Where to find the best birthday cakes
When it comes to birthday cakes, the options are seemingly endless. You could opt for a good old nostalgic Colin the Caterpillar or a homemade Victoria sponge but that might not cut it for a bigger, fancier celebration, or perhaps you want to up the ante but don't have the time or skill to make a cake. That's where our list of the best cakes to order comes in, taking the work off your hands and delivering a showstopper.
We have a lot of cake recipes to choose from here at House & Garden, so if you do want to try your hand at baking, these are the ones to start with. Firstly, our simple vanilla cake recipe is the perfect base for any cake. It comes out perfectly every time and is easy enough for even the most amateur baker to master. Use the recipe to make as many tiers as you like and then set to work with the buttercream and your best decorating skills. If you fancy something a little different and with a hit of umami flavour, Sybil Kapoor's miso caramel cake is a showstopper. Red velvet cake is a classic and our recipe is in fact for a red wine velvet cake, which ups the ante somewhat. For a summer birthday, there are few cakes so seasonal as a strawberry and elderflower cake with lemon icing – it is in fact an interpretation of the strawberry galette Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume served at the coronation, so you can guarantee it's fit for anyone's birthday.








