Simple, failsafe birthday cake recipe please!!

[babydriver]

DS is 2 in a few weeks time and I want to make a fairly plain cake which I can just ice and stick a couple of candles into. I had in mind a sort of sponge sandwich with jam in the middle (but no buttercream cos I hate the stuff, which is why shop bought cakes no good - aside from all the colours, marketing, over-sugariness...)

Any ideas welcome! or pointers to books/websites with failsafe recipes. Healthy suggestions welcome.

Want to be certain that it will come out OK as I'm bound to be doing it at the last minute.

well babydriver you could just go for a straight Victorian sandwich, quantities depend on yr tin size but mine are 8-inch pans and I usually:
cream 225g butter and 225g castor sugar (golden for pref) - an electic hand-held beateris good for this
Beat in 4 large eggs
FOLD in with metal spoon 225g Self raising flour.
dollop into tins. Worth lining them first (use greaseproof or fab everlasting lining stuff which you cut up once and use again and again)
30-40 mins gas mark 4. Timing is approx because my oven is very fast and 30 mins is enough.
If you have smaller tins then reduce qualtities by 1 egg and 75g of other ingredients.
Nigella also has a buttermilk birthday cake which is great and takes fondant icing well but I don't have it to hand. Will try to remember to post it later.

What about Marslady's lemon drizzle cake, but with chocolate and orange (idea courtesy of lonelymum!) then turn it into a football pitch (green icing!) or a zoo using matchmakers as the fences and zoo type animals stuck on the top?

From a Delia Smith book, this seems to be fool proof since both I and another non-baking friend have made this with great success. It hasn't failed me yet!

All in one sponge cake
(you can omit the cocoa and add 2-3 drops of vanilla essence for a plain one).

4oz Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4oz soft marg
4oz caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 7 inch cake tins lightly greased & lined with greaseproof paper

Preheat oven to Gas 3/325 F/170 c
Sift flour/baking powder
Add the other ingredients and whisk. I prefer "Bung all ingrediants into food mixer/processor" though and this seems to work fine!
Add some water if the mixture doesn't drop off a spoon easily.

Shove in the oven for 30 minutes (centre shelf). When cooked, leave in the tin for only 30 seconds

oops sorry it was auntymandy that suggested the cake!

I made Nigellas Birthday Custard sponge yesterday for dd2s birthday and it was delicious - the sponge was so easy and amazingly light. It does have a custardy buttercream in the middle but you could dispense with that and just have jam.

Its in her Feast book.

Betty Crocker

Thanks for the suggestions. Will check out Delia as sadly I haven't got that Nigella. But also now quite torn, as I like the idea of building a zoo on a lemon drizzle cake. I'd forgotten about that cake and will dig up my Cranks book which has a recipe in it. Choice will no doubt depend on how last minute I end up being!

Would your DS eat a lemon cake though? You can build a zoo on any cake

mine like it when I use grated chocolate and orange instead!