I think we’d all agree that a birthday cake is pretty much an essential part of any birthday celebration, right?
I know I may get an argument from some of you that cupcakes are now essential (which I agree with, by the way) but today let’s focus on cakes!
I LOVE a fabulous custom fondant cake for any birthday party. Of all the cakes we’ve had at our house, the cake I ordered for my son’s Mario Kart birthday party last year is probably my favorite.
A custom fondant cake can sometimes get a little expensive, and isn’t always needed for a small family get-together. But don’t worry…I have some inexpensive grocery store alternatives for a birthday cake that’ll make your next celebration absolutely fabulous!
Rainbow parties are a very popular theme right now and I’m still loving the chevron trend, so I created this bright and cheery birthday cake that could easily be used for any child or adult’s birthday. It’s simple, but still creates a nice wow factor.
I started with a plain white cake I ordered from my local grocery store and a large bag of Skittles.
Create the rainbow zig-zag pattern around the base of the cake until you’ve covered the entire cake.
To make the happy birthday bunting, simply tape pieces of ribbon onto baker’s twine and add scrapbook sticker letters to the ribbon. Then tie the twine to 2 bamboo skewers and insert into the cake – easy as that!
You could change it up to only include the birthday person’s favorite colors, instead of using all the colors of the rainbow!
And here are a few more great birthday cake ideas…
One of my kids isn’t a huge fan of birthday cake, but LOVES donuts, so I created a donut cake by stacking donuts on a cake plate and added a little banner with his name on it – he loved it!!
This Kit-Kat cake from Recipe Girl is a really fun and chocolately idea!
photo via Recipe Girl
How about a no-bake rice krispie cake from Martha Stewart?
photo via Martha Stewart
A simple white square cake decorated with various sizes of M&M’s from Parents.com.
image via Parents.com
Add colored gumballs to a plain white cake, similar to this wedding cake created by Truli Confectionary Arts.
- photo via Phillymag.com
With Sweetapolita’s cake as inspiration…a colorfully frosted, round cake decorated with sprinkles would make anyone smile on their birthday!
image via Sweetapolita
A homemade chocolate cake decorated with candy rocks (from Glorious Treats) would be a hit, especially with the boys!
image via Glorious Treats
And finally, for those of you wanting to cut down on the sugar for your birthday celebration, make a fruit cake from Family Fun!
image via Family Fun
What’s your favorite cake for birthday parties?
Do you usually buy one from the store, or make something special for the birthday boy or girl? Maybe you prefer cupcakes? I’d love to hear!
Michele @ The Scrap Shoppe says
March 6, 2012 at 8:46 amWhat fun ideas!! I’m completely infatuated with the chevron cake. I love the bright colors against the white icing, the pattern, and the bunting is just too cute. Question: Do the Skittles discolor the icing over time?
Andrea Worley says
March 6, 2012 at 10:39 amSo cute! Such great ideas Holly! And I love that skittles cake!
Holly says
March 6, 2012 at 11:30 pmThanks Andrea! And best of all…fairly easy to do!
Brigitte says
March 6, 2012 at 1:58 pmLove the skittle cake! I did mine with m&ms! It would match my backdrop that I did for the Candy Land Birthday party a few weeks ago with the dots in the chevron pattern!! You can see it in my blog http://www.EverydayPosh.com
Holly says
March 6, 2012 at 11:40 pmHi Brigitte! The Candy Land party looked wonderful! And yes, the cake totally matches…so fun!!
Holly says
March 6, 2012 at 11:27 pmThanks Michele! I had the cake for about 2 days before it was all eaten and didn’t have a problem with discoloring the icing.
Michele @ The Scrap Shoppe says
March 7, 2012 at 10:30 amThanks, Holly! Good to know!! 🙂
Summer (Summer Scraps) says
March 7, 2012 at 8:15 amThose cakes are all so fabulous! I think my favorite is the Kit Kat cake – I want it for my birthday 🙂
Holly @ Paisley Petal Events says
March 9, 2012 at 9:24 amHi Summer! I know, I LOVE Kit Kats too! I bet your husband could even make it for you…maybe! 😉
Lucky Red Hen says
March 7, 2012 at 9:53 amThanks for the simple (well, they seem pretty simple; love the white cake with colored candy trim, great for a baby/bridal shower) ideas that I will definitely try! We don’t do birthday cake every time (we’ll usually throw away 2/3 of a rotten cake because we just don’t do that many sweets; so the ‘fruit’ cake is a great idea!) The birthday boy/girl gets to pick whatever dessert they want (sundaes, unlimited frozen yogurt bar, donuts hot off the press, candy!)
Holly @ Paisley Petal Events says
March 9, 2012 at 9:28 amGlad you like the ideas! Oh yes, I love the idea that the birthday boy/girl chooses what dessert they want – perfect to make them feel special!!
Kristin says
March 7, 2012 at 2:08 pmOne of the smartest things I ever did was name my daughter a frostable icon. Her name is Sunny. We’ve made her the cutest cupcakes with cute suns on them in the past. Last year we had a blast throwing her a totally intense and meaningful DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY birthday party. She was obsessed with double rainbows at the time. I love the rainbow cakes you featured in this post. We made some adorable rainbow cakes too.
Super cute post, thanks for the great ideas!
Holly @ Paisley Petal Events says
March 9, 2012 at 9:32 amA frostable icon – I love that!! And yes, that WOULD make birthdays easy 😉 A double rainbow party sounds awesome!! My 4 year old is obsessed with rainbows right now – so cute!
Mindy says
March 7, 2012 at 2:42 pmI love the cake made from fresh fruit the best! What a great idea for a summer party! Fruit skewers would be great too! Great ideas! They are all gorgeous and look so yummy!
Holly @ Paisley Petal Events says
March 9, 2012 at 9:40 amHi Mindy! Yes, the fruit cake or skewers would be PERFECT for a summer party! Thanks!!
Lizy B says
March 9, 2012 at 7:52 amThese are all so beautiful! What a great idea for the cake bunting, so well explained too! Love that you used stickers for the letters. Gorgeous!