# My birthday, your cake. What'll it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575 "2019-09-20T18:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/41 "2019-09-21T18:02:39Z")
Big ol’ fruit cake with marzipan and white royal icing! It’s the only cake I like, and my wife gently mocks me for wanting christmas cake for my birthday ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/42 "2019-09-21T19:10:44Z")
I’ve already cleaned up the kitchen, but what the heck. Let’s keep the party rolling! > [@kayaker](#): > > A small piece of generic chocolate cake and a small scoop of French vanilla ice cream placed in a pint glass, then filled with Guinness. A birthday/St Patrick’s tradition. Tastier than you might imagine. No generic cakes from Nellie’s kitchen, but I happily made you a dark chocolate cake. _Runs to liquor store for Guinness. Opens bottle. Pours over ice cream. Swigs what’s left._ And there you go! > [@Shoeless](#): > > Happy birthday Nellie! You already made my favorite cake, so just serve me up a big ol’ slice. I assume it’s made from scratch? > > I had a boss years ago who found out I liked german chocolate cake and made some for my birthday. The frosting was so delicious I had to get the recipe from her. Years later I passed it along to my wife, who combined it with her aunt Mary’s chocolate cake recipe to make the best damn g.c. cake I’ve ever had in my life. Thank you! Yes, from scratch. This year I made the classic German chocolate, but I’m going to go back to making a darker chocolate cake and using the GC frosting. I like a chocolate-ier cake. Your wife wouldn’t happen to want to share her Aunt Mary’s recipe, would she? Anyway, here’s a big ol’ slice of the one I made. Hope you like lots of frosting! > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > A thin slice of rich triple chocolate cake with gobs and gobs and gobs of vanilla icing. > > Did I mention I am a fool for vanilla icing, and will eat it till I am so stuffed I got nauseated? Somewhere under that creamy mountain of vanilla buttercream, you’ll find a thin slice of triple chocolate cake. You’ll have to eat your way to it. 🙂 Hope it lives up to your expectations! > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Oh wow, THANKS! and yes, of course I’d love to share with y’all. > > Curiously enough, my favorite chocolate cake is also called Mary’s Chocolate Cake, after my grandmother’s maid, who used to make it for every grandchild’s birthday. > 😃 Maybe you and Shoeless are first cousins once removed! > [@peedin](#): > > Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Simple! Here’s one. > [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > You’ve already made a pumpkin pie so I’ll have a slice of that, please. Yes, the bourbon is fine! Happy birthday! Thank you! I made you your own pie–with bourbon, of course! > [@Teuton](#): > > Big ol’ fruit cake with marzipan and white royal icing! It’s the only cake I like, and my wife gently mocks me for wanting christmas cake for my birthday I’ve only made fruitcake once. It was an old recipe chock full of raisins, candied fruit and pecans. I’d tell you it was delicious, but the dog ate most of it and slobbered on the rest. She gave it two paws-up. For you, I’ll make it again. Here you are, complete with marzipan and white royal icing. And I think you should buck tradition and call it birthday cake when you have it at Christmas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/43 "2019-09-21T19:24:34Z")
Nellie, you’re in luck with me, German Chocolate is my traditional bday cake(everyone in my family has their own cake flavor/type). Can I just have a very small slice of yours? No ice cream though, just the tiny sliver of cake please. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/44 "2019-09-21T19:27:41Z")
ETA, oops maybe I should say I’m in luck, I see you’re trying to shut down the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/45 "2019-09-21T19:32:36Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Wow, a friend made one of these for my 21st birthday. I thought it sounded like a strange cake, but she was kind of off-beat. I was really surprised how good it was–spicy and moist! Hers had a vanilla drizzle on it, so that’s how I made yours. Hope you like it! I am savoring every bite! Vanilla drizzle is an excellent choice. I usually frost with a cream cheese frosting, but it’s all good. My recipe dates back to the 1960s, and I always worry that Campbell’s will change the formula for their condensed cream of tomato soup and the cake won’t come out right. But so far, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/46 "2019-09-21T19:42:53Z")
