Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, Stef from the amazingly creative site Cupcake Project has sweetly donated some of her sweet birthday memories--as long as a killer recipe for a classic Golden Glow Cake with an amazingly decadent chocolate cream cheese frosting. Here's her story (as well as a picture of her during her early days of caking it up):

I never understood why my friends enjoyed store-bought heavily buttercreamed birthday cakes. But, I don’t think my friends ever understood why I liked my birthday cakes. I was so excited for my mom’s homemade cake, but my friends would barely touch it. Oh well – more for me!

My birthday cake each year was a Golden Glow cake. It’s a somewhat dry yellow cake – not that exciting on its own. However, it was topped with homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting that I loved! To this day, chocolate cream cheese frosting is my favorite frosting.

Sure, I didn’t get professional decorations with cartoon characters, but nothing beats cake from mom! I should also mention that she got the recipe from her mom.

I have no proof that the above picture is from eating Golden Glow, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Golden Glow Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

- CakeSpy note: I made this recipe as cupcakes, and it yielded about 24. While Stef's comment that the cake is somewhat dry is true, the frosting really does "make" this recipe. -

Cake

2 1/4 c flour
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/4 C sugar
1/2 C butter
3/4 C milk
2 T milk
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. Add butter and ¾ C milk and beat for two minutes.
4. Add remaining milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat for another two minutes.
5. Pour into well greased, lightly floured pan.
6. Bake 25 - 35 min.

Frosting
(CakeSpy note: the frosting in the pictures above looks thinner and glossier than it should; this is because we couldn't resist frosting some of the still-warm cakes and eating immediately)

1 8 oz package of cream cheese
3 T milk
3 C powdered sugar, sifted
2 squares (2 oz) of melted unsweetened bakers chocolate

1. Soften cream cheese by adding milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.
2. Add powdered sugar gradually, blending well after each addition.
3. Blend in melted chocolate.

Keep tabs on what's going on in Stef's sweet world on her site or via her Twitter feed!