Spring is the time for birthdays in my family. My niece, sister and I have birthdays within a week of each other. Tod’s birthday is at the beginning of May and before then we’ll have several other birthdays to celebrate with friends. So I do a lot of baking around this time of year. Here’s what I made today to celebrate my 38th.

Blood Orange Birthday Cake
2.5 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 2 Tblsp butter, softened
1.5 cups sugar
juice of 1 blood orange
grated peel from 2 blood oranges
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
1 cup milk

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the butter until fluffy, then blend in sugar. Stir in the juice, grated peel and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in the flour and milk in alternate steps. Pour into buttered, floured pans and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes clean.

I spread lemon curd between the layers and smoothed some more on top, then whipped up cream with sugar and piped it on the top and sides, and decorated with fresh strawberries and chocolate swirls I made by melting down a dark chocolate bar. It was a little bit too chewy—3 eggs might be enough…