If you follow me, you probably already know that I’m not much of a baker. If given the choice, I’d almost always rather cook than bake. But there’s one occasion that you’ll always find me mixing cake batter: my kids’ birthdays.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making some version of this birthday cake. It’s become one of those family traditions that means more to me with each passing year. It doesn’t have to look bakery-perfect, and it certainly isn’t fancy. What matters is that it’s homemade and made with love.
You may remember that for the first few years after my daughter was born, I did a birthday cake smash shoot with a homemade cake. Those messy little fingers covered in frosting and the huge smiles (plus the gorgeous photos!!) are memories I’ll treasure forever. She’s long outgrown those days, but she’ll always be my baby.
Now that she’s older, making her birthday cake has become less about the photos and more about the tradition. It’s my way of celebrating her and reminding her just how loved she is.
Summer birthdays can be a little tricky. Friends are away at camp or on vacation, school isn’t in session, and celebrations don’t always happen on the actual day. Because of that, I’ve always tried to make birthdays feel extra special at home. Even if the party is small or postponed, a homemade cake says, “Today is your day, and it’s worth celebrating.”
I hope that years from now, my kids won’t remember whether the frosting was perfectly smooth or whether the decorations matched a Pinterest board. I hope they’ll remember that every birthday there was a homemade cake waiting for them, made by a mom who isn’t a professional baker but believed that some traditions are worth keeping.
Easy Strawberry Shortcake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 16oz container whip topping, thawed
1 container strawberries
1 heaping tbsp sugar
1/3 cup strawberry jam
Method:
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder. Whisk the eggs lighty in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture along with the oil, orange juice and vanilla. Stir to combine the batter. Pour into 2 greased 8-9″ round pans. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 50 minutes – 1 hour).
For whip cream, beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form, refrigerate until ready to assemble.
For the strawberries, hull and slice and mix with sugar, set aside to macerate while the cake bakes.
When the cake has cooled, place one of the cakes on the serving plate or cake stand, trim with a bread knife until you have a perfectly flat surface. Spread jam over the cake and top with whipped cream. Top with strawberries. Trim the second cake and spread a layer of jam over it, place it jam-side down over the filling, top with more whipped cream and decorate with strawberries, as desired.
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