There are plenty of special occasions to bake a cake for, but nothing is quite as special as a child’s birthday party. The following four recipes are a treat for all the senses and are sure to capture the hearts of your little ones… and your big ones as well.
1. Pirate Ship Cake
You’ll need:
For the chocolate cake:
- 11 oz soft butter
- 7 oz sugar
- 5 medium eggs
- 6 oz flour
- 6 oz ground almonds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 oz cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 7 oz soft butter
- 12½ oz powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Extra:
- Toffifay/Toffifee candies
- Pocky chocolate sticks
- wooden sticks
- pirate sail
Here’s how:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the chocolate cake using the above ingredients, pour the batter into a greased springform pan (ø 10 inch), and bake for 60 minutes.
2. As the cake cools, prepare the chocolate buttercream frosting by combining the above ingredients. To make a pirate ship, cut the round cake as shown in the video.
3. Flip the center rectangle piece over and coat the top with chocolate buttercream frosting.
4. Take the two outer-center square pieces, flip them over, place them on either end of the large rectangle, and coat them with chocolate buttercream frosting.
5. Take a corner piece, cut it into four strips, and place them on the ship, as shown in the video.
6. Cut another corner piece into two pieces.
7. Lay the back piece with the cut side down and cut it lengthwise into three pieces.
8. Place the three pieces on top of the ship.
9. Take another corner piece and cut off a piece.
10. Cut this piece into three parts.
11. Coat the top portion with chocolate buttercream frosting. Cut a small square out of the ship and insert the elongated piece of cake as a kind of bridge.
12. Now frost the entire cake with chocolate buttercream.
13. Decorate the pirate ship with Toffifays for portholes and Pocky chocolate sticks as rudders. Flags and birthday candles for pirate ship sails and gummy bears as crew members put the finishing touches on this “floating” cake. Refrigerate for one hour before eating and you’ll be ready to look for buried treasure!
2. Birthday Number Cake
You’ll need:
For the light cake batter:
- 7 oz soft butter
- 6 oz sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 eggs
- 11 oz flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
For the blue cake:
- 7 oz soft butter
- 6 oz sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 eggs
- 11 oz flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- blue food coloring
For the buttercream frosting:
- 4 oz soft butter
- 9 oz powdered sugar
- 2 oz cream cheese
Extra:
- coconut flakes
- number cookie cutter
Here’s how:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the blue cake using the above ingredients, pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, and bake for 60 minutes. Let the cake cool down before removing it from the pan.
2. Prepare the light cake batter using the above ingredients and evenly spread three tbsp of the mixture on the bottom of a greased and floured loaf pan.
3. Cut the blue cake into ⅓ inch-thick slices and use the number cookie cutter to cut out numbers from the middle of each blue cake slice.
4. Place the cut-out numbers in a row in the light cake batter, sticking straight up. Be sure to leave some space on the edges.
5. Pour the remaining light cake batter in the pan so that the blue numbers are completely covered. Bake for 60 minutes.
6. Prepare the buttercream frosting using the above ingredients and spread on top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle shredded coconut on top for an added surprise and remember: age is just a number!
3. Melting Ice Cream Cone Cake
You’ll need:
For the chocolate cake:
- 11 oz soft butter
- 7 oz sugar
- 5 medium eggs
- 6 oz flour
- 6 oz ground almonds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 oz cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
For the blueberry cream frosting:
- 7 oz blueberry jam
- 7 oz butter
- 7 oz powdered sugar
- 4 oz cream cheese
For the buttercream frosting:
- 4 oz soft butter
- 6 oz powdered sugar
- pink food coloring or blueberry jam
For the ganache:
- 4 oz cream
- 4 oz dark chocolate
Extra:
- sprinkles
- 1 ice cream cone
Here’s how:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the chocolate cake using the above ingredients, pour the batter into a greased springform pan (ø 8 inch), and bake for 60 minutes. Let the cake completely cool down before moving on to the next step.
2. Level the top of your cake cake and set the excess cake aside — you’ll need this later. Then cut the cake in half horizontally so you have two layers.
3. Prepare the blueberry cream frosting using the above ingredients and spread it on top of the bottom cake half. Then place the other cake half on top.
4. Prepare the buttercream frosting using the above ingredients and color it with pink food coloring or blueberry jam (for a fruity taste) until you get the color you want. Frost the entire cake and refrigerate for one hour.
5. Crumble the excess cake from Step #2 in the rest of the buttercream and form a ball.
6. Place the ball on the cake. Then prepare the chocolate ganache using the above ingredients, and let it cool down a bit before pouring it over the cake ball. Stick a waffle cone upside down on the cake ball and garnish the ganache with colorful sprinkles. Now that’s one ice cream cone you’ll be glad you dropped!
4. Hot Air Balloon Cake
You’ll need:
For the chocolate cake:
- 5½ soft butter
- 3 oz sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 3 oz flour
- 3 oz ground almonds
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 3½ oz soft butter
- 6 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Extra:
- 4 Kit Kat bars
- 1 bag M&M’s
- 4 wooden sticks
- 4 straws
- 4 marshmallows
- 1 balloon
Here’s how:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the chocolate cake using the above ingredients, pour the batter into a greased sheet pan (13 x 9 inch), and bake for 25 minutes. Let the cake completely cool down before moving on to the next step.
2. Cut the cake into 6 equal squares.
3. Take a Kit Kat bar, cut one stick off, and cut the remaining block of three sticks in half. Repeat this with the rest of the Kit Kat bars.
4. Prepare the chocolate buttercream frosting using the above ingredients. Frost 5 of the cake squares with the buttercream and place 4 Kit Kat bar halves on each piece as shown in the video.
5. Take the remaining unfrosted cake square and place it in the center of the plater you will serve the cake on. Frost the sides of the cake square and stick the other cake pieces to the frosting. In the end, it should look like a hot air balloon basket.
6. Now take the remaining Kit Kat sticks that were cut off the bars in Step #3. Brush them with buttercream frosting and stick them to the empty spaces on the outside of the cake squares.
7. Brush frosting on top of the cake squares and place the remaining Kit Kat sticks on each side.
8. Fill the cake basket with M&M’s.
9. Stick a wooden stick into each corner of the basket and slide a colored straw over it.
10. Decorate the corners with marshmallows, put a balloon between the straws, and your hot air balloon cake is ready for liftoff!
And believe it or not, these 4 snazzy recipes taste every bit as good as they look! If you’re planning a birthday party for a slightly older kid or adult, check out these 9 Amazing Birthday Cakes To Help You Celebrate In Style.