You have the day planned to perfection – the venue is booked, guests invited and the birthday boy or girl is ready for a fantastic party. Now, all you need to do is order the cake. But, of all the decisions you will make, ordering the perfect birthday cake is possibly the hardest decision you will make.
Choose a flavour they hate, and the guest of honour won’t eat it. Order too small a size and you won’t have enough cake to go round.
How do you order the perfect birthday cake? Whether you are looking for birthday cakes in London, Manchester or anywhere else here are four steps to help you get to birthday cake perfection, every time.
Step 1 – Decide On The Flavour
An important first step is working out which flavour of cake the guest of honour prefers. It may a simple, yet delicious vanilla Victoria sponge or it may be luscious chocolate. For something different, try coffee flavoured cake and touch of sweet strawberry, butterscotch or blueberry. Your baker may have a few ideas too!
Step 2 – Order The Right Size
Too small, and it will only feed a handful of guests out of hundreds. Too big and you will be eating it for weeks after. The right size is important so check with your baker which size they would recommend for the size of your guest list.
Step 3 – Choose The Shape And Design
This is the creative bit and the step that everyone loves. Deciding on the shape and design of your cake is about creating the top layer of decoration that guests will marvel at.
The range of designs of cakes has increased dramatically in recent years, with sculptures and elaborate decoration commonplace. It is true to say that the humble birthday cake has been transformed into the not-so-humble work of art.
Essentially, there are very few decorations or scenes that cannot be replicated on a birthday cake. However, you probably have a budget in mind so the bigger and more elaborate your design, the bigger slice of your budget it will consume. Be inspired first and foremost by the birthday person and what they love. They may have an affinity with red London buses for example, or maybe they love nothing more than spending days outdoors, trudging through hill and dale or relaxing on a sun lounger.
Step 4 – Choose The Baker Who Can Deliver Exactly What You Want
The first three steps to choosing the perfect cake can be taken independently – in fact, the more details and decisions you have made before looking for a local London baker, the better. For anyone who works creatively such as bakers, the more a client knows what they want, the more accurately they can recreate these wishes with a fantastic birthday cake.
Choosing the right baker relies on many factors –
· Location – this can be important if the cake needs to be delivered.
· Capacity to complete the cake in time – the sooner you can order the cake, the better. This means that the bakery can book your cake into their schedule, an important consideration especially with popular bakers in the city.
· Cost – set a budget and stick to it. The more time the baker spends on creating the cake, the bigger the cost. Likewise, elaborate and exquisite designs also require more thought and time to create.
· Recommendations – family and friends who have ordered birthday cakes in London from local bakers will be more than happy to share their recommendations, as well as where or who to avoid!
Now all you need to do is watch the surprise on the birthday guests’ faces – and the guest of honour, of course – when the work-of-art birthday cake is revealed!