If you are like me, then you will have the best intentions of preparing a superb cake for your child's party but it doesn't always quite come off.  I once made a Dougal cake (dog from the Magic Roundabout) and it looked like a brown truck, I don't know how.  It tasted good though. So I am very grateful that there are simple, but smashing, cakes out there that even I can make....hopefully! 

Simple tried and true recipes are the best, like a yummy sponge cake either plain or flavoured , chocolate or vanilla cake. Then you have to work on what you are going to create!  Numbers are a simple solution, you simply bake a large rectangular cake and cut the shape of your number out of it, or simply hire one of our number cake tins. (your icing is always there to cover the seams and fill in the holes/gaps).  Then you can go wild with the buttercream and cover your cake and decorate with M&M's, jelly beans, buttons, licorice and anything else you may want. Or you can go with pre-made fondant packs, which you roll out and smooth over your cake, this can make any cake look very professional done right.

Like the cake below, you can use plunger cutters to make butterflies or flowers with coloured fondant.  You can even stencil your number onto your cake by cutting out some card and then sprinkling non pareils over the top.

         

Speaking of non pareils how about pasting buttercream around the sides of your cake and then rolling it in them, then finally paste buttercream on the top and either more non pareils or some other lollies or design you wish to create, simple, yummy and fun.

The latest trend right now for cake decorating is to place two straws or cookie sticks on the top and string some baker's twine between with miniature bunting made out of washi tape, bits of fabric, ribbon or paper.  A simple but effective way of making a cake look exciting. I particularly like this cake below because it incorporates everything that is now,  the chevron design, rainbow (rainbow parties are very popular right now and we have a lot of products in rainbow designs, and the miniature strung up bunting. It doesn't look too hard either, but they never do.

 Another cool idea if your little one particularly likes chocolate, a kit kat cake, with M&M's on top, easy to create, tasty and effective to look at also.

 

I also like this very feminine cake which has just been smoothed with buttercream and a few sprinkles on top, it looks delicious and perfect for a baby shower, you could do it in lemon yellow or pale blue too!

What ever you decide to do there are plenty of products now to ease the situation, with ready made fondant you roll out, and every shape and size of fondant cutters and moulds, amazing gel colours and pre-made icing in tubes and tubs, beautiful variations of Baking Bling and pearls or even sugar crystals in all different colours that will help you to create your simple but very effective masterpiece!