A birthday definitely deserves a cake, so for my 29th birthday this weekend, I made myself one. Some people might think that it’s sad to make your own birthday cake, but quite honestly it is one of the best birthday presents I could get. Not only to I get to bake all day (which I love, obviously!), but I get to make the cake exactly the way I want it, AND I get to eat it. Totally a win-win situation for me. Because I’m a planner (at least when it comes to cakes, anyway), I’ve been thinking about my birthday cake for a while. At first I really wanted to make this Mexican hot chocolate-inspired cake, but then I came across Julia Child’s French strawberry cake, which seemed more seasonally appropriate. I also had my eye on this hazelnut cake, so I added some hazelnuts to Julia’s cake. And then I really wanted to make Swiss meringue buttercream, and this custard buttercream frosting caught my eye. So much for following one recipe as written, right? This time, anyway, it seems to have worked out and this cake was awesome!…