6 Best Birthday Cakes for a Baby + 3 Tasty Alternatives

Jacqueline Eisenbraun (Senior Editor)

There’s an old adage that people without kids will find baby birthday parties totally pointless, while those with babies relish them more than their own. The same is true for baby birthday cakes. You’ll mostly end up eating it yourself. Here you’ll find the most beautiful and cutest baby cake ideas.

Baby birthday cake can be approached in a number of ways: you can bake something that is especially suitable for a young child who is just learning to eat solids; or you can make something sugary sweet for your baby to take pictures with.

The options are endless, but we’ll try and make choosing the perfect cake for your baby’s birthday a little easier. You’ll also find alternatives to cake that are especially healthy for young tummies.

Baby Cake Ideas for a 1st Birthday

Baby Cake Ideas for a 1st Birthday

The 1st birthday is arguably the most important birthday… in mom and dad’s life. You’ll want a cake that’s a showstopper but also something that your little one can have a taste of. Since those don’t necessarily go together, we have just the solution for you.

The best way to approach this is to have two cakes: craft something sweet for the adults. This is the cake everyone, including baby, will be taking photos with.

Cute ideas include pale blue or pink-frosted cakes with teddy bears, a moon, and stars on top. Off-white and ivory cakes with subtle gold or silver decorations are great. A large number one in a favorite color is sweet and simple.

For the baby’s own cake, healthy ingredients are key: you can use oat flour to bake a delicious cake, sweetened with maple syrup.

Frosting can be made using whole milk yogurt, maple syrup, and a touch of vanilla extract. You may also make this type of cake into cupcakes, which can be shared amongst younger party guests.

Here you’ll find the best chocolate birthday cake ideas.

Baby Birthday Cake Ideas for Boys

Baby Birthday Cake Ideas for Boys

Baby birthday cakes for boys needn’t just be pale blue. From an early age, baby boys and girls have unique personalities. Their birthday cake should be reflective of that.

Don’t feel you need to stick to the standard designs you see on social media, though by all means do if you love them. The cakes below should give you some food for thought — feel free to modify them to make them perfect for your little boy’s birthday.

Here you’ll find more 1st birthday cake ideas.

Baby Shark Birthday Cake

Baby Shark Birthday Cake

This cake is the perfect take on the standard pale blue baby boy’s cake. You can even start off the same: bake our basic birthday cake recipe below and allow your cake to fully cool down.

Next, frost in pale blue icing or buttercream. Feel free to be a little messy with your frosting, as the cake should resemble a pale blue ocean. If you like, you may even wish to use different shades of blue frosting, just remember to keep these softly colored as harsh tones can cheapen the cake a little.

Add baby shark and his family cut out from colorful fondant paste around the front of the cake. Finish with a numbered candle or a cute wooden cake topper. Top tip: you can buy baby shark cookie cutters ahead of time to make your shark family.

Are you looking for more blue birthday cake ideas? Here you will find them.

Car Birthday Cake

Car Birthday Cake

Many baby boys seem to have a built in radar for the most boyish of toys: cars. From a young age they like to spin the wheels, make car noises, and watch their toys wheel across the floor or a table. A car birthday cake is, therefore, a must for the car-loving little boy.

You can make this by following the same first steps as for the Baby Shark Cake above, but making the pale blue frosting a little tidier and more uniform.

Use a car-shaped cookie cutter to cut out multi-colored cars and line them up around the cake. Add a small car (either made of sugar or a clean toy car) to the top of a cake, and finish with a numbered candle.

Animals and Balloons Cake

Animals and Balloons Cake

You may be thinking, ‘well that’s been done before.’ It has, but not like this. Our animal and balloon cake is pared back, simple, and classy looking. Start by baking our basic birthday cake recipe below and cool.

Coat the entire cake in the whitest frosting or buttercream you can find. You want to aim for a slightly rustic finish, but still elegant. Be careful to avoid any cake crumbs sticking on the outside of the frosting.

Next, add a few clean plastic animals in a straight line across the top of the cake. Add mini ‘balloons’ you’ve purchased ahead of time on cocktail sticks behind the animals. You can buy these in a pretty rainbow color gradient or in shades of baby blue.

Baby Birthday Cakes for Girls

Baby Birthday Cakes for Girls

If your ideal baby girl birthday cake is a cloud of pink fluffiness with princess sparkles, that’s fine — but we’ve got better ideas.

