I absolutely LOVE this guest post from a fellow blogger, all about easy cake decorating ideas for kids’ birthday parties. This is something I personally need ideas for right about now!
“Mom, I want a Spiderman cake for my birthday.”
“Can you make a princess castle cake?”
“I’d like a cake with monkeys-and-elephants-and-zebras-and-tigers, OK?”
Sure, no problem…..you think. However, a quick search on Google or Pinterest can result in some major discouragement, knowing that those beautiful pieces of artwork are probably not going to reproduce themselves in your kitchen.
So instead of spending time searching for a specific cake, that you may, or may not be able to recreate, I’d like to teach you some super easy techniques.
There’s no crazy cake tools involved, or oddly shaped cake pans that you end up only using once. Anyone can do this! All you need is your imagination and a batch of my go to frosting.
1. Go crazy with dots
A fun and festive cake with a polka dot theme is probably one of the most simple, yet professional looking cakes to put together. Plus, colors can be customized to fit a boy, girl, or the theme of your birthday party.
To make the circles, you don’t even need a fancy tip. Just cut a small hole in a ziploc bag, and fill with icing. Then pipe your dots holding the bag exactly vertical.
The more pressure you put on the bag, the bigger the dot, and vice versa. If you’d like to use a tip, #12 is my favorite for making perfectly sized dots.
Place dots all over the cake, just on the sides, or both. And adding a dotted border only takes a few extra minutes, but makes a big impact!
Cake Tip: Sometimes the frosting will leave a point on the top of the dot. Just dip your finger in cornstarch and tap it down.
2. Add toys and action figures
Don’t let the request for Dora, the Hulk, or a barnyard full of animals, be the cause of your cake decorating anxiety. The solution is easy.
Comb through your child’s toys, or buy a cheap set of action figures at the dollar store. Just because you didn’t make a monster truck out of gum paste, doesn’t mean your child will love it any less!
For the girls, use a My Little Pony toy, a Disney Princess, or even fake tiara to adorn the center your cake. You can seriously carry out any theme, with these really easy add-ons.
If you’d like to go the extra step, tip #233 creates a grass effect around your figures. Really simple to do!
Cake Tip: Pipe a pile of frosting beneath each character to help cement it to the cake. Otherwise, the figures will topple right over.
3. Creatively use candy and other food
Candy comes in almost any size, any color, and any shape. That means you can adorn your cake with limitless possibilities!
Sprinkles can do wonders – whether you use jimmies, or the sugar crystals. Chocolate chips are readily available and versatile, either point up or down. M&M’s are really great at creating designs too.
This panda bear cake only uses Oreos and chocolate chips, but it’s still super cute!
4. Cut the cake into a different shape
You can easily turn a 9×13 rectangle or a 9×9 circle into a fun shape to decorate. Just use the internet to find a basic guideline to help you cut the cake.
I usually search for simple black-and-white coloring pages to print out and use as a template. Then I cut out the paper shape with scissors, lay flat on the cake, and start trimming around it with a sharp knife.
I’ve used this technique for making 3D balls, and for the age the birthday boy/girl is turning, but any shape is doable!
Cake Tip: Edges of cut cake are much harder to frost. Make sure you use quite a bit more icing than you think you’ll need, so you can avoid getting crumbs all over the cake.
Don’t look at extreme Cake Boss cakes as something you have to live up to. You can create your own unique spin, using exactly the tools you have in your kitchen right now.
Another perk? You just avoided an expensive trip to the grocery store bakery, and still ended up with a completely customized cake.
Have you ever tried making a birthday cake yourself?
Kalyn Brooke is a writer/blogger who lives in Southwest FL with her husband, Joseph, and one super adorable bunny, named Twix. Frugal living is her passion, book hoarding her weakness, and a well-stocked freezer full of ice cream an essential luxury. You’ll find her latest money-saving ideas and projects at Creative Savings.