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Looking for the best birthday cake alternatives for your child that doesn’t love cake? Look no further, today I’m sharing my 11 best birthday cake alternatives for kids, that I’m sure your child will love!
Are you looking for birthday cake alternatives? Maybe you also have a child (or two) that don’t particularly love cake? Me too! Both of my boys are not huge fans of cake and over the years that’s forced me to get pretty creative when trying to make a fun and easy cake for them.
We have tried so many different ideas over the years that I thought I’d also share them with you, just in case you also have a child who is not very fond of cake – just like my boys. Plus, not only will I share 11 great birthday cake alternatives, I’ll also share photos of each one that we’ve tried over the years, and if I have a recipe I’ve used, I’ll also link to that. Here’s a quick Idea Pin of these 11 Birthday Cake Alternatives that you might want to pin for later!
WISH PLANNING A PARTY WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?
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11 Birthday Cake Alternatives
If you are looking for a really fun birthday cake alternative for your next birthday party, then you have come to the right place! Here are the 11 birthday cake alternatives that I’m going to share with you today.
- Pile of Cookies
- Cupcakes
- Donuts
- Ice Cream Sundaes
- Cookie Cake
- Berry Pie
- Macarons
- Cake Pops
- Brownies
- Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
- Cheesecake
#1 Pile of Cookies
Let’s jump right in and get right to one of my top favorites of birthday cake alternatives – a giant pile of cookies!
My oldest son has never liked cake – he has texture issues with a lot of food and cake is not on his list of favorites. He’ll eat it sometimes, but for the most part, he prefers ice cream or something crunchy like cookies.
I do make delicious Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies and I’ve made them a ton of times over the years. When my oldest asked for my famous peanut butter cookies as his cake, I was totally good with that! I love making these cookies, because somehow, I’ve mastered them, and they always come out perfect.
I’m not a baker, so I’ll be honest, I don’t have any idea why these cookies work so good for me. Not sure if it’s altitude, or just luck, but for me, this recipe is my all-time favorite and works perfect every time.
We didn’t do anything fancy for this birthday cake alternative. I simply baked the cookies (it’s a sweet recipe that makes 5 dozen) and piled them up on the plate and added candles. That’s it! We let the guests just grab a few after we sang Happy Birthday. Best part, my son loved it, so I’ll call that a win in my book!
#2 Cupcakes
My next birthday cake alternative is cupcakes! Now, I know what you thinking – if my child doesn’t love birthday cake, why would they like cupcakes?
Well, my daughter is that exact kid who doesn’t love cake but does prefer cupcakes. In fact, she loves to bake cupcakes and make all kinds of crazy combinations.
She thinks you can have a lot more fun with cupcakes than you can with a big cake, and I tend to agree with her. You can a fun filling like a lemon curd, or one time she filled baked cupcakes with a Hershey Kiss and then topped with a pile of frosting.
If you enjoy baking, then try your child favorite flavors and turn them into a fun cupcake. Pinterest is filled with cupcake recipe ideas and I’m sure you can find a flavor your child will love!
#3 Donut Cake
If your child love donuts, then this is the best idea ever! My two oldest kids have birthdays in June only 2 weeks apart and we have hosted many parties for them on the same day just a few hours apart.
Now, before I further explain this birthday cake alternative, if the idea of hosting two birthday parties on the same day piqued your interest, then read this post all about how I did just that.
Now, like I was saying, my two oldest kids have birthdays only 2 weeks apart and often I would host their parties on the same day near the beginning of June. Did you know that June 2nd is National Donut Day?
In my town, all the grocery stores in the area offer half off all donuts on National Donut Day. A couple years in a row, we had parties that first weekend of June and purchased a dozen donuts – at half off – for their cakes. All you do is pile them up on a plate and add birthday candles.
If you like to bake, feel free to bake your own donuts and frost them, just like the photo above that my daughter made for one of her friends on her birthday.
#4 Ice Cream Sundaes
When your child doesn’t feel like having cake for their party dessert, throw out the birthday cake alternative of ice cream!
