Birthday cake for my son's 3rd B-day... Homemade? How big?!
Birthday cake for my son's 3rd B-day... Homemade? How big?
I'm not entirely sure how many people are going to be at his party. I'd guess maybe: 15 but there are a few family members that are a little hit or miss... It could be as many as 20. So, how much cake will I need?
Another part of my question is more about preferrence... I personally prefer homemade cakes but a lot of people like store bought. (my husband). Being that it would save a lot of money to make the cake myself, I'm leaning more toward that. Let me know what you think about the great cake debate.
Answers:
I usually have that many people at a birthday party. If you are making your own then go with two 9 x 13 sheet cakes. If you go with one than you might have to give people very small pieces. Also if you go with two cakes you could go with two flavors if you think some people might like one flavor over the other.
I personally prefer homemade cake because there are so many more flavor choices. I find store brand to be too dry sometimes. Besides home made is store bought it is just a do it yourself kit.
It's always hard to figure out how much food to make, but with a dessert - almost everyone will eat it and want seconds! For about 15-20 guests I would have one large 3 layered cake or 2 regular cakes. If there are left overs, I'm sure people will want to take some home :)
As for homemade or boxed....I would say that if you have time and money constraints boxed cake mixes are amazing. What I like to do is jazz up the boxed cake mix with fresh fruit, nuts, or other add-ins. Here's a couple recipes I think that would work for your son's birthday :)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package in 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Cool 10 min.; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Meanwhile, pour milk into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat 2 min. or until well blended. Add peanut butter; beat well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
MIX peanuts and melted chocolate; stir until evenly coated. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate 10 min. or until firm.
PLACE one of the cake layers on cake platter; spread with 1 cup of the pudding mixture. Cover with remaining cake layer. Gently stir whipped topping into remaining pudding mixture. Spread over top and side of cake. Decorate with chocolate peanut clusters. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.
Chocolate Banana Heaven Cake
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix (not pudding in the mix variety)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup prepared MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee, cooled
4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee
2 Tbsp. milk, warmed
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup PLANTERS Chopped Pecans
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Cover bottoms of pans with wax paper; set aside.
COMBINE cake mix and cocoa powder in large bowl. Add the prepared coffee, bananas, eggs and water; beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 sec., stopping frequently to scrape bottom and side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min.; pour evenly into prepared pans.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Immediately remove wax paper. Cool cake layers completely.
DISSOLVE 1 tsp. instant coffee in the warm milk. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add milk mixture; beat 2 min. Blend in melted chocolate. Add powdered sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Use to fill and frost cooled cake layers. Immediately press pecans into frosting on side of cake. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.
Chocolate Oreo Cake
1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix
4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut up
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
12 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Prepare and bake cake mix in two (9-inch) round cake pans as directed on package. Cool in pans 5 min. Invert onto wire racks; remove pans. Cool layers completely.
PLACE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min.
BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the whipped topping and cookie crumbs; mix lightly. Place 1 of the cake layers, top-side down, on serving plate; spread with the cream cheese mixture. Cover with the remaining cake layer, top-side up. Spoon glaze over top of cake. Let stand until set. Store in refrigerator.
Jello Poke Cake (you can use any flavor of jello for this)
2 baked (9-inch) round white cake layers, cooled
2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) or 1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Black Cherry Flavor Sugar Free Low Calorie Gelatin
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed
PLACE both cake layers, top-sides up, in clean 9-inch round cake pans. Pierce layers evenly with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.
STIR boiling water into dry gelatin mix in medium bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Pour evenly over cake layers. Refrigerate 3 hours.
DIP one of the cake pans in warm water 10 sec.; unmold onto serving plate. Spread with about 1 cup of the whipped topping. Unmold second cake layer; carefully place on first cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Decorate as desired. Store in refrigerator.
Skateboard Cake (see it at http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=re...
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
8 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
1 Tbsp. decorating icing
2 chocolate-filled rolled wafer cookies
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Food coloring
36 assorted candy-coated chocolate pieces
2 Tbsp. decorating gel
PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; pour into one 9-inch round cake pan and one 13x9-inch baking pan, making sure that the level of batter in each pan is the same. Bake as directed on package for each pan size. Cool in pans 5 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.
SPREAD tops of 4 of the OREO Cookies with some of the icing; top each with second OREO to resemble a skateboard wheel. (You will have a total of four "wheels.") Attach one set of cookie wheels to each end of the wafer cookies with the remaining icing; set aside.
PLACE rectangular cake on large board or platter. Cut round cake crosswise in half; position one half at each short side of rectangular cake, with cut side of round cake against side of larger cake as shown in diagram to resemble a skateboard.
