What Parents Need to Know Before Ordering a First Birthday Cake

Parent checklist

Do you actually need bespoke?

If you already like one of our existing first-birthday designs, the simplest route is our First Birthday Cakes collection. Use a bespoke commission when the cake needs to be designed around a specific story, room, family detail or visual idea that an existing design cannot answer.

Keep the cake childlike, not chaotic

Soft colour, one recognisable character, a small number, a favourite animal or a garden detail can be enough. The cake does not need the whole party theme repeated in sugar. Leaving space around the important detail often makes the finished cake feel more special.

Portions need adult thinking

The birthday child may have a ceremonial taste, but guests will do the real eating. Tell us whether there are other desserts and whether you want leftovers. That is more useful than ordering a very large cake simply because the photographs show one.

Flavour

Chocolate, vanilla, lemon or red velvet are easy family choices; pistachio, coffee or matcha may suit a more adult guest list. The cake can look playful and still taste grown-up. If you are unsure, use our flavour guide.

A simple first-birthday brief

Prepare the enquiry

Our consultation checklist explains what to send and what you can safely leave for us to work out.

The child does not need the whole theme on the cake

First birthday parties often have beautiful invitations, balloons, flowers, tableware and a theme already working hard. The cake can be quieter. One animal, one number, a soft colour story or a tiny family reference may be enough to make it belong without repeating every decoration in the room.

Think about the photograph height

The cake is usually photographed with a small child nearby, so proportion matters. A very low cake can disappear behind table decorations; an extremely tall cake can dominate the child. Tell us how the cake will be displayed and whether there is a backdrop or high chair nearby.

Adults are the flavour audience

The birthday child may have a tiny taste, but parents, grandparents and friends will eat the rest. Choose flavour for the room. Vanilla, lemon, chocolate or red velvet are familiar; pistachio or coffee can work well for an adult-heavy lunch. There is no reason the inside has to taste childish because the design is gentle.

Allergies need a clear conversation

First birthdays naturally make parents think carefully about ingredients. Tell us about allergies and dietary requirements at the start. Our cakes are vegetarian, but we do not offer vegan or gluten-free cakes. If the child has a specific medical allergy concern, the safest decision may be that the child does not eat the main cake.

Low sugar and “baby cake” requests

We make celebration cakes, not specialist infant food. If you want the birthday child to have a separate low-sugar option, arrange that independently rather than asking the main celebration cake to perform two incompatible jobs. The main cake can then be designed for the guests and the event.

Delivery day

First birthday mornings are busy. Nominate one adult to receive the cake, keep their phone available and make fridge space in advance. Do not plan for the person dressing the child, greeting family and arranging balloons to also manage an uncertain handover.

Serving time

Take the cake out of the fridge with enough time for the buttercream to soften — around three hours at room temperature is a useful guide. Keep it away from direct sun and heat while it comes to serving temperature.

First-birthday questions

Should the cake be tiny because the child is one?

No. Size should reflect the people eating it and the visual setting, not the age of the child.

Do we need a large sugar figure?

Only if it matters to the design. A smaller detail can be more elegant and safer to transport.

Can we copy the invitation exactly?

We can use the invitation as visual context, but translating it into cake usually works better than reproducing every graphic element literally.

Should we order bespoke if we already like a collection cake?

No. Use the existing cake and keep the process simpler. Bespoke is for a genuinely new brief.

Keep the day easier for yourselves

The first birthday already has enough moving parts: naps, grandparents, balloons, photographs, food and a child who may decide the schedule is fictional. Let the cake be one of the organised parts. Clear fridge space, nominate the delivery contact, decide the display surface and know roughly when candles will happen.

If you want a particular photograph, tell the photographer or family member in advance rather than leaving the cake on display for hours waiting for the right moment. Bring it out, let it come to serving temperature sensibly, take the photographs and enjoy it.

Make the brief family-specific

A first birthday becomes more personal through small true details: a favourite animal, a flower from the nursery, a colour from the invitation, a family nickname or a motif with meaning. One or two genuine references are normally stronger than a generic list of “first birthday” decorations.

If grandparents or siblings are important to the celebration, mention them. The cake is part of a family event, and the best briefs reflect that wider context without trying to put every person literally on the cake.

Useful final thought: a first birthday cake does not need to carry the whole party. Let the room do some of the work and keep the cake focused on one or two details that will still feel lovely in photographs years later.