Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Birthday recipes. This is a continuation of a series of pages on the history of certain occasions and the recipes associated with that occasion. This page is about birthdays and how they are celebrated. Here you will find information about the origins and practices of the festivities that mark the celebration of the day of a person's birth. You will also find recipes, sourced from across the globe, for foods, drinks and, most especially cakes, that are used to help celebrate and mark this special day in every person's life.

Of course, the cake is the centrepiece of any birthday party and here you will find recipes for traditional cakes, chocolate cakes and sponge cakes as well as other types of cakes that can be used for birthdays. Below each selection of cake recipes is a link to a list of icing and frosting recipes that can be used to decorate your cakes.

The History of Birthday Celebrations

By definition, a Birthday is the anniversary of the day on which a particular person was born. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a party or, in some instances, a rite of passage. Indeed, it is the rite of passage that probably represents the origins of the annual birthday celebration. In most historic cultures birthdays represented the steps on a child's transition into adulthood and was typically associated with a ritual or rite of passage.

The first recorded annual birthday celebrations come from Persia (Iran) and Herodotus, in his Histories, Book 1, 1.133 reports of the Achaemenid Persians: Of all the days in the year, the one which they celebrate most is their birthday. It is customary to have the board furnished on that day with an ampler supply than common... They eat little solid food but abundance of dessert, which is set on table a few dishes at a time... They are very fond of wine.

In Europe, the practice of celebrating a person's birthday probably originated in Pagan times with the belief that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect the person, friends and family would visit, bringing with them good thoughts and wishes. However, with the advent of the Early Christian Church this practice fell into decline, as the celebration of anyone's birth (including Christ's) was considered to be a Pagan practice. As the Church evolved, it became common in both the Roman and Eastern Orthodox church to have a 'name day'/'Saint's day'. This being the celebration of the official day of a saint with the same Christian name as the birthday person. However, more often than not, the person's birthday and the saint's day were made to concur by giving a newborn the name of a saint celebrated on its birthday, or even the name of a feast if the birth day fell on a feast day. As a result the practice of celebrating birth days became accepted within the Church.

Birthdays are often centred around a decorated cake, the birthday cake (recipes for many variants of which are given below). Traditional cakes are fruit-cakes (also known as plum cakes) that are typically covered in marzipan (almond paste) and either glacé icing or royal icing. However, chocolate cakes are common as are classic sponge cakes in in these cases it's more common to use a buttercream icing (or simply whipped cream). Typically the cake is covered with candles, one for each year in the person's life. Traditionally, the person whose birthday it is may make a silent wish and then blow out the candles. After that, the person can open their presents. It is also common for the person celebrating their birthday to cut the initial piece of the cake. In most English-speaking countries it is traditional to sing the song Happy Birthday to You to the person celebrating their birthday.

These days a child's birthday party may be held either at home, or in a public place. Soft drinks are often had alongside water and both sweet and savoury foods are typically served to the guests. Most commonly, a birthday cake is also served, which tends to be either a chocolate cake or a white sponge cake. Birthday parties for children often feature entertainment, costumes, party games, and may sometimes be based upon a theme.

Traditional Birthday Cakes

Traditional birthday cakes tend to be quite heavy and are often rich fruit cakes similar to traditional Christmas and wedding cakes. Examples of traditional birthday cakes from around the world are given below.

Plum Cake
Trinidadian Black Cake (Trinidad)
Fruited Luncheon Cake II
Spice Cake
Rich Fruit Cake
Gluten-free Rich Fruit Cake
Dundee Cake
Welsh Rich Fruit Cake
Light Fruit Cake
Farmhouse Celebration Cake
West Indian Cake
Porter Cake
Victorian Dundee Cake


Of course, no cake would be complete without icing (frosting). You can get a listing of all icing and frosting recipes featured on this site here.

