I have tried to make it a tradition for my kids and i to bake a cake and the kids get decorate it.
Thay have a lot of fun doing it and they are pretty darn good at decorating cakes too. 
I forgot to ask.......do you bake or buy your cake?
I make my own, did this year and last at least. Or I go to out to my one of my favorites resturants and order a dessert there. Lemon Dream, Molten Lava Cake, Dessert Ravioli, Wall of Chocolate, etc. etc. etc. The list could go on. LOL!
I say if there is a recipe your dying to try you are your best test subject.
well, I have gotten into cake decorating in the past 6 months so I never did my own cake (I must add that I love cake so much people call me Sabrina Cake Campbell) - my family always took care of it or in the past few years my husband...I don't know what I should do - I have to have cake and maybe I will make my own - I could use the practice!
The only problem I have is that when I make my own, I tend not to want to eat it. It isn't because I feel bad cutting it, it is because when I spend so much time on it and I am smelling it or tasting the offcuts and frosting, by the time I am done, I don't want any!
I must say that I normally buy my cake! I have a certain one that I love!! I will not metion names!
But, this year, I was asked (by my mother!) to make my own cake!!!
It was 2 days before my "surprise" party(which she asked my to call my guests!!) and she asked me to make the cake!!! 
My big 30th birthday cake, I had to make!!!
It actually turned out quite well, I thought!
I then thanked everyone for comming to my "surprise" party!!!
Of course, everyone at the resturant where my party was looked at me like I was crazy!!! 
(pic is in my photos!)
don't think I've ever made my own - I've only been doing this for 3 years now. Usually since I make everyone else's "family party" cake, they order mine from baskin robbins (yum-o) but last year my mom in law made it...if I were you I'd cash in on your chance to take a break a dive into a gourmet cake like Baskin Robbins, or your fav. dessert from a restaurant (you know b/c you won't have to make it)! Like divarocks said, once I've been smelling a cake and it's icing all day, the last thing I want to do is eat it (ironically).
To be honest, I'm really not a big cake fan! When I started decorating, I would only eat really good chocolate cake with chocolate icing--had to be from a bakery or restaurant. As I started learning more about decorating and baking, I would eat even white almond cake, but I am finding myself lately even passing up my extreme chocolate creations. I guess that is a good thing! 
So, to answer the question, I never baked a cake for myself for my b-day, and probably never will. My hubby always picks up an icecream cake and I'm in heaven! Though, my mom was going to bake me a cake this year (she took my classes and got hooked too! 
), but she ended up breaking her shoulder on Valentine's day--of course while delivering a cake to her work--she tripped and fell while carrying in the middle tier. She did save the cake, though--a true cake decorator addict!
I'm not that big of a fan of icing. I used to not like cake but I like my OWN cakes! ANyway, usually for my birthday, i request a fruit tart from the bakery downtown. yummmmmmmmmmmy!
What a fun question. Since my b'day is 3 days before Christmas, cake is the last thing I am thinking about, so, no, I have never made my own. Like so many others, too, I have only really gotten hooked on cakes this year, and am doing 2 or 3 a month for family, friends, school and starting to be asked to do them 'for hire'. I have a big b-day coming up and am thinking that maye this year I will splurge and take a day off and make a whimsical cake or something for myself...more because to spend an entire day doing nothing but decorating would be a great present to myself, not because I want (or need) cake!
I made my cake for last year's birthday (it was my first birthday since I started cake decorating). At the beginning I thought it was a little pitiful and I didn't want to tell people. I didn't want anybody to say: That's sad, she even had to make her own birthday cake! 
But I really wanted make a cake I had seen in a book so I decided to go for it. It was a lot of fun and I'll do it next year for my 30th... Maybe a whimsical cake...
Inma
Always have and always will - I know I can make a quality cake worth using the calories on, and I can't be sure of that from anyone else lol! I make all my family's cakes too, I'd rather die than go to the grocery store or to the bakers, what's the point when I can do a better job myself (and at least I know what's in it!). That may sound snobbish and full of myself, but Dutch cakes are just gross IMO!
Edited to say: same goes for resturant desserts - I have never in all my (nearly) 35 years had a dessert that was "WOW - that was worth the calories/money"! Whereas I've made many a dessert myself that has elicited that response from myself and my dining companions - so now I make a dessert before we go out to dinner to have when we return - sad maybe, but to me quality and taste counts!
