Cakes & Barrages
Firework Cakes and Barrages — Single Ignition, Multiple Shots
Firework cakes do the heavy lifting in most consumer displays. Light one fuse and the cake fires a sequence of shots automatically — anywhere from 9 to over 600 individual bursts depending on the piece. No relighting, no manual timing, just one ignition and the whole sequence runs itself. That simplicity is a big part of why they're the best-selling firework type in the UK.
Prices start under £10 for compact garden cakes and go up to several hundred pounds for heavyweight 1.3G barrages and multi-row fan cakes. We also stock over 50 compound fireworks in this collection — compounds combine multiple cake sections into one piece with a single fuse, so you get the longest continuous displays going.
What Actually Determines How Good a Cake Is?
Shot count is the number people tend to look at first, but it can be misleading on its own. A 100-shot cake in this collection costs anywhere from £8.99 (Screeching Missiles — a rapid-fire F2 with tiny 4mm tubes) to £239.99 (CC0476 — an F4 with wide 40mm tubes). Same number of shots, completely different fireworks.
The single biggest factor in what you actually see in the sky is bore size — the diameter of each tube. Wider tubes hold more pyrotechnic composition per shot, which means bigger bursts and more colour spread. Here's how bore size breaks down across this collection:
| Bore Size | Burst Size | Typical Price | Typical Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 20mm | Small — tight bursts, good for rapid effects | Mostly £6–£17, some up to £70 | Mostly F2 |
| 20–24mm | Medium — visible individual bursts, decent spread | £10–£80, some up to £330 | Mix of F2 and F3 |
| 25–29mm | Large — proper aerial bursts with good colour | £22–£380 | Mix, leans F3 |
| 30mm+ | Big — wide-spread sky-filling effects | £22–£430 | Mostly F3 |
Not every product page lists bore size, but category and price give you a good idea. F2 cakes (8-metre safety distance) tend to sit under £20. F3 cakes (25-metre safety distance) are typically £50+ and go well into the hundreds. The price gap reflects the jump in pyrotechnic power — you really can see and hear the difference.
F2 or F3 — Which Category Do You Need?
About half this collection is F2 and half is F3. The category rating determines the minimum safety distance — it's printed on every firework label.
F2 cakes need 8 metres of clear space. These work in most back gardens and tend to be smaller, quieter pieces. We've got 96 F2-rated cakes here, from £5.99 to £79.99. If you've got a typical suburban garden and want to keep the noise reasonable, start here. Our garden fireworks collection filters specifically for F2 products.
F3 cakes need 25 metres — so you'll want a larger garden, a field, or a park. These are the bigger, louder, more dramatic pieces. We've got 105 F3-rated cakes and compounds here, from £16.99 to £429.99. If you've got the space, F3 cakes are where things get properly impressive. Browse our display fireworks for the full F3 range.
For more on how categories work (and why they're completely separate from 1.3G/1.4G classifications), see our types of fireworks explained guide.
Fan Cakes vs Straight-Firing Cakes
Cakes come in two firing patterns. Straight-firing cakes send every shot directly upward — concentrated height, good for smaller spaces. Fan cakes angle their tubes outward so effects spread across a wide arc of sky. Fan cakes tend to be the bigger, more expensive pieces (mostly F3), while straight-firing cakes are generally more compact and affordable.
If you want your display to have that wide-screen cinema feel, fan cakes are the ones to go for. Straight-firing cakes work well as fillers between larger pieces. A mix of both gives the best variety.
What Effects Should You Look For?
Effects vary a lot from cake to cake. Here's what the main ones mean:
- Peonies and dahlias — the classic round bursts of colour. Most cakes include some version of these.
- Brocade and willow — long-hanging golden or silver trails that drape downwards. Great on camera.
- Crackle — a fizzing, crackling effect after the burst. Adds texture without extreme noise.
- Whistles — ascending effects with an audible whistle on the way up.
- Colour-changing — shots that shift from one colour to another mid-burst.
Product videos are the best way to judge a cake before buying. We include demo videos on as many product pages as we can — look for the play button on the product image.
