7 Quick And Easy Cake Upgrades That Steal The Show

As Rihanna once wisely said, “Cake cake cake cake cake.” We couldn’t agree more. That’s right — in our book, the world runs on cake. Vanilla cake, chocolate cake, cake filled with fruit, cake that looks like an edible rainbow, you name it! After a long week filled with stress and bumps in the road, there is nothing better than lighting a candle, getting in your comfiest clothes, turning on a cheesy romcom, and digging into a piece of moist cake (preferably with ice cream, whipped cream, and sprinkles). And who can resist a fun cake at a party? Not us, that’s for sure!

For those moments when you have a crowd to impress, we have exactly the cake you need. Actually, we have several cakes, so you can change things up depending on the type of party and people you’re catering to. One involves everyone’s favorite classic lollipops (we’re looking at you, Dum Dums), while another looks like something out of a Monet painting. And our favorite? We would never pass up the opportunity to take a bite of something that involves “chocolate lace.”

To help you on your quest to bake the perfect cake, we have the following ideas. Now grab your apron, and get ready to get creative AF!

Chocolate Lace Cage

Ingredients:

• melted chocolate

Utensils:

• gallon-sized Ziploc bag
• piping bag

Instructions:

1. Add melted chocolate to a piping bag.
2. Rip the seams on the side of a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.
3. Pipe the melted chocolate onto the open bag in any design you’d like.
4. Transfer the Ziploc bag to your cake.
5. Leave the bag on the cake until the chocolate is completely set. Gently peel the collar off when the chocolate is hard.

Cookie Monster Cake

Ingredients:

• blue frosting
• jumbo marshmallows
• chocolate chip cookies
• black candies (for the eyes)

Utensils:

• Ziploc bag
• fork

Instructions:

1. At the bottom corner of a Ziploc bag, puncture two holes into the bag with a fork.
2. Fill the bag with blue frosting.
3. Pipe the cake.
4. Break the chocolate chip cookies in half and place them where Cookie Monsters mouth would be. We’re creating the illusion that is mouth is stuffed with a bunch of cookies.
5. Add two jumbo marshmallows for the eyes and two black candies for the pupils.

“Glitz and Glam” Cake

Ingredients:

• blue and green Jolly Ranchers
• fresh pears

Utensils:

• Ziploc bag
• rolling pin
• baking sheet
• parchment paper

Instructions:

1. Unwrap a bunch of blue and green jolly ranchers and place them inside a Ziploc bag.
2. Let the air out of the bag and seal it before you smash up the Jolly Ranchers with a rolling pin.
3. Thinly slice your pears vertically. Transfer them to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle some of the crushed Jolly Ranchers over the pear slices and bake them in the oven until the candies have melted and turned your pears a teal color.
5. Layer the pear slices around the outside of the cake.

“Up, up, and away” Cake

Ingredients:

• white chocolate
• wafter cookies

Utensils:

• piping bag
• a bowl of ice water
• toothpick

Instructions:

1. Pipe little swirls of chocolate into a bowl of ice water. Let them sit for a few minutes until they’ve hardened.
2. Scoop out the swirls and places them over the cake so they resemble clouds.
3. Lay a wafer cookie facedown and make two diagonal cuts. The first cut should be about half of the cookie and the second cut should just be a tip of the corner.
4. Pipe some white chocolate onto the large piece of the wafer cookie you just cut. Stick on the small piece of the cookie you cut and a whole wafer cookie.
5. Stick a toothpick in the bottom of your airplane cookie and stick it in the cake.

“Will you be my Dum Dum?” Cake

Ingredients:

• Dum Dum suckers

Instructions:

• Unwrap each Dum Dum sucker and stick them in around the perimeter of the cake.

“Hearts on our Sleeves” Cake

Ingredients:

• red sprinkles

Utensils:

• parchment paper
• scissors

Instructions:

1. Fold a large strip of parchment paper over multiple times until the entire strip has been folded.
2. On the sides of the folds cut out four halves of hearts, two on each side.
3. Unfold the parchment paper and wrap it around your cake.
4. Press the red sprinkles into the heart-shaped spaces. Peel away the parchment paper from the cake.

“Move Aside Monet!” Cake

Ingredients:

• red and blue food coloring
• almond extract
• baguette

Instructions:

1. Pour out some drops of food coloring and almond extract into a dish.
2. Place a piece of the baguette in the mixture and let it sit until the dye has soaked the bread.
3. Stamp the piece of baguette all over the cake. Go back in with the second color using a different section of bread.
4. Use a slightly damp paper towel to brush over the cake and mix the colors.