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The correct tablespoon measure can dictate whether a recipe like Helen Goh’s raspberry and curd cake succeeds or fails.

Recipe collection

35 cakes that will make birthday wishes come true

More Australians celebrate birthdays this week than any other, making it the perfect excuse to bake. Here are our favourite cake recipes, from fudgy chocolate cakes to easy loaf cakes.

35 recipes
Emelia Jackson’s perfect black forest cake.

Emelia Jackson’s black forest cake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Emelia Jackson
Danielle Alvarez’s double lemon cake with vanilla sugar.
EASY

Double-lemon loaf cake with sugar crust

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Danielle Alvarez
Helen Goh’s raspberry and lemon curd cake.
EASY

Helen Goh’s raspberry and lemon curd cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
This simple lemon cake has a triple hit of citrus (in the batter, syrup and glaze).
EASY

Emelia Jackson’s zingy lemon drizzle cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Emelia Jackson
Top with cream cheese or a dusting of icing sugar.
EASY

Carrot and ground hazelnut cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Everyday chocolate cake with whipped cocoa cream.
EASY

Everyday chocolate cake with whipped cocoa cream

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
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Dutch-process cocoa powder gives this cake and its icing a rich colour.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s classic chocolate cake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
Emelia Jackson’s Flourless chocolate souffle cake.

Emelia Jackson’s flourless chocolate souffle cake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Emelia Jackson
Vanilla and ricotta cake.
EASY

Vanilla and ricotta cake with lemon icing

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Helen Goh's lemon and rose petal chiffon cake recipe.

Lemon and rose chiffon cake with white chocolate cream icing

  • 2 hrs +
  • Helen Goh
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s blueberry sour cream cake.
EASY

Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s simple blueberry sour cream cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
This strawberry and white chocolate almond cake, with macerated berries, is a delicious afternoon treat.
EASY

Gluten-free strawberry and white chocolate almond cake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy
Strawberry, coconut and lime sandwich cake.

Strawberry, coconut and lime sandwich cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Adam Liaw’s Swedish almond loaf is finished with a moreish butterscotch almond topping.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s Swedish almond loaf cake with butterscotch topping

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Adam Liaw
There's no need to cut and fill this sponge cake - simply spread the whipped cream on top.

Condensed-milk Victoria sponge cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Adam Liaw
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A slab of banana cake with cream cheese icing and swirls of optional miso caramel.

Banana cake with cream cheese icing and miso caramel

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Emelia Jackson’s spiced apple layer cake with burnt butter cream cheese icing.
EASY

Emelia Jackson’s apple layer cake with brown butter icing

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Emelia Jackson
Danielle Alvarez’s chocolate loaf cake with mascarpone icing.
EASY

Chocolate loaf cake with mascarpone icing and jam

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Danielle Alvarez
Helen Goh's desert island cake.
EASY

Helen Goh’s lemon and raspberry loaf cake recipe

  • Helen Goh
Easy berry Chantilly cake.

Easy berry Chantilly cake

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
Adam Liaw’s orange, almond and olive oil cake.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s orange, almond and olive oil cake with yoghurt cream

  • 2 hrs +
  • Adam Liaw
Cocoa sour cream layer cake from Beatrix Bakes: Another Slice by Natalie Paull (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50.

This cocoa sour cream layer cake is beloved Melbourne bake shop Beatrix’s most requested recipe (and we’ve got it)

  • Natalie Paull
Chocolate ricotta cake with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate ricotta cake

  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Sunshine on a plate: Hummingbird cake stacked with lemon curd and cream cheese icing, and topped with golden-hued decorations if you're feeling 'extra'.

Hummingbird layer cake with lemon curd, honeycomb and chamomile

  • 2 hrs +
  • Katrina Meynink
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EASY

Spiced apple cake with mascarpone and maple frosting

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Jill Dupleix's rose, lime and coconut chiffon cake.

Rose, lime and coconut chiffon cake

  • 2 hrs +
  • Jill Dupleix
Helen Goh’s lemon, orange and almond cake.

Lemon, orange and almond cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Adam Liaw's stress-free children's birthday cake.

Adam Liaw’s birthday traycake

  • Adam Liaw
Lemon and ricotta cake.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s lemon and ricotta cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Adam Liaw
Chocolate loaf with vanilla cream.
EASY

Adam Liaw’s chocolate loaf with vanilla cream

  • 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Adam Liaw
This recipe was a closely-guarded secret, until now.
EASY

Helen Goh’s favourite orange cake

  • 2 hrs +
  • Helen Goh
Saffron-infused milk adds a bright splash of colour to this cake and its icing.

Orange milk cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
A new take on pineapple upside-down cake.

Helen Goh’s salted pineapple and brown sugar cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Lemon and blueberry cream cheese pound cake (pictured with an optional lemon icing).
EASY

Lemon and blueberry cream cheese pound cake

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh
Helen Goh's Irish coffee cake recipe.

Irish coffee cake with Bailey’s filling

  • 1-2 hrs
  • Helen Goh