
Lego Cake

Kids' birthday cake ideas are not too difficult to find. What little kid (or bigger kid, for that matter) doesn't love LEGOs? Whether you build the iconic studs (quick lesson: Yep, that's what those little bumps are called) out of cake or fondant, the end result will be totally amazing.
To make: Adventures in Savings
Swimming Pool Cake

A hollowed-out chocolate cake filled with blue Jell-O and topped with all sorts of candies makes a swimming pool cake that is almost too cute to cut into.
To make: Alana Bread
Doodle Cake

Whether or not you fill the cake with rainbow layers like this baker did, your kids will love nothing more than getting to color all over a pristine, white-frosted cake. Just give them edible markers and let them go at it!
To make: Sweetapolita
Fish Tank Cake

Sugar cookies shaped and iced like fish adorn the sides of this aquarium cake. Mashed-up Jello spread on top looks like water.
To make: Raspberri Cupcakes
Dig Cake

This one's super easy—just bake your favorite chocolate cake, use a fork to scrape off a corner, and then pile all the bits you scraped off on top of the cake. Decorate with your favorite construction toys.
To make: Sweet and Lovely Crafts
Three Cake

With a bundt cake pan and some clever thinking, you can probably make almost any number or letter … but "3" is one of the easiest. Bake the round cake, cut it in half, mold the pieces into the number and stick them all together with frosting. Then cover with more frosting and M&M's.
To make: Enchanted Mommy
Half Birthday Cake

Kids love celebrating their half birthdays, and what better way to honor them than with half a cake? Choose whatever their favorite kind of cake is, and simply slice it down the middle. Bonus: more leftovers for you.
To make: Straight to Cake
Funfetti Cake

Whatever kind of white cake you like best gets ten times more fun when you add different colored sprinkles to the mix!
To make: Baked Bree
Bear Cake

This sweet cake is topped with chocolate ganache and mascarpone whipped cream.
To make: Dinner Intervention
Basketball Cake

White frosting, a big bag of Reese's Pieces and a nice round cake are all you need for this yummy dessert. Your kid can even help you place the little candies all over the cake in a basketball pattern. (The same idea would work well for a baseball or football, too.)
To make: Follow Eric
Hello Kitty Cake

This cake looks harder (and more impressive) than it really is—just dot the outside with big white ovals of frosting, then add detail with colored icing. It's a little labor-intensive, but you'll get faster as you go… and your kid will be oh so grateful.
To make: I Heart Baking
Princess and the Pea Cake

A simple white cake with green frosting "peas" and a golden crown on top make the perfect dessert for an understated princess.
To make: A Winding Road
Circus Cat Cake

Nougat makes the nose, vanilla wafers make the ears and an ice cream cone makes the hat on this cute little cat. Clever icing brings it all together.
To make: Wilton
Train Cake

A few rectangular cakes, cookie wheels and an easy frosting job will delight any train lover.
To make: Kristin's Cake Walk
Leprechaun Cake

Perfect for a kid who still believes in fairy tales and magic, this cake is designed to lure a leprechaun in with golden coins … and then trap him inside! It's actually a bundt cake, and pretzel bars—which the leprechaun will slip through—sit right under the coins.
To make: Not Martha
Sunshine Cake

Gel icing and bright frosting are an easy way to transform a round cake into a happy sun.
To make: Party Sweets
Butterfly Cake

Pastel candies and marshmallows transform a round cake (cut in half) and a rectangular cake into a beautiful butterfly.
To make: iVillage.ca
Polka Dot Cake

This fun take on the classic rainbow layer cake involves different colored cake balls baked into three layers.
To make: Once Upon a Pedestal
Dog Cake

Your Valentine's Day gear will come in handy for this dog, which is made of two heart-shaped cakes. Buttercream frosting tops it off.
To make: Just Deanna
Surfer Cake

No, that's not really sand … but brown sugar (or cookie crumbles) sure do look like it! Cover the bottom in waves of blue frosting, and then top the whole thing with your favorite beach toys.
To make: iVillage.ca
Graffiti Cake

Let your kids go to work with edible markers on a solidly frosted cake. (Call it "graffiti" instead of "drawing" and the more macho set will be sure to go for it.)
To mak: Beth Ann's
Fire Truck Cake

This cake—along with flaming cupcakes—is much bigger than it looks: It's actually made of four half-sheet cakes. Bright red buttercream frosting tops off the cake, along with a few little candies for various accessories.
To make: Heather Drive
Rapunzel Cake

Take a cake … top it with a cupcake … top that with an upside-down ice cream cone … cover it all in gobs of frosting … mount a Rapunzel doll on top … no problem!
To make: Life As a Mom
Lion Cake

