Save money by doing a Semi-DIY birthday cake
Planning for any party is always tedious and cost can easily add up. For me, planning parties are always a lot of fun and most of the time, it’s really my way of letting out a lot of bottled up creativity.
Lucky for me, I get to let my creativity fly free at least twice a year (my kids birthday’s). I usually like to incorporate mostly DIY projects to save money. One of my most favorite DIY (or semi-DIY) projects was my daughter’s cake.
I know what you’re thinking, how can you semi-DIY a cake. Well, this is probably the smartest/best decision I’ve made in a long time. lol Risky but worth it!
Every year I spend $100-$200 PLUS on birthday cakes for my kiddos. It’s always such a hard pill to swallow for me because it’s cake, but I also feel like it’s just as important as my decorations. So this year I decided to take it into my own hands with a little semi-DIY cake.
How to Semi-DIY a birthday cake
The Drip
First things first, find a local bakery or baker that will make you a simple cake. The cake I ordered was 12′ round confetti cake with white buttercream, which cost me $70 (cheap compared to what I’m used to spending). I told them to minus the sprinkles on the outside and keep it all white. No writing, NOTHING. At first, I thought I would throw a bunch of coordinating sprinkles on it, but when I saw it in person I knew it was going to need more.
I went straight to Pinterest and youtube and started searching how to make drip ganache for drip cakes. It was a little harder to find a legit recipe that gave step by step directions, so I winged it again. I know real risky.
Some pointers:
-Keep your cake cold/solid before doing the drip
-Most recipes called for a 50/50 split of chocolate and heavy cream. I used pink candy melts & heavy cream. I did the 50/50 split but really just eyed the consistency to make sure it wasn’t too watery and poured in the heavy cream as needed until it was perfect. Let it cool down a bit because it could melt the frosting on the cake.
-Use a squeeze bottle –Workaround the outer edge of the cake creating small drips and moving all the way around the cake until you meet back at your first drip
-Fill the top, make sure your ganache has not hardened. If so, pop in the microwave for a few seconds, this will make it easier to smooth out. When filling the top don’t get too close to the edge because your ganache can spill over and ruin the perfectly placed drips you created. You’ll need a small spatula to spread the ganache.
Chocolate Bark– Here’s a video to make your own chocolate bark. You’ll need colored chocolate melts, sheet pan, sprinkles.
Lollipops & Gum Balls– These were purchased at my local party city
Cookie Name Cake Topper– My amazingly talented mother makes cookies, aren’t I lucky? Follow her here!
Additional Items- Don’t forget to add a character topper to tie it all together (or anything else to help tie it into the theme).
It really is super easy and I promise it will save you a ton of money. Comment or tag your photos if you try this Semi-DIY birthday cake. Have fun!
Leave a Reply