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Original poster

Do u buy or make your childrens birthday cakes

39 replies

fairydust · 10/03/2004 20:31

It's dd birthday next week.

I have never ever baked a cake but love the idea of making her one.

How many of you make your own or would i be better off going to sainsburys???

OP posts:
suzywong · 10/03/2004 20:35

Hello FD!
For DS1's last bday (his second) I did fairy cakes and put pink icing and a strawberry slice on half and chocolate icing on the other and piled them on a plate with two candles on the top. IMO, easier than a whole cake and more foolproof and easy to dish out and looked really cool and .... easier all round.

marthamoo · 10/03/2004 20:35

You could always buy a ready made cake and customise it yourself. If you have never baked a cake then a birthday cake is quite ambitious for your first attempt. I have done both. Last year I made a dinosaur island cake from scratch for ds1, but for ds2's 2nd birthday I bought a Thomas cake. I would get yourself to the library and ask where the cake decorating books are - they have ideas for using shop bought Swiss rolls and sponge cakes and making them into Fairytale castles etc. with a bit of icing and sweets etc.

HTH.

CountessDracula · 10/03/2004 20:42

FD my dd has only had one bday, but I sort of made it. Bought big slabs of madeira cake from Waitrose and made own filling/icing etc - It was a bit ropey but everyone loved it! So you could get away without actually baking while still having homemade look...

JanHR · 10/03/2004 20:44

I was hoping to make one for DD this year, but I will be at my inlaws looking after DPs gran, so it looks like it will be anther bought one this year

princesspeahead · 10/03/2004 20:56

I make them! first cake I ever made was dd's b'day cake and now I make them all... super-elaborate looking creations that are easy-peasy. bake a bog standard but big cake, use sugar icing (buy it from the supermarket) which you can colour whatever you like with paste colourings, and model like playdough, and it will look so fab that it doesn't really matter what the cake underneath is like. and everyone will treat you like a domestic goddess for doing it, which is entertaining.

ps the cake recipe in nigella's how to eat book is great...

WedgiesMum · 10/03/2004 21:00

I buy a chocoalte bar cake from M&S and decorate with the chosen theme. Last year DS had spiderman, action man and the tweenies, with various toys and chocolate figures on the top. The cake is fantastic and gooey and all of it gets eaten (not just the icing).

Clayhead · 10/03/2004 21:13

I love baking and bake loads of cakes but for dd's birthdays I actually ice a bought cake purely because by the time I've manhandled it, she's blown all over it, so have her friends and she's kept it around for a few days, I never fancy eating it and I hate wasting home baked cake. I usually bake something like gingerbreadmen and buy some of the writing icing pens (about £1 for 4) and ice the kids names on, which they seem to like.

Fondant icing is dead easy to use, just like plasticine! I would recommend 30 Minutes Kids' Cakes by Sara Lewis which is a book designed around the idea of icing bought cakes (of course you could make your own if you wished) and it really doesn't take long to put them together. Good luck.

Tommy · 10/03/2004 21:16

I made DS1 a farm cake this year - he was a bit obssessed at the time. Basic square chocolate cake (could buy it - I love baking so did it myself) cut it into 2 and then made one half into a roof. Covered it with chocolate butter icing, put chocolate fingers on the roof and put it on a green cake board with little farm animals from ELC. Everyone said it looked really good. (Maybe they were just humouring me!) I did try and make a fence out of matchmakers but at 10.30pm and after swearing loudly in front of DS2 who was watching me, I gave up - it was a free range farm!
Some of the books have lots of good ideas for children's cakes which need no baking - e.g. cutting and pasting a couple of chocolate swiss rolls into a train - no baking experience required.
Good luck and have fun. Don't get stressed about it - it simply isn't worth it - it's only you and the other Mummies who will notice or care anyway. The babies will eat and/or squash it into the carpet whether you baked it or not!

Coddy · 10/03/2004 21:17

I do both (hating the bought ones but bowing under pester pressure)but the most popular was anormal choccy cake covered in smarties.

GillW · 10/03/2004 21:24

I did one a bit like Tommy's for ds - square chocolate sponge, covered in chocolate buttercream with half of it combed out to look like it had been ploughed and a small toy tractor and plough on the top.

aloha · 10/03/2004 21:47

I made a beeootiful boat on the sea cake last year - blue wavy icing, paper boat and little biscuit fishes frolicking in the waves. Felt v Martha Stewart (without the insider dealing) and cake was yummy. Well worth the effort for the glow, IMO.

