How to decorate a birthday cake for a girl or boy: recipes, ideas with photos

At your baby's first birthday, everything will be for the first time. Therefore, parents try to make this holiday memorable and bright. Let it be a large themed banquet or a cozy family party dedicated to the anniversary - in any case, all the attributes, all the little things should emphasize the importance of the holiday. Among the culinary variety or modest treats, the cake will take center stage. After all, today a birthday cake for a one-year-old child plays the role of not just a tasty treat, but also a thematic decoration.

What should a 1 year old birthday cake look like?

A hand-baked cake for a boy or girl’s 1st birthday will be a wonderful addition to holiday treats.

But recipes for cakes made from standard sponge or puff pastries, buttered with cream and decorated with roses and an inscription, are a thing of the past.

Today, experienced confectioners and caring mothers are trying to give a baby’s birthday cake not just a presentable look, but to come up with a real fairy tale story.

This approach is especially relevant when preparing sweets for an anniversary.

A child at this age is interested in everything bright and remarkable. Therefore, cake decoration should be memorable.

The sweet product is decorated with edible color pictures, figurines, and animals. Such a work of art will definitely attract the baby's attention.

But don’t forget about the preferences of the hero of the occasion. And this applies to both decoration and taste of the culinary product.

If your baby doesn’t particularly like cottage cheese or strawberries, you shouldn’t use such ingredients for the sake of a beautiful picture or strict adherence to the recipe you like.

Mom knows exactly what sweets, fillings, and fruits the birthday boy likes. Therefore, there should not be a problem with the choice of ingredients.

Immediately avoid allergenic foods and new foods unfamiliar to your child.

Birthdays are not the time for food experiments. Keep in mind that other little guests will also try the cake.

If you do not want to conduct a preliminary survey about your children’s intolerance to certain foods, immediately cross off honey, nuts, and citrus fruits from the list.

Separately, you need to dwell on the quality of the components used, both for baking the cake and for making decorations.

To create a beautiful picture, many people use synthetic dyes. This approach is not acceptable for preparing treats for small children.

There are many options for how to tint mastic with natural, natural dyes that are safe for children.

Use the juice of strawberries, beets, carrots, celery, and parsley for coloring.

If you order a cake from a professional chef, ask what dyes will be used.

And don’t forget about the freshness of the cake itself.

It is better to bake it immediately on the eve of the holiday or pick up the order on the day of the celebration.

Cake recipe for children using baby formula Malyutka and Malysh

Components:

Dry baby formula - 500 g
Flour - 250 g
Milk – 150 g
Eggs - 2 pcs
Baking powder
Fat sour cream - 450 ml
Raspberry syrup to taste

Preparation:

Beat sour cream with egg
Mix flour, dry mixture and baking powder
Combine all ingredients together and knead the dough
Place it in the oven for 25-35 minutes
Cool the finished cake and cut it in half.
Whisk the sour cream, dry mixture and syrup, and spread the resulting cream onto the cakes.

What is better for decorating a 1st birthday cake, cream or mastic?

Many parents doubt which is better to choose a cake for a 1 year old boy or girl, cream or mastic. Mastic seems to be a more relevant solution, and cream seems safe. Let's try to place the right emphasis in solving this problem.

Mastic for cake decoration

The cake with fondant looks absolutely amazing. Thanks to the plastic sweet dough, you can create real masterpieces.

With mastic you can not only cover all the cakes and hide imperfections, but also sculpt thematic figures and plot compositions.

The main advantage of this material is its plasticity and the possibility of coloring, which allows even a novice or amateur pastry chef to work with it.

What can we say about those real works of art that are created by experienced craftsmen. This cake will leave a lasting impression and decorate the most elegant table.

Moreover, you can use milk, chocolate, velvet, or marshmallow mastic. It’s easy to prepare it yourself or buy it ready-made.

But some people are not too fond of the taste of mastic itself. She seems too sickly sweet.

In addition, parents of one-year-old babies try not to give them a lot of sweets.

Is it possible to upset a child during a holiday by not allowing him to try a colorful sweet car or a bright mastic bee? Therefore, be prepared for the fact that the baby will definitely try to taste all the bright elements of the cake made from sweet mastic dough.

Video: how to decorate a cake with fondant for a one-year-old girl

Buttercream decorations

If you really don’t like the taste of mastic or don’t want your child to be treated to too sweet dishes even on his birthday, consider other options for decorating the cake.

A cake for a 1 year old girl without mastic can be decorated with airy cream.

This sweetness will be a decent competitor to a mastic cake if you approach the process creatively.

Working with cream without experience is difficult. Not every amateur can handle using a cream syringe to create unusual jewelry.

But the effort and training will be worth it. After all, a cake covered with cream decorations looks more delicate and airy. In addition, it holds its shape perfectly.

