10 of the best shop-bought children's birthday cakes

And the good news is, there are some great shop-bought children's birthday cakes out there, in lots of different flavours and for all dietary requirements.

So, for those time-pressed or bake-challenged we’ve rounded up the best birthday cakes that you can nip out to the high street and buy or order online a few days before the big event.

We’ve got supermarket bargains as well as nut-safe, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and eggless. Phew!

Just don’t forget the candles…

1. LOL Surprise! Celebration Cake, £12

If you've got a child who loves LOL Surprise! then we reckon this cake is a no-brainer.

It has 4 layers of sponge cake, 3 layers of filling and has sugar coated chocolate beans as well as a surprise inside. What's not to love?

• Serves: 16
• Available from: Morrisons

2. Eggless Victoria Sponge With Luxury Fruit And Cream Filling, £48.99

If you're hoping to go egg-free for your child's birthday cake, then check out Cakebox, which has branches all across the UK.

They do giant cupcakes like the one above, and have a huge selection of cakes in general divided into younger and older kids - plus you can click and collect.

• Serves: Comes in various sizes
• Available from: Cakebox

3. Heston Top Hat Cake, £45

Thinking of going for an Alice In Wonderland theme? Or maybe your child's mad about magic? Then why not look into this gorgeous triple-tiered top hat cake?

Flavour-wise - it's big and bold: sherbet lemon sponge, raspberry jam swirled sponge, chocolate sponge with blackcurrant flavouring and a salted caramel sponge with fudge and honeycomb pieces...need we say more?

• Serves: 20 to 30
• Available from: Waitrose

4. Vegan cupcakes, £40 for 12

Lola's has become a well-known cupcake brand over the years, especially in the south - though they do have branch in Birmingham, too - and we love the look of their vegan cupcake assortment, which includes passionfruit, strawberry and chocolate flavours.

You can buy a minimum of 6 or as many as you like.

Serves: 6 to as many as you want - depending on how many cakes you order

Available from: Lola's

5. Roary the Lion Cake, £10

This cute lion cake is from a new range at Morrisons, which includes a Spiderman cake, a Narwhal cake and many more.

This one is vegetarian - made of a simple sponge and raspberry jam filling and we think it would look awesome (or should that be roarsome?) on a jungle-themed birthday table.

• Serves: 14
• Available from: Morrisons

6. Gluten-free personalised balloon cake, £20

If it's gluten-free you're looking for, the good news is that most of the bigger food stores offer something to accommodate.

This cute balloon cake includes buttercream and raspberry jam and you can get it personalised with a message of your choice: you just need to order 7 days in advance of collection.

• Serves: 14
• Available from: Marks and Spencer

7. Nut-free Seriously Chocolate Cake, £8

If you need a nut-free cake, there are some out there though you do need to do some research.

Sainsbury's has this 'free from' cake which is also wheat-free, gluten-free and milk-free and so could be a good option if you're throwing a party and aren't quite sure what allergies guests may have.

• Serves: 10
• Available from: Sainsbury's

8. Sugar-free cupcakes, price on order

More and more people are trying to go sugar-free - and cake-makers The Heavenly Cupcake Company have every kind of cake to suit that need.

They also have vegan cakes and a whole variety of flavours. And the good news is, they deliver nationwide (apart from weekends and Mondays).

• Serves: Depends on how many cupcakes you order
• Available from: The Heavenly Cupcake Company

9. Half and half celebration cake, £13

Such a simple but brilliant idea - a 2 in 1 cake that serves those who like chocolate and those who like vanilla - or why not have a slice from each side?

It's not suitable if your child or others have allergies like some of the ones we've mentioned above, but it is free from artificial colours and flavourings.

• Serves: 20
• Available from: Asda

10. Large Traybake, 2 for £10

If you know you're going to be needing to provide cake for a lot of people, you might want to go for Tesco's traybake option.

Two of these traybakes serves up to 30 guests, so makes a great centre piece - and ensures that no one goes without pudding.

• Serves: 30
• Available from: Tesco

Read more

• 11 of the best party bag fillers for 2 year olds
• At what age can you leave your kids at a party without you?
• The tiered party trend that's getting parents cross