4 Fun & Creative Birthday Cakes For Kids

There are plenty of special occasions to bake a cake for, but nothing is quite as special as a child's birthday party. The following 4 recipes are a treat for all the senses and are sure to capture the hearts of your little ones... and your big ones as well! Whether it's a blazing campfire, a princess castle, a chaotic construction site, or an excavated dinosaur, making an ordinary chocolate cake look extraordinary is really not so hard thanks to these tips.

Chocolate Cake:

You'll Need:

• 3 eggs
• 4 fl oz oil
• 8 oz sugar
• 8 oz flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 6 fl oz milk

Here's How:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the eggs, oil, and sugar until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Stir the milk into the dry ingredients and then combine with the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into a greased cake pan (the kind of pan will depend on which design you choose) and bake for 50-60 minutes. Let the cake cool before decorating it.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

You'll Need:

• 5 oz cream
• 10 oz milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate (depending on the cake)
• 6 oz butter

Here's How:

Beat the butter until frothy and set aside. Add the chopped chocolate and cream to a saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly while it melts. Add the butter and stir until creamy. Let the frosting completely cool before decorating the cake.

1. Construction Cake

You'll Need:

• 1 chocolate cake (ø 6 in)
• 1 chocolate cake (ø 9 in)
• chocolate buttercream frosting
• chocolate cookies
• peanut butter cups & chocolate caramels
• toy trucks

Here's How:

1.1 Turn both cakes over and place the smaller cake on top of the larger cake. Use a fork to carve out a "construction zone."

1.2 Coat the rest of the cake, except for the construction zone, with chocolate buttercream frosting.

1.3 Break up the chocolate cookies and spread the crumbs around to create the "dirt."

1.4 Crush some cookies, peanut butter cups, and chocolate caramels and spread them around the construction zone. Decorate the cake with toy trucks for the final touch.

2. Campfire Cake

You'll Need:

• 1 chocolate cake (ø 7 in)
• 5 oz milk chocolate buttercream frosting
• 5 oz semisweet chocolate buttercream frosting
• 10 wafer rolls

For the fire:

• 8 oz sugar
• 3 fl oz water
• 1 tbsp honey
• red, yellow, and orange food coloring

Here's How:

2.1 Crumple up a piece of parchment paper and then smooth it out on a flat surface. Boil the sugar and water until it caramelizes, add the honey and cook until golden brown, and finally stir in the food coloring. Carefully spread the hot liquid on the parchment paper and wait for it to harden.

2.2 Turn the cake over and frost the sides from bottom to top with the bittersweet chocolate buttercream frosting.

2.3 Place a scoop of milk chocolate buttercream frosting in the center of the cake top, followed by a scoop of semisweet chocolate buttercream frosting, and then another scoop of milk chocolate buttercream frosting, and finally another scoop of semisweet chocolate buttercream frosting. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top and gently press down until the entire cake top is covered.

Tip: Refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes and then remove the parchment paper so it comes off easier.

2.4 Take a clean comb and draw tree rings on top of the cake.

2.5 Break the wafer rolls in half and arrange them in the center of the cake like logs around a campfire. Break the campfire candy into shards and place them in the middle of the wafer roll circle.

3. Dino Excavation Cake

You'll Need:

• 1 chocolate cake (double the ingredients and bake in a 9 in rectangular pan)
• 16 oz chocolate bark
• 5 oz milk chocolate buttercream frosting
• 1 dinosaur fossil toy
• chocolate cookies
• homemade flag glued to 2 toothpicks

Here's How:

3.1 Hollow out the cake in the middle.

3.2 Place the dinosaur fossil inside the well and cover it with cake crumbs.

3.3 Coat the edges of the cake with milk chocolate buttercream frosting and press the bark chocolate into the sides.

3.4 Crumble the chocolate cookies and sprinkle them and the cake crumbs around the cake. Uncover part of the fossil, place some crumbs around it, and decorate the excavation site with a homemade flag.

4. Princess Castle Cake

You'll Need:

• 1 chocolate cake (ø 6 in round cake)
• 1 chocolate cake (9 in rectangle cake)
• 5 chocolate cupcakes 
• 5 waffle cones
• 14 oz white chocolate
• blue food coloring
• 5 oz whipped cream
• 14 oz white chocolate bars
• little flags
• bottle caps

For the strawberry buttercream frosting:

• 6 oz soft butter
• 10 oz powdered sugar
• strawberry jam

Here's How:

4.1 Stir the butter and powdered sugar into the buttercream frosting. Then mix in the strawberry jam to give the cream a fruity taste and pink hue. Frost the rectangular chocolate cake with the strawberry buttercream frosting.

4.2 Place the round chocolate cake on the rectangular cake and also coat it with strawberry buttercream frosting.

4.3 Place one chocolate cupcake in each corner of the rectangular cake and place the last cupcake on top of the round cake.

4.4 Cut the white chocolate bars into windows, doors, and turrets to decorate the castle.

4.5 Melt the white chocolate in a water bath and tint it with blue food coloring. Dip the waffle cones into the colored chocolate and let the chocolate harden before placing the cones on the cupcakes. Decorate the castle with whipped cream dollops and little flags.