Cooking Class #3 – Icing and Decorating a Mini Birthday Cake

Best for: Ages 7–9

Have the kids ice a cake they can then take home—a fun activity that doubles as loot.

You’ll Need:

Supervising adults
Make or buy a 4” cake for each guest
Piping bag filled with icing for each guest (use a ziptop bag as an alternative)
Small bowls with sprinkles
Larger bowls with icing
Parchment paper
Palette knives or spatulas
Tray filled with wooden skewers (2 per cake)
Coloured baker’s twine
Threading needles
Assorted cupcake liners
Cake boxes

What to Do:

Bake or buy a 4” cake for each party guest.
On the day of the party, fill piping bags with coloured icing (1 bag for every 2–3 guests), small bowls with sprinkles and larger bowls with icing. Use a ziptop bag with the corner snipped off if you do not have piping bags.
When it’s time for the cooking class, have guests wash their hands and divide them into groups of two or three. Provide each guest with a large sheet of parchment paper and a cake. Give each group a filled piping bag, bowl of sprinkles and a large bowl of icing with palette knives or spatulas for spreading.
Set out a tray filled with wooden skewers, coloured baker’s twine, threading needles and assorted cupcake liners.
Start the guests off by making a mini Cupcake Liner Birthday Garland following these instructions. Each cake will need no more than 6–12 mini cupcake liners. Cut the baker’s twine, leaving 3” on each side. Tie the garland to the wooden skewers and set aside when finished.
To make the cakes, have the party guests ice their cake as per the instructions in the Baker’s Delight Birthday Cake recipe, or encourage them to come up with their own designs using the materials supplied.
Insert the garland by placing the wooden skewers at an angle in the middle of the cake, spacing them close enough together so the banner has a little give to it. Package the cakes up in cake boxes purchased at your local party supply store and send them home as part of the loot bag.

Category: dessert