October is a month of big celebrations in the Banister house. On October 8, we celebrated our 11th anniversary with a killer French meal in Dallas (I’ll be writing about that restaurant soon, I promise), and five days later, October 13, it’s Will’s birthday, so cue the chocolate ganache.

While I always offer to bake him anything he’d like (after all, this girl never refuses an opportunity to whip up something from scratch), he always asks for the same cupcakes. Every. Single. Year.

They’re a simple yellow sponge cake topped with chocolate ganache, and he eats every single one of them. He usually kicks off the festivities with coffee and cupcakes for breakfast, but this year I baked them the night before. So guess who had a few pre-birthday treats? Hint: it wasn’t the baker.

Incidentally, chocolate ganache is almost as easy as opening a can of pre-made frosting, and it tastes a gazillion times better. Just follow Ina’s instructions, and you’re golden (and seriously, don’t forget the coffee, it really does make a huge difference).

Ok, illustrious readers, I’m dying to know…what’s your go-to birthday dessert? I must say that I’m pretty flexible. I love some tiramisu done right. A ricotta cheesecake with an Oreo crust. A single red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles. Hot apple crisp with ice cream. Strawberry rhubarb crisp. Carrot cake. Really, the list could go on and on…