See what reaction you get! My husband loves ice cream so much, and every year asks for an ice cream cake on his birthday.
Many times, I’ve sprung for the very expensive ice cream cake from Dairy Queen – which is his absolute favorite, but like I said, it’s expensive. A few times I’ve tried to make an actual ice cream cake – but it’s a lot of work, so make it easy for yourself and have an ice cream sundae bar instead.
All you nee to do is get your favorite flavor of ice cream (but I do think Vanilla works best for this), a few toppings like sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and ice cream cones. That’s about it! Let all your guests make their own and they will love it!
The best part about this birthday cake alternative is that it’s super easy to do and doesn’t require a lot of prep work on your part.
#5 Cookie Cake
Another great birthday cake alternative is a giant cookie cake – especially if the birthday child loves cookies as much as I do! I’m a cookie fan and would love to have a cookie cake for one of my birthday celebrations.
A cookie cake takes a bit more work than some of our other ideas, so make sure you consider that if you choose to go this route. You simply make a chocolate chip cookie recipe – and a quick tip is to just use the chocolate chip cookie recipe that is found on the back of most packages of chocolate chips. Even if you choose the generic brand, it typically has a recipe on it.
Or you can do what I do – buy the cheaper chocolate chips – whatever is on sale that week, and then use the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Instead of baking them as cookies, bake them in big deep-dish pizza pan, or large round cake pan. Or you can make two smaller versions and bake in smaller cake pans. It’s up to you.
After the cookie cake is cooled, decorate it! I like to make my own frosting and would recommend you do the same if you are going to use piping bags to decorate. Here is my favorite Homemade Buttercream Frosting Recipe. I use this recipe all the time to decorate cupcakes and cakes and it works great!
The store-bought tubs of frosting don’t work very well if you want to pipe your decorations – they just don’t hold up well. But they work fine if you want to use a knife and spread the frosting on top. Which is also an option, consider just spreading a tub of frosting on top with a knife and then add a bunch of sprinkles to decorate and call it good.
#6 Berry Pie
If you have a child that loves pie than this is the perfect birthday cake alternative for them! Make your child’s favorite berry pie and add candles on top.
My husband also loves cherry pie, so a few years we have enjoyed cherry pie as his birthday dessert.
You can use any flavor of berry pie that your child would like best – blueberry, cherry, strawberry, mixed berry etc. You can also consider saving yourself a lot of effort by simply purchasing your berry pie right from the store and adding candles.
#7 Macarons
Personally I love, love, love macarons! They are delicious! But, I will be the first to admit that baking them is a HUGE undertaking.
They are extremely finicky and take a lot of time and patience to bake. Yes, I have tried making them – only once. They were fantastic, but it took me all day to make one batch.
WISH PLANNING A PARTY WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?
If you know of a bakery nearby that makes them, buy them. If you want to attempt to make them yourself, go for it! I will cheer you on. I don’t have a go-to recipe for them, so just poke around on Pinterest until you find a recipe you want to attempt.
Be prepared for them to be a little tricky. If you make some and you like how they turn out, please don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can give you the due respect and applause you deserve!
#8 Cake Pops
Cake pops are adorable! Again, I think they can be a little tricky to make too. For me the hardest part is getting them coated in chocolate.
I’ve only made them once and they were hard for me. But, my kids sure love them and if your kids do too, then take a leap and try making them!
A few tips to consider when making cake pops, they need them to be chilled before you try coating them in chocolate. And once you coat them, quickly add sprinkles or any decorations you want on them before the coating hardens. You will also need something to stand them up on after they are done, such as a block of styrofoam.
As long as you get that stuff in place before you begin, you might be surprised at what you can make! Look up recipes on Pinterest and let me know what you come up with! I can’t wait to see them! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see what you came up with!
#9 Brownies
I’m a huge brownie lover and think this is one of the easiest birthday cake alternatives you can make. All you need to do is buy a boxed brownie mix and bake according to the instructions. Let them cool completely.
