Any domestic goddesses out there? Need help with birthday cake ideas please!

[Poppychick]

My DD will be 3 on Sunday and I always make the children cakes. Have so far done all the 'easy' decoration stuff but can't think of something simple and effective this time. She loves Dora but don't really want to pay £5-6 for a plastic Dora to stick on top!!

Any suggestions for decorating would be appreciated!

Thanks so much

Have you ever done that one where you make 2/3 sponges, cut them in half and lay then on their side so they form an arch... Trim it into a hedgehog type shape, cover with brown icing and chocolate buttons and there you have a hedgehog!? Did I describe that at all well?

I have never made it personally, but my mum made it for me when I was little and I still remember it 30 years on! I'm looking forward to making it when my DS is old enough to appreciate it!

Or make a round cake with one or two layers. Trim to make a flower shape and cover with hot pink icing / butter icing. Put a circle of purple or yellow or whatever you like in the middle and there you have a fab flower cake.

Spider cake - same as above but trim the top edge to make it more rounded. Cover in brown icing and choc sprinkles. Licorice legs and licorice allsorts for the eyes.

does she have a barbie style doll?

you could cook a sponge in a round pyrex bowl, when you tip it out it makes a great shape stick the doll in the top then ice the beautiful dress that the dolly is wearing with butter icing or other of your choosing.

just a thought - will keep thinking.. I have boys so trains and rockets and pirate ships here, not very girlie!!

A good website on easy birthday cakes and how to make them!

I'm looking at birthday stuff at the mo and have just been on the party pieces website. They sell cake packs which I don't suggest you buy cos they're way too expensive but if you find them and click on the picture it gives you an idea of how to make it. I'm going for the handbag one I think. Here's the link

I made a toadstool cake for my dd when she was 3.

Make two sponge cakes in pudding basins, one bigger than the other, put the larger cake on to a cardboard base and then put that cake on the top of the other, so it looked like a toadstool top and trunk. Decorated it with butter icing and sweets. Put the whole thing on a board and actaully made a little garden path and flowers on the board with sweets. It did look really cute and went down a treat.

Now, I need a cake shortly for her sister who will be 6, so any more suggestions.

That site has proper guide for the doll cake I mentioned.

thanks love those ideas and feel inspired! toadstool and hedgehog are my current faves who needs dora anyway? xx

my mum did me the doll cake - chuffed i was!

we just put butter icing and dd squished dolly mixtures and jelly diamonds into the top

she had a lovely time cos she could do it herself

was a mner idea

When my DD was 4 I did a really easy cake that looked like an old fashioned bag of sweets.

I made the cake in a pyrex bowl and wrapped roll out white icing around it so it looked like a bag. I then painted thin pink stripes (used pink food colouring and an artist brush) down the side of the 'bag' so it looked old fashioned. I then piled sweets on top of the cake inside the 'bag' and stuck a candy cane in for good measure.

It looked fab and was dead easy.