Birthday Cake Design Recipes

Turn your favorite cake recipe into a creative centerpiece.  Whether you are planning a birthday party or just need a unique cake design for the holidays, there are plenty of quick and easy recipes for an unforgettable cake presentation.

The secret to great cake decorating is fondant. Fondant is a clay-like confection that can be colored and molded into the design elements of your choice.  Whether it is colored leaves on a flower-themed cake, the window frames of a castle, or pastel-colored hats topped with toy butterflies, fondant makes cake decorating a sculptor's dream.

Cake Designs

Castle Cake
Use a rectangular baking dish for the pound cake.  Once baked, coat the cake with a chocolate glaze.  Use dark chocolate squares for the battlements. Turn chocolate-covered ice cream cones upside down and place in the four corners of the cake to form towers.  Pink or green icing are great ways to draw in the details of the castle walls.  You may want to draw a moat and place the cake at the center of the drawing.  Sprinkle jelly beans in the white spaces for a stony-ground look. Graham crackers make for an excellent drawbridge.

Photo Frames
Frame cakes are suitable for any occasion.  Use a rectangular baking dish for the pound cake similar to the shape of the photo you want to use.  Oval photos look beautiful on an oval-shaped cake.   Be sure to laminate your photograph to prevent it from becoming soggy and having the ink run off onto the cake.  Place the photo in the center of the cake.  The space between the edges of the photograph and the edges of the cake become a playground for your imagination.  Use bright colors for the fondant and icing to create an unforgettable masterpiece.

Doll Cake
Use a bowl-shaped baking dish for the pound cake.  Once baked, turn upside-down.  Carve out a long and thin whole at the top of the cake.  Place the doll of your choice inside the whole, so that the cake reaches her waist.  The cake becomes the skirt.  You may want to use fondant as the skirt fabric, or decorate straight on the cake.  Doll cakes are perfect for princess party themes!
  

Bassinet Cake
For a baby shower cake, use a rectangular baking dish for the cake. Once complete, place a plastic doll on top of the cake and decorate using colored fondant and icing.  Use fondant to sculpt the skirt of the bassinet and as a blanket to cover the doll.  Get as fancy as you wish!

The Cake Base

You may already have a collection of exquisite cake recipes that you have mastered.  Use these cakes as the foundation of your cake design.  If you are new to baking cakes, or if you are simply looking for a quick way to whip up a tasty delight, there is an easy cake batter recipe that can be prepared in little time.  Use the sponge cake recipe below to fill in the baking dish that will suit your cake design.

Victoria Sponge Cake

1  cup of melted butter (unsalted)

1  1/2 cups of sugar

4 eggs, whites and yokes separated

2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 cup of hot milk

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Use a mixer to blend the sugar and butter.  Mix the butter first until it takes on a light texture, and then add the sugar slowly in small portions.  Once well blended, mix in one egg at a time.  Add the lemon juice, vanilla and hot milk.  Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate container and to the sugar mixture.  Add the flower in portions.  1/3 at a time works well and should be mixed at the slowest speed possible.  The key to a great sponge cake is adding an airy texture to the dough.  Once the flower is folded in, turn the mixer to a higher speed and mix until the batter turns white.  Pour into a greased pan and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately half an hour. 

Suggested Recipes:

Dutch Spice Cake
Gingerbread Icing and Assembly
Chocolate 20 Minute Cake (Sheet Cake)
Frankfurt Crown Cake
Berry Almond Bundt Cake
French Chocolate Cake