Ideas for Decorating Kids' Cakes

Whether for a birthday party, holiday, or just for fun, there are many ideas for decorating kids cakes that are just as sweet to create as they are to taste. A blank cake is a canvas for delicious creativity and there is no limit to the cake designs kids will love.

An elaborate butterfly tiered cake is perfect for a young girl's tea party. Bright colors and flowers add even more beauty to the design, or for a more creative and unique touch, add fairies or faux jewels.

Many young children love cowboys and cowgirls, and a boot shape is easy to cut from a basic sheet cake. Decorate the boot with brown frosting and decorative icing for laces, studs, and other design details. Surround the cake with horse or cowboy figurines for even more decorations.

Quick and easy decorating ideas for kids cakes and brownies include colorful candles, candy sprinkles, and bright curly ribbons. To make the cake even more festive, consider cutting it into fun shapes with stencil patterns or cookie cutters for a thin cake or brownie.

Kids love animals, and it is easy to decorate a special cake with their favorite creature. An icing animal can be added to the top of a basic cake, or the entire cake can be shaped like an animal. For the less creatively inclined, plastic animal cake decorations are easy to find and can be added to any cake.

A train cake design is popular with many young children. The cake could be decorated as a single train car - engines and cabooses are the most popular - or an icing or cookie train could adorn the top of a landscaped cake.

Decorate a cake from inside by tinting the cake batter before baking, mixing in sprinkles, or using a brightly colored icing in between cake layers. For a more elaborate and colorful choice, pour liquid fruit gelatin over a baked cake with holes poked into it to add delicious flavor and color to the cake.

The kids will be all smiles with a smiley faced cake. Add a smile to any cake shape, or use a round cake for a full smiling face. A polka dotted cake can have many smiley faces, or a more elaborate cake could have pictures of smiling masks for a dramatic design.

A tiered design is perfect to showcase an entire scene, such as clowns or a circus. With the starry background, this cake design is also perfect for aliens, rockets, or space-themed cakes.

Let your creativity go wild with this wonderland cake design. Bright colors and fun shapes combine for a candy land effect, and any fantasy shapes can be used to create an imaginative and delicious dessert.

Instead of trick-or-treating for piles of unneeded candy, bake a fun Halloween cake with pumpkins, bats, black cats, spiders, or other seasonal decorations. Orange, black, or purple icing is a must, and smaller cakes can be combined with themed cupcakes for even more treats.

A whimsical carousel is a great choice for younger children. Sugar cookies or animal crackers can be used as the carousel creatures, while candy sticks, licorice bits, sprinkles, and other candy pieces are perfect for fun decorations.

An elaborate castle is a fantasy dessert for a perfect princess party. The castle could be decorated to match any fairy tale castle design, or a tan cake with aquatic accents could simulate a sandcastle for a beach or pool party.

Different types of candy, such as gumdrops, sprinkles, gummy worms, and jelly beans are easy decorations for any kids cake. Let the kids get into the fun by giving each one a plain cupcake and let them decorate their own treat in any way their imagination likes.

Candy coated chocolates are quick and easy cake decorations. For more uniqueness, score patterns in the icing and use the candles to create pictures or shapes.

For more ideas for decorating kids cakes, check out:

• Children's Birthday Cake Ideas
• Princess Birthday Cakes