Yes, more chocolate.

I am a big fan of birthdays. I think they are very important and that they should be celebrated to the hilt every year - not matter how old (or young!) you might be turning. I don't care if last year was terrible, and I don't care if you're depressed about how old (or young!) you are this year. I don't care if you haven't accomplished any of the things you had hoped to and I certainly don't care if you don't like birthdays. Celebrate! Enjoy! It's your day and yours alone. Let yourself eat cake!

The birthday cake is the perfect way to finish up a day such as a well-celebrated birthday. Sweet, delicious, decorated in one of a billion different ways, just for you on that day. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, mocha, butter, banana, butterscotch, maple, ginger...the choice is yours (or someone very close to you).

I have baked a good number of birthday cakes in my time. Sisters, brothers, my parents, S., friends, co-workers; I've even made my own from time to time. Some decorated to the hilt -- with curly cues, flowers and writing -- one even with a marzipan black lab perched on top. Sometimes there are candles, but many times there are not - I don't think candles make or break a birthday cake, to he honest.

One of my favourite recipes for birthdays is a cake that seems to appeal to just about everyone. It's sweet but not so much that it hurts your teeth. It's rich but not so much that you can't have a good-sized piece. It's fairly simple to make but not so much that you feel as though you haven't invested the love and attention into it that a birthday cake deserves. It has something for everyone, especially if they love chocolate or coconut!

This inside-out german chocolate cake has its roots in every good, traditional german chocolate cake, but it has been thrown up in the air, caught and turned inside out. I prefer it immensely to the traditional cake and make it every few months for special occasions, dinner parties and birthdays. Sometimes I switch around the cake recipe, but the filling recipe almost neverchanges. It's perfect just the way it is, deliciously sweet, crunchy with nuts and flavourful with coconut.