Birthdays

Because we think you don't always need an occasion to bake one.

Three words: ice cream sandwiches.

Homemade caramel sauce is swirled into every bite.

The classic cake is the perfect combination of tart cherries, light whipped cream, and decadent dark chocolate.

This pretty pink cake is always a hit.

This impressive dessert is surprisingly simple to make (you don't even need a torch!)

It'll only cost you $5!

This will bring back memories of Little Debbie's desserts.

If this doesn’t make for the best birthday cake ever, we're not sure what does.

Don't lump these birthdays in with the holidays!

Consult this list before you start your holiday shopping.

I love this buttery yellow cake with chocolate frosting so much I bake it for my own birthday every year.

We turned to a ninth-generation astrologer to guide us!

Let astrology take all the guesswork out of shopping for a birthday present!

Got a Leo or a Virgo to shop for? Start here.

Let the stars decide what you should buy!

Happy birthday to all those April babies!

Got a loved one who was born in March? Instead of wandering around Target aimlessly (dangerous!) or spending hours on the internet searching for the right gift (impossible!), let the cosmos be your guide. Karen Christino, author of Your Wedding Astrologer: How to Plan the Perfect Wedding Based on Your Zodiac Sign, came to the rescue yet again with some great gift recommendations based on the stars. Here’s what made her list for all those Pisces and Aries out there.

Stumped on what to buy your loved ones with February birthdays? After all, your best friend probably just finished exchanging all of her holiday gifts for things she actually wants. What else could she need this time of year? We turned to astrologer Karen Christino, author of Your Wedding Astrologer: How to Plan the Perfect Wedding Based on Your Zodiac Sign, and asked her to bring her cosmic wisdom to the table and provide some spot-on sign recommendations for Aquarius and Pisces.

Capricorns are super Type A. And Aquarius folks tend to march to the beat of their own drums. So it’s a challenge to find something that January babies will like and/or feel is cool and unique enough. That’s where this guide comes in. Get ready for the top 10 gifts to buy the Capricorns and Aquarians in your life, as advised by the stars. And because we know you’re reading too, Cap and Aquarius, feel free to share this link with anyone who might be stumped on what to get you.

As I was gearing up to make one of Pioneer Woman’s most popular dessert recipes, the first thing I noticed wasn’t the shockingly high cake-to-icing ratio or just how massive this cake is (it serves 24!) — it was that she had titled it “The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.” See that extra period? That’s some serious punctuation to emphasize its deliciousness.

Have you ever described a close friend or family member as “really tough to buy for?” Well, here is the story of the time that I fit that bill (which paid off in the form of the best birthday gift ever: Italian pickled vegetables). Allow me to explain. I grew up in an Italian family in New Jersey, which means that in the duration of my time on this earth, I’ve eaten more sodium-laden, cured, marinated, and pickled things than any human probably ever should.

Pinterest is full of aspirational kids’ parties with themes like rainbows and Mickey Mouse, and those are darling. But to my mind, nothing is quite as cool or charming as a child’s birthday party with an utterly off-the-wall theme that the kid obviously came up with on their own. I will never forget the kid whose birthday party theme was a local personal-injury lawyer. One boy even had a Geico Insurance-themed 4th birthday party.

Last week I saw Victoria Beckham cut into a big watermelon with a candle on it and eat it like a birthday cake, and I’ve had an intense craving for cake ever since. I’m not talking about any sophisticated flourless chocolate cakes or elegant salted caramel tarts, either. I’m dreaming about a proper birthday cake right out of a 7-year-old’s party, with white frosting and loads of sprinkles for the ultimate nostalgia factor.

Victoria Beckham can always get people talking. Try as we might, we will never know what “really wanna zig-a-zig-ah” means, and this week she celebrated turning 44 by posting a photo of her birthday cake to Instagram, prompting the entire world to say, “Wait, that’s not a cake!” Posh Spice’s “cake” is certainly pretty, but it is definitely not a cake.

My favorite kind of sugar cookies are the ones that bake up tall and pillowy, with that dense, gooey, and almost slightly under-baked center. This recipe channels everything there is to love about those cookies, and brings them to you in the form of a bar cookie. Top it with a thick swipe of lightly scented strawberry frosting and a shower of colorful sprinkles, and you’ve got a sweet Valentine’s Day treat to feed the classroom, your coworkers, or your book club buddies.

Beautiful cakes can make you stop everything you’re doing just to catch a long stare. They can warrant applause at birthdays and make just about any celebration even more special. We baked a whole lot of pretty cakes this year, fit for all of life’s festive moments. Here are 10 favorites. While the fresh flowers that top this cake surely make it beautiful, it’s the buttercream that’s enhanced with tangy Greek yogurt that will have you coming back for a second slice.

