DIY birthday cake inspiration

You've booked the venue for your child's birthday party, picked out the gift and licked all the envelopes for the invitations. There's one final ingredient for a fantastic party - the cake.

If scrolling through the masses of picture-perfect birthday cakes plastered on Pinterest has you slowly backing away and pulling out the number for the local cake shop, never fear! We have some great cake trends for you to take inspiration from, and best of all, with a bit of forward planning, you can pull them off yourself.

Fantastic flavours

When it comes to selecting the flavour for the cake, you can never go wrong with chocolate. It's a classic for a reason, and will probably appeal to a majority of your guests. This tried-and-tested flavour is readily complemented by a variety of extracts that you can mix into the icing. Orange-chocolate and mint-chocolate are good combinations, or you can try something more adventurous like chilli or sea salt. This is a great way to add a twist to the cake, making it more than just your run-of-the-mill chocolate.

Ingenious icing

The frosting is your opportunity to impress. Don't be discouraged by the intricate designs floating around on the internet, as there are many techniques you accomplish without artistic ability or an amazingly steady hand. You can use cookie-cutters to cut shapes out of fondant, such as cars or flowers, personalising the cake to your child's interests or party theme. If you're feeling brave you can even try making shapes and models by hand.

For a less fussy creation, try applying buttercream frosting roughly to achieve a stylish rustic effect. Alternatively, ditch the outside frosting all together and embrace the naked cake trend. These techniques allow you to pay more attention to other decorations like themed cake toppers.

Charming colour

It's no secret that kids love colour. As a substitute to traditional tinted icing, fondant can be used as a base for producing pleasing coloured effects. By painting directly onto a layer of white fondant with food colour gels, you can create anything from ombre, to marble, to watercolour, to intricate designs. Anything you do will be beautiful and unique, you are limited only by your imagination!

These great cake trends can be done by anyone, regardless of how creative you claim to be. So have a go, make something personal and special for your child's birthday and leave the rest of the party details to ZONE BOWLING. With a variety of activities on offer, such as bowling and laser tag, the party and the cake are sure to be a success.