Our family celebrates nine birthdays between the months of November and February. NINE. But that’s not why I make little birthday cakes for my big family.
This post is actually not very exciting. In fact, it might leave you thinking that I’m a big dull dud.
Isn’t the birthday cake one of the best parts of having a birthday?? Isn’t our family kind of huge? Why then would I make one little birthday cake for all of us to share as we celebrate each birthday?
This cake, pictured above, is just a 7×11-inch size. I actually cut this Sunshine Cake recipe in half when making it. This, when I usually quadruple most recipes for my family. :)
Why I Make Little Birthday Cakes for my Big Family
There are so many reasons.
- We don’t love cake. It’s fine, but other desserts tend to be loved more by our bigger kids and adults around here.
- We almost always have plenty of other treats and sweets lying around during these months so the cake is almost an afterthought. Between Dec. 20 through 31, we have 4 birthdays – with Christmas in the middle of it all. Do you know how many treats get brought home and enjoyed during Christmas? Who needs cake? :)
- I don’t give our littlest ones much sugar yet. Their plate of cake looks like this:
See? I told you that I am a big dull dud. Or am I? Both our one-year-old and two-year-old think it’s amazing that they get cake at all. So they don’t know they’re deprived. Shh, don’t tell!
Also, we find that cake dries out quickly, so we want to finish it off during our birthday celebration so it can be enjoyed at its finest.
So there you have it. We make small cakes for birthdays. We all enjoy a little and that’s that. No one complains and in fact, everyone is very happy.
Awww, Keith’s second birthday. We had pumpkin pie instead of cake that night. Because pumpkins are a vegetable. Amen?
P.S. As an aside, I always bake a cake instead of buying one made and decorated at the store. I’m not a good decorator, so sprinkles are the extent of our extravagance around here. But I can’t make myself spend $25 on a cake when I can make one for $2.50. And my kids think sprinkles are beautiful. :)
What’s your birthday cake tradition at your house?
At our house, the birthday person gets to pick their treat. Sometimes it’s a cake. But other times the picks have been a fruit tart, special cookies, a dessert bar, fruit with whipped cream, a loaded waffle (topped with whipped cream and sprinkles or sweet sauce). Sometimes they ask for a frozen treat from the grocery store that I don’t normally buy. The “special” comes from the birthday person getting to be the one to choose the treat. And like you, I make only enough for the day.