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Kalyn Brooke

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DIY Simple Celebration Cake

September 1 // 13 Comments // 3 Minute Read

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Don’t settle for grocery store sheet cakes or overpriced bakery cakes for your next celebration. Learn how to decorate your own with these easy birthday cake ideas!

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Welcome back to Cake Week! For five jam-packed days, I’m teaching you how to make professional looking cakes at home, so you can avoid those high bakery prices. You can find links to all posts in the series HERE.

This girl makes decorating a cake look so easy! I'm going to try this instead of buying a sheet cake for my daughter's next birthday party. My biggest takeaway—level your cake BEFORE you decorate!

When it comes to cake decorating, the ultimate culmination of skills come together for one, and only one project—the actual cake!

Today, we’re going to create a simple, yet festive celebration cake that tastes better than the ones you pick up at the grocery store, and costs a lot less than your local bakery.

Now, let’s be reasonable. If you’re looking for a crazy Cake Boss cake, then this tutorial probably isn’t for you. However, one of my favorite things about this cake is it’s not only pretty {and easy!}, it’s also customizable for just about every occasion—retirements, communions, graduations, showers—anything!

This five-minute video shows you how to assemble, frost, and decorate this simple cake. Plus, since it only uses THREE decorating tips, you don’t have to go out and buy a huge set to start decorating!

Enjoy!

List of Tools Used:

  • Cake leveler – to cut off those inevitable cake humps
  • Icing spatula
  • Decorating bags and couplers
  • Tip 12 – for icing dam {if you are using a pudding or jelly-like filling}
  • Tip 21 – for border
  • Tip 4 – for writing
  • Parchment paper
  • Icing smoother
  • Sprinkles
  • Buttercream Icing

If you’re not sure how to fill a decorating bag, this video gives you a quick overview.

And in case you’re wondering about my super secret cake recipe, it’s a box mix! I swear by Pillsbury Moist Supreme cakes and all my customers would rave about how good they are. It is also the only instance where the word moist is allowed in my house. 😉

birthday-cake-horizontal-WM-4

Troubleshooting Tips:

  • If your spatula picks up crumbs while icing your cake, thin down your icing with a little water until it’s easier to spread. Always wipe off the crumbs before dipping back into the icing bowl.
  • Be sure to keep consistent pressure on the bag and go slow while you’re writing the message on top. We want the icing to fall on it’s own to create soft loops and letters. Don’t force it!

birthday-cake-horizontal-WM-5

When you make cakes for special events, there’s always the question of how much cake to make. For instance, How do you know an 8″ round will be enough for a party with twenty guests? How much icing should you make to cover {and decorate} said cake?

You don’t, unless you can magically estimate like a pro.

That’s why I use a baking and serving cheat sheet to tell me the exact amounts I need. This sheet has served me well during my years of professional cake baking, and I still use it to this day!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE CHEAT SHEET

Hungry for more cake decorating tips? Don’t miss all the posts from Cake Week HERE.

What event would you make this cake for?

Disclosure: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Read my full disclosure policy here.

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Next Post »How to Start a Cake Business from Home


Comments

  1. Lindsey says

    June 23 at 12:42 pm

    My birthday is coming up here in the next month. Maybe I’ll give this cake a try 😉

    Reply
    • Kalyn Brooke says

      June 23 at 2:49 pm

      I’d tell you that you should have someone else do the baking so that you don’t have to make your own birthday cake – but I made my own cake for my college graduation party a few years ago, so I guess I can’t. 🙂

      Reply
      • Eileen says

        June 24 at 10:14 am

        Haha! I made my college graduation cake also 🙂

        Reply
        • Kalyn Brooke says

          June 27 at 10:43 am

          Too funny! Why get a grocery store cake when yours look and taste so much better? 🙂

          Reply
          • Lindsey says

            June 29 at 11:16 am

            I’m a sucker for homemade cakes but its an excuse to bake which is all I need lol

          • Kalyn Brooke says

            June 30 at 1:05 pm

            Celebrate Thursday – I think you should make a cake for that! Problem solved! 😉

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Hi, I’m Kalyn—a recovering perfectionist who nerds out about organizing systems, personal productivity, and helping you prioritize what matters over the pressure to do it all. I have a feeling we’re about to become the best of friends! Learn more >>

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👩‍💻 | I help value-driven women lead manageable + meaningful lives.
💬 | INFJ / Enneagram 1
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What’s one thing you budget for that other peopl
What’s one thing you budget for that other people might not? I always find those interesting. 😃⁣ ⁣ You might have a mortgage. I budget for campgrounds. You might want a separate clothing budget, while I’m fine combining it under “Beauty and Style.” Recently, we also added a new line item for our motorcycle—something I NEVER thought would appear in our budget. ⁣ ⁣ See, we’re all different! ⁣ ⁣ Recently, I rearranged my budget categories and created this “cheat sheet.” Sometimes I forget where things go, like picking up new wall art for the living room. Does this item belong in the categories of Household Items or Home Maintenance? 🤔⁣ ⁣ Now I know! And I save time processing receipts each Friday. 🧾⁣ ⁣ What budgeting categories do you use? Share one of your random budget line items with me in the comments below! 😃