Janh · 10/03/2004 21:57

I made a lovely butterfly cake once - just cut an ordinary round cake in half and stick the curved sides together, cut a wing shape out, cover with butter icing and go mad with sweets and coloured icing for the pattern.

That was for dd1's 4th, I also found butterfly bits to go in the party bags, she loved it.

helenmc · 10/03/2004 21:57

guess what I was making tonight, yep the sponge bit. The kids made loads of animals (mice, caterpillars were very popular and easy) out of modelling icing (cost £4 for about 1kg ) and its even better then play dough!!!

I'd go for a bought cake, cover in butter icing and have loats of fun with your dd making patterns using forks and stick sweets everywhere. You could even do the writing using strawberry shoelaces.

bobthebaby · 10/03/2004 23:53

I would have bought one if I could have got an egg and dairy free one. I made individual buns for ds's first birthday as they were easier for him to manage.

sibble · 11/03/2004 00:16

I buy the sponge then let DS loose on the decorating. He has just turned 4 and this years efforts resembled a bright green sweet explosion, completely lopsided etc. but he had great fun and the kids thought it was great too.
For the adults I did mini banana muffins, then built them up like profriteroles with icing similar to carrot cake. DS helped build them.

hoxtonchick · 11/03/2004 00:18

ds had 2 cake for his 2nd birthday - i made a chocolate sponge, gooey choc icing & went mad with smarties, & mil constructed a train one out of swiss rolls. both equally popular. i'm not a regular cake maker either, but it was surprisingly easy & i got a definite feel-good glow (dp got a very similar cake too).

Ghosty · 11/03/2004 00:54

I discovered after becoming a mummy that I was actually quite good at making birthday cakes ... I had never been into baking before so it came as a surprise ...
I think the secret to baking is to follow the recipe EXACTLY and to make sure you have the right size tin for that recipe ...
I use the Australian Women's Weekly recipe book called 'Kids Birthday Cakes' which has really good ideas for decorating and has fool proof recipes in the back ... I say fool proof as I truly believe that if I can bake a decent cake anyone can!!!
DS' 3rd birthday cake was a Thomas the Tank Engine ... train from Aus Women's Weekly ... then I used coloured butter icing and copied DS' little Thomas to decorate ... using other bits like red licorice strings ...
4th birthday was a Bob the Builder No 4 ... basic rectangle cake cut to make a 4 ... then iced with butter icing ... then black licorice straps to make as a road ... and then lots of little 'Bob' figures dotted around to make it look like road works ... Easy peasy ...
It is easier than you think ... it just takes a bit of planning and fore thought!!
Good luck ....

expatkat · 11/03/2004 04:19

I'm relieved to hear some of you UK mums buy birthday cakes. And shocked. I really thought it was just not the done thing to buy a birthday cake--I'd never met anyone in London who'd bought one, or who admitted to buying one. Whereas in the US I don't think I've ever met anyone who MADE a birthday cake. I always thought people were looking down at me at ds's birthday parties (in London) with store-bought cake, but obviously it was just my imagination.

robinw · 11/03/2004 08:03

message withdrawn

Bozza · 11/03/2004 09:12

I make DS's birthday cakes - or rather we do it together as part of the treat. He loves it. This year being pregnant I couldn't be bothered with a theme so we just made a chocolate cake (well 2 cakes twice) because of nursery, family, party etc. We then iced it with choccie icing and decorated it with jelly beans, dolly mixture etc. DS loved that. BUT most of the parties I have been to (approx 2 a month for last two years) have had bought cakes so I'm definitely in a minority.

SoupDragon · 11/03/2004 09:29

I make them. This year's was a sewer made out of chocolate cake!!

Original poster
fairydust · 11/03/2004 12:05

Just been to sainsburys and dd loved the disney princess castle cake -so we've ordered one for next week.

We're going to make the fairy cakes instead.

OP posts:
LIZS · 11/03/2004 12:13

Make them usually but I wish ds would decide what he wants. His bday is in less than 2 weeks and we'll need one for school and one for a , yet to be arranged, party. Switzerland not big on ready made novelty cakes.

Twinkie · 11/03/2004 12:14

M&S do some lovely ones - have to order quite well in advance though and they are not cheap - DD wants the big fairy castle - although her birthday is 4 months away!!

slug · 11/03/2004 13:49

The sluglet and I made a cat cake for her second birthday. (she Looooves baking)

I made a round chocolate cake and used a bit of the mixture to make two muffin-sized cakes as well. These I trimmed into triangles, stuck on top of the cake and became the ears. The face was done with a little icing and smarties for the coloured bits of the eyes. It didn't look professional, but the children were in no doubt about what it was supposed to be.