Frugal Birthday Cake Ideas and other Party Confections

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Frugal Birthday Cake Ideas: And other No-Fuss Party Sweets

Every celebration should have a cake. Our birthday cake ideas can be used for any cake, for any occasion.

The cake serves a lot of purposes. It helps set the theme of the party. It can give a message to the guest of honor, or announce the milestone being celebrated. It enables everyone to share in a sweet dessert treat, and in most cases the cutting of the cake is a cue that the party is almost over.

Store Bought Cakes
When it comes to birthday cake ideas the least expensive cake is one you make yourself, but sometimes your kids have their hearts set on that cake they see in the grocery store. My son wanted a Lightening McQueen cake for his 6th birthday, but the 1/2 sheet cake in the grocery store was $22. (He wanted the toy that came as a cake topper). I didn't need a cake that big and I didn't want to spend that much. What a lot of people may not realize is that if you're going to buy a cake from your grocery story bakery department you have some flexibility if you actually call and order the cake ahead of time instead of pulling it ready-made from their fridge the day of the party.

I was able to purchase a smaller $14 cake by calling a couple days ahead of time and explaining what I needed. The decorator just made a few changes to the design and plopped the same little toy car on top of our cake. All because I called ahead of time. This doesn't always work but it never hurts to ask for what you need, especially if you give the store some time to try and accommodate your birthday cake idea.

Bake it Yourself
There are tons of scrumptious birthday cake recipes on the net, but I'm going to say something here you probably won't see too much.

Use a boxed cake mix....Yes I said it. It's OK to use a boxed cake mix.

If you bake scratch cakes all the time, then yes, it's cheaper to do it that way. But if all you need is a birthday cake, and money is tight, just buy a boxed cake mix and a can of frosting. Follow the directions (most require eggs, water, and/or oil to be added) and you're practically guaranteed a yummy cake for less than $5 in most cases. Boxed cake mix is great if you don't like to bake from scratch. It makes the process as painless as possible.

If you don't have baking pans, purchase an aluminum disposable pan in the sheet size recommended then just bake, cool, frost and decorate the top. Serve it right from that pan. My mom made plenty of birthday cakes like this for me when I was a kid and those are some of the best birthday memories I have. This is also a great, portable way to take a cake to school if your child is going to celebrate in the classroom.

Use colored sugars, confetti sugar or premade sugar flowers to decorate the cake. You can also buy little tubes of colored gel and write your celebration message on the cake. If you're unsure about how to do it just stick to block lettering and practice on wax paper first. You can also let your kids help decorate the cake. There is nothing prettier than white icing haphazardly sprinkled with brightly colored sugar.

Check out your kids toys for decorating birthday cake ideas. Using small toys like Hot Wheels, Polly Pockets, Action Figures, or any favorite figurine is another fun and easy way to decorate a cake.

Cupcakes
Cupcakes are a nice alternative birthday cake idea. They're easy to transport, and fun to eat. Everybody loves a cupcake. They're also easy to decorate. A swirl of icing and sprinkle of sugar is usually enough. Or you can get fancy and press a little plastic ring or toy car into the icing so that each child gets a prize with their cupcake.

If you'd like to try to bake from scratch, here is a simple and affordable recipe. Make sure you mix this batter until it has a somewhat fluffy consistency.

Easy Vanilla Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Softened Butter
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 3/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 cup Milk

Preheat Oven to 350

Grease and flour a 9x9 pan or line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Cream the sugar and butter at low to med speed.

One at a time, beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla.

Combine the flour and baking soda. Gradually add to the creamed mixture blending well.

Stir in the milk until smooth.

Pour into the pan or spoon into muffin tins.

Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes; cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. Cake is done when you press it slightly and it springs back.

This is a good basic recipe to use with any of your birthday cake ideas.

Check out this cool site to find a great icing recipe.

Some Other Party Sweets

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Butter

3 cups Rolled Oats

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

3 Tblsp unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Flaked Coconut

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, milk, and margarine.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then boil for 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the oats, vanilla, cocoa and coconut.

Spoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool for at least an hour.

Store in an airtight container.

A nice birthday cake idea for chocolate lovers is to use these cookies to border the top of a round cake. Space them evenly around the top of the cake then use fudge icing to write on the cake or drizzle the top with chocolate.

Follow this link to learn how to make Classic Rice Crispy Treats

Kid Chow

A big bowl of this at your next party will be a big hit!

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex Cereal

1 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1/4 cup Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/12 cups Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar

Put the Chex Cereal in a bowl big enough to mix all the ingredients.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter, 1 minute or more depending on your microwave, until smooth and creamy.

Stir in the Vanilla then pour the mixture over the cereal and mix until evenly coated.

Put the Confectioner's Sugar in a large ziploc bag. Add the cereal mixture and shake until evenly coated with the sugar.

Spread over a sheet of waxed paper or foil until completely cool.

I store this in an airtight container and refrigerate it before serving.

Have a GREAT Birthday Cake Idea of your own? Contact Us and share it with other Fun Frugal Moms! :-)

Don't forget a plate of melt-in-your-mouth Butter Cookies sprinkled with sugar crystals leftover from the cake :)

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