Take a look at these cool homemade Tree and Plant cakes shared with us by cake decorators from around the world. Along with the free cake decorating ideas here, you’ll also find loads DIY birthday cake-making ideas and how-to tips to inspire your next birthday cake project. Enjoy!
And don’t forget… if you end up with a cool cake, have great tips to share or pictures of awesome birthday cakes you’ve made in the past, share them here and be a part of our coolest birthday cake community.
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My second girl was turning 15. It had to be special since everybody knows I bake cakes. She didn’t want … Read more - Coolest Free Cake Decorating Ideas 2My 6-year-old Alison wanted a miss spider and the sunny patch friend’s party. She wanted a tree cake with all … Read more
- Coolest Free Cake Decorating Ideas 3This cake was for my daughter’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom luau birthday party. She loves that book. I also baked … Read more
- Coolest Free Cake Decorating Ideas 4For my daughters 7th birthday, we decided to a Magic Tree House birthday since she is so into those books. … Read more
- Coolest Free Cake Decorating Ideas 5This free cake decorating ideas came from Debbie Browns Fabulous character cakes, and is the theme of Brambly Hedge. Not … Read more
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Featured Free Cake Decorating Ideas
Free cake decorating idea by Shana R., Tulsa, OK
This cake was a gift for my son’s teacher at the beginning of the school year. I got free cake decorating ideas from a family tree cake I’d seen in my decorating class. I used a #16 tip to make the trunk branches and spring blossoms. I used a tip #67 for the summer and fall leaves, tip #3 for the apples and snow flakes. The teacher loved the cake and shared it in the lounge.
Free cake decorating idea by Gina F., Waterford, Michigan
I made this cake for my mom’s birthday. As she loves beaches and water I made this palm tree cake. I drew the palm tree free-handed and used piping gel on wax paper and inverted design on the cake. I used stiff butter cream frosting for the decorations. But tried a whipped frosting for the rest. Worked out fine…should have used less butter and more Crisco. It was too butter to my liking. She loved it!
I hope you enjoy the free cake decorating ideas on this site as much as I did.
Free cake decorating idea by Betsy C., Sebring, FL
My 6-year-old Alison wanted a miss spider and the sunny patch friend’s party. She wanted a tree cake with all the bugs in it. I made one sheet cake and 3 round cakes. Then I arranged them to look like a tree and frosted with star tip. She loved it. I will tell you now— it took 5 hours to make all those stars.
Free cake decorating idea by Brienne P., Kentwood, MI
This cake was for my daughter’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom luau birthday party. She loves that book. I also baked cupcakes and made chocolate frosting so they would be coconuts with the letters of the alphabet on them.
I baked 2 round cakes (large – I actually used a skillet instead of a cake pan). Then I shaped one as the leaves and used the second cake to cut out the trunk and island. I then froze the cut outs to make it easier to frost.
I made chocolate frosting for the trunk and island and used 2 different colors of green for the leaves. I started with a lighter base green. Then I took a basting brush and brushed the darker green over the top to create a leafy effect. I also sprinkled sugar on the island to make it look like sand (although you can’t really see that in the picture). I’m happy to add my cake idea to all these other free cake decorating ideas!
Free cake decorating idea by Shannon B., Fresno, CA
For my daughter’s 7th birthday, we decided to a Magic Tree House birthday since she is so into those books. I loved all the party ideas and free cake decorating ideas I found on the internet, but I couldn’t find any free cake decorating ideas for a tree house cake. So I used Wilton’s flowerpot pan and adapted it to become a tree house.
Once the cake was made, I cut some cake off both sides of the pot to make the tree trunk narrower. I used those cut off pieces to make two triangle shapes, which became the tree house. I used a picture of the magic tree house from one of the books as my model for frosting.
I used Wilton’s tips #789 and #47 (basket weave tips) for the bark. Once I had piped it on, I just used a fork to mess up the perfectly straight lines so it would look more like bark. Then I used the smooth side of tip #47 to pipe light green on the background. Then a leaf tip created the leaves using a darker green frosting.
For the tree house, I also used the smooth side of tip #47, making the light brown frosting look like boards. I had to put on two staggered layers so the cake wouldn’t show through. I used the same tip to make windows.
I later added a small picture of Jack & Annie (from the magic tree house website) and one of my daughter to put in the windows of the tree house. I used Wilton’s grass tip to add some grass around the base of the trunk. It was so much fun to make and the partygoers all loved it!
Free cake decorating idea by Kerry P., Christchurch, New Zealand
This free cake decorating ideas came from Debbie Brown’s Fabulous character cakes, and is the theme of Brambly Hedge. Not a programme showing on NZ TV but a memory from childhood, perhaps it is different in the UK.
I did this for my daughter Dominique’s first birthday. It took me about 12 hours all up. including baking the cake and I always seem to burn the midnight oil when I decorate cakes.
I used a firmish Madeira cake suitable for shaping and cutting. I used two 9 inch cakes stacked on top of each other and then shaped them to suit.
Debbie has recipes and free cake decorating ideas in her book but it tends to be a bit dry and a bit too much butter so ease the butter back about 10% and watch it carefully as it is very easy to overcook the cake. I think adding some sour cream would improve the texture.
Allow plenty of time for this stage as it takes a long time to get the right colour and the colours develop over time and it is preferable to rest icing overnight before using so you can see the final colour. I then cut the cake into the correct shape using a small serrated knife, I then split it into 3 layers and applied buttercream to all surfaces. I then rolled out chocolate fondant icing to the surface and marked it to look like a tree stump, adding extra pieces for branches, all the time aiming for a natural look.
I put an ivory coloured piece on the top to look like the top of a cut stump and then added ivy leaves that I made from rolled out fondant, coloured to suit. I marked veins in the leaves and added some darker colouring gel paint (gel icing colour thinned with water and applied with a fine paintbrush). I pressed dents into the icing and then modelled icing doors to fit the hole and added details.
I then made all of the mice and fruit and other pieces seen in the final cake. I left them white, which makes the job much faster and then painted the figures once dry to achieve a realistic look.
I did have a small fruit basket but daughter number one found it, she was only 3 at the time and swallowed the whole thing, oh well after I recovered from the horror of her eating one of my creations I had a laugh about it, but I do remember making it at about 4am in the morning and it didn’t seem quite so cute that day as it does looking back now!!!
I added the finishing touches moments before the party and watched the delight on the children’s faces. It is one of those things that you have to disengage emotionally from though. Your creation that you pour your heart and soul into is fair game the minute it is presented to the children. I always cut my own cakes, its a bit like a ceremonial burning, you made it, you get to break it too!!!
Enjoy, this was the best cake I have done, it was intricate and delightful to do. It was much easier to paint the figures after modeling them than it is too get your icing just the right shade by adding icing colour to the icing. That is a work of art in its own right. My advice is never use cornflour to stop your fondant from sticking, it dries it out. Use 100% icing sugar. Start early, much earlier than you think you need too, And most of all enjoy the process!! I hope these free cake decorating ideas have been of help.
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