Any cream is less sweet than mastic. But keep in mind that cream sweets are richer and more filling.

Therefore, for parents who are more concerned not about a beautiful picture, but about healthy eating, we suggest that you consider safe options for making and decorating a cake.

How to cut a beautiful number 1 from paper and dough: tips

To make a number from cake layers, you first need to cut out a stencil from paper. You can print this number on A4 paper and cut out the unit so that you can then transfer the number onto the cakes.

Unit

Tips on how to cut out numbers on finished cakes:

Bake the cakes into rectangular shapes . This will make it convenient to cut out the unit.
It is easy to cut out a unit on soft sponge cakes . Just place the paper stencil on the finished cooled cake and trim off the excess with a knife.
If the dough is shortbread , then you need to cut out the number on the rolled out raw dough. Divide the piece of dough into pieces and chill them well in the refrigerator, then place them on parchment paper and roll them out. Now you can cut out the number 1 and then bake it in the oven.
When cutting from raw dough , take pieces of dough out of the refrigerator one at a time; there is no need to keep it on the table, since it is easier to cut out a unit from a cold shortbread.

From the leftover dough you can make flowers, hearts, round cookies and then decorate the finished cake with them.

Beautiful and safe DIY cake decorations for a 1 year old boy or girl

Let's leave the exquisite versions of 1-year-old cakes, decorated with mastic or complex cream, for experimentation by real masters. For caring mothers who decided to please their child with a homemade birthday cake, we offer several ideas for decorating your treat.

Fruit jelly

To prepare colorful jelly, you can use ready-made compositions. But if you're considering a safer option, make your own fruit jelly. Fortunately, the process of its preparation is simple and accessible to everyone.

For preparation you will need:

seasonal berries – 300 – 400 gr.;
water – 1 liter;
gelatin or agar-agar.

You will need berries from which you can cook a concentrated compote or squeeze the juice. The resulting liquid is mixed with the jelly composition.

Regular food gelatin in granules, plates or vegetable agar-agar is suitable.

From these components we make a preparation according to the recipe on the pack. Mix the fruit and jelly parts.

To decorate the cake, you can pour the slightly cooled jelly directly into the mold on top of the cake. Pieces of fruit and citrus fruits will look original in such a jelly cake.

You can make several multi-colored layers of jelly or waves, stripes of different shades.

Another option: pour the jelly into a suitable sized mold and leave until completely hardened. The thin jelly cake must be carefully removed from the springform pan and transferred to the cake.

Meringue for cake decoration

Wet meringue or meringue are great for decorating children's cakes.

In addition, the protein cream perfectly holds its structure when prepared correctly, which allows you to create truly fabulous compositions.

For preparation you will need:

egg whites – 4 pcs.;
sugar – 1 glass;
vanillin – 1 sachet;
citric acid – ¼ tsp.

Beat well-chilled egg whites in a completely dry and clean container. Gradually add sugar, vanillin and citric acid.

There is no need to achieve the thickness of the protein cream. The main thing is to get a homogeneous mass.

Place the bowl with the mixture in a water bath and continue to beat it with a mixer. Heat the meringue, whisking constantly, for about 15 minutes. An indicator of the readiness of the cream will be persistent marks from the mixer.

Remove from the bath and beat the cream for another 3 – 5 minutes.

At this stage you can color the meringue. Natural dyes cannot be used, as they will disrupt the necessary structure of the cream.

It is better to use liquid food coloring. Dry ones will have to be diluted in vodka first.

Add the dye one drop at a time, without stopping stirring, until you achieve the desired shade.

Place the finished meringue in the refrigerator until it cools down. After which you can start creating using a culinary syringe or bag. You can make not only flowers and leaves from wet meringue. This cream is perfect for creating towers, butterflies, and inscriptions on a 1-year-old cake.

Meringue can also be used to decorate cupcakes and muffins.

Cakes with meringue baked after decoration look original. After baking, droplets appear on this cream, which is visually perceived as “tears of an angel.”

Whipped cream

To make buttercream at home, it is better to use raw materials of animal origin. Optimal fat content is 30 – 40%.

Vegetable cream is a mixture of fats and stabilizers.

Therefore, you should not use them to decorate a cake for a child’s first birthday.

Homemade cream will not work either, since after whipping it turns into butter, not cream.

To prepare we will need:

store-bought cream – 0.5 liters;
vanillin – 1 sachet;
food colorings.

You will have to work with cream cream quickly, without being distracted by searching for the necessary equipment, tools, and ingredients. Therefore, we immediately prepare everything that will be useful for work.

Cool the cream in the refrigerator in advance. It is better to leave them in the cold overnight.

The temperature of the whipping cream should be within 5 - 10 degrees.

