Ideas For Decorating A Birthday Cake

I will admit it: I like a decorated cake. Something beyond just frosting. Sure, a frosted but undecorated cake tastes just as good as an undecorated cake but the festive and fun factor is so much better with a decorated one. But the time, the skills, the mess, the confusion of what exactly to do? It can be pretty frustrating when all you want is a party-ready cake. A while ago, I threw together a quick cake and decorated it like a champ. The cake part came out fine (I'm a pretty good baker), but the frosting was a little off. Like, too heavy, sagging down the sides. But I tell you what, no one noticed because the decoration stole the show.

This is exactly is why I've put together 41 cakes that are totally adorable and will make you look like a birthday goddess, but are easy enough to fudge if you are short on time (or short on skills). If you're not a baker or on a time crunch, a store-bought cake with one of these decorative hacks will taste just as delicious and will win you just as much praise.

Here are my favorite easy birthday cake decorating ideas that look hard, but are simple enough that anyone (including you!) can do them. Check them out in the slideshow.

Balloons Make Everything Better

I love that all it takes to upgrade a white cake to magical and charming upgrade is a handful of small balloons and a few wooden dowels. Make sure the frosting is thick so the cake doesn't float away!

Find the full details: Balloon Cake at Martha Stewart
Edible Flowers!

Edible flowers are all the rage so why not use them on cake! They bring color and texture and healthiness. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Find the full details: Cake with Edible Flowers at Design Love Fest
A Cereal Lovers Dream (& Less Messy Than Sprinkles)

I will finally be able to bring my child's cereal dream to life: putting it on cake! And why not? It's colorful and doesn't require a whole lot of precision. Then you can sneak-eat the rest of the box after the children go to bed!

Find the full details: Funfetti Buttermilk Cake at A Beautiful Mess
Make a Pattern With Candy Pieces

Not into mixing frosting, coloring it, putting it in bags, decorating and then cleaning it all up? Me neither somedays. Use candy bits of different sizes to dress up a plain cake. Simple as that.

Find the full details: On the Dot at Parents
Petals of Frosting

Rainbows are just the best. Rainbows on cakes are sublime. These rainbow petals looks so intimidating but in reality, they are just smooshed blobs of frosting done in the right order. You can do it, I just know it.

Find the full details: DIY Rainbow Petal Cake at The Cake Blog
A Splatter Cake!

My frosting doesn't always have the right consistency but I'm really certain I can make frosting that is splatter-paint-able. This unique cake will be the talk of the party until it's eaten all up.

Find the full details: Chocolate Chili Splatter Paint Cake at My Name Is Yeh
It Doesn't Need to Be Exact for Abstract

Art can be edible. Of course this cake art piece itself won't last long enough to be in a museum but that doesn't mean it won't be memorable. Upgrade that white cake!

Find the full details: Abstract Watercolor Cake at Sugar & Cloth
Dust on the Decoration

I realize this is a bow on a brownie but imagine a cake frosted in a darker tone, including chocolate, with a powder sugar design on top. It's like skipping all the work of detailed frosting decoration. Win win! Blow your guest's minds and make a brownie cake.

Brownie Bow at Martha Stewart
Go Naked, Cake Style!

Naked cakes are appealing because they require less frosting skills. It's easier. And who doesn't like saying "naked cake"? Thankfully naked cakes are super pretty. Add some sugared berries to finish them off.

Find the full details: Naked Cake with Candied Sugared Berries at Ashlee Marie
Make a Shape

I can admit that I too love sprinkles. They are celebratory all on their own. Instead of covering every last inch, use a stencil and make a sprinkle shape on a cake.

Find the full details: Sprinkle Heart Cake at DIY Network
Crush Chips Ahoy Cookies...

...and let the dinosaurs rule the earth (or at least the cake).

Who knew all a cake needed was some crushed Chips Ahoy cookies for rocks and a little chocolate ganache for lava? Add some toy dinosaurs for a finishing touch.

Find the full details: Chocolate Chips Ahoy Dinosaur Cake at Butterlust Blog
Turn Everyday Pancakes Into Birthday Cake

Everybody knows pancakes can turn a regular morning into a Very Special Morning, so imagine what a stack of cake-batter pancakes can do. Add some sprinkles and a little glaze with more sprinkles, and you've got yourself a birthday treat worthy of candles.

Find the full details: Birthday Cake Batter Pancakes at How Sweet Eats
Add a Whole Lotta Candles

Okay, even I can stick a candle in a cake. So, pretty sure I could rock this super simple, over-the-top happy cake that sports a whole bunch of, you guessed it, different styles of candles.

