12 Birthday Cake Tips That'll Make You Look Like A Pro Chef

Frosting a warm cake with cold frosting in a recipe for disaster. Even a cake that's just slightly warm can cause the frosting to melt, so make sure you give it plenty of time to reach room temperature. Additionally, don't cut your cake layers before they cool off. Cutting a warm cake layer will cause it to dry out, so just be patient and factor in some cooling time.

See more: How to cool a cake quickly.

Just about everyone loves chocolate cake, and this version (made entirely in one bowl) is as easy as it gets. The whole thing can be pulled off in under an hour, and because it's so simple to make, you can jazz it up with whatever decorations you want — from sprinkles to fancy frosting flowers. Get the recipe.

This cake, coated in rich caramel icing instead of frosting, is moist, tender, and the perfect unexpected birthday cake. Get the recipe.

A crumb coat is just a fancy term for a thin layer of frosting applied underneath the final layer. Chilling the crumb coat in the fridge locks in cake crumbs and makes your final layer of frosting look more professional.

See more: How to frost (and crumb coat) a cake.

There's no use in spending a ton of time preparing a cake if you're not going to properly prep your cake tins. Using both butter and a layer of parchment paper in your cake tins will prevent your cake from sticking, so take the extra time and do it right.

See more: Learn how to prep a cake pan.

If you're using a boxed cake mix (or simply want to jazz up a homemade cake) feel free to add things like nuts, chocolate chips, or graham crackers to your batter. It'll give your cakes a pop of texture and added flavor without changing the texture. (Just make sure you stick to items that are dry, as adding something like fresh fruit might make your cake batter too wet.)

Many vegan cake recipes use coconut oil in place of butter. If a recipe calls for it, make sure you're using refined coconut oil instead of virgin varieties. The flavor is pretty mild, so you won't end up with a cake that tastes like coconut. (But if you do want the flavor to come through, virgin or unrefined varieties would work well.)

See more: Learn more about the differences between refined and unrefined coconut oil.

Because everyone deserves a great cake on their birthday — vegans included! This version uses non-dairy milk and vegan butter to make it completely dairy-free without sacrificing flavor, but you could use your favorite refined coconut oil in place of the vegan butter without any problems. Get the recipe.

Before serving your cake, make sure to bring it back to room temperature if it's been in the fridge. Cold cake can taste dry, and cold frosting gets hard —nobody wants that. Just schedule time to temper your cake and you'll be OK.

Xanthan gum is a food additive that helps make gluten-free batter sticky. Because there is no gluten in GF cake batter, xanthan gum helps mimic the elasticity you would normally get from flour. Just a small amount of it can help make sure your cakes come out with a nice texture, so if your gluten-free flour blend doesn't contain it, you might want to add it. King Arthur Flour suggests adding 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour, but this ratio is just a starting point.

See more: Learn more about the importance of xanthan gum for gluten-free baking.

This simple cake is the perfect gluten-free recipe to serve as is, or dress up with whatever decorations you want. Get the recipe.