Q: My favorite childhood birthday cake was the Champagne Cake from a Virginia Bakery in Berkeley, CA. I'm now living in Boise, ID and there are no bakeries that make this cake here. My birthday is coming up and I would like to create this for myself. Can you help find a recipe?

Sent by Kimberly More

Last week my sweet nephew turned one! As any culinary minded aunty would do, I set about to make something celebratory for my favorite little human. What I came up with has no refined sugars and is full of dates and bananas. Even the grown ups enjoyed a slice or two after the baby fest. More

Q: My boyfriend's birthday is coming up, and I want to make it extra special. I asked him what kind of cake he would like, and he said "a moist cake, with strawberry and banana slices in the cream filling." Could you find me a good recipe, but that isn't too complex for a novice like me?

Sent by Feather More

Patriotic Recipe: Mixed Berry Fool

Happy Independence Day from all of us here at The Kitchn. We hope you're enjoying a splendid summer day off (like us!) and cooking up some good food, with good company all around. We'll see you back here Thursday. (And pssst! We're kicking off our annual Small Cool Kitchens contest later this week.) Happy 4th of July! More

There's a story in my family about the first time my mother made my father banana cake. They had been married for a few years, but this was the first time she had whipped out this moist, multi-layered cake. My father took a few bites in silence, then looked up at my mom, wide-eyed. "Have you always known how to make this?" More

After last week's discussion of cooking compromises, we felt honor-bound to share the recipe that makes us choose baking cakes from scratch over using a mix.

This one-bowl recipe can be mixed up in under 10 minutes, and it turns out a reliably light golden cake with a moist crumb. It's solid with flavor and the taste of butter, unlike the over-heightened, additive-ridden cake mix products, which usually taste overwhelmingly of sugar and not much else. More

What do ruffles, asparagus, and hamburgers all have in common? They're all themes around which people have designed birthday cakes. Some fancy, all fun, these cakes go above and beyond the sheet pan with their impressive and imaginative details. More

There's a lot of debate about sugar: is it toxic? Is it just the processed stuff that's harmful? Or is sugar, well, sugar, regardless if it comes from honey, agave, or the classic white granules? Whatever your stance, here are 10 dessert recipes that all get their sweetness from one non-white-sugar source: maple syrup! More

Q: A friend's husband LOVES graham cracker crusts, so for his birthday this year, he has requested a cake made of just graham cracker crust. I was thinking of layers of crust with some thin layers of cheesecake in between, but I'd love some other suggestions.

Sent by Sara More

What's cuter than a full-size layer cake and more festive than a cupcake? A mini layer cake! Jordan from Oh Happy Day has a tutorial for making these adorable cakes, which are baked in repurposed tin cans. More