To maintain the required temperature when whipping, place the container with cream in a bowl with ice water or pieces of ice. First whip the cream at medium speed. Then we move to high. Now you can add vanillin and other flavorings, sweeteners in the form of sugar or powdered sugar if desired.

The readiness of the cream is indicated by the peaks and traces that remain on the cream from the mixer.

You can add liquid dyes to the finished buttercream. Transfer the resulting mass into a bag with a suitable attachment.

You should not store or freeze creamy foam. Such material quickly loses its shape and settles in heat.

Therefore, you can decorate cakes for a 1-year-old girl’s birthday with cream, if it is possible to serve it immediately to guests. Creamy peaks look great on fruit salads and cupcakes.

Cake painting with icing

Icing is a sugar glaze that can be used to decorate not only Christmas gingerbread cookies, but also any cakes in an original and colorful way. Three-dimensional figures created using this technique look very attractive and unusual.

From glaze you can create not only inscriptions and drawings, but also thematic compositions and lace coverings.

To prepare the icing you will need:

egg white – 1 pc.;
powdered sugar – 150 gr.;
lemon juice – 1 tsp.

We first separate the white from the yolk and place it in a completely clean and dry container. Begin beating at medium speed until foam forms.

Now you can add powdered sugar in parts, increasing the whipping speed.

When the mixture acquires a sufficiently thick consistency, you can add lemon juice, which will give the glaze a special shine.

Icing is ready for use. But craftswomen need to know a few more secrets with this ingredient.

The mass can be divided into several parts, and each one can be colored with food coloring in the desired color.

To outline the outline, you will need a thicker glaze, which, after drying, will form a border.

To fill the surface with icing, the mixture will have to be diluted with water. The main thing is not to overdo it.

You can draw figures for decoration either on a dried glaze surface or on a silicone board. In the second case, after drying, the figures are carefully removed from the board and transferred to the surface of the cake.

To prevent the elements from falling apart and sticking to the board, it must first be lubricated with vegetable oil.

The elements are connected to create three-dimensional figures with each other using the same glaze. This glaze can be safely stored in the cold for 3 to 5 days in a closed container.

Therefore, at any time you can correct mistakes or correct the pattern on the cake.

By the way, you can decorate the cake in an original way with painted gingerbread cookies.

And also prepare beautiful gingerbread cookies with themed inscriptions as gifts for guests.

No-bake jellied cake

Ingredients:

sour cream – 800 g;
condensed milk – 1 jar;
children's cookies, cupcake or sponge cake - 200 g;
fruits (you can add banana, kiwi, orange) - to taste;
gelatin – 20 g.

How to cook step by step:

Prepare gelatin according to the instructions on the package.
Beat sour cream and condensed milk until fluffy and homogeneous.
Break the cookies or biscuit into small pieces with your hands or cut them and place them on the bottom of a springform pan.
Cool the gelatin that has swollen and warmed up on the stove a little, strain, mix with the sour cream mixture, and beat.
Pour the cream into the mold, place pieces of fruit on top so that they are completely immersed in the sour cream mixture.
Place in the refrigerator until hardened.
Remove the detachable part of the mold and decorate it further if desired.

Using this recipe, you can prepare the cake a little differently. You can simply mix cookies and fruits with cream. The result will be an interesting drawing. Decorating a no-bake cake is not necessary. But if you wish, you can pour a jelly layer on top.

Ready-made cake decorations for 1 year

If you don’t want to waste time on fancy decorations or experience working with labor-intensive technologies, a solution can be found by turning to professionals. And you don’t have to order expensive themed cakes.

Feel free to bake a treat according to your favorite recipe and choose decorations for cakes for a 1 year old boy or girl from the photo.

Today you can easily buy ready-made edible decorations for your masterpieces.

Consider these interesting options:

Marzipan figures. The network offers not only ready-made sugar flowers, leaves, bouquets, but also babies, babies in strollers, babies in petals, petals, fairy-tale and cartoon characters, princesses, castles, butterflies, cars, animals.

From such a variety it is easy to choose figures that correspond to the first birthday and the theme of the holiday. The main thing is to take into account the production and delivery time so as not to be left completely without sweet decorations.

Waffle pictures. Thanks to food printing technology, many interesting proposals for cake decorations have appeared. Most often this is a waffle base on which a thematic picture is applied.

When choosing, pay attention not only to the composition itself, but also to the size of the workpiece. The size of the future cake for the baby’s first birthday will depend on it.

Individual photo print of the baby. If you wish, you can order a print of not just a fairy-tale picture, but also a drawing based on your own sketches, and even a photo of the baby.

Just think a few times about whether it would be pleasant to cut a cake decorated with such a portrait.

The most delicious decorations for a 1st birthday cake

The simplest, but at the same time the most delicious decorations will be your baby’s favorite foods.

