easy but dramatic birthday cake ideas?
August 23, 2022 7:41 PM Subscribe
I've made colorful and over-the-top cakes for a few (adult) people's birthdays, but I have one coming up Sunday and am out of ideas. Previously did rainbow layers cake, pinata cake, completely-covered-in-sprinkles cake. This cake will be served to drunk people outside in the dark, so can't be subtle or too labor intensive.
I am an experienced baker but don't have a stand mixer or a ton of specialized equipment. Able to get inexpensive stuff from a big box craft store if needed. Don't have experience working with fondant but could be wiling to try if something very awesome is suggested. Interior of the cake is probably going to be Earl Grey Tea flavor so won't take bright coloring very well, but again, could edit this for the right amazing idea.
I am an experienced baker but don't have a stand mixer or a ton of specialized equipment. Able to get inexpensive stuff from a big box craft store if needed. Don't have experience working with fondant but could be wiling to try if something very awesome is suggested. Interior of the cake is probably going to be Earl Grey Tea flavor so won't take bright coloring very well, but again, could edit this for the right amazing idea.
I think you should cover your cake with glow-in-the-dark miniature plastic dinosaurs. Bonus points if the cake is shaped like a volcano and there is sparkler “lava” coming out of it at serving time.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:22 PM on August 23, 2022 [16 favorites]
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:22 PM on August 23, 2022 [16 favorites]
I think that if it's being served in the dark, a light-colored frosting would be best - it will stand out and even almost glow in whatever light there is. What about some kind of very fluffy meringue frosting that you can frost in peaks/thorns/weird shapes and then maybe some shimmery silver edible glitter? You could have a very tall sort of eerie-shaped shiny cake.
posted by Frowner at 8:28 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 8:28 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
Make a two-layer cake. Ice it, but keep some icing. Just before it's served snap a dozen extra-bright light sticks and shove them between the layers, pointing towards the center like the spokes on a wheel. Smooth the icing over, using the extra if you need it. If it's a dark cake with dark icing - say chocolate - you won't be able to see the light until you cut into it. If it's lemon or vanilla and it's dark out, you probably will.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 8:34 PM on August 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by AugustusCrunch at 8:34 PM on August 23, 2022 [3 favorites]
My mom used to make a ghost cake for Halloween, covered in marshmallow frosting. Delicious-but the crowning touch that you could try-eggshells, with sugar cubes soaked in brandy-set on fire for glowing eyes. Terrifying and fabulous!
posted by purenitrous at 8:46 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by purenitrous at 8:46 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
If everyone who wants cake will be okay with alcohol, you could decorate it with grass green icing and drunken gummy bears, like a teddy bear picnic version of the party itself.
For tea flavored cake I always think it’s fun when it looks like the drink. If you are confident enough to try, you could maybe do a collared cake that looks like a big mug, and a bit of dried ice in a dish in the center for “steam”. Make a tea label with the birthday celebrant’s name as the brand and attach it with a piece of cooked and re-dried spaghetti to the cake for the string of a tea bag.
posted by Mizu at 11:52 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
For tea flavored cake I always think it’s fun when it looks like the drink. If you are confident enough to try, you could maybe do a collared cake that looks like a big mug, and a bit of dried ice in a dish in the center for “steam”. Make a tea label with the birthday celebrant’s name as the brand and attach it with a piece of cooked and re-dried spaghetti to the cake for the string of a tea bag.
posted by Mizu at 11:52 PM on August 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
Marshmallow cream and blow torch it before hand! It can be shaped like a giant marshmallow.
posted by yueliang at 1:31 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by yueliang at 1:31 AM on August 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
A simple chocolate or vanilla sponge of your choice. Cover in chocolate frosting. The frosting should not be light for maximum contrast with the next step.
Cover top of the cake with liberal amounts of your favourite smallish candy/wine gums or haribo type stuff/cream eggs or all of the above.
Make sure that whatever you use is both very colourful to pop against your frosting and small enough so it does not cause a problem when cutting the cake. Rolling off and needing to be scooped up when serving a slice is not a problem, being so big that you'd have to cut through something or around it is to be avoided.
User 'number' candles and/or sparklers for drama when serving.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:45 AM on August 24, 2022
Cover top of the cake with liberal amounts of your favourite smallish candy/wine gums or haribo type stuff/cream eggs or all of the above.
Make sure that whatever you use is both very colourful to pop against your frosting and small enough so it does not cause a problem when cutting the cake. Rolling off and needing to be scooped up when serving a slice is not a problem, being so big that you'd have to cut through something or around it is to be avoided.
User 'number' candles and/or sparklers for drama when serving.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:45 AM on August 24, 2022
One dearly loved cake I had featured a lake of blue jello on top and various figurines (or gummies)... Bound by chocolate biscuits.
posted by socky_puppy at 1:47 AM on August 24, 2022
posted by socky_puppy at 1:47 AM on August 24, 2022
Shape the cake to look like a whiskey aging barrel. Flavor with bourbon instead of vanilla.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:47 AM on August 24, 2022
posted by SemiSalt at 4:47 AM on August 24, 2022
If you have time to grab a quick book from the library (or wherever) for inspo, Whimsical Bakehouse is right up your alley. Lots of fun, colorful, tasty ideas.
posted by mosst at 5:35 AM on August 24, 2022
posted by mosst at 5:35 AM on August 24, 2022
Ann Reardon/How to Cook That. This woman is an amazing specialist in desserts, and makes some really lovely unorthodox cakes with step by step instructions. Fun without being fussy. Her "fixit" cake projects are even fun and beautiful; I hope find something inspirational on her channel.
posted by effluvia at 6:19 AM on August 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by effluvia at 6:19 AM on August 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Concur about expending all the labor on making the cake delicious and using flotsam (but artful flotsam) for the "wow." If no sparklers can be found, maybe enhance the glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs or whatever with judiciously draped battery-powered tiny-white-lights string(s)?
Just so you know for future extravagant birthday cakes that people might be able to actually see, people are doing A*M*A*Z*I*N*G things with boiled icing these days. I particularly like when the character on top of the cake is itself a tiny cake and has its own even tinier cake.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:51 AM on August 24, 2022
Just so you know for future extravagant birthday cakes that people might be able to actually see, people are doing A*M*A*Z*I*N*G things with boiled icing these days. I particularly like when the character on top of the cake is itself a tiny cake and has its own even tinier cake.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:51 AM on August 24, 2022
Pinata cake!
Cut a hole through all the layers except the top one and fill with candy. It all spills out dramatically when you cut the first piece and everyone loves it.
posted by tangosnail at 8:24 AM on August 24, 2022
Cut a hole through all the layers except the top one and fill with candy. It all spills out dramatically when you cut the first piece and everyone loves it.
posted by tangosnail at 8:24 AM on August 24, 2022
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Make yourself some marshmallow fondant--its easy to work with and color and tastes like marshmallow.
Get food dye in black and the primary colors.
Roll your fondant out flat and then use a pizza cutter to quickly cut strips of black and a few squares and rectangles of red, blue, yellow, and undyed white.
Boom, you've got a visually striking Piet Mondrian cake and it'll only take you about an hour max to do all the enhancement.
posted by phunniemee at 8:03 PM on August 23, 2022