After cooled, add a layer of frosting either using my Easy Buttercream Frosting Any Mom Can Make or by using a tub of store-bought frosting. Spread it on the brownies with a knife and add sprinkles. Simple as that and it’s delicious!
If your child loves brownies as much as I do, then this will be a big hit!
#10 Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
Another one of my favorites and again fairly easy to make. There are bunch of ways you can make these.
The easiest way is to buy store-bought cookies in the birthday child’s favorite flavor. Also pick up a gallon of the birthday child’s favorite ice cream flavor.
Take a cookie and add a scoop of softened ice cream. Then add a second cookie to the top making a sandwich. Wrap the cookie sandwich in saran wrap and place back in the freezer to harden.
You can also bake my famous Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies an add your favorite ice cream between two of them. These are fantastic as well. If you work quickly, you can add the ice cream and the 2nd cookies and then roll the edges in sprinkles to make them extra festive before you wrap and place back in the freezer to harden.
#11 Cheesecake
Cheesecake is another great birthday cake alternative that you can consider if you are looking for something other than cake to offer at your next party. I don’t know about you, but I love cheesecake! It’s delicious!
When I was a kid, my mom used to make a really yummy, no-bake cherry cheesecake for me and I loved it!
Just look up recipe ideas on Pinterest if you want to make an easy, no-bake cheesecake. Or you can also attempt to make a baked cheesecake to serve. Again, cheesecake can be a little tricky, so make sure you are ready to take on the challenge before you attempt it. You can also consider just buying an already baked cheesecake in your favorite flavor to serve.
Traditional Birthday Cake
After reading over these 11 great birthday cake alternatives, are you wanting to make a traditional birthday cake the easy way? Here is an extremely Easy Birthday Cake For Moms Who Hate To Bake that you should check out, plus here is my favorite Easy Buttercream Frosting ANY Mom Can Make.
11 Birthday Cake Alternatives that Kids Love
There you have it, 11 awesome birthday cake alternatives you can serve at your next birthday party. Especially if your child is a not a huge fan of the traditional birthday cake. I’m sure you can find at least one birthday cake alternative option from this list that your child will love!
I hope this helps you choose your next birthday cake quickly and easily, plus these other tools will help you plan your party.
Other Party Planning Tools You Might Like:
Speed Party Planning Checklist
Wondering where to begin when planning a party?
If you want an easy tool that can help you begin the planning process for your next party, then our Speed Party Planning Checklist is the perfect first step!
Plus, it’s my gift to you – hurry, it’s only free for a limited time! You can grab it here.
Speed Party Planning Tool Kit
It’s no secret that having all the nitty gritty details organized for your upcoming party will help you feel calm, relaxed and ready to focus on the fun!
This tool kit includes 6 party planning worksheets, including our wildly popular Speed Party Planning Checklist! Plus, a lot of extra resources.
This pack of resources will help you organize and plan your party details fast – in less than an hour!
Choose Your Party Guide
Our must-have guide includes three completely planned party plans leaving you with only one decision – simply picking which one works best for you & your child!
WISH PLANNING A PARTY WAS A PIECE OF CAKE?
Planning your child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be stressful – if you have the right tools! Yep, you can throw an in-home party without spending a lot of money, and I promise you won’t lose your mind in the process!
In fact, you’ll be super proud of yourself!
Instant Party Toolkit
Did you wait until the last minute to put your child’s birthday party together? Our Instant Party Toolkit is just what you need! This bundle of essential printables is just what you need to throw a fabulous party for your child in an hour or less, and includes
This digital toolkit is full of printables you can simply print out and know you have everything you need from decorations to invitations done and ready to go!
If you wish party planning wasn’t so hard, and want to finally learn HOW to plan a party the easy way, you’ll love this system! In this system I teach you 8 lesson on how to plan all aspects of a party the way I do it!
FAB Party Planning System is just what you need to plan amazing parties for years to come!
Want to remember this post? Pin this post, 11 Birthday Cake Alternatives For Kids, to your favorite Pinterest board right now!
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