The Best (Buttermilk) Birthday Cake You'll Ever Have

What do you like to eat on your birthday? When we were little, my sister and I always begged for pumpkin pie (of all things) for our January birthday. But as an adult, I see the beauty of a classic cake with tall candles. Well, Nicole from Making It Lovely has agreed to share her recipe for the gooiest, richest buttermilk birthday cake...

The Best Birthday Cake You'll Ever Have
By Nicole of Making It Lovely

I’ve never been a big fan of cake. Cheesecake, yes, but that’s technically a pie. I have two little kids who get very excited about birthday parties, though, and a traditional cake is highly anticipated (preferably something with at least two layers and heaps of frosting, with bonus points awarded for sprinkles on top). So I set about finding the best recipe, and I figured out the secret ingredient to a birthday cake that even I would enjoy: buttermilk. It’s like a simple yellow cake, but much tastier!

Recipe: Buttermilk Birthday Cake

You'll need:
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease two 8" round cake pans, and line them with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Measure out the buttermilk and add the vanilla to it, then set that aside, too.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Next, add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each. Add a little of the flour mixture and combine well, then do the same with a little of the vanilla-buttermilk. Keep alternating as you add more, blending well each time. Pour the finished batter into two cake pans and bake for 30 minutes.

The layers are done when the cake begins to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pans, and let cool completely before frosting. The beauty of this cake is that it takes to any frosting, so choose your favorite!