Birthday cake for two year old

[imnotgoinghomeyet]

I’m the family baker, I love it and love making cakes so it’s not a problem.

I’ve been asked to make a birthday cake for the baby of the family for this weekend. It’s meant to be a nice day and we’re having a BBQ. The problem is I just don’t know what to do? There will be more adults than children there who want the cake, so I’d like to try and balance it between a children’s cake and one adults can enjoy too.

She has asked for chocolate cake along with her sibling (well, I asked her if she wanted chocolate or vanilla and it sounded like she said chocolate 😂) but some of the adults going don’t like chocolate.

What do I make?! AIBU to want the adults to enjoy it too and I should just make it a kid’s cake?!

I won’t be doing a character cake because artistically im at the level of a gnat who has no eyesight, im awful! But in terms of making a good cake im not bad 😂

Make the cake for the child.
Adults will like it and eat it, or not.

Using chocolate icing is one way to have chocolate without the cake being chocolate.

Non choc lovers can bypass icing.

For my eldest grandsons first birthday I made a very simple small madeira cake covered with plain fondant icing, and then 3 varieties of small iced cupcakes (in cases) which I attached to the base cake with toothpicks. It covered all the bases. I'm no star baker, but it looked good.

Ask the mum, but if the baby likes chocolate then make chocolate, it’s their birthday! I don’t like chocolate cake either but we always had chocolate cake for my sister’s birthday when she was little because she likes it and it was her birthday.

Looks like you’ll be baking a chocolate cake. Tough shit if the adults don’t like it. I’d make the cake & the fondant icing chocolate. The buttercream filling too, if that’s the way you are going.

I’d do a small cake for the toddler, exactly what they would like and then a batch of cupcakes to adult taste. The cupcakes are not the birthday cake, just another option at a party.

I’ll buttercream all around, I just don’t know how to design it. If I was doing what I’d want to do it would be a white chocolate and lemon cake 🤣

Oh this could be a good idea!!! A chocolate cake for the kids and something else for the adults. I know they all like my lemon drizzle cake…

I’m not sure of the question really, you asked if they wanted chocolate or vanilla and they said chocolate so you’re making a chocolate cake, and it’s not a character cake so what are the options you need help with?

Oh I see, extra cakes. I’m sure people will be happy if you do extra cakes, but I wouldn’t go to far, it’s a bbq after all so not everyone will want cake anyway

Whether I should do a chocolate cake or not. It’s so, blah. They’re horrible to bake, usually end up dry and crumbly and so boring to decorate because the icing needs to be chocolate too

Big square vanilla sponge with chocolate icing decorated with raspberries on top and chocolate fingers or similar around the outside. It’ll appeal to everyone. Pop a nice cake topper on from Amazon - personalised would be nice.

If it was me though, I’d be catering it more to the children, like if they’re into dinosaurs I’d have some dinosaur themed decor and if you’re not the decorative type you can buy these, or diggers (you’ve probably seen the digger cakes). Or anything the child is into… butterflies, unicorns - you can buy fondant toppers…

I’ve never made a child’s birthday cake and catered to the adults rather than the Birthday girl or boy…?

Yes, do what’s requested but find a different recipe. There’s a nice Guinness chocolate cake that isn’t dry (the alcohol will burn off) and my aunt used to make one with oil and boiling water, not butter. Also not dry

Oh a chocolate cake designed to look like a garden could be quite sweet, with chocolate fingers as a fence with butterflies and flowers

I make Nigella's chocolate orange cake but with strawberry jam instead of marmalade. Everyone loves it. I often put an easy chocolate glaze and chocolate dipped strawberries on the top. I added a link but it's pending approval.

That sounds amazing. I’d just rather do something a bit more elevated than your standard boring chocolate cake

It's really easy too - one of those gratifying recipes where the result is disproportionate to the the effort.

This is the one I made for my son's 18th birthday

Image under review!

Chocolate cake always goes faster at work than any other flavour and we are all adults.

If you don't want lots of rejected slices of cake, I wouldn't do anything other than standard chocolate cake for children.

Lovely OP! I wish I was making a cake now. Birthday season is over here and I’ve just booked a holiday so trying to be careful!
I hope it goes well for you and that she loves it!

If the birthday girl wants chocolate cake that’s what she should have, even if she’s only two . Doesn’t matter wha the other guests might like.

An elevated chocolate cake is a good idea, the Nigella one sounds delicious.