I have made my own BD cake for the last 2 years. About 3 years ago, my mother asked me what I wanted for my BD (don't need anythng!) so I told her a chocolate cake from this particular bakery in town. Mom said "But yours are so much better". At which point, I put my foot down and told her I was not going to fix my own BD cake.
Got my chocolate cake, had a slice then gave the rest away so people could take it home. Been doing my own since.
Since i've been married my husband always gets me a baskin robbins cake.. This year since I'll be turning 30 I think I might make my own... Otherwise, he'll buy something with lots of black icing because I'm older than he is!
I do not make my own cake. My mom or MIL try to make me one every year. No offense to them, but it might be easier (and better) if they just didn't make them. If I depended on the DH or kids I would starve before I got something like a cake out of them! LOL!
I never do my own birthday cake. This year, my 17 year old daughter and grandson (who is 6) decided to make one for me. I (of course) have everything here to do it!! I had a 2 qt. bowl full of my snow white buttercream for the cakes this week, and told them they could use that icing for the cake. Well.....after all was done - there was about 1 and 1/2 cups of icing left in that bowl!! There was a LOT of icing on my cake!! (this was just Wednesday of this week!!) They did a really good job on the cake - I took pics, but once again, it is on the 35mm and won't get it back until the whole roll is developed.
As for WOW desserts at the restaurants......there is one that I love from Handke's Cuisine in Columbus.....Creme Brulee. I LOVE that stuff, I have his recipe here, but eating it there makes it very special!
well, I still haven't decided - I love to decorate so it would be a sort of gift to myself to spend a day making something I could be proud of! Then again, I may not want to eat any of it! 
I will keep you all posted on what I decide to do since it is next week (we will celebrate with family and friends on Friday at Dave & Busters).
Hopefully more people will answer this one because it is really a fun thread!
Actually I did make my own birthday cake this year. It is the raspberry basket cake in my photo's. Yummy........
However, my biggest fan who sits next to me at work baked her special home made cake this year for me, and apologized because it wasn't "pretty like mine" - her words not mine, because I broke right down and cried - - - nobody has baked a cake for me in over 25 years and her humble cake was a thing of beauty to me!
Usually I use my birthday as a chance to give business to other local decorators that I think do great work. But this past year I knew exactly what I wanted so I made it myself. It's my VT football field cake in my photos. What better way to get exacty what you want, and know you won't be disappointed!
Nope. It's a matter of principle. I think that someone taking their time to make you a cake is a sign of their feelings for you. So I don't make one for myself. Of course, that means I haven't had one for YEARS. God Bless my DH, he tried to make me a cheesecake one year, and he was so devastated when the center didn't set up that he hasn't tried again. I try not to let it bother me. Maybe some day my kids will try one.
Nope. It's a matter of principle. I think that someone taking their time to make you a cake is a sign of their feelings for you. So I don't make one for myself. Of course, that means I haven't had one for YEARS. God Bless my DH, he tried to make me a cheesecake one year, and he was so devastated when the center didn't set up that he hasn't tried again. I try not to let it bother me. Maybe some day my kids will try one.
or maybe a very good friend will surprise you like what happened to me I guarantee you will break down and cry.
I did my own last year.... my boss gave me the money she would have spent on a bakery cake and left the flavor & design up to me. I'd been wanting to do a whimsy style cake, so I did a 2-tier one. The bottom cake was a 10" chocolate cake with raspberry fill and the top was orange cake. I iced it all in chocolate buttercream & added fondant accents. My co-workers loved it and it made a great picture for my portfolio!
I have never before made my own cake, but this year we are celebrating all of the August b-days at our family vacation, so I will be making a cake for everyone (mom, husband, me, nephew, and niece) so I don't really think it counts as just mine. But now that I have discovered decorating I think it would be a fun chance to practice or play with techniques to make my own cake.
thats a funny question!I haven'''''t ever really made a cake for myself per say,but I have made a bday cake for my mother in law and sister in law to share...every year we celebrate with family dinner and do three bdays
at once,my MIL's is the day dec.26th,my SIL's is dec.27th and mine is dec.24th, but i have never added my name to the cake
it would be cool though someday ,I could get what I want!
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