Gel icing and bright frosting make a round cake into a cute lion.
To make: Motherhood Is an Art
Tractor Cake

With Kit Kats as bulldozer crawlers and a solid piece of chocolate to act as the shoveling blade, this tractor is easy to put together—and with tons of yellow frosting smothered over the entire thing, nobody will notice if you make a mistake.
To make: SmugMug
Piñata Cake

As pretty as this cake is at first look, it's what's under that candy-covered chocolate shell that's really exciting: There's another big pile of candy sitting inside the shell and on top of the cake, just waiting for your kids to break into and find.
To make: A Dash of Flavour
Rubber Ducky Cake

Surround a cake with chocolate sticks, cover it in blue frosting (don't even worry about being precise—it's the imperfections in the icing that make the waves) and top with your favorite bath toys to make this cake.
To make: Craft Schmaft
Castle Cake

With gobs of pink frosting, fluffy marshmallows and paper hearts, can you really go wrong with a castle cake? Upside-down ice cream cones serve as turrets, with wafer cookies serving as doors and windows.
To make: Bondville
Garland Cake

A simple white cake is brightened up with a fun rainbow garland. Use any kind of pretty bunting or strings to style your cake.
To make: Poppytalk
Wagon Cake

The big feature on this cake is the wheels, which are made of different-sized cookies. Other than that, it just takes some careful cutting and carving of whatever type of cake you like best.
To make: Cannelle et Cacao
Monster Cake

Decorate each layer of this cake separately, then top the larger round cake with the smaller one. Cake balls serve as eyes, and bright colored frosting is perfect for the rest of the detail on these friendly monsters.
To make: The Cake Bar
Owl Cake

Two round cakes—one carefully cut up—and fun frosting make this one hoot of a dessert.
To make: Leave Room For Dessert
Sprinkles Cake

Whether or not you go with the ombre interior layers, this cake illustrates a simple concept: Sprinkles and sprinkles and sprinkles equals amazing.
To make: Raspberri Cupcakes
Lobster Cake

Your ocean-loving kid will be excited for this cake, made with blue icing for the sea and crushed cookies for the sand. Edible animals top it off.
To make: Beth Ann's
Snake Cake

A bundt cake cut in half then stuck together and slathered with green frosting and Hershey's Kisses make a cute snake.
To make: Tessa The Domestic Diva
Cookie Monster Cake

Everyone's favorite monster is made out of a sheet cake topped with a round cake, covered in frosting and stuffed with M&M cookies.
To make: Motherhood Is an Art
Racecar Cake

Three layers of cake, careful cutting and lots of icing make an F1 that any car-lover will go crazy for.
To make: Stately Kitsch
Peacock Cake

Peacock is very trendy right now, but illustrating the intricate bird with frosting? Not so easy. That's what makes this simple cake so brilliant.
To make: Party Cake Pastries
Rabbit Cake

One round cake makes the face, and another makes both the bow and ears of this happy hare. Frosting and candies bring the bunny to life.
To make: McCormick
M&M's Cake

Just carefully press small candies in a circular pattern into a frosted cake, and this brilliant rainbow dessert can be yours!
To make: Rossie Blog
Pony Cake

A litte pony will go crazy for this bright cake covered in bows and pretty details.
To make: Deviant Art
Fish Cake

Two layers of cake and tons of bright frosting make this fish lots of fun.
To make: Wikipedia
Shark Cake

With a mouthful of gummy worms, this shark cake is easier to make than it looks—you just need two round cakes and some careful construction.
To make: Kid's Birthday Cakes
Rosette Cake

With just a little dedication, you can make this beautiful, looks-like-it's-from-the-bakery cake all on your own. Just dye buttercream frosting several of your favorite flavors, and use a piping tip on your frosting bags to create the pretty little stars until they cover the cake.
To make: Mirror Mirror
Tiger Cake

Little dollops of icing make a friendly orange tiger. Small cupcakes with paw prints finish off the fun presentation.
To make: McElhinny Family Weblog
Palm Tree Cake

A combo of blue and sand-colored frosting makes the base for this cake, and another layer of carefully cut-out cake topped with frosting swirls make the palm tree stand out.
To make: Pete's Sweets
Baseball Cake

Most of the detail on this cake comes from the icing—just cut out an approximate shape from a sheet cake, and make the glove and ball come alive with careful frosting.
To make: Just Desserts By Tara
Cat Cake

Buttercream frosting and ears held on by icing make this kitty come to life.
To make: The Cake Cow
Candy Cake

Candy lovers will go crazy for this cake, which is surrounded by Kit Kat bars and topped with a sea of small sweets.
To make: The Kitchen Magpie