Chocolate Birthday Cakes

For both children and adults chocolate-based cakes are also common as birthday cakes. Below you will find examples of classic chocolate cakes from many cultures and countries that can easily be adapted as birthday cakes.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Death By Chocolate Chocolate Roulade Vanilla Chocolate Cake Chocolate Rough Slice Chocolate Nemesis Chestnut and Chocolate Torte Chocolate Doberge Cake Chocolate Carrot Cake Chilli Chocolate Cake Chilli Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing Sweet Chestnut Flour, Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake Vanilla Cake Mix Chocolate Cake Chocolate Cake Mix Cake Chocolate Cake Mix Spice Cake Chocolate Sponge Cake Rich Chocolate Cake Lemon Cake Mix Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Devil's Food Cake Chocolate Devil's Food Cake Mix Cake Chocolate Roll Chocolate Banana Cake Gluten-free Vanilla Chocolate Cake Very Rich Chocolate Fudge Cake Banana Fudge Cake Chocolate Oatmeal Cake Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake Chocolate and Cherry Roulade Devil's Food Cake Devil's Food Cake II Pound Cake Carob Cake Cheat's Sachertorte Mississippi Mud Cake Welsh Chocolate Cake Banana Fudge Cake Black Magic Cake Chocolate Fudge Cake (France)

Of course, no cake would be complete without icing (frosting). You can get a listing of all icing and frosting recipes featured on this site here.

White Birthday Cakes

Many cultres also serve white sponge-style cakes for birthdays. Below is a range of these cakes that can be adapted easily as birthday cakes. These types of cakes are particularly common as cakes for children and can be baked in shaped cake moulds.

Plain Sponge Cake Gâteau de Savoie (France) Gâteau Caraque (France) Angel Food Cake I Angel Cake Clementine Cake Polenta Cake Banana Cake Grapefruit Cake Three-egg Sponge Cake Victoria Sandwich Cake One-Two-Three-Four Cake Kentish Cobnut Cake Victoria Sponge Cake Madeira Cake Drum Cake (Hungary)

Classic Victoria Sponge Sandwich Vanilla Cake Mix Cake Vanilla Cake Mix Spice Cake Plain Sponge Cake Old-fashioned Sponge Cake Old-fashioned Norfolk Sponge Cake Vanilla Cake Mix Lemon Cake Lemon Cake Mix Cake Lemon Cake Mix Spice Cake White Vanilla Cake Mix Cake White Lemon Cake Mix Cake Cannoli Cake Copycat Duncan Hines White Cake Cream Sponge Cake Philadelphia-style Butter Cake Frosted Walnut Cake Gâteau à L'Orange (France) Ambrosia Cake Lemon Chiffon Cake

Of course, no cake would be complete without icing (frosting). You can get a listing of all icing and frosting recipes featured on this site here.

Other Cakes

Below are examples of other cakes from a range of countries and cultures that can also be used as birthday cakes, particularly if you are looking for something different or unusual to serve.

Carrot Cake Marmalade Cake Cassava Cake Lightning Cake (Germany) Caraway Seed Cake Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Citrus Cake Lemon Couscous Cake Almond and Orange Cake Ginger Cake Carrot and Caraway Cake Liberian Pound Cake (Liberia) Marble Cake Orange Cake (Turkey) Haitian Cake (Haiti)

Chestnut Flour Cake (Italy) Portuguese Black Cake (Portugal) Frankfurt Crown Cake (Germany) Blue Lagoon Cake (Slovenia) Lemon Whisky Cake (Ireland) Honey Cake (Ireland) Towering Praline Carrot Cake Lemon-soaked Pound Cake Sara Lee Pound Cake German Marble Cake (Germany) Always Moist Pound Cake Heavenly Orange Cake Carrot Cake with Mango Yoghurt Cake Marbled Chocolate Yoghurt Cake (France) Swiss Carrot Cake (Switzerland) Gumdrop Fruit Cake (Germany)

Of course, no cake would be complete without icing (frosting). You can get a listing of all icing and frosting recipes featured on this site here.

Drinks

Sangria (Spain)
New Zealand Ginger Beer (Liberia)
Bombaylinis (India)
White Sangria (Spain)
Champagne Punch


Of course, if you are looking for something more opulent and/or sophisticated you might want to peruse this site's selection of cocktail recipes.

Desserts and Sweet Things

Ice Cream with Rum
Blackberry Ice Cream
Breton Ice Cream
Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream
Vanilla Ice Cream
Strawberry Ice Cream
Strawberry Ice Cream
Rich Trifle
Tipsy Laird
Tiramisù
Ginger Passion Fruit Trifle