Dye Free Birthdays + Semi Homemade Cake Tips

Simple, easy birthday ideas

Let me start this off with saying I’ve made a lot of mistakes on homemade cakes and I’m so sorry to family members who have had to eat them.

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I decided awhile ago that I would make my kids birthday cakes and have had a lot of trial and error with them. I have definitely made some barely edible ones!

*You can click any of the photos for links to the cake toppers.

Here’s a gallery of birthday cakes throughout the years:

1st Birthday cake from Unrefined Bakery because we couldn’t use our kitchen.

The Defined Dish’s strawberry snacking cake that I overbaked. See the tips below.

Simple Mills chocolate cake mix

One of my favorites! I learned to stick with boxed cake mix!

Simple Mills boxed cake mix, Miss Jones frosting, crushed Simple Mills graham crackers for the beach and I made the Maileg toppers.

Simple Mills Chocolate Cake Mix with Miss Jones Chocolate icing and Supernatural sprinkles

Probably one of our favorite cakes.

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Tips for Semi Homemade Cakes

Cake Base: I start by getting two six inch pans and dividing a box of Simple Mills boxed cake mix. This will make a super cute two tiered cake. You may not realize this but if you have dark bakeware, you will need to turn your oven down by 25 degrees so it doesn’t overbake. I made this mistake on the Peter Rabbit cake. All different materials cook slightly differently.

For colorful icing: I love using Miss Jones icing and I will use India Tree brand for natural food coloring. I’ve always had good luck with it. Just warm your icing in the microwave for 10ish seconds, add to a bowl, drop your coloring in and beat until incorporated with a hand mixer. You can still make super cute cakes and cupcakes without sacrificing ingredients.

Toppers: I will find toppers on Amazon or make them myself! In the beach mouse cupcakes, I put all the images into Canva, printed onto card stock, cut them out, and attached them to toothpicks with Washi tape. I even reused some the next year on new toothpicks.

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Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

• Two room temperature 8oz blocks of cream cheese

• 2 tbl of butter, softened

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

These measurements aren’t super exact because I mostly measure with my heart. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat them together until smooth. Use an offset spatula to apply to your cake and chill.

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Easy Strawberry Icing

Use freeze dried strawberries and pulse them in a blender like a magic bullet. Add about one bag to your vanilla frosting of choice.

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Let me know if you have any questions! I have really enjoyed making these cakes over the years for my family! I will be adding some of my homemade cake recipes soon so be on the lookout for those! (My favorite cakes for my husband and me!)

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