How to decorate a store bought cake and make it your own!
photos by amanda moss // back seat photography
top {old, similar} // denim // c/o stacked rings // earrings // c/o watch // cuff // c/o lipstick
“A party without a cake is just a meeting” – Julia Childs. So bring a cake! Whenever we have dinner at one of our family member’s homes or attend a party, I bring dessert. A lot of times that means cake. Which also means a lot of time, right? Nope, not necessarily! Today I’m sharing a way to cut down on the amount of time you take preparing your dish for your next family get together or shindig at your friend’s. How you ask? {As if my title didn’t give it away}. Purchasing a simple store bought cake and decorating it with your favorite goodies. Don’t worry, this little secret can stay between us!
To share a couple of options, I picked up several cakes from our local The Fresh Market. A Red Velvet cake was a must as that’s our favorite. Next came a sinful white cake. Well because it had sinful in the name. I had to get it! Lastly, a very simple cheesecake. The three of these are pretty plain on their own, providing me with the perfect “blank” canvases. I then walked around The Fresh Market with a couple of ideas floating in my head, throwing items into my cart as I went.
The cheesecake was one I instantly knew what I wanted to do to spruce it up. Oreos + chocolate. In my mind, you can never go wrong with Oreos. They’re always a win! Add some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce and you have a serious victory.
I decorating the cheesecake by spreading the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce on top. Creating a thick layer. Once the sauce was spread across the whole top I crushed Oreo Thins and pressed them into the sauce. I went with Oreo Thins vs. Oreos as they provided more of a crunch and less of the filling. I felt with the cheesecake all of that filling would be too much.
Following all of the Oreos, an additional amount of the chocolate sauce was required. I simply drizzled.
Next up, was our favorite, the Red Velvet Cake. For this one I knew I wanted to add some fruit. After walking the fresh produce section in The Fresh Market however I decided I wanted to add A LOT of fruit. All of the berries looked amazing and I couldn’t pass a single one of them up. So that meant raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries were all going on this cake.
Another very easy option, decorating with fruit. I simply lined the bottom of the cake with raspberries and placed as many berries on top I could fit. There was not particular order. I just created little groupings of each kind of fruit and then filled in the middle. Don’t worry about being perfect here, I promise it’ll look a lot better if you just have fun and place the fruit in no real order.
Lastly, I decided to decorate with flowers. This is one way to really step up your cake game and make it appear as though you spent an absurd amount on a custom cake. When really all you need is the store bought cake and a bouquet of fresh blooms {or greenery}. Side note: The Fresh Market truly has an amazing selection of flowers. They even had beautiful pink peonies the other week.
I started this decorating process by trimming the stems of the flowers. I wanted the stems very short so they didn’t dive too deep into the cake. This also made placing them a lot easier.
Once all of the blooms were cut I started creating a cluster on one “corner” of the cake. I wanted the flowers to create a real statement. After I had placed all of the blooms I pulled the petals a part a bit to create a fuller look. Also, just a little tip, I removed all greenery from the stem, only leaving what was directly under the bloom.
After all of that decorating it was time to dive in. As stated above, our favorite cake is Red Velvet so I knew this one was staying at our house. So we cut the cake and enjoyed the addition of all of the fresh berries. Yum!
top {old, similar} // denim // c/o stacked rings // earrings // c/o watch // cuff // c/o lipstick
So there are three easy ways to decorate a store bought cake! Whether you want to use cookies, flowers, or fresh fruit, it’s incredibly easy to spruce up a simple store bought cake and make it your own. What I recommend is go to the store with an idea of what you’d like to use for decoration. Having an idea will cut down on the time you spend wandering around the store. While also insuring you don’t pick up something crazy that may not work. Also, it’ll prevent you from picking up too many items and now spending as much as you would have on a custom cake.
Another tip, have fun with it! Completely make this cake {or cakes} your own. Pick decor items that reflect your personality or your personal taste. As I mentioned above, I’m the biggest fan of Oreos so they were a must have item for me to use. Pick your favorite cookie, candy, or other sweet treat. Think outside of the box too, literally! Use macaroons from the bakery or throw some cinnamon buns in the oven and once they’re cool, break them apart, and spread across the top of the cake. Add a cream drizzle over top and you have a masterpiece.
Decorating a store bought cake should be extremely fun! You get to skip the baking part and be extremely creative. So my challenge to y’all is to do this for your next get together or party and share your photos with me! Email me at [email protected] or use hashtag #louellareese for me to check them out. Can’t wait to see what y’all come up with.
Thank you to The Fresh Market for sponsoring this post!