Find the full details: Birthday Candle Cake at Studio DIY
Cover Every Square Inch With Candy

This is definitely one of those cakes where more is more, so use up ALL the extra Easter candy and cover this sucker from head to toe.

Find the full details: Candy Birthday Cake at Lovely Indeed
Take It One Step Further With Chocolate Ganache

The only thing that can make an adorable funfetti cake any better is adding a layer of chocolate - in this case, chocolate ganache made with dark chocolate and cream.

Find the full details: Sprinkle and Chocolate Cake at The Cake Blog
Cut up Fruit by the Foot for a cool fox cake.

I tend to stay away from animal cakes because there seems like a lot of room for error. This fox-face cake keeps it super simple, though, and if you can cut up Fruit by the Foot and draw a triangle, you are good to decorate it.

Find the full details: Fox Face Birthday Cake at Betty Crocker
For Kids Who Prefer Ice Cream...

...skip the cake completely and pair ice cream sandwiches with upside down cones and sprinkles.

This cake only uses four ingredients (ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, sugar cones, and chocolate topping) and takes just minutes to put together, yet would be a hit at any birthday party and looks like you spent a lot more time on it.

Find the full details: Ice Cream Sandwich Cake at Sprinkle Bakes
Use candy molds for the ultimate Lego cake.

The secret to this Lego cake is simple - candy molds, which you fill with colored, melted chocolate for a cake that only looks tough to construct.

Find the full details: Lego Block Cake at Makoodle
Go for the Drama With Extra Long Candles

What kid wouldn't love to blow out a set of candles almost as tall as they are? Plus, they have a very princess-y feel, perfect for a kid (or mom) who wants to go understated rather than animated.

Find the full details: Extra-Long Birthday Cake Toppers at Olive & Cocoa
Add Gelatin Bubbles to Cupcakes

Remember how you used to make papier-mâchépiñatas with flour, water, and newspaper? These cupcakes use the same technique with gelatin and water for a pretty balloon effect that would be a hit at any princess party.

Find the full details: Bubble Gum Cupcakes with Gelatin Bubble at Sprinkle Bakes
Add a Row of Dum-Dums for a Pretty Fairy Cake

My kids LOVE going to the hairdresser. I mean, they will talk about it for weeks before we go, for one reason - the Dum-Dums pops. They will hold still for their haircut and chat amiably with the hairdresser, all for the promise of a lollipop. Can you imagine what I could get accomplished if we had an entire cake fancied up with those suckers?

Find the full details: Dum-Dums Sucker Cake at Julep
Add Licorice to a Simple White Cake

At first glance, this cake looks really complicated, but look closer and you'll see the flowers are made of different flavors of licorice. Brilliant, right? And it would be so pretty for a little girl's birthday party.

Find the full details: Twizzler Floral Cake at Handmade Charlotte
Go For a Really Big Donut

I'm a huge fan of oversized food (in fact, I dedicated a whole breakfast party to it), mainly because kids think it's hilarious. Pair this huge donut with a bunch of extra-small items (for example, OJ in tiny cups) and you have yourself a birthday for the books.

Find the full details: Donut Cake at A Subtle Revelry
Add Toys and an Easy DIY Topper

Gussy up a simple cake with toy animals and this easy birthday sign made from refrigerator magnets, straws, and pipe cleaners. While Oh Happy Day went with a circus theme, it'd be just as easy to put a princess or toy truck or any toy from around the house on top and call it done.

Find the full details: Carnival Cake Topper at Oh Happy Day
Add Spooky (or Funny) Eyeballs

...to a cake for a monster- or Halloween-themed birthday party.

This cake cracks me up, and I imagine it would be a pretty big hit with most kids, especially around Halloween. And it's so easy! Simply frost Junior Mints to Oreos and then glue/frost them onto the cake. Voila!

Find the full details: Monster Eye Cake at The Cake Blog
Crush Oreos ...

...and add some toy vehicles from around the house to a simple cake for a construction themed cake.

I know my son is not the only kid obsessed with construction vehicles (who ever knew I'd be able to tell a back-hoe loader from a snow plow?), and he just now tried to jump off my lap to get through the computer screen to get at this construction cake, so I think it's safe to say this is a cool one.

Find the full details: Construction Cake at Fredellicious
Use a Heart-Shaped Baking Pan and a Star Tip

... to make an adorable doggie cake.

Okay, so you do have to actually decorate this one a little bit, but it's about as easy as decorating comes. You only need two heart-shaped cakes (she used a box mix to keep it extra simple), buttercream frosting with some cocoa powder for coloring, and a star tip for the frosting. Easy peasy.

