BIRTHDAY CAKES FROM SCRATCH RECIPES

Steps:

• Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°. Using your fingertips, grease bottom and sides of a 9" round cake pan with vegetable oil. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper, smoothing to eliminate air bubbles. (It may sound fancy, but making a parchment circle is easy! Place pan on a piece of parchment, trace circumference with a pencil, then cut it out.)
• Whisk 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 1¼ cups granulated sugar, 1¾ tsp. baking powder, ¼ tsp. baking soda, and 1¼ tsp. kosher salt in a large bowl. Sift ½ cup cocoa powder into bowl, then whisk to combine. (You can stop here and package these dry ingredients in an airtight container to create a sort of DIY cake mix if you want!)
• Whisk 2 large eggs, ¾ cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract in a medium bowl until well combined and creamy, about 30 seconds. Using a spatula, mix egg mixture into dry ingredients until fully incorporated. It will be thick and pasty, that’s okay!
• Warm 1 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to just a bare simmer—make sure it doesn’t come to a boil. Whisk warmed milk into batter until lump-free and just combined; do not overmix.
• Immediately transfer batter to prepared pan. Tap pan a few times on work surface to encourage some of the bubbles to escape.
• Bake cake, turning pan halfway through, until a cake tester (or toothpick!) inserted into the center of cake comes out clean, 40–50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Fill a medium pot with 1" water and bring to a bare simmer over medium heat. Combine 4 oz. chocolate chips and ½ cup heavy cream in a heatproof medium bowl, place over saucepan, and reduce heat to low (make sure bottom of bowl is not touching water). Stir occasionally with a spatula until chocolate is melted and mixture is homogeneous and thick. Chill ganache until cool to the touch, about 25 minutes (you can mix with a spatula to encourage cooling). Alternately, mix chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 10-second bursts until melted.
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk 4 oz. (room temperature!) cream cheese, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and remaining ¾ tsp. vanilla extract and ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a large bowl until very smooth and no lumps remain. Beat in cooled chocolate ganache on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until frosting just holds its peak and is well combined and a little thicker, about 1 minute. You don’t want to overbeat because the frosting can become too stiff.
• Run a butter knife around edges of pan. Invert cooled cake onto a plate and peel off parchment. Invert again onto a platter.
• Top cake with frosting, spreading evenly across the surface. Make some decorative swooshes with a spoon, if desired. Slice and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour three 8x2 inch round cake pans. Place a piece of parchment in the bottom of each pan.
• Put the first 5 ingredients into the bowl of your mixer. Mix on low speed for at least 30 seconds to combine.
• Add the softened butter (cut into pieces) mix on low speed just until it looks like coarse sand. The dry ingredients will be moistened/coated by the butter and will stick to together if you press some between two fingers. Don't over-mix or it will turn into a large dough-like ball.
• Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing until blended. 
• Add the vanilla to the 1 cup buttermilk. With the mixer on lowest speed gradually pour into the mixer. Increase the speed to #2 or # 3 (on a KitchenAid mixer). Mix for 2 minutes. Batter will be fluffy and smooth. If you are using a hand mixer rather than a stand mixer, you will need to mix a bit longer.
•    Divide batter evenly between your three prepared (8 inch) pans.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and turn out of pans. 
• Add butter and mix on low to medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and blend into the butter. Add powdered sugar, salt, and cocoa powder.
• Add most of the milk. Begin mixing at low speed so you won't have a cloud of powdered sugar in your kitchen.
• Continue to mix adding remaining milk as needed. It may take 5 to 6 minutes to reach the smoothness and consistency you like. It will take longer if using a hand mixer. As you mix the frosting will become very smooth. You can add additional milk (1 Tablespoon at a time) if the frosting is too thick or additional powdered sugar if too soft.