Luau Birthday Cake Ideas
Hawaii inspires us all with tropical paradise and fun, so luau-themed birthday parties are a popular escape. Of course, every birthday party needs a corresponding cake. There are three basic ways that people make luau-themed cakes: the flat luau design, the 3-D luau scene, and the hula girl.
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The Flat Luau Design
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A flat luau cake is very easy to make; just start with a basic rectangular cake to use as your blank canvas. Why not try a pineapple cake to go with the Hawaiian theme? Other flavors that work well are banana, strawberry, vanilla or chocolate.
Ice your cake in a nice tropical blue to represent the sky and water, or green to represent tropical lushness. Then draw flowers and palm trees with colored icing, or take the easier route and place pre-made decorations on your cake. Take apart a lei and press the flowers around the border of your cake, make a design out of chocolate sea shells, or use cute palm tree or sandal-shaped candles.
The 3-D Luau Scene
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If you're feeling a bit more ambitious, try the 3-D luau scene. Stack several cakes to represent a mountain or hillside, and use blue icing to create a waterfall cascading down. Put toy plastic palm trees, dolphins, surfboards, bucket and shovel, or Hawaiian dolls in the scene. Make a little hut by gluing toothpicks or wooden skewers onto an upside-down margarine tub or other plastic container. Add a cocktail umbrella or two, and maybe a bamboo mat as a fence or stage. Use icing to draw details like a beach blanket, flowers or sand, and add some gummy fish or other candy sea creatures.
The Hula Girl
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There are two ways to do a hula girl cake: you can make a stylized cake that resembles a hula girl, or use a doll to make a real little dancer.
For the stylized cake, start by stacking three cakes that get smaller as they go up. The bottom cake is the grass skirt, so use green fruit roll-ups or taffy cut in strips and wrap it around the entire cake. The middle cake is the torso, so put some candy seashells or coconuts on the front to represent a bikini top, held together with licorice whips. The top cake represents the head, so decorate it with plastic hibiscus flowers, including one on the side to represent being behind the ear. Since this is a stylized cake, you don't need to make a face.
For the doll cake, start with a dome-shaped cake to be the hula girl's skirt. Dress a Barbie or other small doll in a bikini top, or just wrap a colorful piece of fabric around her chest. Cover her legs with plastic wrap, and insert her into the top of the domed cake. Ice the cake with green butter cream frosting, and run a fork down it to make it look like a grass skirt. Then you can write a message on the grass skirt, or put some candy or plastic flowers around the bottom; and don't forget a flower for the doll's hair.
Now you're ready for your party. Aloha!
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