Kids Birthday Cakes – Everything You Need To Know
When planning an awesome kids birthday party, it can be easy to overlook one of the core elements that kids and adults alike look forward to: the birthday cake.
A kids birthday cake is a key part of making the day extra special – adding a touch of personality and fun to the food portion of your party. But if you’re inexperienced with throwing a kids party, you might not know where to start.
While we don’t serve up food or drinks ourselves, we’ve got more than enough experience in kids parties to know what works and what doesn’t. Here’s everything you need to know about kids birthday cakes – from the types of cake that go down a treat, to the size you’ll need to feed your guests.
What kind of cakes are best for a kids birthday party?
When it comes to kids and sugary treats, you won’t be surprised to hear that almost anything can work. Even slightly spiced offerings like carrot cake will go down well at most parties.
That being said, there are generally three core kids birthday cake options that will be found at almost every successful party:
Gooey chocolate cake
Who doesn’t love chocolate? A great option to please the most kids possible is to serve up a delicious chocolate cake, iced with even more chocolate and sweets to really bring out the flavour.
Keep things simple with two tiers and some chocolate-flavoured icing, or opt for more of a single-tier traybake if you’re looking for as much surface area as possible.
If your child isn’t a chocaholic, then taking the same approach to baking but replacing ingredients with those to make a Victoria sponge works just as well. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a roomful of excitable children who don’t enjoy the simple but delicious vanilla flavour that has been served up for decades!
Handy cupcakes
Want to try your hand at baking a kids birthday cake, but not confident that you’ll manage a regular cake? Cupcakes could be the answer.
Depending on the number of guests you’re expecting, cupcakes are the ideal size to give one cake to each child without having excess cake left over after the party ends. They’re also very easy to ice and decorate, and you can even bake different flavours to cater to a wider palette than you would with a regular cake.
Cupcakes can also be handily wrapped up and placed into gift bags for kids to enjoy after they leave. With a regular kids birthday cake, you’d need to try and divide it up equally to avoid any tantrums.
Themed character cakes
Character cakes will always be popular, especially at younger birthday parties. Whether you’re confident enough to bake a minion cake or opt to buy a cake instead, a delicious sponge layered cake with colourful fondant icing is one of the best ways to add to your party’s theme.
The options are truly limitless when it comes to a themed character cake. You might choose your child’s favourite TV show characters or football team, or create a cake that lends itself to the kind of party you’re throwing. This might include a spooky vampire for a monster party, a cheeky monkey for your jungle safari, or an iconic superhero.
How big should a birthday cake be for 20-25 guests?
The number of servings you’ll get from your kids birthday cake can depend on lots of factors, such as the size and shape of the cake or your serving size.
That being said, there are a few rules of thumb that can guide you when planning which kind of cake to bring to a party. If you’re looking to serve a shop-bought cake, you’ll typically find the intended number of servings on the packaging.
For home-baked kids birthday cakes, you’ll find that a standard 8-inch rounded cake with two layers will serve roughly eight to 10 people. Square cakes tend to allow for more servings, so it’s worth considering your approach depending on the number of mouths you’ll need to feed.
When to bring out the cake
Once you’ve settled on the type of kids birthday cake you’ll be providing, you need to think about how it fits into the structure of your party.
Our party packages tend to involve two blocks of fun and games with a break for food in the middle. This break can be the ideal time to bring out the cake and have the birthday child blow out their candles. However, you might want to hold off on cutting up and serving the cake immediately after this – especially if the kids are full of other food.
Instead, some parents prefer to present the cake, and then cut it up to include in gift bags after the party ends. This allows the kids to get back to fun and games as soon as possible, without the risk of feeling sick from eating too much cake. It also continues the party after your guests leave; creating fond memories of your day long after the excitement has come to a close.
This is a decision that you’ll need to make for your own party, though. Some children might feel upset if they don’t get to enjoy their birthday cake as soon as the candles have been extinguished. In these cases, serving it up sooner rather than later would be best.
Let’s plan the best birthday party ever!
Now you’ve got the kids birthday cake covered for your party, let us help you throw the best party ever! Our friendly team are on hand to help you choose the right theme for your party – get in touch with us online, or browse our packages and book yours today.
