To decorate a pre iced cake for dds 16th and refuse to pay £80 for a themed cake?!

[Dewdrops1]

So it’s dd’s 16th birthday and quotes on birthday cakes coming in at £80 or there about 😳 completely appreciate time and cost involved but it’s just out of my price range (and I’ve left it too late!)

So…..do you think I’d be able to decorate a pre iced shop cake and make it look acceptable (I’m not very good at baking so unable to make own!)?

any ideas on how I’d go about doing this in 2 days and pass it off as a ‘professional’ looking cake😂 was thinking black/gold decoration and possibly getting two different size cakes to put on top of each other, no idea how I’d go about doing that mind!

Honest opinions greatly appreciated.

To clarify, I agree DIY decorating a cake is acceptable but there is no way it could be passed off as a professionally decorated cake as the OP is asking. (I also don’t think it is a good idea to lie.)

I would consider an ocado order and just get a massive M and S cake off there, if you can't get one off the M and S website directly in time.

This one from M&S is half the price and looks great https://www.marksandspencer.com/cookies-and-cream-cake-serves-16-/p/ckp60576561#intid=pid_pg1pip45g4r4c4|prodflag_Collect%20in%205%20days|prodflag_submsg-In%20Store%20Collection

Have had a look back
One cake - I put together x2 - iced them and then added paper edible flowers / topper

And another - instead of flowers got an old Barbie and made her 'drunk Barbie' - messy hair / smeared make up holding a miniature bottle (DD's request when she grew out of flowers!)

Patisserie Valerie do some cakes online for about £40 which are great, add a personalised topper from Etsy and it’ll look great.
alternatively get a load of Lindt balls and swirly lollipops and decorate around the bottom of a pre iced cake.
it’s bloody hard to get fondant to do what you want. I’m a pretty good cartoonist (if I do say so myself) and my play dough creations usually come out ok. Fondant is tricky!

www.sponge.co.uk/cakes/decorating-kits

This place is amazing for cakes, I've used them loads

Buy this cake: https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-rainbow-sponge-layer-cake-524983011?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADi6iHnIlUnAbIeMnCzz9VfI7WRMe&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy7SMn6_jhgMVE5hQBh3ASApSEAQYASABEgKw9vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

and then add a photo or words or other pictures printed and put on cocktail sticks.

this has wow factor and tastes good!

You have all been so amazingly helpful!
completely take on board the fact it’s a very skilled talent and any attempt by me to make anything with fondant will look completely crap -noted and will stay well away!

Love, love the naked cake and flower/berries/macaron idea but there’s a 7 day order on m&s and need it for 3 days time😫

I can currently scouring Amazon looking for cake topper and worst case scenario I’ll be looking around shops for best looking cake to stick it in. Why do I do this to myself….always seems like a good idea at the time!

Entirely possible! But you'll end up spending a fair but on stuff to decorate it with if you haven't got anything to begin with so may not work out much cheaper. Look at ms and waitress they have nice ones to pre order all decorated. Fondant work can take a bit of time and so can buttercream if your not used to it,but it can be done. Mix it with amazon toppers, flowers etc

What's the theme OP maybe we cal help find you something suitable!

I think you could if you have a clear (and realistic) plan. It might not look professional professional but it would look like a good amateur had done it.

I don't think an Etsy order would arrive in two days unfortunately.
You can buy ready iced cakes, which is a great starting point. They normally seem to come in white icing. One idea would be to wrap a ribbon around the sides of the cake (you can sterilise pins in boiling water and I prefer glass headed pins as easier to see). Then choose either the number shaped candles or number sparklers and put those towards the back of the cake. If the candles have a thick base cut a hole smaller than the base in the icing for them to sit in (otherwise pushing the candles in can crack the icing). Finally put a suitable decoration towards the front of the cake. This could be premade decorations, sweets, fruit or even a clean non-edible thing so long as it's obvious that it shouldn't be eaten.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/757426318/confetti-balloon-cake-topper-5-chrome?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_c-paper_and_party_supplies-party_supplies-party_decor-other&utm_custom1=k_Cj0KCQjwvb-zBhCmARIsAAfUI2uLFOY9vqV85Z3smw8HftxZ-Sr0AaURIB4t_bjHrv3FqkSxadWn-9YaAhzgEALw_wcB_k&utm_content=go_12583168683_122196987520_507889623253_pla-315269640899_m__757426318engb_118908604&utm_custom2=12583168683&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvb-zBhCmARIsAAfUI2uLFOY9vqV85Z3smw8HftxZ-Sr0AaURIB4t_bjHrv3FqkSxadWn-9YaAhzgEALw_wcB

Or go to a hobbycraft !

Fine. It doesn't have to look instagram perfect.

I did this for my DH's recent big birthday. Professional cakes coming in at over £100 for a not very good or big one. So I got a rainbow cake from M&S and a topper and some themed bits to pop on top. Plus got some number candles and some cake sparklers. It looked fab and he loved it.

I have done some cake decorating before and know how long it takes and how difficult it is. And how shit it can look even after hours spent on it. So I would give you two recommendations 1. Keep it as simple as possible. Buy stuff to stick on the cake rather than try to make things yourself. 2. Stick with a theme/colours and don't deviate.

Good luck!

I was going to say hobbycraft!

The one by me sells edible cake decorations as well as cake toppers and plenty of other stuff to decorate cakes with.

I did a cake recently with these ball things, they're on wires and you just shove them in, really effective. You could buy a naked cake or just make a few sponges and stack them with buttercream and jam, then just plain buttercream on the outside nice and smooth and shove the balls in! If you want to get really fancy add some eucalyptus stalks in too, they look pretty.

One of the nicest cakes I’ve seen was a shop bought white cake that my friend then decorated with a colourful ribbon and fresh and fake flowers.

Was thinking gold and black?

Absolutely you can! You can buy all sorts in the supermarket now too - edible gold glitter, all different kinds of sprinkles. Also, depending on exactly how late you've left it, you can get some nice toppers from EBay or Amazon.

Maybe not this exactly but you can get all sorts and pop it on the top 👍🏻

amzn.eu/d/g2tXg95

How about something like this and then add a black and gold ribbon?

some amazing ideas, thanks everyone. Does anyone gave any pics though, feeling a bit overwhelmed with ideas atm. Something easy, simple but effective on a pre iced cake. I can order a sweet 16 topper. Perhaps berries, chocolate strawberries? Can I just put them on top of cake or will the juices run into icing?🫣

How many does the cake need to serve OP?

I’ve done this for years and my kids think I bake them 😂😂

chocolate cake with loads of strawberries with gold glitter spray is a fav 😂

…… if you can afford it, you missed the end of your sentence.