Talk

I'd do one chocolate and one white so people can choose. A 'traditional' one like the ones I'm describing are easier than using roll out icing IMO.

For 8 inch tins (sandwich tins, preferably not loose bottomed), I'd do 6 oz Stork, 6 oz caster sugar, 6oz SR flour and 3 eggs, and a few drops of vanilla essence. For chocolate it's the same, but 5 oz flour and 1 oz cocoa.

Line the bottom of the tin with greaseproof paper and grease the edges. Cream the stork and sugar, beat in the eggs, vanilla essence and a little flour. Fold in the flour.

Split it between the two tins (weigh so it's even) then bake at 180 for about 20 mins - until it's springy and shrinks slightly away from the sides at the top.

I'd then make buttercream - you can make it in one big batch and split it. Keep one half as it is and add some very strong coffee and drinking chocolate to the other half - mocha is nicer than just chocolate I find, it isn't quite as sweet.

Sandwich the sponges together with jam (I'd use raspberry for the white, and a thin layer of apricot for the chocolate) and the right buttercream.

I tend to coat the sides of mine in buttercream and roll them in toasted nuts or coconut (white) or crushed flake (chocolate). The top would then be coloured icing or chocolate (melt over hot water). I'd then use any left-over buttercream to pipe and hide the join between the top and the sides, and to pipe "Happy Birthday Name" on top.

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They don't look the most exciting I admit, but they'll taste nice and aren't hard to do. They're also quite quick, so if you have a disaster (I'm sure you won't!) you could have another attempt!

If you're confident, you could try feathering the icing on the white cake. Ice it in one colour, pipe circles or lines of another on too and pull a cocktail stick/skewer through them.

Following as I also need to make a 2nd birthday cake

Cream 200g stork with 200g caster sugar
Add 2 eggs
Fold in 200g self raising flour
Add 100ml milk
Fold in 100g self raising flour
Add lots of sprinkles!! I think it looks fab in a child's birthday cake!
Then make the buttercream with unsalted butter and icing sugar (I never know how much butter I use, just go for it until it's quite stiff)
Cover cake with buttercream
Cut out a number 2 with greaseproof paper and place in the middle
Pour sprinkles all over the cake and remove the number 2
That recipe would be enough to make an 8in cake using 2 cake tins/layers

Ooh and jam in the middle!

I made this for my DD when she was three - it went down well with adults too. If you don't have a food processor, just cream the butter and sugar then add the rest of the ingredients. www.nigella.com/recipes/birthday-custard-sponge

I just did a standard Victoria sponge for my baby's first and second birthdays. Easy sponge to make, sandwiched with jam, sieved icing sugar on top to make it look pretty.

thank you panda ! Might steal this for dh 40th

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Can I just warn everyone - do not substitute 'cocoa' with 'drinking chocolate'!! Rookie error as sugar content is through the roof so ended up with big sunken hole in my cake.

I did, however, improvise brilliantly by filling hole with smarties and calling it one of those surprise cakes - choc buttercream and a couple of packets of choc fingers and I managed this!

FusionChefGeoff 😂😂
Cake looks good though!

Google 'naughty chocolate fudge cake'. Appalling name but delicious, easy and fail safe.

Nigella has a buttercream birthday cake in her domestic goddess book, I've made it several times, and it always comes out well. It's a simple method, but tastes amazing. I use large bowl and electric hand mixer, you can cook it in pretty much any pan size, double the quantity if you are trying to create something spectacular!

I praised my SIL for the amazing birthday cake she made for MIL. When BIL heard he said, 'oh she always uses wrights mixes, failsafe!' It was honestly delicious, a madeira cake (well 2) sandwiched together with a layer of strawberry jam and covered in buttercream.

Thnaks for the suggestions! Look very good! just a few questions, and this is where my completely non-domestic Goddess status will shine through: what is a sandwich tin (it's okay to laugh at this question, could also be that I am not a native Englsih speaker that I don't get it, is it just like, a standard baking form?)

what is stork?

Also, is it possible to make the cake the day beforehand, like in the afternoon the day before, and for it still to be nice the next morning?

Sandwich tins are shallow cake tins - you make two cakes and 'sandwich' them together, hence the name. You should have a pair of the tins so you can bake both sponges at once.

Stork is a type of margarine used for baking - it makes very light sponges.

Yes, it will keep - I'd probably bake it one morning and ice and decorate it that afternoon ready for the next day.

Don't forget candles