.TheSkinnyConfidential.com Lauryn

    YUM! Thanks for sharing! I love that you celebrated with birthday cake even though it was no one’s birthday : ).

    http://www.TheSkinnyConfidential.com

  • http://www.johnandblakes.blogspot.com Blakely

    That looks unreal!!!

  • Julia M

    glad to see Cooks cited – was just about to ask if you ripped this off from Cooks! this cake has been my family’s go to for any celebration for the last decade +