20 Easy Birthday Cake Decorating Ideas

In today’s post: Need a cute birthday cake but a little lacking in cake decorating skills? Me too! Find 25 super easy birthday cake decorating ideas that anyone can complete.

I’m absolutely terrible at decorating birthday cakes. Honestly, I am. Luckily for me, my kids are terribly sweet, and will swear up and down that the awful looking cake I made is really just what they wanted. But I’m tired of making ugly cakes, so I’ve gathered up 20 birthday cake tutorials from Pinterest land that actually look easy enough for me to decorate without messing them up.

Truly Easy Birthday Cakes

I’ve got to tell you, I found hundreds of cakes labeled “easy”, but only 25 of them made the cut for this post, and here’s why: lots of blog posts about cakes SAY they are easy to make, but I’m not buying it. For example, making six colors of fondant and then rolling it out and cutting into a gazillion different shaped pieces does not look easy to me. Neither does piping out enough frosting using a star tip to cover Elmo or Cookie’s head – I can guarantee that will end in disaster if I try. So I present to you 25 easy birthday cake decorating ideas that are actually easy!

Sprinkle Cake

This simple cake is completely covered in sprinkles, which means the decoration hides any imperfections in the frosting. Get the instructions at Endlessly Inspired.

Kit Kat Cake

This idea is genius! Make and frost a two layer chocolate cake and then put Kit Kat candy bars all around the sides. This cake looks super impressive but won’t take long at all to decorate. Get the instructions at The Exploring Family.

Butterfly Cake

Turn any round cake into a butterfly with these easy to follow instructions. Frost it with with a white buttercream, then use your favorite candies to decorate the wings. Get the instructions at Food.com.

Sprinkle Number Cake

This easy birthday cake idea is brilliant. Make the cake, frost it, use a cookie cutter as a template for sprinkles, and you’re done! It’s a pretty, professional looking cake with very little effort. Get the instructions at Little Life of Mine.

Rainbow Cake

Here’s another super simple way to dress up a store bought cake: use Skittles candies and marshmallows to make a rainbow. Get the instructions at My Bored Toddler.

Sweetheart Cake

Need a heart shaped cake for a sweetheart birthday party? No problem! This heart shaped cake can be made with standard pans – no heart shaped pan required. Get the instructions at It’s Always Autumn.

Giant Donut Cake

This adorable cake is made in a standard bundt pan and decorated to look like a giant donut. The post includes the recipe for a pourable glaze. Get the instructions at Ready Set Eat.

Fluffy Lamb Cake

This sweet little lamb cake looks hard to make, but it’s really pretty simple. Step by step photos make it easy for your to learn how to pipe the rosettes that make up the lamb’s fluffy wool. Get the instructions at Handmade Charlotte.

Camping Cake

I love the creativity of this camping cake! Oreo cookies get crushed up to resemble the texture of dirt, graham crackers make a cute tent, and orange candles look like a campfire. Get the instructions at Feeling Nifty.

Dinosaur Cake

Another super creative cake idea: Chocolate Chips Ahoy Dinosaur Cake. The decorating here is so simple even an absolute beginner could do it, and the end result with dueling dinosaurs on top is epic. Make the cake from scratch or use a cake mix – just be sure to click over for the recipes for the chocolate frosting and chocolate ganache. Get the instructions at Butterlust Blog.

Candy Cake

Indulge your sweet tooth – and make decorating super easy – by covering the entire outside of your cake with candy! This darling cake started from a box mix, but it looks fancy and delicious when placed on a pretty cake stand. Get the instructions at Lovely Indeed.

Cookie Monster Cake

Most Cookie Monster cakes require piping enough frosting to cover the entire cake – which is so much work! This version looks like the monster without all the piping work. Get the instructions at Bake Me Some Sugar.