If you look at Facebook, Pinterest or most women’s magazines, it can be very easy to feel intimidated by the fabulous birthday parties and cakes that crafty, inventive people create for their loved ones. It doesn’t take very long at all to find pictures of perfect, beautiful cakes that people obviously spent hours sculpting in the kitchen. However, many people do not have the time, talent, money or inspiration to create a cake that is awe-inspiring for a loved one’s birthday celebrations.
The perfect birthday cake for your loved one does not have to be an impressive fondant sculpture. Nor do you have to spend hours crafting the likeness of Lightning McQueen or another cartoon character from icing. The perfect birthday cake should be a reflection of the birthday person, showcasing his or her interests and tastes.
Instead of cruising the Internet or perusing books and magazines for pictures of cakes that you wish you could make for your loved one, spend that time considering the interests of the birthday person. What is his or her favorite flavor of cake? Would he or she like to have another favorite dessert or candy reproduced in a cake form? If your birthday person does not really like cake all that much, maybe he or she would love to have an ice cream cake, an enormous chocolate chip cookie or a pie instead of a traditional birthday cake. A dozen doughnuts from a popular coffee shop would make certain people happier than a beautiful, icing-covered cake from the bakery.
Maybe your loved one has a particular passion that you could reflect in the birthday cake. If the birthday person loves to travel, perhaps you could create a cake from a foreign country that he or she visited on a recent trip. Alternately, you could top a cake with an edible photo from a vacation that the birthday person has taken recently. If your loved one has a hobby, like fishing or collecting a particular item, you may want to decorate the cake with fishing lures or collectibles that he or she can keep after the party is over.
Visit your favorite hobby store to find ideas for birthday cakes. However, don’t limit yourself to the cake decoration aisle. Instead, you should think of the entire store as an idea generator for a birthday cake. You may want to top a birthday cake with a real model train or another collectible. Silk flowers, faux butterflies, fairy figurines or artificial dragonflies can make a gorgeous cake for a young girl.
The ideal birthday cake should be the birthday person’s favorite flavor and should be embellished with items that will make him or her smile. Learn to think creatively, and use items that no one would ever expect as cake decorations. The opinion of the birthday person is the only one that matters, so consider what he or she would like the best.
