Easy Kids Birthday Cake Recipe For Moms

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Are you looking for an easy kids birthday cake recipe – especially if you are a mom that hates to bake? Does your child have an upcoming birthday party and you know you need to make a cake, but you don’t know how?  Don’t miss these great tips and easy tricks on how to make an easy kids birthday cake for any mom who hates to bake!

Does your child have a birthday coming up soon?  Do you need to make a birthday cake, but feel like you don’t have the skills to make a cake?  Or maybe you wish you could just make an easy cake so you don’t have to pay and arm and leg for a fancy one from the store?  I  mean, seriously, why does it have to be so hard to bake a cake?!

Well, I’m here to tell you that you are totally right!  It doesn’t have to be hard to bake a delicious cake or cupcakes for your child’s upcoming birthday party and I’m going to show you how!  Plus, I’ll make it even easier because we are going to spruce up a boxed cake and make it taste just like a cake you would buy from a fancy bakery – at half the price!

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How to Enhance the Flavor of Boxed Cake Mix

Let’s jump right in! Today I’m going to show you how to take a store-bought boxed cake mix – any flavor your child loves and enhance the flavor in order to make a delicious birthday cake that everyone will surely enjoy.

All you need to do is add a few ingredients and make a few ingredient swaps and your boxed cake will taste just like a bakery cake and no one will be the wiser!

How to Make Boxed Cake Taste Better

I’m going to show you how I spruced up the flavor of Betty Crocker Super Moist Party Rainbow Chip Cake Mix The recipe on the box called for 3 eggs, ½ cup of canola oil, and 1 cup of water added to the included cake mix.  

Instead, I used 5 eggs, ½ cup of melted butter, and 1 cup of half and half (you can also use milk, or cream). Just these 3 small changes will enhance the flavor of the cake immensely, giving a much richer flavor. 

Place all ingredients in a stand mixer and mix on medium for 2 minutes until the batter is light and fluffy.  If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also use a hand mixer.

Now that we have the batter all ready to go, let’s talk about three different options you have to bake and frost your cake.

Easy, Easier, Easiest Cake Options

You will be deciding between making your cake easy, easier, or easiest.  All three options will work, you’ll just need to decide how much time and effort you have to complete the job.

If you are crunched for time, I’d suggest doing the easiest option. 

Do you still have a day or two left to complete the cake? If so, then go for the easier option and if you are just in the planning stage and have a week or more to get your cake done, then go for the easy option.

No matter which one you choose, your cake will be perfect and your child will love that you made it!

Easy Option #1

The first option is the Easy Option.  The easy option means you are just in the planning stage and have a week or so to complete this cake. 

This option allows you to choose if you want to bake a round 2-layer cake, cupcakes, square 9 x 9 cake, or a simple 9 x 13 rectangle cake.  

The great part is that the batter will work for all four choices, but with a little more time on your side, you can choose to make a slightly more complicated cake.  But, you don’t have to either.  It’s up to you.

You will also have the time to make homemade frosting.  You can find my favorite buttercream recipe here – Easy Buttercream Frosting ANY Mom Can Make – that is fairly easy to make and use.  I do feel that homemade frosting tastes a lot better than store-bought, but if you are more comfortable buying a tub of frosting, then that is ok too. 

Easier Option #2

For option number two, the Easier Option that means you have a couple days to get your cake made.  You are not crunched for time, but you know you still need to get it done. For this option I would suggest skipping the idea of make a round layer cake and instead just choosing either cupcakes, square cake, or rectangle cake. 

If you choose to make cupcakes, you’ll want to make sure you make your own frosting and use a piping bag to add your frosting. The reason you’ll need to make your own frosting is that store-bought frosting rarely holds it’s shape when it’s placed in a piping bag.

Here is a video I posted of how to frost cupcakes easily using a piping bag you can watch for help. 

You can chose to use store-bought frosting and apply the frosting with a knife and just spread it on, but it won’t look as nice as it could. 

Remember you can use my favorite recipe for Easy Buttercream Frosting ANY Mom Can Make here.

Easiest Option #3

You will want to chose the Easiest Option if you are needing a cake right away and don’t want to fuss with it too much.  For this option you’ll need to choose to bake a square or rectangle cake and stick with store-bought frosting – which is super fast to use.  

Easy Baking Tools You’ll Love

There are two easy baking tools I’d highly recommend, especially if you choose to make cupcakes.

First, is this Hotec Silicone Scraper, in fact, I have the whole set of tools and would highly recommend them! I found it on Amazon and it’s fantastic.

It’s made of very thick and durable rubber and I like it because the tips hold their shape and don’t bend when I’m trying to scrape my bowl.

Next, is this Tovolo Cupcake Scooper. My son bought this for me for Mother’s Day one year when he broke my metal scooper. I wasn’t sure I would like it, but in fact, I love it!

And, I’ve had it for a few years now and it’s not broken – which is a plus! My son has a way of breaking things because he wants to figure out how they work – in doing so, he tends to unintentionally break them.

According to him, this scooper has a very simple design and works just like it should. Yes, he wants to be an engineer one day.

How Long To Bake

Choose which type of cake you will bake – cupcakes, round layer cake, 9 x 9 square cake, or simple 9 x 13 rectangle cake and refer to the cake mix box for how long you should cook each version. 

For my cake, the box told to grease my pan and bake my cake in a 350 degree oven like this:

• Cupcakes: 15-17 mins
• 2 Round Cake Pans: 17-20 minutes
• 9 x 9 Pan: 30-32 minutes
• 9 x 13 Pan: 25-27 minutes

I chose to split my recipe and make 12 cupcakes and a 9 x 9 square cake.  It worked perfect!

How To Check For Doneness

I set my timer for the shorter length of time for each method and would check for doneness by inserting a knife in the middle of a cake. 

If the knife comes out clean, then the cake is done.  If there is wet batter on the knife, then the cake needs another couple minutes to finish baking.

How to Frost Your Cake

Again, depending on which option you chose will depend on the type and method of frosting you will use. 

Homemade frosting does taste a lot better than store-bought frosting and I can ensure you that it’s not that hard to make.  Grab my favorite buttercream recipe here.  But, if you don’t have the time or energy to mess with making your own frosting, then don’t. 

Just grab a tub of frosting at the store and apply it to your cake or your cupcakes with a knife.  If you made a square or rectangle cake, keep your cake inside the pan and frost it just like it is. 

Once it’s frosted, quickly add multi-colored sprinkles before the frosting starts to harden or you will have a hard time getting the sprinkles to stick (especially to cupcakes). 

If you decide to make my homemade buttercream frosting to add to your easy kids birthday cake, then follow the directions on this this post or view a video here of how to easily use a piping bag to apply frosting to your cupcakes. 

Baking a Cake Doesn’t Have To Be Hard

I know it’s intimidating to bake a birthday cake, especially if you feel like you are not a good baker.

But if you follow my above instructions, I’m pretty sure you can bake a great cake, along with yummy homemade frosting to make an easy kids birthday cake. 

And, I want you to know that you don’t have to make a super fancy, overly decorated cake, with wording, and shapes, and layers in order for your child to love it.  It just needs to be simple and taste good.  Ok?! 

Add candles to give it a festive flair and call it good!  Next year, you can try to make a slightly more complicated cake, but this year, let’s just master a simple cake and have it taste good.  Ok?!  You’ve got this momma and I’m always here to help!

Want to remember this post? Pin this post, Easy Kids Birthday Cake For Moms Who Hate To Bake, to your favorite Pinterest board right now!