I can make ANY cake I want for my niece's first birthday. No theme at all. Party decor will be solid pink. WWYD? A multi-tier fondant thing? Some sort of carved cake?

I'm looking for something in the "WOW!" category, but not too time consuming.

I did a big shaped 1 cake for my DS's 1st birthday. Granted I am a novice. Guests were pretty impressed with the cake. I matched the colors to the party decor. I also made a small single layer round cake (4") as the smash cake with a 1 on it.

Otherwise, maybe make something that she is into.

I have no idea why I didn't even think of that. I was thinking tiers and shaped creatures. I think a #1 may be in order! Thanks for the suggestion.

"The big 1" is a great "non-theme" motif for a first birthday. I'd do a numeral 1 shaped cake frosted in a light or medium pink, and then pipe words/borders in a darker shade -- raspberry or fuschia.

A lot of people avoid fondant for these because a mouthful of fondant would be a choking hazard for a baby.