Chocolate. You can make beautiful, unusual and very tasty cake decorations from ordinary chocolate. Chocolate can be used to prepare glaze, which is poured onto the surface and sides. You can make drawings, figures, and lace from chocolate of a different or the same color.

The easiest way to decorate the cake is with chocolate chips, which are sprinkled on the surface.

Fruits and berries. Cakes decorated with berries and fruits look exotic and fresh. Rich color and taste will add its own zest to the holiday treat.

They can be laid out whole, in plates, or as a fan. Create flower arrangements or fruit litter.

Candies, cookies. Children really like cakes that are decorated with their favorite bright candies. There can be many ideas here. Use chocolate and multi-colored dragees, glazed nuts, which are placed on the surface.

The sides can be lined with bars, long cookies, and wafer rolls. You can decorate cakes with toffee, marmalade pieces, and jelly candy figures.

Children's soufflé cake: recipe

Products:

Ready-made biscuit - 300 g
Fruits – 250 g
Gelatin – 10 g
Sour cream – 700 ml
Sugar - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak the gelatin in water and let it swell
When this happens, place it in a steam bath and dissolve completely
Cut the biscuit and fruit into pieces and place everything in a mold lined with cling film
Add sugar to sour cream and beat until thick
Add gelatin in a thin stream while continuing to beat.
Pour the mixture onto the sponge cake with fruit and place it in the refrigerator to harden.
After the mixture has set well, you will need to turn the cake upside down, remove the film from it and serve it to the guests in this form.

How to decorate cakes for a 1 year old boy: ideas with photos

Boys already at one year old are quite inquisitive. Therefore, we will prepare colorful, themed cakes for them. Decor in the form of characters from your favorite cartoons and fairy tales is ideal.

Drawings and figures of equipment will definitely attract the attention of the little one. Feel free to make cars, spaceships, planes, helicopters.

You can not only decorate a classic cake with figures, but also bake cakes in the shape of a cake, a soccer ball, or a car.

But simply beautiful cakes with a congratulatory inscription, the baby’s name, and a drawn one will also do.

An original idea is to make a sweet set consisting of one cake with a candle and many small cakes.

In this case, you can safely give the main component of the composition to the birthday person, without worrying that the guests will not get any treats.

Fantasize and make your dreams come true. And they will help you decide on the choice of photos of ready-made cakes for 1 year old boys.

Children's curd cake: recipe

Cottage cheese – 1 kg
Sour cream - 3 tbsp
Eggs - 2 pcs
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vegetable oil -75 ml
Vanillin to taste
Flour - how much will go in

Preparation:

Grind the cottage cheese through a fine sieve (2 times possible)
Add baking powder, sugar, vegetable oil and eggs to it and mix lightly
Next, add literally 1 cup of flour and start kneading a tight dough
If you see that it is not enough, then add a little more
You must knead the dough so that it is as elastic as possible.
Place the finished dough in the refrigerator to rest for half an hour
Next, divide it into 5-6 identical pieces and roll them into round pieces
Fry the cakes in a dry frying pan on both sides until golden brown.
Grind the cottage cheese through a sieve again, add sour cream and vanillin to it, and mix everything until smooth.
Spread the cakes with cream and let the cake soak

How to decorate a cake for a girl’s 1st birthday: interesting ideas with photos

For little princesses, it is better to prepare a themed cake. It will complement the overall theme and emphasize the importance of the first holiday.

Decorate it in delicate colors using airy cream, chocolate or protein glaze, and sugar lace. Beads, flowers, and butterflies would be appropriate here.

If you choose jewelry from figurines, you can choose animals, princesses, bows, crowns, and angels.

But remember that for children aged 1 year you can also prepare cakes with neutral decorations. Therefore, any beautiful confectionery masterpieces in the form of cubes, a set of cupcakes, cakes with fruits or sweets are ideal for a child’s first birthday.

Children's dessert made from sponge cakes

This product has a delicate structure, is prepared from natural products, and is also very appetizing.

You will need for the biscuit:

eggs – 5 pcs.;
sugar – 125 g;
flour – 125 g;
butter – 60 g;

...for cream:

Mascarpone cheese – 250 g;
cream 33% fat – 250 g;
powdered sugar – 100 g;

…For decoration:

any berries.

Step-by-step instruction:

To make the cakes, beat eggs with sugar until stable foam. Add flour to mixture and mix for no more than 15 seconds.
Pour the dough into a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the cakes at 190°C for 15 minutes.
The semi-finished product is cooled, freed from paper, crushed to small crumbs, and combined with softened butter. Form the basis for the dessert in the form of a round cake.
Mascarpone cream is prepared separately. Whip the chilled cream until thick. Add powder. After mixing, add cheese in small portions.
Spread an even layer of cream on the base for the dessert, and berries on top of it.