About ds birthday cake? Warning totally trivial

[Karlafarla]

It's ds 9th birthday in a few days.

He didn't have a party but we took a few friends to Go Ape and for pizza at the weekend. We are also going to a theme park this bank holiday weekend for his birthday.

He'll be at school on his actual birthday so the evening will just be presents, a nice dinner of his choice at home, and family will be stopping by.

Now to the cake! He's been going on pretty much since his last birthday about having one of those supermarket character cakes, the ones that look really nice but don't taste that nice. Every time we go to the shops he looks at the cakes. Trouble is no one is going to eat it but him, no party bags to put it in and generally find visitors just don't want to eat them because let's face it they taste horrible.

I'm not good at baking so my idea was to either buy a nice chocolate cake or ask my mum to bake a Victoria sponge, that way we can still sing happy birthday then at least everyone can have a slice when they stop by.

I know it's trivial but I love birthdays and we have little traditions.

Glad you've come round OP. Personally I love supermarket cakes with their fondant icing, you may find others do too (or just eat the sponge). Plus they have a long-ish shelf life, so you can either freeze the leftovers if you can face that, or go round the neighbours' offering cake.

It's not spoilt - it might be spoilt if you had said 'you've had lots of treats, no cake' but you've offered cake and he's asked to choose which one. Have the chocolate cake on your birthday.

There probably won't be that much difference in cost between a shop bought and a home made.

If I was offered a slice of their birthday cake by a child, i would say 'Ooh that looks yummy, thank you' and eat it regardless of whether it was my favourite kind of cake.

How mean to make excuses not to eat it or to refuse - no one died from eating a piece of cake that wasn't quite their thing.
Sounds more like grown ups acting spoilt and picky to me.

Blimey you must have some fussy friends. I can't think of anyone who would refuse a bit of cake even a supermarket character one. I've got a sweet tooth so I actually quite like them.

Embarrassingly I LOVE shop bought cakes. I have to stay away from them because I don't trust myself. I find them the most delicious things ever. I'm actually a huge food snob in all other regards and am very fussy about the quality of the food I eat. If my friends knew my secret they'd find it hilarious.

So please can I come to the party? Will gladly eat a slice. And yes, at 9 your cake matters. I hope he enjoys his. You never know, he might realise they don't taste great (to most people) and choose a home made one next year.

DH is away this week and I've got pregnancy as an excuse - after this thread I'm completely heading to Sainsbury's to see if I can find £5 worth of sugary cake.

As an alternative if your dc agrees, on eBay you can buy cake toppers with most characters and they are personalised. I've had loads, in the night garden, monster high - you name it, you can buy it.

You can then make a big cake - mine is the equally inedible rainbow layer cake with gel colours, but I have done chocolate cake before. The thing that makes it 'better' than shop cakes is that it is personalised with the child's name!

Go for it EssentialHummus - pregnancy is the perfect excuse
Now I need an excuse (pregnancy won't cut it - I'm 57 )

Buy a nice cake and get a character icing topper printed to put on it.

Maybe ask a teacher if it would be okay to bring in to class so you don't have to eat it?

Sainsbury's and Asda cakes taste okay I reckon. Get the cake he would like!

Just get him the cake he wants

MIL always bought M&S cakes. They were invariably lovely, moist sponge cakes whatever shape they were.

I love those cakes. I really want someone to buy me one but they wont. My mum offers to make a cake for me every year, and I really don't like her cakes. I've hinted at DH and laid it out that I love the madeira cakes with icing - he's got me chocolate cakes a couple of times.
Let him have the cake! If there's any left you can send it my way.

As others have said - get him the cake.

I can't believe people would turn down a bit of birthday cake from a child on their birthday

Even if the cake looks gross (black icing vom) I say I'll just have a little bit and leave the icing!

I'm so pleased you'll be getting him the cake OP. When he's an adult looking back he may or may not remember you getting him the cake he wanted, but he would definitely remember if you didn't get him one.

Hope you all enjoy the birthday celebrations!

I'm glad you're getting him the cake, he's 9 and it's what he's asked for. My dd wanted Pizza Hut for her birthday I agreed we'd go even though I knew inside I'd be crying paying Stupid money for a couple of slices of pizza and a fizzy drink. I was thinking of telling them I had a gluten allergy so I wouldn't have to pay £10+ to eat that shite and just having a coffee. Thankfully she changed her mind.
If she asks again this year I'd let her.

Might be a bit late for this now but google cake toppers and icing cake topper and similar - you might find that you can buy a plaque of icing with the same image on that you can put onto your own cake and end up with the best of both worlds...

All sorts of things available, especially if you have a cake or hobby shop near by, but here are some ideas - some of which are better than the shop bought ones because the shop ones have to fit in a flat box! You can also get personalised ones. Amazon and ebay also have loads - a few ideas below that came from a couple of seconds of googling. If you know what he wants then you should be able to find something very cool within a couple of minutes!

www.amazon.co.uk/d/Cake-Toppers/Marvel-Superheroes-Characters-Scene-Edible-Wafer-Toppers/B00SOUNKF0?tag=mumsnetforum-21

www.cakecraftshop.co.uk/shop/cake-decorations-and-cake-toppers/960/163/497/

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marvel-Superheros-Personalised-Wafer-Paper-Topper-For-Large-Cake-7-5-/222292301315

www.hobbycraft.co.uk/anniversary-house-blue-footballer-resin-toppers/589035-1000

If it's a specific character could you order one or ask your mum to make it and buy one of those printed edible character sheets to put on to.

But to be honest if he's been asking for a year I would buy it

Haha OP, have you considered buying him the cake?

I've never heard any friend or relative complain about a shop-bought character cake (some people just don't eat cake of any kind of course). Are we all just cheap?

Get him the cake. If it doesn't get eaten, freeze the leftovers and use them for trifle or cake pops or truffles.

[I hate waste!]

I completely get where you're coming from, it feels wrong to buy a cake that doesn't taste nice. But I'd agree with most previous posters, if it's a big deal for your DS just do it. I remember those occasions as a child when something attractive looking actually didn't turn out to taste great. Still the appearance and the experience of having a wish fulfilled made it great.

It's a matter of opinion whether they taste nice though - maybe OP's DS likes it. I like a bought fondant cake myself - I don't like chocolate cake (but would still get one for someone else's birthday if that is what they wanted)

Your to-do list, OP

1. Buy the cake.

1. Script a software bot to post on this thread every thirty seconds that we're all right, you've changed your mind, you're going to buy the cake.

Hope he likes it

The trick for getting them to eat the cake is to blow the candles before food.
Start whatever activities first, then candles and cake, then the rest of the food.

It happened by accident when DS had a party at a pizza place that took ages to serve the pizza's they had made. It was the first and only time that the whole cake was eaten.

More seriously, I'd look into ordering a proper cake at a proper bakery and have it decorated as a character. He could explain to them how he wanted the cake too.
More expensive, but then both of you should be happy.

Buy the cake! It's the one he wants.

I actually think those cakes are delicious but I do have a very sweet tooth!