With all the regulations surrounding what’s allowed in school classrooms these days, it can be hard to think up ways to celebrate your child’s weekday birthday. At many schools, treats — like cupcakes and ice cream — have been banned due to allergies and a number of other reasons. Without food as a celebratory go-to, parents are left trying to figure out how to make their child feel special within the constraints of the classroom.

I’ll never forget the day in second grade when my mom showed up with two giant sheet pans of homemade cinnamon rolls. It was my birthday, and this was her surprise to me — a special treat to share with the whole class. I was genuinely surprised. And also a smidge disappointed that she hadn’t shown up with trays of store-bought cupcakes sporting thick swirls of frosting and plastic toppers that said, “YOU’RE RAD!

Celebrating kid birthdays is a pure joy because kids have very few expectations. Once I asked my daughter what she wanted for her birthday party and she said, “balloons, cake, and my friends” — how simple is that? When your kiddo’s birthday falls on a school day, though, celebrating them on the actual day can get tricky.

This might be the smartest way to make a rainbow cake, ever.

Learn to turn fresh strawberries into decorative roses with just a paring knife.

It’s hard to beat a traditional birthday cake. Unless it’s an ice cream cake. Or really anything with ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt — especially when you’re celebrating a birthday in the summer. If someone you love happens to be turning another year older in the next couple of months, consider making them one of these cool treats.

This is definitely the sweetest way to celebrate.

Learn how to actually put the ice cream attachment on your KitchenAid mixer to use with this helpful tutorial.

Be prepared to fall hard for this cake. If not for its soft-pink hues, then for the moist, tender crumb lightly spiked with Champagne and wells of strawberry syrup. Or maybe it will be the rosé buttercream that really does it for you. What I’m trying to say is that this cake is the whole package — a dessert primed for celebration and yet surprising easy to pull together.

There is no dessert more special than a birthday cake.

Fancy enough for celebration; easy enough for a weeknight.

My family loves ice cream cake, so when dreaming up ways to use our one-bowl vanilla cake, an ice cream dream cake was a must. This one combines soft vanilla cake with tart raspberry sorbet and is topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. This ice cream cake is the perfect end to a backyard barbecue or a spring or summer brunch. This cake requires just one of the two cake layers that a our one-bowl vanilla cake bakes up.

Funfetti is fun, but you know what is even more fun? One-bowl confetti cupcakes, one of the many recipes that show off the versatility of our one-bowl vanilla cake recipe. Need a quick cupcake for your school bake sale or a cute dessert to take to book club? These funfetti cupcakes fit the bill and don’t require any special ingredients, skills, or cleanup. Funfetti recipes are ubiquitous on the web these days, but it was first introduced as a cake mix craze in the 1980s from Pillsbury.

Look, I have zero restraint when it comes to chocolate and peanut butter and showed none in creating this over-the-top chocolate peanut butter icebox cake. Not even trying to humble-brag here — this is the best chocolate peanut butter no-bake dessert that ever existed. Built on the back of the classic buckeye candy, this icebox cake is a decadent Reese’s-lover’s dream.

There’s more to throwing a surprise party than hiding behind a couch and throwing confetti at someone. (Although, those are fun aspects of it!) Not to freak you out or anything, but if you’re the one throwing the bash, the birthday girl’s happiness rests entirely in your hands. It’s a lot a pressure, we know! Don’t panic just yet. There are just three small things you need to do in order to throw the best surprise party ever.

Almond-lovers, this playful marzipan cake is for you. It’s made with almond flour and marzipan — a rich, sweetened paste of ground almonds — leaving you with a dense, moist cake steeped with the flavor of this nut. The cake is wrapped in a coating of buttercream frosting and decorated with colored marzipan cut-outs you can create and shape yourself.

So you wanna throw a surprise party? You’re a good friend! You’ll be an even better friend if you ask yourself these key questions before you get in over your head. While you obviously have the best intentions in mind, not everyone loves a surprise. An introvert, for example, might need time to mentally prepare for a big social setting, and throwing her into one — with zero warning — might be more stressful than enjoyable.

Your friends are not nearly as sneaky as they think they are. If you know what to look for, there are plenty of telltale signs that they’re throwing you a surprise party. Here are some obvious giveaways. P.S.: Happy birthday! You’re used to having total access to your boyfriend’s cell phone, but all of a sudden, he’s being cagey about it. He’s texting people more than normal and you’re pretty sure you saw him looking at bunting banners online.

