5 things to consider when purchasing the PERFECT Birthday Cake
So, you’re throwing a party for a special someone’s birthday? There are so many factors to hosting the perfect event that it’s hard to know where to begin. For birthdays in particular, there is one thing that we all know people are there for (other than the birthday girl or boy) and that is…. The birthday cake.
A show-stopping cake can mean the difference between an average birthday and one that neither the person you are celebrating or your guests will ever forget.
Here are 5 things to consider when choosing that perfect birthday cake for the one you love.
1. Size
Let’s start off with some logistics. How many people will your cake be for?
Knowing the number of people attending your event will be the crucial first step in deciding the perfect birthday cake for that special someone, as having enough cake for everyone ensures that nobody leaves the party disappointed. Most cakes will come with a rough guide of how many people the cake will serve. These guides are very useful but take into consideration the type of people attending the party. If you know that it’s likely some people will be looking for second servings or to take some home, it can’t hurt to prepare just a few extra slices of cake. There is also no better feeling then ending a party with birthday cake leftover for the birthday girl or boy to enjoy for the few days following a party. When you’re spending so much on something as special as birthday cake, you want to make sure you have enough to be a as satisfied as possible.
Not only does the size of cake mean the quantity of cake to go around, but it will also directly affect how visually impactful the cake is. A beautiful, large cake will act as the centrepiece of the party and a talking point for the guests. The care that goes into choosing the perfect birthday cake will reflect the care that went into organising the event for your loved one. However, as great as a large cake can be, do not underestimate the power of a smaller, more understated birthday cake to be the perfect backdrop to a more intimate birthday party.
2. Flavours
Unless you know exactly what flavours the birthday girl or boy likes, picking a flavour will probably be the toughest decision you will make in choosing the perfect birthday cake. Not only will the birthday girl or boy need to enjoy the flavour, but so will all of the party guests. Pleasing all of those people is a huge task!
If you have no clue where to start, it’s best to begin with the classic flavours — Vanilla, chocolate, caramel and strawberry — and figuring out what combinations you want from there. Luckily, all of these flavours can be mixed and matched with each other and many other flavours. Consult the creators of your birthday cake as they will know best what flavours compliment each other and they may even have their own unique combinations that they work with.
3. Colour
The next thing to consider in choosing the perfect birthday cake is the colour palette of your cake.
The colour that you choose for your cake should reflect the person the cake is meant for and it will reflect the overall theme of the party as well as set the tone for your party. For example, if you’re throwing a kid’s birthday party, you may want to go for a brighter, more colourful cake. If you’re throwing a party for a woman in her 20s you may want to go with more chic, pastel colour combinations. If you’re throwing a birthday party for you dad, you’d probably want to go for a more earthy colour palette.
You can get very creative with deciding the colours of your cake as the colour of the sponge, filling, frosting & decorations will all work together to create the perfect colour palette for your birthday cake.
4. Toppings
As well as the colours of your cake, the toppings you put on your cake will go that extra mile in transforming your cake from a plain one to a show-stopper. It is with the toppings that you can get even MORE creative and make your birthday cake even more unique and special to the birthday girl or boy. They can be another opportunity to inject some extra flavour into your cake through the form of flavoured drips as well as topping with other foods such as candies, macarons, nuts, fruit, etc. They can also be used to reflect the persons personality, hobbies, and passions.
Perhaps, you’d also like to add the person’s name to the top of the cake. Or maybe a ‘Happy Birthday’ sign? There are many businesses out there that can make customised cake toppers that you can put on top to make your birthday cake even more unique.
5. Still can’t decide what cake to get for your the birthday girl or boy?
Here’s a tip if after everything discussed above, you are still lost in choosing the perfect birthday cake: Don’t rule out the idea of getting more than one cake!
More often than not, a diverse selection of smaller cakes can be just as impressive as a single, larger cake. Not everyone has the same taste in cake, so preparing more than one birthday cake for a single party can will ensure that every single guest goes home satisfied with their fix of cake. As long as you have a wide variety of flavours between each cake, you will have the opportunity to be more experimental with flavours, design and toppings you choose with each cake all while satisfying more people’s taste buds. Having multiple smaller cakes will also make a world of difference in transporting the cakes as they will be much easier to handle! Just be sure that if you do decide to get multiple smaller cakes that they have a cohesive element to them otherwise the visual impact of them sitting next to each other will be lessened.
As we have explored above, choosing the perfect cake for a birthday party can be a daunting task. But it shouldn’t be. The act of getting birthday cake should be a fun and creative process of expressing the love you have for the birthday girl or boy. By going step by step, hopefully you will find yourself having fun in the process of creating and wind up with a special and unique cake that the person you are celebrating will adore!