Our birthday cake designs are every bit as elegant as the traditional little princess cake, but they’ll be bigger showstoppers. These are guaranteed to get a few comments of, ‘did you really make that yourself?’ to say the least. The best bit: they’re not even very tricky to recreate.

Green Woodland Birthday Cake

Green Woodland Birthday Cake

This elegant green cake is perfect for little girls who prefer the outdoors to their dollies — or love both in equal measure. Just bake our simple cake from the recipe below, cool, and frost in the palest green buttercream.

Elegant Hawaiian Birthday Cake

Elegant Hawaiian Birthday Cake

This birthday cake is perfect for little girls of any age. It’s tropical, sweet, and really elegant. If you’re planning a beach party or beach-themed for your baby girl’s birthday, this is the cake for you.

Start by baking our basic cake recipe below. Once the cake has cooled down, frost in pale pink buttercream.

Top tip: avoid using a yellow-based frosting which would turn a little orange when pink food coloring is added to it. Make wave motions around the edge of the cake to give a pretty, subtle ocean effect.

Next, decorate your cake with pretty sugar paste flowers, shells, and cookie crumble ‘sand.’ Hawaiian plumeria, hibiscus or jasmine made of fondant look stunning. Just make sure you don’t overload the cake, and stick to a select few elements. Finish with a simple number candle or wooden cake topper.

Little Wildflower Birthday Cake

Little Wildflower Birthday Cake

Our Little Wildflower Birthday Cake idea is the most precious cake you’ll ever see, guaranteed. You’ll want to make a one or two-tiered cake using our basic recipe.

If you prefer two tiers, either use smaller cake tins or, ideally, double up the recipe, making sure your second tier is a few inches smaller than your first.

Once your cake is baked and has fully cooled, frost it in pale pink or ivory buttercream. You’ll once again want a slightly rustic finish rather than a fully smooth cake.

Finally, add decorative flowers on food grade wires around the edge of your cake. You can press them into a styrofoam cake stand as well as into the first tier of the cake, around the second tier. Top with a numbered cake topper or a sweet wooden one reading baby girl’s name.

Simple Baby Birthday Cake Designs

Simple Baby Birthday Cake Designs

Making a birthday cake for your baby doesn’t need to be tricky — even if you do want a Pinterest-worthy display. Make sure you take your time with our basic recipe below. Baking a delicious cake is half the battle.

The next step is to get the buttercream frosting just right. If it’s a cake you want baby to enjoy, aim for a less sugary option. Frosting made of yogurt and maple syrup is a little less malleable but a tasty, healthier alternative for little ones.

Finally, you can make any cake look great with a lovely topper. Wooden toppers are a great option, but be mindful of any sharp cocktail sticks that are added to secure them on the cake.

Fondant figurines are fun and readily available if you don’t want to craft them yourself, but should be removed before little hands get a hold of them.

Best Quotes & Captions for Baby Birthday Cakes

Best Quotes & Captions for Baby Birthday Cakes

You’ll of course want to write your own special message for your little baby. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to express just how much they mean to you though. We’re here to provide a bit of inspiration. Pair these lovely messages with your special cake, and you’re certainly onto a winner.

• ‘For such a little person you have caused quite the uproar in the family. We can’t decide who loves you more, little one.’
• ‘Happy Birthday my little prince(ss). You are the greatest gift we have ever received.’
• ‘May your 1st birthday be filled with sunshine, smiles, laughter, and lots of love. Happy 1st Birthday cuddle bug.’
• ‘A year’s gone by, how time has flown. We can’t believe how much you’ve grown. You’re such a joy and so much fun. Happy Birthday sweetest boy/girl ever, you are ONE!’

Here you’ll find more birthday wishes for kids.

Beautiful Gift Ideas for a Baby’s 1st or 2nd Birthday

Beautiful Gift Ideas for a Baby’s 1st or 2nd Birthday

Buying gifts for a baby can be a little tricky — after all, they usually can’t quite express what they’d like yet. Below is a list of our top 1st or 2nd birthday gifts. These are tried and true presents that are sure to get a smile, both from baby as well as mom and dad.

Pop-Up Tents: these surprisingly inexpensive little tents can be purchased in the shape of buses, ice cream trucks, fire engines, and more.