Keeping a surprise party an actual surprise is no easy task. But with some clever planning, it can be done. Here’s how. Even if you’re roommates, it’s going to be hard to plan a surprise, literally, right under her nose. Instead, consider throwing the bash at a nearby friend’s house, a bar, or a restaurant. If, all of a sudden, you’re trying to take your friend to a neighborhood that you guys never go to, she might start catching on to you.

If you can dream it, then you can do it.

This vanilla stunner only requires one bowl for mixing and one pan for making, making it extra easy.

Is there any more perfect party food than pizza? Completely customizable, perfectly portionable, and, well, just about irresistible, it can feed everyone from toddlers to octogenarians with ease. And the fact that this magical treat doesn’t need to be made by you and can arrive at your house without you having to do much more than press a button is, like we said, perfect. The only question when it comes to pizza — besides “Can I have it now?

When my husband and I added to our family, we had no idea how much we’d lean on friends, families, and even coworkers during the first year. We wanted to include as many folks as possible when we celebrated our second-born’s first birthday, but we also had a budget and tight schedule to work around — and that’s how a Monster Pizza Party became the theme for one of the most fun and successful kids’ parties we’ve celebrated to date.

The party problem: You’re throwing a pizza party birthday party and you want to make an extra-special dessert. But even a from-scratch cake doesn’t seem special enough — after all, you’re feeling a little guilty that you didn’t really cook for the party. The party trick: Make a giant sugar cookie cake that surprisingly looks like a pizza. You thought this sweet treat was a pizza, didn’t you? Don’t feel too bad: Everyone always falls for this trick!

The key to not stressing out about a birthday party is simple: Just serve pizza. There are so many reasons you should serve pizza at your next party — and basically no reasons not to. Yes, we realize it’s risky to make a blanket statement like this. But there are so many different options, there’s surely something for everyone — adults and children alike.

For my daughter’s first birthday party a few years ago, I went all out and made an entire multi-dish lunch and cake from scratch. It was super stressful and just not necessary. For her next two parties, I decided we would just get pizzas delivered and I would focus my attention on the cake instead, which was much more manageable and fun.

Maybe we’ve been watching too many red-carpet specials (to be fair, it is awards show season), but we can’t get enough sparkly, shiny gold stuff. Gold salad servers? Sure! A gold crock to hold those salad servers? Duh! Gold lettuce? Why isn’t there gold lettuce? Gold is always fun — and it’s especially fun for birthday festivities. You could show a little restraint with a touch of gold here and touch of gold there. Or you could add all the gold.

We love a theme party here at Kitchn and this weekend offers an excuse to throw a super-fancy one: the Oscars! If you also happen to know someone celebrating a birthday this week, consider throwing one party that does double duty. Here are eight ways to turn an awards party into a birthday party — without making the guest of honor feel like a B-list add-on. If the birthday girl has zero interest in awards shows, this will not be a good idea and you should stop reading now.

My mom was the Queen of Birthday Parties. I’m not sure it was ever her intention to secure that title but, as an innately creative and exceptionally loving person, her natural inclination is to honor each of life’s occasions with the flair and fanfare it deserves — sometimes even more than it deserves.

It’s awards season! While Hollywood stars are thinking about getting ready for the Oscars, the A-listers in your life could be preparing to celebrate a February birthday. Whether or not your party is pegged to the Academy Awards (or even this month!), there are a few things you should keep in mind when it comes to throwing an award-worthy soirée. Variety is the spice of life and a party too.

Planning a first birthday party is so fun — you get to pick cute decorations and make cake or cupcakes for a baby to smash in fits of delight! I often get asked what time of day is best for hosting birthday parties, as I’ve tried everything from morning to late evening parties for my two children, and I’ve come to a slightly surprising conclusion that works well for both babies turning 1 and most kids under 8 too.

Baking cakes for birthdays and celebrations is one of my most favorite pastimes. Geeky, I know, but the ritual of baking and decorating a cake fills me with joy, and I love lighting up the faces of the people I love with a humble, handmade cake. But, as I’ve got a busy work and family life, there are occasions when I do not have to time bake a cake — even from a boxed mix.

Freshly baked cake coated with thick buttercream frosting is the dessert that comes to mind when most of us think about birthdays. It’s far from the only party-worthy dessert, though. When baking isn’t in the cards, these are the sweet treats that will make your celebration special. Despite having a winter birthday, this has always been my cake of choice. Ice cream cake is a crowd-pleaser no matter what time of year it’s served.