I haven't baked a cake in nearly 5 years and I am back at it again!

I'm planning on making my daughter's 1st birthday cake.I don't want to do too much work and just do an 8" round and the top be her smash cake.

So for the 8" round I am going to look for a filling recipe in a few, but how many cakes do I actually make? 2 and make that into a layered cake? And then do I split it to layer it?

Any recipes on the cake itself? Everytime I bake a cake, it seems to be more on the dense side. I'd like something a bit more fluffy and airy.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Use cake mix using milk not water, and add an extra egg.  Sift the mix and you will have a much nicer cake texture.

One mix will bake a fairly deep 8" round (in a 3" pan if you have one) plus the smaller smash cake.  Then split the 8" cake into 3 layers for a nice cake on the plate.

Awesome! Thanks!

So just to clarify, substitute the normal call for water on the cake mix for milk and add an extra egg.

Also, for the tiers, any method you can suggest on cutting the layers perfectly and evenly?  I don't have a 3" pan, should I divide the mix then?

Haven't tried it but it sounds good:

Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake

Makes two 9-inch round cakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks plus 3 large egg whites, at room temperature

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Grease the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and knock out the excess. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl. In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.

In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add the flour mixture to the now-empty mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. With the mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in the butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape the whisk and sides of the bowl. Return the mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.

Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of the whites into the batter to lighten, then add the remaining whites and gently fold into the batter until no white streaks remain. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Lightly tap the pans against the counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.

Bake until the cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the cakes from the sides of the pan with a small knife, then invert onto a greased wire rack and peel off the parchment. Invert the cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.