Did you know more babies are born in September than any other month? This inspired us to give birthday cake the delicious. treatment, with recipes that celebrate autumn’s orchard harvest. And of course, you don’t need the excuse of a celebration to bake these fruity beauties

RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING: JESS MEYER AND JEN BEDLOE. PHOTOGRAPHS: HANNAH ROSE HUGHES. STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON. FEATURE WORDS: PHOEBE STONE

Spiced plum cake with swiss meringue frosting

BIRTHDAY STATS FROM THE ONS FOR ENGLAND AND WALES 1995-2014 CAKE STATS FROM A SURVEY OF 2,390 UK-BASED ADULTS BY BAKERDAYS.COM

Birthdays were a big deal at delicious. HQ, before our workingfrom-home days.

We took it in turns to bake a celebration cake for another team member, with the most popular being Dorset apple cake, Malteser brownies and chocolate porter cake (find the recipes at deliciousmagazine.co.uk).

Was our enthusiasm out of the ordinary? Well, yes, apparently.

Recent research by online cake shop Baker Days suggests nearly a third of UK adults no longer receive a birthday cake, with the age of 32 being the average year the birthday candles are snuffed out. Yet 58% of those missing out confessed it makes their big day feel less important.

“The cake is the focal point,” says Peggy Porschen, bakery owner and cake designer to the stars. “People gather around it and sing, candles are blown out and it’s a photo opportunity.

Cakes create memories.”

The joy isn’t just in the eating – it’s about feeling cared for.

“We’ve been through a tough time and people have wanted to pull out all the stops,” says Waitrose product developer Rosie Hancock,

who works on the stores’ range of celebration cakes. “Some have said their lockdown birthday was the most special because people made an effort: they got a cake delivered or put on an afternoon tea.”

Peggy agrees. “Two of our bestselling cakes have the word love or hearts on them. Even if it’s a small gathering, it’s about expressing your love for somebody through cake.”

No wonder we all still want a slice. 

“Baking something special is about expressing your love for someone through cake”

SECRETS TO CAKE SUCCESS “PUT FLAVOUR FIRST,” SAYS PASTRY CHEF RAVNEET GILL

“Think about balance, textures and how the cake will taste as a whole. If you’re using a soaking syrup for the sponge, perhaps add herbs to the syrup to give it an edge. Go crunchy with salted biscuit crumbs through a sweet buttercream, or cut through the sweetness with lemon curd.”

Sugar, I Love You by Ravneet Gill (Pavilion Books £20) is out on 14 Oct

Why do we have birthday candles and blow them out?

• Ancient Greeks made round honey cakes to honour Artemis, goddess of hunting and the moon, adding candles to suggest moonlight – and cultures around the world have believed smoke can help carry prayers to gods.

• By the 18th century, children’s birthdays were marked in Germany with the celebration kinderfeste. The child’s age was reflected in the number of candles, which were kept burning all day and extinguished in the evening. It’s thought this is where the ritual of blowing them out and making a wish may have originated.