In honor of WBUR's 75th, staffers share their favorite Boston-area birthday cakes

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's Saturday morning newsletter, The Weekender. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. 

Saturday is officially WBUR’s 75th birthday!

WBUR-FM first hit the airwaves at 4 p.m. on March 1, 1950. We started out as a small college radio station licensed to Boston University, staffed mostly by students and volunteers. There was news and educational programming, but also a lot of music. It wasn’t until the 1980s that we began to receive programming from NPR and established ourselves as a news station — with nationally syndicated radio shows, hit podcasts, newsletters (ahem) and more.

Our official birthday bash, The WBUR Festival, will be at the end of May, when the weather’s a bit warmer. To celebrate the occasion in the meantime, we asked WBUR staffers to share where they get their favorite birthday cakes and confections.

Shameless plug: My family is partial to the strawberry Grand Marnier cake from Konditor Meister in Braintree. Here are the rest of the mouthwatering recommendations from my WBUR colleagues:

“My friends exclusively order birthday cakes from Lyndell’s Bakery in Somerville’s Ball Square. Over the last year we celebrated three birthdays and sampled three of their fluffy, moist cakes covered in a thick layer of frosting, and decorated to abandon — in some cases, with unicorns or a sandy beach. My friend Deb’s ride-or-die birthday order is a chocolate two-layer cake with two types of frosting: vanilla and chocolate.” — Emily Piper-Vallillo, education reporter

“If we don’t bake a cake ourselves, my family’s go-to birthday cake is from Guarino Pastry Shop in Norwood. They have a rum cake that has a fresh strawberry layer, is covered with fresh whipped cream and is topped with cherries and peaches on the edge. It’s so tasty and fresh, and feels extra special for a big day.” — Meagan McGinnes-Bessey, managing editor of digital audience & community engagement

“My family often orders from Quebrada Baking Company. My go-to is their chocolate mocha cake, but we also often get the chocolate raspberry torte. Our tradition is to pick it up in the morning along with some breakfast pastries.” — Emma Weisberg, annual giving officer

“The best dessert in the whole world is ‘Dynamite Don’s Famous Five Fruit Pie’ from Mann Orchards in Methuen (the crumb top version specifically). It’s a hometown favorite for me, and I’ll request it over cake for my birthday any year.” — Liza Anderson, digital and marketing associate

“Trader Joe’s makes the most delicious gluten-free yellow cake with chocolate buttercream, and it will absolutely be my birthday cake this year. My family also has a tradition of going to Baskin Robbins for birthday ice cream cake: My dad gets peppermint, my sister gets mint chocolate chip, my mom gets coffee and I would get cookie dough (when I used to be able to eat gluten).” — Courtney Keller, legacy giving manager

“Italian rum cake from Antoine’s Pastry Shop in Newton. Everything is good there, including all the cakes.” — Julie Chao-Sibelle, associate director of membership

“I don’t know if they make them any more, but Friendly’s had some really killer birthday ice cream cakes. I loved them. They had a birthday cake one and a watermelon one I really liked!” — Meghan Kelly, senior editor

“The berry chantilly cake from Whole Foods. I love how soft and fluffy the cake is. I prefer whipped cream frosting instead of buttercream because it’s light and melts in your mouth. The berries add a nice freshness. Leaves you feeling satisfied but doesn’t give you a stomachache.” — Maddie Browning, arts reporting fellow

“Ice cream cake from Cabot’s in Newton — a staple since I was little!” — Steph Brown, producer

“Cupcake Therapy and Maple & Maine in Jamaica Plain have delivered amazing vegan treats to our doorstep for the last several occasions. So delicious, and multiple people were surprised to learn they were vegan in both cases.” — Naomi Sobel, senior leadership gifts officer

“Cupcakes from Party Favors in Coolidge Corner!” — Christopher Bowers, full stack engineer

“I’m decidedly more of a pie person than a cake person, but will split the difference on birthdays. Thankfully, Cheesecake Factory does a birthday cake that includes layers of cheesecake, which experts say is technically pie. Plus, you can order it in multiple sizes.” — Nik DeCosta-Klipa, senior editor for newsletters

“It was not a birthday unless we had a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. I’m personally a fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake.” — Katie Kirk, marketing operations manager

“Donna’s Cakes in West Roxbury is amazing! We always get vanilla cake with vanilla frosting for my kid’s birthday. It’s his favorite. Sometimes there’s real beauty in the simplicity.” — Ashton Harding senior leadership gifts officer

“My favorite is strawberry cake (Duncan Hines box mix; if not that, Betty Crocker) with chocolate frosting and multicolored sprinkles. Sometimes I bake it, sometimes my mom will bake it, and sometimes a friend will bake it. But it’s the same cake, every year.” — Liv Jones, executive assistant

P.S. — We want to know: Where do you or your loved ones like to get birthday cakes? Write us a response in the form below and it could be included in a follow-up roundup of reader recommendations.