I call 2020 the Year of Abandoned Books. ⁣
⁣
I

I call 2020 the Year of Abandoned Books. ⁣ ⁣ I’m never afraid to stop reading a book if it doesn’t live up to the hype. Why invest more time in a book I’m not all that excited about when I could be exploring new authors and storylines where I can’t wait to turn the page? 🤷⁣ ⁣ But in 2020, I let more books go than I normally do. I suppose my patience dwindled when I thought the world was ending. Not that I thought the world was actually ending…but you know what I mean. 😉⁣ ⁣ As an Enneagram 1, I hate giving up on a book. I’m prone to the all-or-nothing mentality, even in my reading habits. My eyes could glaze over boring prose and I’d still repeat to myself: “You MUST finish this book!” 😫⁣ ⁣ Why? ⁣ ⁣ No one is adding a plastic star to your Book-It pin, (Remember those?) This isn’t assigned reading from your high school English class. This is YOUR reading life. ⁣ ⁣ And YOU should choose what books deserve your attention. 📚⁣ ⁣ There are too many good ones out there anyway. Like one of my favorite reads from 2020. 😍⁣ ⁣ This week’s newest blog post rounds up everything I read last year (43 books total!) including 5-star psychological thrillers, a delightful royal series, a couple self-help books, and of course, historical fiction.⁣ ⁣ Click the link in my bio to read it! ☝⁣ ⁣ What were your favorite books in 2020? Our literary styles might be a match made in heaven! ✨

My planner/journal lineup for 2021. 👆 ⁣
⁣
T

My planner/journal lineup for 2021. 👆 ⁣ ⁣ These small but mighty sidekicks will be my saving grace this year. 📚⁣ ⁣ 1️⃣ Bullet Journal (Blue) - for everyday planning and goal setting⁣ 2️⃣ Regular Journal (Yellow) - to track gratitude (5 things a day!) and to process ALL the feelings⁣ 3️⃣ Growth Journal (Sand) - a space for me to brain dump everything I learn from books, podcasts, sermons, etc ⁣ ⁣ That last one is new to me as of this year and I can't wait to flip back through all my notes come December! 📆⁣ ⁣ What planners/journals are you using for 2021?

Self-care is just as important as making your famo
Self-care is just as important as making your famous sugar cookies this holiday season. 🍪⁣ ⁣ Because let’s be real. ⁣ ⁣ That Hallmark-esque Christmas magic disappears the moment disagreeable family members annoy you. Or when you feel irritable over too many late nights and little-to-no sleep. Or when expectations over meals and traditions and social activities fall short and leave you feeling disappointed. 😬⁣ ⁣ But instead of dwelling on these stressful moments and using them as an excuse to completely disconnect from reality (as I’m often tempted to do!), view them as an opportunity for you to respond with poise. 💞⁣ ⁣ ➕ Journal your feelings. ⁣ ➕ Go for a walk. ⁣ ➕ Prioritize what’s essential. ⁣ ➕ Remember to breathe.⁣ ➕ And try not to eat your feelings…okay?⁣ ⁣ Here’s your permission slip if you need one: You don’t need to do or participate in everything! Take a time out when you need it. 🙌⁣ ⁣ That’s the best way you can protect your emotional well-being over the next few days.⁣ ⁣ Merry Christmas, friends! 🎄


I know you’re ready for this year to be over. 🙋‍♀️ The last twelve months brought so many hard things into our lives—relationships were lost, our country became more broken and divided than ever, and oh yeah, we walked through a pandemic too. 🦠 🤯 No biggie, right? Ha! 😅 And while it’s easy to look back and wish we could skip 2020 altogether (or at least insist on a do-over), I don’t want this year to be the one where the hard overcame the good. 💕 Just as hard days don’t mean ruined days, hard years don’t mean ruined years. 2020 can still be good. 💪 For me, I want to remember the fun and exciting things we did. The adventures we had. The new shows we watched, and the books we read. The new life hacks and things I discovered that made my life easier or just brought me joy. 💞 You’ll find it all in my latest blog post (link in profile). If you still need to buy a gift for a loved one (or for yourself!), you’ll find plenty of fun and affordable ideas to fill up the rest of your gifting list. 📦 Otherwise, enjoy a stroll down the good side of 2020’s memory lane and leave your favorite things in the comments so I can try them. 👋


Pro minimalism tip: Use double-duty appliances. 🤯⁣ ⁣ With limited kitchen space, I have to be super careful about what appliances we invite into the RV. We already had an Instant Pot, Ninja Blender, and a Food Processor. But I really wanted an air-fryer! ⁣ ⁣ With no place to put it, I discovered that Instant Pot made a dual instant pot/air-fryer product. So I gave my instant pot away, and my mom bought me this one for an early Christmas present. I’ve only played with it a couple of times but I’m already in love! 💕⁣ ⁣ Kale chips...sweet potato fries...broccoli. I’m basically an air-frying queen now. And I can easily switch back to the instant pot whenever I want. Yay for two appliances in one! 🥳⁣ ⁣ Q: What is your favorite appliance to use? Is it double duty? 🤔


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