TINT whipped topping with food coloring to desired color; spread onto tops and sides of cakes. Sprinkle a few drops of food coloring randomly over top of cake; carefully cut through food coloring with palette knife or spatula for marble effect. Decorate with chocolate pieces as desired. Use gel to write desired message on cake. Store in refrigerator. Arrange wheels on top of cake just before serving.
Make it big egnough for at least 4 people
i think store bought cake would be good. maybe 1/2 sheet of cake. you will have cake left over. i think if you buy it then you would have more time to do othr party stuff
MAKE IT HOMEMAID ITS CHEAPER AND IT TASTE BETTER.MAKE THE CAKE MEDIUM BECAUSE ONLY SOME PEOPLE EAT CAKE.AND YOU WILL HAVE A LOT OF LEFT OVER CAKE.AND IF YOU HAVE LEFT OVER CAKE GIVE BIG PIECES FOR THE GUEST TO TAKE HOME.YOU MIGHT NEED LIKE 3 BOXES OF CAKE.DEPENDS HOW BIG YOU WANT TO MAKE IT.
For the first part of your question, usually a 1/4 sheet serves about 15 people, so I'm thinking that a half (1/2) sheet should be enough to feed up to 25 people.
As for the preference, I'm with your husband on the store bought. I like store bought cakes myself for special occasions such as kids birthdays. Besides, you can order one with your son's favorite character on it. Go ahead, surprise your son with a store bought cake.
If you live in an area where there is a Publix (or Kroger) supermarket, order it ahead of time and your cake will not be dry (as some fear). Also ask for the cool whip topping which is softer and not too sweet.
you could just make cupcakes and a small cake for the candles
He's only three. I'd make one at home, his favorite flavor and icing. You can pipe icing decorations on or use those sugary decorations you lay on top. One 9x13 cake pan would make small pieces. Make two if you think you need it.
I would make a full sheet cake. You can always send along cake with family and friends or freeze it. It is SO expensive to buy a cake. And they never taste as good as they look! Buying a good sheet cake pan would be a small investment, but you will get your money's worth. Frosting and decorating is actually much easier than most people think. I taught myself and make my kids cakes and made my own wedding cake. My church has asked me to make cakes for special occasions. You can do this! You may email me at porch_princess@yahoo.com if you want some additional information or pointers. Wilsons has good products and information on their web site. Good Luck!!
It's up to you if you want to take the time to make one or buy one. Personally I don't like the taste of most store bought cakes - mainly the icing.
If you think you will have a large group you can make 2 cakes in the 9x13 size and layer them but that ends up feeding quite a big crowd. Remember you can always serve smaller pieces with ice cream to make it go a bit further or...
start a tradition of what I do: besides making the cake I also make cut out cookies using a cookie cutter in the shape of the number of the age. For example next week my nephew will be turning two so I will be making # 2 cookies to go along with the cake. Folks love this idea and it serves well for people who don't like eating cake.
Whatever you choose the most important thing is to be able to relax and enjoy your own party -so do what it takes for you to have fun as well! :-)
Make it a triple layer or as many layers as you want.Trust me children love layer cakes.
Bake two boxes of cake in a large rectangle pan. A cool decorating idea is to cover it with confetti sprinkles and use sparklers for the candles. They made a huge impact.
To accompany the cake, bake a dozen cupcakes. Bake them in ice cream cones. They can be eaten with no mess that way.
You will either have a) enough cake for everyone or b) easy take home leftovers if it's too much.
I use to make cakes for a living, and find that most people LOVE ordering cakes for birthday partys, instead of making them. YOU have some much to worry about anyways!! I would recomend getting a half sheet, just so you can have some left over! Also to make it cheaper, have them do a colorful back ground and add your own toys!! you won't believe how much you will save! and defintaly get whipped cream frosting. just know that if you do get brightly or darkly colord frosting or airbrush on it, every one's mouth will be tinted!!
LET IT WEIGH 3 KGS
At my son's last b-day, instead of having to buy/make a big cake, I bought cupcakes for everyone from Sam's Club (or you can go to Costco I think) and it only cost me about $25. for 24 cupcakes. They each had a plastic spider-man kiddie ring with confetti. Everyone gets one and you don't have to worry about slicing everyone a piece of cake. And the cupcakes were a decent size for anyone young or old. For my son, I made a small cake with a Spider-man topper (he was into that character a few months back). Hope this helps!
Buy a cake from a warehouse place. They're terrific, their cheap and there are all different themes to them. Save your energy. You're going to need it.
I would make a 9 X 13 cake. Another idea is to make cup cakes and make about 20, you can shape the cup cakes into a big number 3. You can always save them for later or send me a piece or 2. Happy birthday to your son and have fun.