Cake hack: Parents are turning $5 supermarket cakes into masterpieces

You don't need a lot of expertise to make something like this. Photo / Supplied

The days of parents slaving over a birthday cake are long gone, with many willing to part with a hefty sum to give their kids the cake of their dreams.

While our parents might have spent hours trying to recreate something out of The Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book, today's parents are paying over $150 for a birthday cake, with some splashing out upwards of $300 for something that looks amazing.

But a growing number of frugal mums, with no baking expertise, have worked out a clever hack. Facebook pages like the Mudcake Hacks group are proving very popular as busy mums are looking for a way to have their amazing cake and eat it too.

Jodi Bell started the Woolies/Coles Mudcake page at the start of the year when she discovered a need for people's clever hacks to be showcased in one place. In the space of about six months the group has grown close to 52,000 members — and shows no signs of slowing down.

The main attraction of the hack is using delicious mudcakes and sponge cakes from supermarkets like Woolworths, Coles and Countdown.

This eliminates the first stressful part of creating a cake — the baking. Even more attractive is the price. Most retail for around $5 so even when making a three or four-tiered cake, these mums are still well ahead in the price game.

But what of the decorating part? Surely, this isn't easy.

Rosanna Duardo kept the theme of her cake 'chocolate' (left) and this cute dog-inspired cake (right) made by Kayla Archer was simple but impressive. Photo / Supplied

Well these brilliant mums beg to differ — just feast your eyes on their creations. From simple to more intricate, from buttercream to fondant, from single layer to multi-tiered, and from drip cakes to naked cakes, these mums are showing that fabulous cakes don't have to cost a fortune.

People in the group are sharing their tips, so even complete novices can create something that looks impressive.

Nessa Verity created this beautiful multi-layered cake (left) with simple decoration while the 'naked cake' (right) is easily made with a mud cake base. Photo / Supplied

Tips such as using a plastic ruler as a buttercream smoother, or a sauce bottle for creating a lovely drip effect are shared by the cake enthusiasts.

The group will even point you in the direction of cost-effective cake decorating tools and embellishments to make your cake really stand out. Kmart, Big W and a variety of dollar shops now stock an amazing range of products that can be used for cake decoration.

So there's no excuses now. Get creative, and make something that even your mother (who slaved over that ridiculous train cake in the Woman's Weekly book) would be proud of.