Cake ideas for 1st birthday

[imbe123]

Having a small gathering for my dd2 1st birthday and I want to bake a nice cake. Any ideas im a little stuck as icing isn't my strong point but I want it to look nice.

I saw this idea and might do it for our small family gathering. Make some cupcakes - arrange on a cake board next to each other to make the appropriate number. Make some soft icing and spread across to make a solid shape of the number and add on appropriate sprinkles/decorations e.g. Chocolate buttons, iced flowers.
Am on mobile so can't Google for a pic as I can't remember where I saw the idea...

I hired a '1' shaped tin from my local cake decorating shop and googled 'best ever chocolate cake recipe'. For the icing I used Betty Crockers vanilla frosting (which comes ready made in a tub). As I was icing the cake, the frosting did pick up bits of the choc cake but it looked ok (like it was meant to be like that) so I told everyone it was cookies and cream icing! I then decorated the top with smarties and edible glitter.

It looked amazing if I do say so myself and my family were in awe that I had made it! Glad I didn't spend £55 on one from a local cake maker now!

Thanks will have a look on google for it

Just to mention you can buy the tins from ebay/online shops and they do a chocolate flavour frosting too

Thanks MB34 haven't thought of hiring a 1 tin shape will have a look see how much and where does it. Yeah I really don't want but one they can be very expensive

For DS I hired a 1 tin which cost about a pound!
I then made a chocolate layer cake and covered it in a really simple ganache type thing which was basically melted choc and cream and it smoothed over the cake really easily.
Chucked a load of edible glitter and a candle on it, simple and effective!

Thanks will look on eBay aswell

Imbe123, I made a 50 cake the other ( pic on my profile) didn't hire or buy a tin I just used some greasproof paper and drew a 5 and an 0 cooked too oblong sponges and cut around each tracing , the thing to is crumb coat first then you no bits in your icing then decorate as you want.

Both mine had a 1 shaped cake made out of a rectangle 'tray bake' victories sponge.
I cut it in half length ways.
One half made the main part of the 1.
The other half cut into 2 squares.
1 square, cut in half again makes the bottom part.
1 square cut in a sort of triangle makes the top!
Does it make sense?
Get a a4 piece of paper and try it, it was dead easy. Honest.

Wow nannycook your cakes look amazing!!!

I did this one, www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/train-cake/5685f320-1e5c-4ebb-b2cd-1ab73633b016. It was really quite simple but so effective. I just piped on the cake board my Ds's name and the number 1.

Thank you imbe, I have a number 30 cake to make for the end of Feb and will do the same as before, its easy so try it, only this customer wants, shoes and handbags on this cake.

I made a teddybear.

Maderia Cake baked in pudding basins, one small, one large.

Put one on top of the other, sandwich with butter cream and cover in chocolate butter cream or melted chocolate. Chocolate mini rolls for arms and legs, half a choc chip cookie for ears and a face made out of white fondant icing and chocolate buttons. I am very far away from being artistic but this was simple and effective.