6 Best Dinosaur Birthday Cake Ideas + 3 Tasty Alternatives (2024)

Diana Barkley(Senior Editor)

People of all ages enjoy dinosaurs. That’s where the dinosaur cake comes in. If you have a little boy or girl who likes dinosaurs, or even an adult dinosaur aficionado in your life, we have the dinosaur birthday cake design for you.

Broadly generalizing, little boys and girls tend to fall into two main categories: those who love dinosaurs, and those that don’t. Those who do tend to love dinosaurs forever – just think of all those Jurassic Park films and their everlasting popularity.

Below are some of the top dinosaur cake styles you’ll find, for all of your dino party inspiration. We’ve even included a basic recipe to make sure it tastes great, too.

Dinosaur Birthday Cake Ideas for Men and Boys

Dinosaur cakes for boys might sound plain and a little ‘done’, but our designs are anything but. From basic cute dino cakes for little boys to wild dinosaur movie scenes, you’re sure to find a cake that suits your needs.

Dinosaur Cake for 1st Birthday

First birthday cakes are amongst the most special, especially for the parents. If you’re throwing your little dino a roar-some bash, you’ll likely want it to be sweet and colorful.

To make our sweet dino cake, follow our basic recipe instructions below. Once your cake has cooled, frost with a soft green buttercream. You can buy a readymade white buttercream and add a drop or two of green food coloring to achieve just the right shade. Smooth using a cake scraper.

Add eyes and a little smiley mouth to the front of the cake using dark chocolate or black icing. Add dinosaur spikes to the back half of the top and down the back side.

You can make these using readymade mini ice cream cones or fondant in a color of your choosing. Add little dinosaur toes on either side of your dino’s ‘face’ using blobs of buttercream or fondant. Decorate with additional sugar paste ‘scales’ on the dino’s body, or leave as is and enjoy.

Wild Dino Movie Cake

Some dinosaur birthday cakes just need to have it all: the prehistoric landscapes, the dinos, the volcano. This cake has all of that and more, yet is super simple to replicate.

Start by baking our basic recipe and allowing your cake to cool to room temperature. Frost using forest-green buttercream (nothing too neon green, you’re aiming for a natural look.)

Next, create a volcano shape using tin-foil and chocolate buttercream on top of the cake. Leave some room around your volcano for the dinosaurs.

Arrange some clean plastic dinos around the volcano. Next, add red and orange fondant ‘lava’ from the top of the volcano flowing towards the dinosaurs. You may also wish to use more buttercream to add bits of foliage around the feet of the dinos. Finish with some sparklers, and serve.

Jurassic Park Cake

The best Jurassic Park cake should immediately bring to mind the T-Rex’s ferocious roar once guests see it. This cake does just that. Start by baking our basic recipe below and allow it to fully cool. Frost using green buttercream.

You can make this as dark or pale as you like, but bear in mind that the Jurassic Park symbol should pop nicely against the front of the cake. Smooth the frosting using a cake scraper for a well-made, bakery-style look.

Next, add a pre-bought sugar paper Jurassic Park symbol to the front of your cake and press on well to avoid any of the edges peeling.

Decorate the top with a clean plastic t-rex and some chocolate crumbs for soil. Enjoy the roarsome reaction of the recipient (be they a young or slightly older dinosaur fan.)

Dinosaur Birthday Cakes for Women and Girls

Dinosaur cakes don’t just need to be for boys and men. If you remember the first Jurassic Park, you’ll probably also remember its specific appeal to the ladies.

On that note, we’ve compiled some cake designs both for the grown up women and little girls. So there’s definitely something for everyone.

Cute Dinosaur Birthday Cake

If you thought dinosaur cakes couldn’t be girly, think again: this cute pink cake features soft colors and baby dinosaurs, perfect for little girls who like dinos. Start by baking our basic cake recipe below and cool to room temperature.

Next, frost your cake with soft pink buttercream icing. You can smooth this all over using a cake scraper, or keep it looking slightly rustic by using a wide butter knife to frost.

Next, add a selection of pastel-colored fondant dinos. Make these ahead of time (top tip: they’ll stay good in a cool dark place for at least two months) or buy them from a baking retailer.

Add a wooden number cake topper and you’ve got yourself a sweet, pastel-colored dino cake the birthday girl will adore.

Jeff Goldblum Dinosaur Cake

Maybe she likes dinosaurs, maybe she just likes Jeff Goldblum in his ultimate dino movie. If it’s the latter, she’s guaranteed to enjoy this Jurassic Park Jeff-inspired birthday treat.

Bake our basic recipe and cool to room temperature before frosting it with grass-green buttercream. Feel free to make this look a little rustic, as it’s meant to resemble a natural environment.

Next, add a clean plastic doll dressed in black trousers and an open black shirt (a la Jurassic Park) to the top of the cake. A Ken-doll with dark hair will do nicely.

Write the words, ‘life… finds a way’ in white icing in front of the doll, and you’re done. You might wish to add some optional plastic dinos to the serving platter. Either way, be prepared for some big laughs when she receives her cake.

Yoshi the Dinosaur Cake

Lots of boys and girls alike love Yoshi from Super Mario. The friendly green (or blue, yellow, white, black, red, and many other colors) dinosaur is a charming character who’s hard to resist.

Our Yoshi cake features a simple, Mario-themed background and a cute Yoshi fondant figurine on top. Bake our basic recipe for a scrummy cake below, then frost with pale blue buttercream once cooled.

