Party Food: The Cake

The birthday cake is one of the central, most anticipated (and expected) elements of a birthday party, and knowing this can put a lot of pressure on parents. Actually, cake and ice-cream (or other sweet treats) are usually a requirement for most kids' parties, no matter what the occasion. Bakery departments in large grocery stores can provide a wide assortment of decorated cakes on relatively short notice and customized with the child's name. These cakes are often heavy on the icing and don't taste particularly good, but it doesn't seem to matter much to most kids.

If you bake your own, give yourself plenty of time to prepare and ice the cake ahead of time, and don't be overly ambitious in terms of decoration. Then again, kids are much more forgiving than adults and will not notice the flaws and the fact that the writing is all wobbly and the intricate design that you spent hours working on is all out of proportion or that the cake is lopsided. So if you feel up to making your own cake, go for it and the kids will be sure to love it!

But you can also opt for equally sweet and iced, but easier to prepare treats like frosted cupcakes, brownies, or a pyramid of different kinds of decorated donuts…a sure hit and as easy as stopping by your local Krispy Kreme. No matter what you serve in the way of the main dessert, however, don't forget to put candles on them if it's for a birthday party, and make sure the guest of honor gets first slice.