A birthday is everyone's favourite part of the year. You get together with your friends and family; and everybody has a great time. You also get to open presents from those who you love, and feel extra special for that one day in the year; and of course, no birthday is complete without a birthday cake! Back in the days it would've been very easy to get a birthday cake; however now in the modern world, you have hundreds of different options with all types of different features; and it can all be a bit confusing.
It can be very difficult in the modern world to find the right birthday cake for yourself with so many different types of birthday cakes, different prices, and so many other things to consider...which is exactly why we are here today, to give you some ideas about the different types of birthday cakes and everything about them. In this article we will talking about:
- History of birthdays and birthday cakes
-
Which type of cake is best for birthday?
- Birthday cake prices
- How to find your perfect birthday cake
History of Birthdays and Birthday Cakes
First off, lets talk about why we celebrate the day we were born and where and when it all started. The oldest trace of a "birthday" appears to be around 3000 BCE in the bible. This is a reference to the Pharaoh's birthday. However this wasn't about the day that the Pharaoh was born on; it was referring to the day that the Pharaoh was acknowledged as a god. This concept has also appeared to be found with other Egyptian gods who celebrated their transformation into a god as a "birthday".
Now onto birthday cakes, which actually had nothing to do with Egyptians or 3000 BCE! By the 1800's, birthdays were a common celebration all around the world, and it was just about time to spice them up. The Germans invented kinderfeste which was an event to celebrate children's birthdays. In these birthdays, the parents would buy cakes with candles on top for the children to blow. The candles represented the age of the child and an extra candle would always be added on top of the cake as a symbol of hope of living at least another year.
Over time, these traditions have modified and turned into birthdays which are a big deal to us today. Even though a lot has changed and improved about birthdays, the core ideas and concepts still remain the same.
What Are The Different Types Of Birthday Cakes?
When it comes to birthday cakes, its all about what tickles your taste buds and catches your eyes the most. Choosing a flavour is the easy part, but deciding on the appearance of a cake is what stresses everyone out; and of course, the price matters too. Quite often when trying to find a birthday cake you might catch yourself asking yourself which cake is best for birthday with price? Well worry not, because the rest of this article is going to be all about the different types of birthday cakes; considering flavour, appearance, and of course, price.
What is the most popular flavour of birthday cake?
Bakers come up with new flavours all the time, so how do we know which are the cakes best flavours? If you're not very picky about the flavour of your birthday cake, you can just go with the cakes simple fan favourite flavours; the most popular birthday cake flavours are red velvet, vanilla and chocolate. However, for those people who aren't satisfied with the ordinary, there are hundreds of other cake flavours out there to try!
The best birthday cakes make the best parties; which is why we encourage you to explore first before choosing.
Layer Cake
With layer cakes, you can customize the size exactly to what you need. If it's only you and a few friends, all you need is a single layer cake; however as the numbers of guests goes up you can easily just add more layers. Cake layers are made in different sizes, which means you could end up with a 2 layer cake that's bigger than a 5 layer cake. This all depends on the cakes baking and how thin/thick each layer is. In general, a layer cake can go up to a size where it can serve 50-60 guests. Keep in mind that it is possible to served more people with a layer cake, but the normal maximum is 50-60 servings.
The price of a layer cake mainly depends on a few different things:
these 3 factors can affect the price of your layer cake quite a bit; however in general layer cakes will cost you anywhere from 100-300 dollars. Keep in mind that the cakes box may also affect the price; and so will any dietary requirements. (gluten free, dairy free, vegan...)
Tier Cake
Tier cakes are best for any birthday party with over 60 guests. They are more common to be in weddings; however they are a very good way to make your birthday look fancy. Tier cakes are also helpful if you are hosting a larger birthday and a layer cake just won't be enough. Tier cakes can serve a lot of guests, depending on how many tiers there are and how big each tier is. A lot of people also go for tier cakes because of the out-standing fancy appearance.
With tier cakes there is also more potential for having decorations than there is with layer cakes. For example, you could add different decorations on the edges of the tiers; whereas it would still work on a layer cake but won't look as good.
