Birthday Cakes For Kids

Organizing a birthday for your kid is no small task. It involves dozens of things to do invitations to send, games to organize, decorations to be put up, and, most important, ensuring the birthday cake is ready! This is the highlight of the party it warms the heart to see your kid blow out the candles, cut the cake and eat the first slice as the other kids sing the familiar Happy Birthday To You song.

It is naturally easy just to order a readymade cake. However, baking and decorating a birthday cake yourself will be specially appreciated by your kid. So heres some advice and ideas

 

Baking Your Own Birthday Cake

Of course, you need to make a specific plan well ahead of the important day. That way you avoid doing anything in haste. You might even end up burning the all-important cake if you bake it at the last minute when a hundred other things divert your attention!

Most kids prefer chocolate cake or a blend of chocolate and vanilla. So do ask your kid what he or she would prefer getting your kids involved in choosing shows respect for their preferences.

Also, it is not necessary to go in for an elaborate cake even though your kid may have a stubbornly insistent idea of what the cake should look like. You could gently explain to your kid that you are not fully capable of putting his or her creative idea together, but would make something similar. For example, your eight-year-old daughter would demand a space-age type cake. No need to rack your brains! Bake a simple cake and put miniature cake toppers in the shape of astronaut figures and even, possibly, a shuttle!

These toppers are actually miniature toys that are easily

available, and you can even order them online. Mini-cars, small animals, tiny figures there are a whole lot of choices!

Another option is to use cookies in the shapes that you desire and insert them on top of the cake. For example, with Christmas round the corner, you can get a handful of Santa-shaped cookies for your kids birthday cake.

 

Baking Equipment

What you need to keep at hand are the necessary baking tools. Baking experts advise you to purchase a turntable for placing the cake, so that it is easy to decorate. The correct spatulas are also necessary. Purchase readymade cake molds or pans to get a shape for a theme-based birthday party: Clocks, phones, musical instruments, castles, cabins, cartoon characters, mermaids, houses, butterflies, penguins, superhero figures the list is endless. Readymade stencils are also useful to make designs. Use decorating tubes for icing. And, of course, dont forget the right ingredients! Handy packets of cake mix are easily available at your local grocery store. Grated chocolate and sugar in various colors is also great to sprinkle on the top and sides of the cake.

 

Birthday Cakes with Themes

If you are organizing a party centered on a specific theme, you need to have the appropriate birthday cake too. Decide first whether you want the standard circular cake or maybe something different. Nowadays, it is easy to buy cake pans and molds of various shapes. Here are some ideas:

If the theme is centered on jigsaw puzzles, you could make small individual cakes in square shapes. On each shape use icing of different colors to make simple pictures, such as a boat, some with fishes, waves, a smiling sun, a few clouds with the alphabets of her name spelled out, and so on. Place them on the cake turntable, in a haphazard way. When it is time to cut the cake, tell your daughter to rearrange the individual cakes in the correct way to form a complete picture of a scene at the beach. Watch her face swell with pride as she completes the task, place the candles for her to blow, and cheer with the other kids on her simple achievement. Sure, there will be a few messy fingers as your child arranges the puzzle, but its all worthwhile! Look on it as an educational activity in a fun way!

If your son loves sports cars, buy a readymade cake mold in the shape of a car. Bake the cake and wait for it to cool before placing any decorations. Outline the border, windows and wheels with icing. Gently insert a driver at the steering wheel you can put in a small flexible figure that can be seated with its legs inserted within the cake. Voila! You son had his wish fulfilled for a car-cake!

Need a birthday cake for twins No problem! It is not necessary to sweat it out baking two individual cakes for each of them. You can bake one medium sized cake in the shape of a gift-wrapped box. For this, use a rectangular-shaped cake pan. Decorate it with pretty icing flowers along the edges or use tiny artificial flowers or even cherries and mistletoe (dont forget to remove these after the cake is cut!). Put on top an icing ribbon with a bow at the centre. Tell the twins to cut the ribbon on either side of the bow. Then hand them their actual gifts in individual boxes and see their faces glow!

 

Sources for Ideas for Birthday Cakes

At the simple click of the mouse, you can get wonderful birthday cake ideas and basic recipes from the World Wide Web.

Baking books.

Local bakeries.

Head for the local library and browse through magazines featuring baking products and tips for baking your own cake.

Whether you go online or refer to a book on the subject, ensure that the ingredients are easily available and not too expensive. Also, the simplest of steps could be daunting to a beginner. So see if you understand the instructions in the first place! You dont need to worry that the cake has not come out perfectly in your eyes. The wonder and delight on your kids face is enough to convince you that you did a great job!

Get Going! Bake A Birthday Cake for your kid!