Children's Cakes

• For young children, consider a homemade carousel cake. Place a lazy Susan, used for cake decorating, on top of a two-layer cake and place a single-layer cake on top of the lazy Susan. Insert animal-shaped cookies baked on wooden dowels in the underside of the top cake for a carousel cake that turns. Other cakes for children include a cake made into the shape of a circus tent, a roller coaster cake, a fairytale castle cake or a cake shaped like a race car.
  
  

Modern Teen Cake

• For a modern 'tween or teenager, make a multi-tier cake in the shapes of makeup boxes and a purse, and decorated with modern gizmos and gadgets. For teenagers who cannot wait to travel the world, make a cake in the shape of the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal. For the cell phone addict, make rectangular, cupcake-size cell phones by covering miniature cakes with icing and adding fondant buttons, digital screens and licorice antennas. Buy fondant in the store in packages and roll it out to make firm and edible decorations for cakes.
  
  

Sports Theme Cake

• For a sport enthusiast, make a cake in the shape of a basketball or one decorated to look like a football field. For a sports team jersey cake, cut the shape of the jersey from a large, rectangular cake. Cover the entire cake in a smooth sheet of fondant in the dominant color of the team's jersey. Use butter cream icing to add the other colors to the jersey and use stencils to make sport team emblems. Use icing to make a number in the center of the shirt and to write the name of the guest of honor above the number.
  
  

Adventure Cake

• For a party in the honor of an adventure lover, make a rock-climbing cake. Shape the wall from a rectangular cake. Cover the cake in a smooth layer of butter cream icing and insert candies or multi-color sugar paste shapes to make the indoor rock wall ledges. For a person more enthusiastic about an adventure under the sea, make a multi-tier scuba diving cake covered with blue butter cream icing and decorated with fondant sea creatures and scuba divers. Other ideas include a green safari cake covered with animal-shaped cookies or an airplane-shaped cake for skydiving lovers or pilots.