Add cutouts of white fondant clouds and pale yellow fondant power stars around the outside of the cake. Place your fondant yoshi (which you’ve either made yourself or purchased ahead of time) on top.

You can add the birthday girl’s name in front of the cake or place a simple wooden cake topper with her name slightly angled behind Yoshi. Either way, this adorable cake is sure to find many fans.

Simple Dinosaur Birthday Cake Designs

The best birthday cake designs are often the simplest. If the above designs sound too complicated for you, don’t worry, you can make your own in a few easy steps:

Once you’ve baked our simple recipe below and allowed your cake to cool to room temperature, frost it in a high quality (or homemade) buttercream of your choice. Pale green lends itself well to dino cakes, but you can add a few drops of any food coloring you like.

Add some clean plastic dinos to the top of your cake, as well as a pretty number cake or wooden cake topper. Done. The best part of using plastic dinos is that they can be washed and played with after, so they’re a win-win for little dinosaur fans.

Best Quotes & Captions for Dinosaur Birthday Cakes

The most effective birthday messages come from the heart. With that said, if you have a little (or big) dinosaur fan in your life, you may want some inspiration. The quotes below are just that. Incorporate them into your own special message for a dino-mite birthday card:

• "Have a dino-mite birthday!"
• "Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dinosaur, then definitely be a dinosaur."
• "Have a roarsome birthday!"
• "Happy birthday to the best kid who likes dinosaurs… and more dinosaurs."
• "A t-rex has short arms. Why? So everything he holds is extra close to his heart."

Are you looking for more fun birthday quotes? Here you’ll find them.

Beautiful Gift Ideas That Match a Dinosaur Birthday Cake

You can get really creative when it comes to dinosaur gifts. That’s great news, seeing as most little (and large) dinosaur fans will already have lots of dinosaur stuff. Below are some of our absolute favorite gift ideas for the dino fan in your life:

Dinosaur Guess Who?: if you’ve ever played this popular children’s game, we’re pretty sure you’ve enjoyed it. This dino version takes it up a notch, and will bring plenty of laughs to both young and old.

Dinosaur Craft Kits: make or paint your own dinosaur with a fun craft kit. There are also plenty of little ‘excavation’ kits available. These are great fun for little kids, and you can even make one yourself with spare cake crumbs: just hide some clean plastic dinos in the crumbs.

Dinosaur lamps: dino lamps are available in all shapes and sizes, but we think a ‘holographic’ lamp or projector one is the most fun. These make great gifts for both young and slightly older dinosaur fans.

Little Dino Gifts: sometimes all you want is a little extra present to add to a bigger gift. In this instance, bath bombs with plastic dinos inside, small dinosaur puzzles, or a little dino planter are excellent options.

Basic Recipe for a Dinosaur Birthday Cake: A Simple Guide

This simple recipe is easy to follow and will yield the most delicious, moist cake. You can even make it bespoke by adding a few drops of food coloring (green is always a great dino-themed choice) or flavors such as almond, rose, or orange. Add extra chocolate chunks or sprinkles for a fun surprise.

If you have food intolerances or other dietary restrictions, not to worry: you can substitute the eggs for yogurt or aquafaba, the milk for oat or almond alternatives, the butter for a vegan butter, and the flour for a gluten free option.

You may even reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe or replace it with a fruit concentrate or coconut sugar.

• 2 ¼ cups self-raising flour
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ½ cup salted butter
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 3 medium eggs

And here’s how you do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and prep two 9” cake tins or one 9”x13” pan by greasing them with butter or vegetable oil.
2. Mix the butter and sugar using a mixer until they are pale in color and a light, fluffy texture.
3. Whisk the eggs with the milk, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl until smooth.
4. Gradually whisk the butter and sugar cream with the eggs and flour until your batter is just combined. Don’t over-mix.
5. Pour your cake batter into the prepared tins and bake for 30-35 minutes. Once done, the center should be softly browned yet springy. An inserted toothpick should come away clean and free from any batter.

Cool your finished cake to room temperature. Now you may frost and decorate it per one of our designs above or your own unique ideas.

Alternatives to a Dinosaur Birthday Cake

If you’ve already organized a fancy dino cake from a professional bakery and need a little homemade extra, or just want to make some smaller dino treats, we’ve got you covered. From cute pop tarts to cupcakes and some creative pancakes, these are fun additions to any dino party.

Pop Tarts with Dinosaur Features

You can buy readymade dino-themed pop tarts, but homemade ones are much more fun: to make these, use readymade chilled pie crust sheets.

Use a dinosaur cookie cutter to cut out two dinos at a time – one for the top and one for the bottom. Fill with your chosen filling, for example peanut butter and jelly and close firmly at the edges. Bake in the oven and ice with a mix of powdered sugar, milk, and food coloring.

Dinosaur Cupcakes

Our basic recipe will also yield 24 delicious cupcakes. Bake them in dino cupcake cases and cool to room temperature. Frost using a buttercream of your choice, and top with dino cake toppers. These little cupcakes make great party favors too. They’re also great fun to make with younger kids who want to help.

Dinosaur Pancakes

Dinosaur pancakes are incredibly easy to make at home, but very effective. All you need is some dinosaur cookie cutters.

Make your favorite pancakes from scratch or a pancake mix, then cut out using the cutters. Arrange on a large plate alongside some fresh fruit and ‘foliage’ (sprigs of mint look nice) and dust with icing sugar. Serve as a dino-themed breakfast for the birthday boy or girl.

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