THE CAKE AS THE BLANK CANVAS

Growing up, so many of us had themed cakes. Aladdin, The Lion King, princesses, cartoons, whatever world we were obsessed with at the time. The cake itself was often the backdrop, blue icing became the sky, green icing became grass, but the real magic came from the little plastic figures, toppers, toys, candles, and decorative pieces placed on top. You blew out the candles, removed the pieces, and the cake underneath was still just cake.

Somewhere along the way, cakes became expected to be entirely edible. Fondant figures, sculpted sugar, gum paste flowers, and hyper-realistic cakes. And while that can be beautiful, it can also be expensive, time-consuming and honestly, not always necessary.

Cake design has always moved in phases. As early as the late 1800s, cakes were styled with non-edible elements like artificial flowers and decorative toppers. In the early 1900s, Wilton helped formalize cake decorating as a craft, turning it into something teachable and structured. By the 1950s, bride and groom figurines had become a staple at weddings, something you placed on the cake, then removed and kept. And more recently, the 2000s and 2010s leaned heavily into fully edible design, fondant work, sculpted sugar, cakes that looked like objects but had to prove they could be eaten.

And now for the past year or so, it feels like we’re easing back into something more flexible.

Last year, I made a birthday cake for my husband that started with a simple question, why do men’s cakes always feel so literal. Cars, watches, golf, the same themes repeated over and over. I wanted something that felt like him, but also reflected me.

So I baked a salted caramel cake at home and built the concept around two materials he loves, steel and leather. Soft, gooey layers for texture, a swirled/textured buttercream exterior, and a final spray of edible silver that caught the light like metal. I used a butterknife to create abstract swirls in the icing, nothing precise, nothing overly planned, just movement. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt designed and so unique and so fun. And that was the moment I realized the cake itself doesn’t have to always be customized by a professional.

So this year: I didn’t want a cake that marked an age. I wanted something that felt like energy. Young, sparkly, playful, a little extra, very much just. a. girl. So I bedazzled one.

A Birthday Cake We Could Share

I share my birthday week with my two fur babies, who of course, I’m completely obsessed with. My husband calls us the “Taurus Trio Girlies”. Rose, born on April 24, exactly one week before me. And Sage, is my birthday twin. Celebrating the week with them has become one of my favorite rituals. It’s always filled with so much joy.

Over the years, I’ve explored so many avenues on how to celebrate the pups birthdays. From custom cookies, dog cakes, and beyond. But Rose is now a senior pup and has GI restrictions so the traditional dog cake route just didn’t feel right this year. We kept it simple for what they can indulge in, little birthday cupcakes they could enjoy. But for the grand celebration moment for the main cake, I wanted something we could all share in a different way: something visual. something joyful. something that felt just girly. The rhinestones catch the light in every direction and there was something so fun about watching it sparkle around them. I melt every time I look at how beautifully these photos came out.

The Blank Canvas Cake

I keep coming back to this idea, what if the cake is just the canvas: a clean, simple base that you can build on however you want. Flowers, ribbons, charms, rhinestones, candles, anything that fits the mood. Not everything has to be edible to be intentional. And the best part, it doesn’t have to be expensive.

I started with a simple ivory cake, funfetti inside, buttercream on the outside from Empire Cakes in NYC. And then I added rhinestones. That’s it.

The rhinestones cost less than $7, took a little time to place, and completely changed the way the cake looked and felt. Something about the shine, the texture, the contrast against the frosting, it made the whole thing feel styled, not just decorated.

Before cutting, I removed them and washed them thoroughly, the cake underneath stayed simple and exactly as it needed to be. Delicious. 

If You Want to Try It

You don’t need a fully custom cake to have a creative one. A blank base gives you freedom. It lets you play, experiment, and design something personal without needing professional-level decorating skills. It’s also one of the easiest ways to make something look elevated on a budget. Think of the cake as your base layer. Start simple, then build from there. You can go minimal, one material, one idea. Or you can go all in, layering textures, objects, colors. There’s no rule that says everything on the cake has to be eaten.

I’ll always appreciate the level of artistry that goes into custom cakes. This is just a different way to approach it, especially if you enjoy making something yourself and want to take the creative lead.