Birthday Cake Alternatives

I hope everyone had a great summer! I took a little time off from the blog to enjoy some time with family over the summer and it was great! From now on, I am planning on posting to this blog 2-3 times per week. Get notified via email of new posts by subscribing to this blog in the box labeled "Subscribe via email" that is in the right side column of this page. Then you won't miss a thing! And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming:

Sometimes the birthday boy or girl doesn't want a cake, or you would like something different, so you have to think of an alternative.  Here are a few ideas for you:

Clockwise starting from the top left:

1. Create a "cake" using a cupcake stand and cupcakes.  Here we made a sandcastle cupcake stand and filled it with beach-themed cupcakes.

2. Stack donuts and insert a festive cake topper to celebrate a fun birthday or a special day.

3. We showed you this back in July, but you can create an ice cream scoop "cake" just by stacking scoops of different flavored ice cream on top of each other to make a tower.  Add a candle and celebrate (but make sure you work fast or your cake will melt!)

Here are more great ideas that I found while searching around:

Make a cotton candy cake for something a little different

Make a watermelon cake for a refreshing alternative to cake

Make a cake by stacking Oreo cookies

Make A Store Bought Cake Pretty

Sometimes, there isn't time to bake a cake for a party or a get-together. And although some store-bought cakes can be pretty tasty, they don't always have the look that you are going for. Here I bought a cake from my local grocery store (the Migros, for those of you in Switzerland) and dressed it up using some items from my shop. Sometimes all it takes is something small to turn an ordinary cake into something special. Hope you enjoy the examples and it brings you some inspiration for dressing up your cakes!

Here's a great option for a birthday cake.  Just use these birthday bash toppers for an instantly fun birthday cake!

Add pinwheels to a cake to add instant fun to an afternoon tea or get-together. 

These cute drink umbrellas don't have to just be for your cocktails. Why not add them your cake too? Use them for a surf or pool-themed party, or have a cake-and-cocktail party so that the cake matches the drinks!

Wrap this pretty greaseproof paper around your cake and add some twine and you've got a pretty cake in two minutes flat! Just remember to take off the paper before you cut it.

Get creative and combine a couple of the options to make a cake perfect for any of your summer celebrations.  What's great is that you don't have to be in a hot kitchen baking all day and your guests will think you worked hard to make such a beautiful cake.  Whether you tell them your secret or not is up to you!

Sweet Mondays: A Hello Summer Strawberry Cake

Summer is officially here! My family and I picked our own strawberries at a farm this weekend. We enjoyed talking to the other pickers and sharing recipes. We had so much fun that by the time we knew it, we had a big boxful!

Since we had so many strawberries, I made a few things with them that I'll be sharing with you this week. First up is this cake that I made to bring to a summer BBQ. It is a strawberry cake, from scratch, that uses strawberry puree in the batter.  The frosting is a strawberry buttercream, also made with fresh strawberry puree, and as my friend said, it tasted "amazing".

I wish I could take credit for the recipe, but I can't.  I used this recipe and followed it pretty closely. The only changes I made were to add a layer of strawberries in between the cake layers, and to add a strawberry "flower" on top of the cake. I also made a "Hello Summer" cake topper to tie it to the summer theme and to make my cake a little less ordinary.

I highly recommend trying the recipe. It really does taste as good as it looks. 

Coming soon: Strawberry Popsicles with Prosecco!