Poppy seed tort it would be with a filling (perhaps it’s vanilla cream). But the chance you could make it the way my wife learned from her aunt is small and some varieties are a crime to poppy seeds. So I’ll go with something a lot easier. Angel food cake with Fresh strawberries put through aq blender to render them into an almost liquid, but chunky, topping. Yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/47 "2019-09-21T19:48:25Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > …Angel food cake with Fresh strawberries put through aq blender to render them into an almost liquid, but chunky, topping. Yummy. Yes. Exactly this. Or almost exactly, I would have said, and was going to, “macerated strawberries.” Also, Happy birthday to the OP! ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/48 "2019-09-21T20:09:13Z")
Aw, this is so nice. I actually like German chocolate cake very much too, but apple cake with cinnamon is quite fine too. And while I suspect you are named after the newspaper reporter rather than the song, this thread is clear evidence that “Nelly Bly has a heart warm as cup of tea and bigger than the sweet potato down in Tennessee.” Thanks for your generosity, happy birthday to you, and I’ll look forward to a slice of my virtual cake, whatever its flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/49 "2019-09-21T20:25:31Z")
Thank you Nellie, it was delicious and your ganache was excellent. I’ll be right over, next time I am in Washington. Which Washington, by the way? I actually made that cake for my wife’s birthday, one year. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/50 "2019-09-21T20:32:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A small piece of generic chocolate cake and a small scoop of French vanilla ice cream placed in a pint glass, then filled with Guinness. A birthday/St Patrick’s tradition. Tastier than you might imagine. If anyone tries this, it’s absolutely vital the cake goes in the glass, then the ice cream, then the stout. Little chunks of cake in the float takes some getting used to, but it’s a great experience. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/51 "2019-09-21T21:48:38Z")
Chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting. Darker chocolate preferred, but nothing fancy. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/52 "2019-09-21T23:27:25Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Nellie, you’re in luck with me, German Chocolate is my traditional bday cake(everyone in my family has their own cake flavor/type). Can I just have a very small slice of yours? No ice cream though, just the tiny sliver of cake please. > [@DorkVader](#): > > ETA, oops maybe I should say I’m in luck, I see you’re trying to shut down the kitchen. No problem! I have lots of German chocolate cake here, and besides, I love to bake. And I get to celebrate my birthday longer! I don’t do slivers very well, though, so here’s a big piece. You can cut it into slivers and have one a day for awhile. 🙂 > [@CairoCarol](#): > > I am savoring every bite! Vanilla drizzle is an excellent choice. I usually frost with a cream cheese frosting, but it’s all good. > > My recipe dates back to the 1960s, and I always worry that Campbell’s will change the formula for their condensed cream of tomato soup and the cake won’t come out right. But so far, no problem. D’oh! I’ll know for next time. Campbell’s wouldn’t dare change their classic tomato soup formula, would they? It’d be like New Coke, if you remember that debacle. > [@OldGuy](#): > > Poppy seed tort it would be with a filling (perhaps it’s vanilla cream). But the chance you could make it the way my wife learned from her aunt is small and some varieties are a crime to poppy seeds. > > So I’ll go with something a lot easier. Angel food cake with Fresh strawberries put through aq blender to render them into an almost liquid, but chunky, topping. Yummy. I was going to attempt the poppy seed torte, since through the magic of the internet, it would taste exactly as your wife’s version, but I like the idea of it belonging exclusively to your wife. So here’s your angel cake. Strawberries are out of season, but I got the ripest, sweetest berries I could find. I hope it doesn’t disappoint. > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Yes. Exactly this. Or almost exactly, I would have said, and was going to, “macerated strawberries.” > > Also, Happy birthday to the OP! Macerated strawberries on angel food it is! Here you are. And thanks for the birthday greeting! > [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Aw, this is so nice. I actually like German chocolate cake very much too, but apple cake with cinnamon is quite fine too. > > And while I suspect you are named after the newspaper reporter rather than the song, this thread is clear evidence that > > “Nelly Bly has a heart > warm as cup of tea > and bigger than the sweet potato > down in Tennessee.” > > Thanks for your generosity, happy birthday to you, and I’ll look forward to a slice of my virtual cake, whatever its flavor. This made my day. Thank you \*SO \*much! I did take the name of the reporter because I admire her so much–not that I could come close to her adventures and accomplishments. I have a killer apple cake recipe I make every autumn. It’s studded with pecans and has a honey whiskey glaze. I sometimes make it in individual bundt pans, so I’m sending you one of those AND a fat piece of German chocolate cake. