You really only need one thing to turn a party into a birthday party—a special cake! When the candles are lit, everybody knows to gather around the birthday kid and celebrate. And then, shortly after, consume a pound of sugar in seconds.
The funny thing about kids’ birthday cake trends is that so many parents are serving something other than cake! From simple cupcakes to elaborate concoctions of candy and ice cream, your child’s next birthday cake might be something akin to what you see on Cake Boss or Cupcake Wars.
Whether you go traditional or experimental, a birthday cake is a great chance to treat your child with their favorite foods and provide a fun Instagram-worthy cake (or un-cake!) at the party.
Here are five of the hottest birthday cake trends for 2015:
1. Everything Minion
If you’re just in the beginning stages of choosing a fun kids’ birthday party theme, here’s a hint—every once in a while there’s a cartoon character that literally every kid loves, and right now that honor belongs to the Minions from Despicable Me.
We’re seeing giant Minion cakes, tiny Minion cupcakes, Minion whoopie pies, and even Minions dressed like Batman or Superman! Just be prepared to listen to your child’s friends quote the movie for the rest of the day.
2. Decorating with Cereals and Candy
Sprinkle some Fruity Pebbles on a regular cake and suddenly you have a rainbow-bright decoration. Take your pick from the birthday kid’s favorite breakfast cereals, candy bars, and other sweets. The result: a personalized dessert that’s both fun and easy to make!
Try finding or making a stencil, and then using Pixy Stix to create the design. You can even pick outside-the-box treats like Sour Patch Kids. Somehow, the refined palette of today’s child is not above eating a slice of cake covered in sour gummies.
3. Individual Cake Cones and Cups
This trend has a side benefit of eliminating dirty dishes and disposable plates. Bake cupcakes with an ice cream cone on top, flip them over, and spread some icing. Or just scoop chunks of cake into paper cups and let the kids add extra toppings like crushed Oreos.
The less-waste factor makes a great conversation starter about environmental protection or anti-hunger campaigns like No Kid Hungry. Cake, confetti, and giving back—what more could you want? Click here to see how our charity birthday parties work.
4. Ice Cream Sandwiches
There’s a new contender among the not-exactly-cake birthday cakes, and it’s a twist on the old ice cream cake—behold, the ice cream sandwich cake.
Stack rows of ice cream sandwiches like Jenga tiles and top each layer with a coating of icing (or whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, sprinkles, or all of the above). You can even find confetti ice cream sandwiches to really weave in the whole birthday party vibe.
5. DIY Decorating
There’s always that one kid who hates icing—or only eats the icing and no cake! You can take care of the picky eaters by turning cake time into an interactive part of the party with a decorate-it-yourself cake bar.
Put different colors of icing into bowls, along with a spread of toppings like nuts, chocolate chips, and berries. Then, lay out individual slices of cake or cupcakes and let the kids go to town!
Were our birthday cake trends for 2015 helpful? Let us know in the comments if there are any trends you love that we missed.