They’re space-saving when folded, yet spacious for a little person to play in. They can even be brought to the beach or park, provided you make sure you tie or weigh them down in case it’s a windy day.

Water Tables: water tables are hugely popular with both babies and older toddlers. They usually only contain a little bit of water, though kids should always be supervised when playing with them regardless.

Water tables come in a huge array of shapes and sizes, some with accompanying sand pits. They’re great fun, can easily be cleaned, and usually provide hours of supervised solo play for little ones.

Kitchen Helper Stool/Tower: this is a great gift if the recipient doesn’t already have one, and parents are sure to thank you for it.

The best towers allow for little ones to stand up by a kitchen counter, while keeping them entirely secure. This enables babies to help their moms and dads in the kitchen or watch goings on from a safe spot.

Basic Recipe for a Baby Birthday Cake: A Simple Guide

Basic Recipe for a Baby Birthday Cake: A Simple Guide

This yummy basic recipe for a baby birthday cake is easy to follow and healthy(ish.) You may replace eggs for yogurt or mashed banana, milk for oat or almond substitutions, and butter for vegan butter or coconut oil.

• 2 ¼ cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup maple syrup
• ½ cup butter
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 3 medium eggs

And here’s how you do it:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease two 9” cake tins or one 9”x13” pan by using butter or coconut oil.
2. Whisk the maple syrup and butter using a stand or hand mixer until smooth.
3. Mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.
4. Gradually fold the butter and maple syrup cream in with the eggs and flour until you have a lump-free batter.
5. Pour your cake batter into the prepared tins and bake for 30-35 minutes. The center should be softly browned but springy when you press it.

Cool your finished cake to room temperature, then frost and decorate per one of our scrumptious design ideas.

Alternatives to a Baby Birthday Cake

Alternatives to a Baby Birthday Cake

If your little baby just isn’t quite ready to have cake yet, that’s okay. There are plenty of great, healthy alternatives they can enjoy on their birthday. These are also good options to offer as part of a birthday buffet, especially if you’re hosting lots of younger guests.

Fruit Bites Dipped in Chocolate

Fruit Bites Dipped in Chocolate

Fruit bites dipped in chocolate aren’t especially healthy, but they’re a healthier treat younger kids can enjoy. Bananas are a particularly good weaning food and easy to hold for little hands.

Large strawberries that are significantly bigger than baby’s mouth can also be dipped and served to babies. However, you should always supervise little ones when they’re still learning to eat solid foods.

Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweet Potato Waffles

Sweet potato waffles are a delicious healthy treat both adults and babies can enjoy. To make them, mix one medium-sized sweet potato with ½ cup of oats, ½ cup of all purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened almond milk, two eggs, a teaspoon of baking powder, and a touch of cinnamon to taste.

Fry in a waffle maker or bake in a waffle mold. Serve with a little bit of maple syrup.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

These tasty oatmeal cookies are so easy to make and only include four ingredients. All you have to do is mix ½ cup of oat flour, ½ cup rolled oats, two medium-sized bananas, and a pinch of cinnamon.

Bake at 350 F for about 10-12 minutes and cool fully before serving. These are lovely with grated carrots mixed in, too.

Tips for a Baby’s Birthday Cake

Tips for a Baby’s Birthday Cake

We’ve covered some healthy alternatives for baby birthday cakes above. If you’d still prefer to make a cake, there are a few ways you can make it more baby-friendly. Below are our top tips.

Skip the Sugar

Skip the Sugar

Sugar can send little ones a little… crazy. Avoiding the addition of refined sugar to your baked treats is sure to earn you brownie points with the parents. Instead, opt for natural sweeteners such as mashed banana or a little bit of (very sugary) maple syrup.

Steer Clear of Honey For Younger Babies

Steer Clear of Honey For Younger Babies

Honey should be avoided for babies under one, as it can sometimes contain dangerous bacteria. Ideally, you don’t want to use it in your baked treats for a newly one-year-old, just to stay on the safe side.

Be Mindful of Choking Hazards

Be Mindful of Choking Hazards

Many cake decorations are made of fondant, which is pliable when fresh but rock-hard one set. This can pose potential choking hazards for little ones.

Take off any decorations when you’re giving your baby a bit of cake. This also includes any spiky cake toppers and pieces of fruit that are too small for little ones.

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