Amazing birthday cake ideas
When it comes to amazing birthday cake ideas for your children, your imagination is the only limit. But sometimes it lets us down… so here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing again.
What little girl doesn’t like ribbons and hearts? Well, okay – your little tomboy might not… and likewise, your young lad may prefer them to rockets and fire engines. You know your little treasure the best, after all. We love this pretty cake – full of colour and height – a real showstopper and not too difficult to recreate with coloured royal icing. Buy lollipops to stick in the top to save time, and perhaps your sanity.
How about a train birthday cake? You could decorate it with your kiddie’s favourite colours and it’s actually not as difficult as you might first think. You’ll need a rectangle cake and a smaller round one… plus a big bag of sweeties. This one has used licorice sweets, but you could chop and change with any round candy goodies.
Another one for the girls now – an Ariel cake for your very own little mermaid and her friends. Of course not many of us are skilled enough to make our own little mermaid cake topper, but you could always buy a doll to sit on top? That way your child gets a nice keepsake too.
Does your child have a favourite animal? Well why not use these cute cupcakes as inspiration? Just make them bigger if you want a full size cake! We can all cut out shapes, so just make some paper templates for eyes, ears and noses… use them on royal icing – and you’re all set!
Now this gem is perfect for those of us that struggle to make a sandwich, let alone decorate a cake! Just make a chocolatey mess on top of a couple of cake rounds and pop digger toys on top. Or do it in yellow and add a teeny pair of flip-flops and a mini beachball for the beachlover kiddies. Mess is mandatory here – no precision required.
This one is really easy to do. Smother the outside of the cake with chocolate icing, and use that to stick chocolate fingers or kitkat fingers all the way around. The slop more chocolate icing inside and liberally cover with little sweeties of your choice. Decorate with a piece of ribbon, and away you go.
Expecting a lot of guests at your child’s upcoming birthday party? Then why not consider a tiered cake? You can get the stands in most cake decorating stores and you can do different ingredients and/or colours for each layer. Go layer crazy!
Who says you have to serve up an actual cake? Not us!!! Buy a big box of doughnuts then dunk them in melted chocolate (only take a minute in the microwave) before dunking them in hundreds and thousands or other types of sprinkly goodies.
If in doubt – go for cupcakes! Cupcakes are all the rage right now. You can make your own and maybe get the birthday boy or girl to help. Or you could even turn it into a party activity… and get all your little guests to decorate their own cakes with all manner of goodies. It’s great fun, plus it keeps them occupied for a while.
An extension of this idea is to make cake pops. You can make them all the same, get your little one involved or make it a party activity. Make sure you have lots of different sprinkle pots and tubs of dunkable chocolate too!
Never ever ever forget the candles! What child doesn’t enjoy that heartstopping moment when the lights are dimmed and all eyes are upon them as everybody sings “Happy Birthday”. It’s an absolute must! Remember though, to make sure they are extinguished properly, especially those that relight themselves… and keep little fingers away from matches.
Remember to check with all the other parents in case any of the kiddies have food allergies. It may be as simple as making the cake nut-free… but if need be, you can always whip something else up for those with gluten or dairy allergies. What is important is to ensure that every child feels included.
Of course not everyone is as capable of making these cakes as a proper cake decorator can – but you still have a couple of choices:
- Buy one from a specialist. It may be a little more expensive than if you made it yourself, but it removes all the stress for you!
- Have a go! Can Little Andrew or Little Anita really tell the difference? And so what if the other parents can – just give them a glass of something cheeky, or an extra slice, to keep quiet.