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Thank you Nellie, it was delicious and your ganache was excellent. I’ll be right over, next time I am in Washington. Which Washington, by the way? > > I actually made that cake for my wife’s birthday, one year. Thank you! I like a man who bakes a cake for his wife’s birthday. You two are welcome this way any time! It’s Washington state, by the way, home of so many delicious things, including apples. 🙂 > [@kayaker](#): > > If anyone tries this, it’s absolutely vital the cake goes in the glass, then the ice cream, then the stout. Little chunks of cake in the float takes some getting used to, but it’s a great experience. Yum! I’ll remember this for the future. My son-in-law loves Guinness, and he has a birthday coming up. > [@Baker](#): > > Chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting. Darker chocolate preferred, but nothing fancy. Blackout cake with swirls of dark chocolate buttercream headed your way! I put in my best effort: can’t send anything less than the best to someone named Baker. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/53 "2019-09-22T01:26:47Z")
Thanks and happy birthday and wait a sec…What In The World Are You Doing Baking On _Your_ Birthday??? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/54 "2019-09-22T03:04:09Z")
Shame on me! I may have brought coffee (slides a fresh pot on the table), but I ate a piece of everything (polite burp) and never wished Nellie “Happy Birthday!” I stopped by a Mexican bakery and got a full sheet Tres Leches cake as a humble apology. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/55 "2019-09-22T05:41:45Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > Thanks and happy birthday and wait a sec…What In The World Are You Doing Baking On _Your_ Birthday??? I love to bake, and truth be told, I don’t like supermarket bakery cakes, particularly the grainy icing that tastes of vegetable shortening. Come to think of it, I haven’t had anyone to bake me a birthday cake since I was a kid. I hope that doesn’t sound pathetic. But no matter. I long ago decided birthdays are the time to do kindnesses for others. I’m grateful to be here and have good people in my life. Thanks for sharing in my birthday fun! ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/56 "2019-09-22T05:42:52Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Shame on me! I may have brought coffee (slides a fresh pot on the table), but I ate a piece of everything (polite burp) and never wished Nellie “Happy Birthday!” > > I stopped by a Mexican bakery and got a full sheet Tres Leches cake as a humble apology. > ~VOW Oh, yum! And the coffee was plenty but thank you for the Tres Leches cake. One of my favorite flavors! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/57 "2019-09-22T17:14:34Z")
**Nelliebly** , If you’re not tired of baking, I will have [Better than sex cake](https://www.browneyedbaker.com/better-than-sex-cake-recipe/) … or a pecan pie… And I hope you had a wonderful awesome Bday!! ( **Kayaker** , you mentioned birthday/St Paddy’s… are they one and the same? ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/58 "2019-09-22T19:41:26Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > **Nelliebly** , If you’re not tired of baking, I will have [Better than sex cake](https://www.browneyedbaker.com/better-than-sex-cake-recipe/) … or a pecan pie… And I hope you had a wonderful awesome Bday!! ( **Kayaker** , you mentioned birthday/St Paddy’s… are they one and the same? Never tired of baking, cupcake! (Or baking cupcakes) I’ve had sex. I’ve made cake. I’ve even had Better Than Sex cake. Better than what _kind of_ sex is what I want to ask? I mean, the cake is yummy, but…well, maybe the creator was married to Mr. Whipple or somebody. But I digress. This cake is simple to make. I substituted sweetened whipped cream because I like it better than Cool Whip. Hope that’s OK. Here you go! And thanks for the birthday wishes! ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/59 "2019-09-22T22:42:50Z")
I’d really like to try a pavlova. I love meringue and fruit. Also, I love that other people have pumpkin pie for their birthdays. It’s been my go-to for ages and I always thought it was a bit weird. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575/60 "2019-09-23T03:40:40Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > I’d really like to try a pavlova. I love meringue and fruit. > > Also, I love that other people have pumpkin pie for their birthdays. It’s been my go-to for ages and I always thought it was a bit weird. A pavlova, it is. I’ve always wondered if Pavlova liked the dessert named after her. My son-on-law doesn’t like cake. He’s a good guy in all other ways, so we try to be accepting. I usually make him pie for his birthday. I haven’t made pumpkin for him (He didn’t request it.), but I have made eggnog pie, as he’s an egg nog fan, too. You didn’t ask for pumpkin pie, but you clearly love it, so I made you one of those, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-birthday-your-cake-whatll-it-be/840575.md?page=4)