I made *this* cupcake recipe (a carrot cake), with *this* cream cheese frosting recipe. LO wasn't too into them (though he liked the cupcakes on their own better than with the frosting) - but DH and I (and family) loved them!
I used box cake but used butter instead of oil and an extra egg that made it super rich. Made vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate to have the neopolitan look. Then made homemade buttercream frosting. They were pretty fantastic.
Our party isn't for a couple weeks, and I'm still undecided on which cake I'll bake. I have an incredibly delicious chocolate cake recipe, but I'm afraid it will be too rich. I may alternate chocolate and vanilla layers...
We had a local mom who does baking as a side business to do it. We just wanted a more simple vanilla cake with buttercream. Although I love chocolate, I didn't want to clean it up and opted for the vanilla.
Re: birthday cake
DS born 6/2013