A birthday’s not a birthday without a cake but why settle for shop-bought when you can decorate your own and make it really personal? Here are a few suggestions for finishing touches that say a little more about the birthday boy or girl.
For the nature lover.
Fans of Sir David Attenborough (and who isn’t?) will love a cake with a nature theme. Try a hedgehog – lots of chocolate icing, chocolate buttons for the spines and a red cherry for his nose. A swiss roll makes a great base for creating a caterpillar or a snake – pop a couple of drops of green colouring in the butter icing and then get inventive with the markings. Nothing you come up with can be more bizarre than some of Mother Nature’s creatio
Anyone for cricket or golf or...?
If you have a sports fanatic in the family, make the most of it. Use a rectangular sponge as a base and then create a cricket, football or rugby pitch with green icing. You could even use jelly babies to represent the teams – just make sure you do your research and get the shirt colours right. A golf green complete with hole and flags is another popular option and white and blue icing makes an inviting looking swimming pool
For trainspotters.
Try this reminder of the great age of steam. Use a swiss roll to form the engine, chocolate rolls for the funnels and licorice wheels for the wheels. If it’s a big party, link on some extra swiss rolls for carriages so that everyone gets a piece.
For the car crazy.
Here’s a great formula for anyone who loves motor racing. Use two round sponge cakes next to each other to form a figure of eight race track. You can make the track surface out of chocolate icing and pop toy cars on to it. Add a checquered flag made from a cocktail stick and some folded paper and the Grand Prix is yours.
Picture cakes. Cakes don’t come more personal than this. Choose a favourite photo of the recipient and have it turned into an edible photo. They’re not that expensive and you can order them online to any size you want. And have some fun – try a baby shot for a coming-of -age party or use a collection of snaps to create a whole edible album
Board game fans.
This is a really quick and easy idea. Use a basic square sponge and then decorate the top as their favourite board game. Do it actual size and you can finish it off with real game pieces – from chessmen to draughts (just make sure you wash them thoroughly first). Scrabble works really well because you can use the letter tiles to spell out the birthday message.
Far and away, the best cake ever.
For the adventurer in your life, how about creating something truly exotic? You could conjure up a desert island set in a blue icing sea with marzipan for the sand, a few cocktail umbrellas for shade and, maybe, some buried treasure as a birthday surprise (just make sure that X marks the spot). Or whip up an Arctic scene with lots of white icing and an igloo made from small squares of sponge cake. Scatter some dessicated coconut over the surface to make it look as if a blizzard has just passed.
Have fun and keep it personal is the rule when it comes to creating a birthday cake. And don’t make the mistake of thinking there’s something childish about it. After all, why should the kids have all the cakes?