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    Home » Blog » Desserts » Cakes

    6 Incredibly Easy Ways to Decorate a Cake

    Published: Jan 4, 2023 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Easy ways to decorate a cake for beginner bakers making their first homemade birthday cake. Create a treat your kids will love!

    A photo collage shows several easy birthday cakes for kids.

    When I first started making homemade birthday cakes for my daughters, I was absolutely intimidated by all the picture-perfect professional birthday cakes on Pinterest.

    I wanted our birthday cakes to be just as pretty but I had zero frosting skills!

    Once I realized that my girls just wanted the cake to be decorated with their party theme in mind but were more interested in eating a homemade cake, the pressure was lifted.

    While my birthday cakes may not win any awards, my girls have loved each and every last one of them.

    They know that a mom that loves them SO MUCH took the time to make their cake and decorate it just the way they wanted for their special day.

    This has been a priceless memory for our family and I hope these easy cake decorating tricks help inspire you to give it a try for your kids, too.

    Jump to:
    • Incredibly Easy Ways to Decorate a Cake
    • 1. Sprinkles
    • 2. Paper Cake Bunting
    • 3. Printable Cake Toppers
    • 4. Showstopper Birthday Candles
    • 5. Toys or Mini Figurines
    • 6. Colorful Candies or Tubed Frosting
    • More Birthday Cake Tips

    Incredibly Easy Ways to Decorate a Cake

    You do not need any special fancy frosting skills to make a homemade birthday cake your children will love.

    Make the cake just the way they want it with personalized touches that show them you care.

    These easy decorating tricks are perfect for beginner bakers who are intimidated by fancy cakes.

    1. Sprinkles

    A homemade birthday cake has pink frosting and sprinkles over the top.

    Is there anything more festive than sprinkles??

    A classy simple frosted cake with just a touch of sprinkles practically screams birthday party!

    You can buy sprinkles of all kinds at a local craft shop like Michael's or Target or stock up on a variety of sprinkles on Amazon.

    2. Paper Cake Bunting

    Spell out a sweet birthday message or just a name using my easy homemade cake bunting tutorial.

    Apply the banner with long wooden skewers and ribbons to a simple frosted cake. This works great for a layer cake or even a sheet pan cake!

    • A rainbow papered cake bunting says "Happy Birthday, Sophie."
      How to Make a Bunting Cake Topper
    • A slice is missing from a pink strawberry layer cake with aqua-tinted frosting. There are pastel sprinkles and a birthday pennant decorating the top of the cake.
      Strawberry Birthday Cake

    3. Printable Cake Toppers

    You can find downloadable printables for cupcake toppers for pretty much any theme ever over on Etsy!

    I just print the topper, stick them on popsicle sticks or stripey straws, and stick them right into the top of the cake.

    Or you can thread them through some twine or curling ribbon to make a simple cake bunting like above.

    I use this scalloped punch on colorful cardstock to make them extra pretty.

    Not in the mood to DIY a paper cake topper?

    Hunt for what you need on Etsy, it's where I ordered this gorgeous golden glitter Harry Potter cake topper!

    • Adorable yellow Winnie the Pooh cake features tiny bees and several Pooh-themed cake picks on top.
      Adorable Winnie the Pooh Cake
    • White Harry Potter cake covered in golden foil golden snitches.
      Golden Snitch Harry Potter Cake

    4. Showstopper Birthday Candles

    We are still laughing over the Peanut's hysterical flamingo birthday candles from her 10th birthday years ago!

    Browse Amazon for party candles and you never know what you might find.

    We tend to prefer tall skinny candles like these because they last the longest while we sing and take pictures.

    • A blue birthday cake has pink flamingo candles on top.
      Adorable Tropical Flamingo Birthday Cake

    5. Toys or Mini Figurines

    When your kids are going through a phase of loving a favorite character that isn't widely popular enough to have its own design section at the party store, birthday cakes can be a bit tricky.

    It was during those years where I started to pick up tiny figurines to pop right onto the cake top!

    Tiny dinosaurs, LEGO mini figures, even Fisher Price Little People could all work on top of a cake.

    If you're worried about the plastic touching the frosting, trim a tiny piece of parchment paper to tuck under the toy just to be safe.

    • A light blue birthday cake has been decorated to look like an under the sea garden and has a yellow submarine on top.
      Easy Beatles Birthday Cake

    6. Colorful Candies or Tubed Frosting

    Finally, one of the easiest birthday cakes I ever decorated was by request of one of my kids.

    All she wanted was the first letter of her first name on top of her cake.

    A pink cake with the letter C on top.

    I used some buttercream frosting and just piped it right on top but to keep it even easier, use M&Ms or other sweet colorful candies to make a pattern, letter, or design on the cake.

    More Birthday Cake Tips

    • A cake pan is wrapped in a purple fabric cake strip and has a perfect level cake layer baked inside.
      How to Use Cake Strips for Perfect Layers
    • A slice of rainbow cake shows the 6 layers of colors next to a scoop of ice cream.
      How to Bake a Rainbow Layer Cake
    • Vanilla cupcakes have been topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and sit on a cake plate. There's a frosting piping bag on the counter in front.
      Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

    More Cake Recipes

    • A slice of coconut cake with cream cheese frosting and shredded coconut has a layer of bright yellow pineapple filling.
      Pineapple Filling
    • A chocolate and cream Christmas yule log cake roll with sugared cranberries sits on a cake platter.
      Make-Ahead Yule Log Cake
    • A two-tier cake plate has cute Halloween cupcakes in lavender polka dot wrappers. There is a dish of candy corn on the side.
      3 Easy Halloween Cupcakes from 1 Box Mix
    • A Harry Potter "Monsters Book of Monsters" birthday cake has shaggy brown frosting like fur and a red tongue and googly eyes.
      Monster Book of Monsters Cake

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    Hi, I'm Tiffany!
    I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for moms.

    More about me →

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