Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

Picture the ultimate birthday cake. The one sitting in the display case of your favorite bakery, or maybe even the 🎂 emoji itself: a towering, triple-tiered, perfectly frosted construction of cake and cream, brimming with candles and cheer.This recipe gets you that.The cake is a hybrid between a chiffon and a high-ratio cake—two seemingly mutually exclusive cake styles—but the cake is light and airy and yet moist and unmistakably rich.The frosting is a classic <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/swiss-buttercream">Silky Smooth Swiss Buttercream</a>, the gold standard for this style of showpiece cake. And we don’t cut any corners when it comes to perfectly smooth, crisp edges and intricate piping.Is it a project? Yes. Is it time-consuming? Also, yes. Will it take some practice? You bet. But make this, and you’ll be the celebrated jolly good fellow, no matter whose birthday it is. That’s a guarantee.

Ultimate Birthday Cake