This month is filled with family birthday parties,so I decided it’s about time to figure out how to make cakes from scratch. There was a time were you simply couldn’t head to the store to buy a cake and everyone made their own. Now it’s my turn to give homemade cakes and frostings a try.

I started by looking for a few different birthday cake recipes and have been trying them out on my family. I’ve discovered a couple of great basic recipes which combined with different frostings should cover most cake occasions.

For my daughter’s cake this year we are going with a chocolate cake and a easy vanilla frosting. I think vanilla frosting is just one of those simple toppings anyone should be able to make. It only takes a few minutes to put together and making a cake from scratch doesn’t take any more time than using a box mix.

Not only does it come in handy to frost cakes, but also as a topping for muffins, spice cakes or as a dip for fruit. I’ve even been known to spread some on sugar cookies and then letting the kids decorate these sweet treats with various sprinkles. Great fun for a rainy afternoon.

One of my favorite cakes is a simple two layer yellow cake, frosted with a simple vanilla frosting and then topped with various fresh berries. It’s delicious and looks absolutely stunning. Of course it would also be great with some cream cheese frosting or even a chocolate frosting and then topped with strawberries.

If you’ve never made cake from scratch, or whipped up your own frosting for that matter, give it a try. It’s much easier than you think and the end result tastes so much better than anything you could get from the store. I know my family has appreciated that I’ve taken the plunge into making cakes from scratch.