Making a birthday cake for a grown up. Anyone have a fabulous recipe to suggest? Or any ideas about decorating it?

[allhailtheaubergine]

It's such a long time since I last baked a cake that didn't have to be either pink or "tokkit" or cater for allergies.

Now I get to make an awesome proper grown up birthday cake. What shall I make?!

As for icing - I've done a bit of icing and I have all the kit. Can't do fondant, only piped icing. Any lovely, simple designs you like?

3 layers always looks impressive, and the hummingbird bakery carrot cake and hummingbird cake and both very good, and iced with a cream cheese icing which you could pipe on top. Would look fab, are easy, and most importantly, they taste amazing! Have made them for lots of birthdays etc, and they always dissapeaer

I made this recently ( in fact have made it a few times ). The flavour is amazing, very grown up and I glitzed it up a bit by toasting some fresh coconut and dipping it in sugar syrup and adding it to the topping as well as candied lime zest.

I've often wanted to make this one

Or this one is very Autumn-y