Easy Dog Cake by The Experimental Home
Use wafers, an ice cream cone, and nougat to create a circus cake.

This birthday cake is probably the most labor intensive of the bunch and, fine, would take some patience and tools. But can you imagine how thrilled your two-year-old would be to see the lion of their dreams come to life? I'll let you make the call whether that thrill is worth the pain that mane might instill on your psyche.

Find the full details: Lion Cake with Mane at Wilton
Create a Fairy Princess Castle

This is another one where at first glance it looks like a really tricky cake to make, but when you break it down it's totally doable. The towers are ice cream cones atop crackers with candy heart flags, while the drawbridge and windows are waffle cones decorated with marshmallows. Truly fit for a princess and a mom who doesn't have a ton of time.

Find the full details: Princess Castle Birthday Cake at Bondville
Create Roses for a Magical Princess Cake

So, I haven't tried out this (allegedly) super-easy frosting technique, but I have been assured that it only looks hard. Like really, really hard. Like if you master it, you probably can graduate from this blog post and go straight into creating those Olafs who take off their own heads to the cheers of legions of >birthday party goers.

Find full details here: Rose Cake at I Am Baker
Use a Whole Lotta Sprinkles for Maximum Impact

I feel like sprinkles are one of those things where you can really never have too many. I mean, have you ever heard a kid say, "Actually, I'll take the donut with just a couple of sprinkles because too many will definitely ruin the fun."? Of course not. That would be CRAZY because everyone knows more is more, and if you're going to have sprinkles you might as well really have sprinkles, and if you substitute shoes for sprinkles you'll know how I really feel.

Find the full details: Sprinkle Cake at Endlessly Inspired
Go Full Floral for a Perfect Tea Party Cake

This is another one that I feel like gives you excellent bang for your buck. The different color flowers keep it young enough for a little girl's party, while the one frosting tip makes it easy enough that even a frosting novice can tackle it.

Find the full details: Floral Cake at I Am Baker
Group cupcakes together for an adorable fish birthday cake.

I'd say cupcakes are usually easier to make than a full-on cake, which is why this fish cake is so perfect - you get the ease of cupcakes but the drama of a larger cake, which goes over just swimmingly in my book.

Find the full details: Fish Cupcake Cake at My Cake School
Decorate Mini Cookies With Flowers for a Delectable Garden

So you still don't feel comfortable making a cake? No problem. How about these ganache filled sugar cookies, decorated with crushed Oreos and mini flowers from Michaels that only look hard? Delish and everyone knows cookies are a lot harder to mess up...

Find the full details: Flower Pot Cookies from The Gunny Sack
Use Two Cakes to Create the Number Three

The best part about this cake, I guarantee, are the M&Ms that cover a multitude of mistakes, not that I would know anything about that at all.

Find the full details: 3 Birthday Cake at Enchanted Mommy
Summon the Power of Magic

...(or the power of frosting) to make a mind-bending, anti-gravity cake.

Can you imagine bringing this cake out at a party? You could ride on that coolness factor for weeks (or at least hours). And it's deceptively easy! You essentially ring a store-bought cake with Hershey bars, use frosting to "glue" the M&Ms to a stick, and wait for Penn and Teller to call.

Anti-Gravity Cake by It's a Fabulous Life
Recreate a Childhood Favorite

I'm not saying these are the easiest cakes of the bunch, but I feel like they're totally doable, especially when you see how adorable they turn out. You only need a couple of frosting tips, some googly eyes, and a kid who understands the allure of a grumpy do-gooder.

Find the full details: Oscar the Grouch cupcakes from I Am Baker
Use the Magic of Oreos to Create Owl Cupcakes

These owls are just too adorable for words. Unless it's "nom, nom."

Find the full details: Owl cupcakes at Raspberri Cupcakes
Give Them a Surprise With a Piñata Cake

Cake is awesome, but cake with candy in it? Seems like we just took your party to a whole new level. (And while it's not quite as easy as filling a traditional piñata with candy, it's pretty darn close.)

Find the full details: Piñata Cake at Design Intuition
Go Totally Pink for a Fairy or Princess Party

There's something so light and magical about an angel food cake (I'm one of those crazies that would take one over a chocolate cake any day). Add a little pink food coloring and you have a cake fit for a queen (or, more likely, a princess, if it's anything like our house).

Find the full details: Pink Angel Food Cake at Sweetapolita
Go Straight for the Sugar With a Candy Cake

I have to imagine there are kids out there who just aren't into cake. For them, pick a bunch of their favorite candies and create a candy cake with a literal bow on top.

Find the full details: Candy Birthday Cake at Crazy Little Projects