TARDIS Cake? Gruffalo Cake? Try These Novelty Baking Ideas

So you’ve mastered the rice-crispy cakes and Victoria sponge. Fancy a more interesting challenge? We’ve put together recipes for just about any cake you could imagine… from zebra cakes to a desert in the shape of a hamburger. Whatever your kids are into, browse the list below, and you’ll find a cake idea that’ll suit.
 

Just beware of all the half-baked cake puns.

See also: Cakes named after British places.
 

Image © ihorga, creative commons licence

Caterpillar Cake: Perfect for your own hungry caterpillars.
Cow Cake: Udderly adorable cake recipe.
Dinosaur Cake: Will go extinct in minutes.
Dog Cake: They’ll wolf it down. And this.
Dragon Cake: A monster of a cake.
Frog Cake: This frog cake will leap off the plate.
Hedgehog Cake: This should spike your interest.
Ladybird Cake: Fly away home and make this cake.
Lion Cake: You’ve probably got the mane ingredients for this lion cake.
Leopard Cake: A cake with leopard-print design? Will probably hit the spot for someone.
Mermaid Cake: Nothing fishy about this mermaid recipe.
Monkey Cake: Yes, it contains bananas.
Panda Cake: The cutest of bears gets its own cake.
Penguin Cake: A step-up from a Penguin bar. 
Rabbit Cake: Watch this bunny cake quickly disappear into a hole.
Snake Cake: A sssssssuper-easy recipe.
Tiger Cake: Earn your culinary stripes with this tiger cake.
Unicorn Cake: Every young child’s favourite mythical animal, now in cake form.
Zebra Cake: Is it black with white stripes or white with black stripes? Either way, it’s delicious.

Image © adka100, creative commons licence

Alice in Wonderland: Five different baking ideas with a surreal twist.
Barbie: Doll-up your cake stand with this Barbie cake.
Batman: This Batman cake doubles as a secret Bruce Wayne cake. 
Doctor Who: Make this TARDIS cake (sadly, not bigger on the inside than the outside).
Fortnite: They’ll be fighting each other over this cake.
Gruffalo: There’ll be no such thing as a Gruffalo cake, about 10 minutes after you bake it.
Harry Potter: Cauldrons at the ready.
Hello Kitty: The purrrrfect cake for kitty fans.
Mickey Mouse: You’ll be all-ears for this Disney cake.
Minions: Hope you’ve got plenty of yellow food colouring.
Minnie Mouse: Mice and kitchens are not usually a good mix, but this Disney-inspired cake will give you paws for thought.
Monster High: Get your fangs into this spooky cake.
My Little Pony: Horses for (dessert) courses with this My Little Pony cake.
Night Garden: An Iggle Piggle cake, complete with blanket.
Ninja Turtles: You won’t have to shell out for this simple turtle cake.
Paw Patrol: “No child is too big, no tummy too small” for this Pup-inspired confection. Just don’t let clumsy Marshall near it.
Peppa Pig: Everybody loves fictional porcine-inspired cakes.
Pokemon Cake: Only one to collect, but it’s a good one.
Postman Pat: This recipe delivers.
Power Rangers: Go, go, make this superhero cake.
Scooby Doo: No mystery to solve with these easy-to-follow instructions for a Scooby cake.
SpongeBob Squarepants: The ultimate sponge cake. 
Superman: No super powers needed to put this heroic cake together.
Thomas the Tank Engine: A really useful recipe for fans of the long-running show.
Toy Story: “I didn’t eat all the cake, mummy. It must have come to life and ran off while you weren’t looking.” 

1st Birthday: Make a Number 1 cake.
2nd Birthday: Or a Number 2 cake.
 

Books: You’ll want to devour this book cake cover to cover.
Cars: Parkin? No, a different kind of car cake.
Football: Kick off an afternoon of baking with this footy pitch-shaped cake, or this football themed recipe, or this one shaped like a football shirt.
Lego: Let’s see if you can piece this one together.
Photography: Focus on this camera-shaped cake.
Rugby: Give this rugby-ball-shaped cake a try, and they’ll eat up every last scrum.
Trainer Cake: Guaranteed to smell better than the real thing.
Xbox: Tear them away from the Xbox, with an Xbox-themed cake.

Antigravity Cake: It shouldn’t work, but it does.
Burger Cake: They won’t want fries with that.
Cupcakes: 7 Delicious recipes for making little cakes.
Digger Cake: They’ll scoop this up.
Fire Engine Cake: Wash down this cake with plenty of water.
Heart: A heart-shaped cake for the one you love.
Jaffa Cake: How to make a giant jaffa.
Pizza Cake: You definitely don’t want anchovies on this one.
Pirate Ship: Spice the mainbrace with this buccaneering cake.
Plane: This recipe will be a soaring success.
Princess Castle Cake: An enchanting bake.
Skull: A slightly macabre cake for any pirate-obsessed kids.
Toadstools: Perfect for fans of gnomes, fairies and Super Mario.
Tractor: You’ll plough through this recipe.
Treasure Chest: This hyperlink marks the spot.