we let the kids PAINT their cake

for my daughter’s art birthday party, we turned dessert into one of the activities 🎨🎂 instead of cupcakes or individual mini cakes, i baked sheet cakes and turned each slice into a little edible canvas. the biggest thing that made this easy was doing almost everything ahead. i baked the cakes about a week before the party, let them cool, wrapped them really well, and froze them. closer to the party, i made the buttercream, divided it into different colors, and wrapped each color individually in plastic wrap so i didn’t have to store a pile of bowls in the fridge or wash a million extra dishes later. 😂 then i frosted the whole sheet cake white and refrigerated it until the frosting was nice and cold. that made it WAY easier to cut into clean rectangles without dragging soft frosting everywhere. by the time the party started, everything was basically done. i waited to actually set up the palettes until the kids were ready because… summer + bugs + cake sitting outside uncovered for hours? absolutely not. 😂 so right before we used them, i put one cake slice on each wooden palette, added dollops of the colored buttercream around it, set out clean paintbrushes, and that was it. the whole setup took me maybe five minutes. and the kids LOVED it. messy, colorful, easy, and dessert doubled as an activity. if you want to recreate it: • bake and freeze the cake ahead • make and color the buttercream ahead • wrap the colors individually for easy storage • frost the whole sheet cake white • refrigerate until the frosting is cold and firm • cut into large rectangles • wait until party time to set out the palettes • add colored buttercream dollops + clean brushes • let them paint honestly, i’d absolutely do this again. 🎨 #birthdaypartyideas #artparty #kidsbirthdayparty #cakeideas #lemon8