My niece had her 7th Birthday party at the Tree Runner Park near our house. The kids had so much fun Zip Lining and doing the High Ropes Course. I was amazed at the lack of fear these kids showed. They climed for a few hours, then came down for Pizza and the cake of course!!! To go along with the birthday party in the trees, she asked for a Tree House Cake!
I was so excited to make this cake! She asked for Carrot Cake, and let me tell you…it was a crowd-pleaser. All of the kids loved it! I used Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Carrot Cake Mix, with Cream Cheese Frosting. Delish!
Birthday Girl Was Happy!
Ashley loved her birthday cake. That always makes me so happy to see the birthday girl/boy’s face when they first see the cake. It really is the centerpiece of the party!
What I Used
I used Betty Crocker Carrot Cake. It was amazing. Everyone always thinks I make it from scratch. The truth is I don’t have time to make a cake from scratch AND decorate it. So I always use the boxed cake and Frosting to give me the most time to decorate. I used the Wilton 12×18 baking sheet which is 2.5 boxes of the cake mix. I always use the leftovers for 12 cupcakes. This helps because my kids can taste it and not stick their fingers in the cake, and I can taste it ahead of time and make sure I know what I am serving!!!
I also used Betty Crocker pre-made frosting. Yum! This frosting is the best that I have tried. It doesn’t taste artificial like some other store bought frosting. I used a combination of Vanilla, Cream Cheese and Chocolate. I frosted the whole cake with 3 cans of the cream cheese. I dyed that with Wilton Sky Blue. Then I dyed one can of Vanilla with the Wilton Moss Green. Finally I used the Chocolate for the Tree. To get different dimensions of brown I mixed a little vanilla frosting with some of the brown to give it a lighter shade so I would have two shades of brown. I also did that for the green.
What You Need for This Cake
- 3 Boxes of Betty Crocker Cake Mix – Any Flavor!
- 5 Cans of white frosting. I used 3 Cream Cheese and 2 Vanilla
- 1 Can of Chocolate frosting
- Oil – I always use Canola over vegetable – either work
- 9 Eggs / 3 per box
- 12×18 Sheet Cake Pan
- 12 cupcake papers
- 19×14 Wilton Cake Box
- 13×19 Wilton Cake Board
- Wilton #233 Tip for the grass
- #47 Tip for the tree
- #67 Tip for the leaves and border
- #3 Tip for the writing
- I bake at 375 Degrees F and I always set the timer for 40 minutes then check it and add minutes if needed. I use the Wilton Baking guide for guidance. Keep in mind all ovens are different and some bake faster or slower than others.
- Make sure you grease the pan! I use butter and flour, but you can use spray as well. Make sure it is a baking spray!
Decorating Tips
- Make sure the cake is completely cooled – you don’t want the frosting to melt!
- I always color all of my frosting in the beginning and put them in the piping bags so they are ready to go! (to fill a piping bag I always set it in a tall cup so it will stand up!)
- Put all 3 cans of frosting on the cake a spread thoroughly. Avoid letting crumbs pull up. If you do, try to wipe them off.
- I started with the tree, then the tree house, then I did the leaves, grass and then the boarder. I finished with the writing!
- Happy Decorating!!