Tiered Birthday Cake Pricing
When it comes to pricing with tier cakes, you could be paying as low as a few hundred dollars or as high as a thousand dollars and even more! The price of your tiered birthday cake mostly depends on what type of decorations you want and how many tiers you want. On average, someone who is after a 2 or 3 tier cake should expect to pay anywhere from 300-700 dollars. Some of the cost also depends on whether you want your cake covered with fondant or not. For example a single 7 inch tier with buttercream would cost approximately $130; but with fondant added the price would raise to 180-200 dollars.
Note: sometimes the cakes store can also affect the price as some stores charge more and some charge less. (This is just something to be aware of)
Customized Cake
There is a good and a bad side to customized birthday cakes. First off, only some cakes shops do customized orders; which can make ordering your cake a little difficult. Other than that, the only other downside to a customized birthday cake is that it definitely will cost more. Most of the customizing is to do with the decoration, as you can't really alter the flavour that much. Some people also like to have customized shapes and sizes. Other common things that customers like to change is the colour of the cake, icing, and decorations. A lot of customers also like to add extra decorations; especially customized ones. For example, two customers may want the same cake; but one wants fondant footballs as decoration while the other one wants to have flowers as decoration.
Fondant Cake
There are two types of people. Buttercream people and fondant people. Not everyone likes fondant, but for those who do, there are a lot of cool things you can do with fondant for your birthday cake. Fondant is very common in kids birthday cakes; where it is used to make decorations like a soccer pitch with players for example, or an animal, or anything! That's basically the whole point of fondant, to be able to have a shape of anything you want on your cake!
Fondant is a moderately expensive ingredient, which means you can expect to pay up to an extra $300 for a fondant cake. $300 is an approximate estimate, so you might need to pay a lot less, or a lot more perhaps.
Dietary Requirements
With dietary requirements it's important to know if you or your guests need any special changes. It might just be one person who is lactose intolerant, or it could be a few people. Either way, it is very important to know about dietary requirements for the safety of your guests.
The main dietary requirements to consider are:
- vegan
- gluten free
- lactose intolerant
- dairy free
- nut allergies
- religious requirements - halal
The good thing about special dietary requirements is that they aren't pricey at all. The most you would be paying is an extra $50 for a dietary requirement. (most likely even less that $50!)
Natural Birthday Cake
Now this one is for the healthy ones out there! Are you always trying to watch your health and pick the healthiest options? Well then a natural birthday cake would be perfect for you! Natural cakes only differ slightly in price, but on the other hand offer you a healthy and natural cake! Natural cakes avoid using any food colouring, additives or artificial flavours. Sadly it is quite difficult to find a reliable natural cake shop with good prices; however slowly over time everybody is moving towards natural cakes and foods and putting away the old trends!
Here's a little secret for the Australians...did you know that the only 100% natural cake shop in Adelaide is Azidelicious Cakes and Cupcakes? With over a hundred five star reviews, Azidelicious can't fail to impress you with their premium range of 100% natural cakes and cupcakes! Want some natural cupcakes for a cooperate event? No worries! Azidelicious has you covered. Check out their Instagram and Facebook NOW!!
How To Buy Your Perfect Birthday Cake
The most important part of finding your perfect birthday cake with delivery, is to do some good research before anything. You might think that having a search won't be helpful, but your results will say different. Research before purchasing a birthday cake or anything in general helps you to save money, and to find the best and most convenient option!
Now your probably thinking what do I even search for? First start with simple phrases like "bakery cakes near me", "birthday cake shops near me", "cake makers near me", or any other similar phrases. Make sure when you're searching you also include a location. For example:
Wedding cake + Adelaide (location) = Wedding cake Adelaide
or
gluten free cake + near me (location) = gluten free cakes near me
By entering a specific location you are allowing google to give you the results that are in your selected region. If you don't include a location you might end up with cake shops in England when you're in Australia!
Not Just Birthday Cakes
The same concept applies when you're searching for any other types of cakes and sweets; which means this doesn't necessarily have to be just for birthday cakes. For example lets say your after a gluten free cake for tea with some friends. First you would type "gluten free cake"; and next enter your location. Some common searches on google are:
These are just some of the common locations which people order cakes in Australia from. You could still use this technique whether you are somewhere else in Australia, or anywhere else in the world! By following these steps and researching you can easily find the perfect birthday cake in no time!
Now that you know quite a bit about the different types of birthday cakes, its time to get to action and start the search for your perfect birthday cake!
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