The WoW Style

Whether you’re ordering a cake at the bakery, buying store-bought, or have taken an online cake class and are eager to bake your own, choosing the perfect birthday cake is no easy feat. Based on if it’s a birthday cake for a child, parent, friend or sibling, your criteria is going to be unique to the person that it’s for.

From size to flavour and decorations, there’s a lot to think about when choosing a birthday cake. Luckily for you, we’ve collated it all here, so you can pick the best cake for your birthday bash or event.

Size

Firstly, you need to make sure the size of your cake is right. Before we get into any design or flavour decisions, you need to ask yourself how many people your cake needs to feed. After all, no one wants to turn up to a room full of people with a cake that’ll only feed 6. For small, intimate gatherings, you’ll probably have a baking tin that’s a good size for you all, and if you’re buying a cake, you’ll have a range of smaller sized cakes to choose from. For bigger (post-COVID of course) events, you’ll need to do extra planning to make sure there’s enough cake for everyone.

Flavour

A good rule of thumb when picking a birthday cake is to think about who it’s for. To celebrate your loved one’s birthday properly, pick a flavour that you know they will like. And if you don’t know what their favourite would be, here’s a few examples of staple cake flavours:

• Plain old vanilla
• Chocolate
• Red velvet
• Strawberry
• Lemon
• Carrot

Filling

From cream, to jam to classic buttercream icing, there are a world of possibilities for the filling of a birthday cake. In fact, you don’t have to have any at all!

For those of you who do want your birthday cake to have a filling, you can really play around with your options here. Again, a good tip is to think about what the birthday boy or girl likes, and include that.

Here are just some of the fillings to put in your birthday cake:

• Buttercream icing
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate sauce
• Fruit
• Jam

Decorations

Now, what’s a birthday cake without decorations? This is a great opportunity for the home bakers amongst us to really get creative, and the store-buyers to add a personal touch to their birthday cake. Think about what the birthday boy or gal’s favourite sweets, chocolates and flavours are and incorporate them into the cake decoration.

If you’re following a theme, then you can buy or make edible decorations out of icing too. And if you’re stuck for ideas, just head on over to trusty Instagram or Pinterest for an unlimited supply of birthday cake goals.

Any allergies or dietary requirements?

Lastly, you should think about any allergies and dietary restrictions in your party. If your birthday cake is for a vegan, then steer clear of those animal products. Luckily for you, there are a tonne of dairy and egg-free cakes and recipes out there that you can go for. If you’re purchasing a cake, then watch out for any nuts that could be in the cake if someone has an allergy. It’s a good idea to check the ingredients thoroughly so there aren’t any nasty surprises later down the line.