How Do Cakes Compare to Other Firework Types?
If you're weighing up cakes against other types, here's a quick comparison:
| Type | What It Does | Effort | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cake / Barrage | Multi-shot aerial sequence from one fuse | Light and step back | Depends on classification — 1.3G cakes tend to be louder, 1.4G are usually quieter (but not always) |
| Rocket | Single large burst at height | Each one lit individually | Often loud — most rockets are 1.3G classified |
| Fountain | Ground-based spray of sparks and colour | Light and step back | Quiet — mostly crackling and hissing, typically 1.4G |
| Compound | Multiple cake sections fused together | One fuse, longest runtime | Varies — check the 1.3G/1.4G classification on the label, not the F-category |
For most people, a few cakes with a rocket or two and a fountain to open works really well. Cakes give you the most variety and sky-time per pound spent.
Which Brands Make the Best Cakes?
Brands include Brothers Pyrotechnics (award-winning colour work and creative effects), Primed Pyrotechnics (casino-themed range, bold effects), Bright Star (wide range at accessible prices), Celtic Fireworks and plenty more. If you're putting together a full show, have a look at our complete display kits — they include cakes alongside rockets, fountains and finales with a suggested firing order. Orders over £300 ship free, or any cart with an item from our Free Delivery collection ships free regardless of cart total.
After the lowest prices? Our cheap fireworks collection has dozens of discounted cakes from under £6. Cakes and barrages are the core of any Bonfire Night display. For a full rundown of every firework type, see our Types of Fireworks Explained guide.
What is a firework cake?
A firework cake (also called a barrage) is a multi-shot firework with a single fuse. Light it once and the internal fusing fires each tube in sequence automatically. Cakes range from small 9-shot pieces to large 600-shot barrages. The number of shots, bore size (tube diameter), and category rating all determine what you see in the sky.
What is the difference between a cake and a barrage?
The terms are often used interchangeably. Technically, barrage fireworks tend to fire shots in rapid succession, while a cake may have more varied timing including slow and fast phases. In practice, most retailers (including us) use both terms to describe single-ignition multi-shot fireworks.
What is a fan cake?
A fan cake has tubes angled outwards in a fan shape rather than all pointing straight up. This spreads effects across a wider arc of sky. In this collection, fan cakes tend to be the larger, pricier pieces — mostly F3-rated — while straight-firing cakes lean smaller and more affordable.
What is the difference between a cake and a compound?
A cake fires a sequence of shots from one section of tubes. A compound combines multiple sections (often several cakes' worth) into a single unit with internal fusing. Compounds tend to be the big-ticket items — they're pricier but you get much longer runtimes and more variety in a single piece. Nearly all compounds are F3-rated.
Are firework cakes suitable for gardens?
Many cakes are suitable for gardens, but it depends on the category. About half this collection is F2-rated (8-metre safety distance) — these work in most back gardens. The other half is F3-rated (25-metre safety distance), which needs a larger space. Always check the category label on each cake before buying.
Do firework cakes come with free delivery?
Orders over £300 qualify for free delivery to mainland UK. Smaller orders carry a flat delivery charge. Check our delivery page for full details.
Does a higher shot count mean a better firework?
Not necessarily. Shot count tells you how many individual tubes a cake contains, but tube diameter (bore size) matters just as much. A 25-shot cake with wide 30mm tubes produces bigger, more dramatic individual bursts than a 100-shot cake with tiny 4mm tubes. Both have their place — high shot counts with small tubes create rapid-fire walls of colour, while lower shot counts with wider tubes give bigger, more defined aerial effects.
What does bore size mean on a firework cake?
Bore size is the internal diameter of each tube in the cake, measured in millimetres. Wider bore means more pyrotechnic composition per shot, which means bigger bursts, more colour spread, and generally louder bangs. In this collection, cakes with tubes under 20mm typically cost under £17, while cakes with 25mm+ tubes start from around £22 and go much higher.
Related Reading
Want maximum noise? Browse our loud fireworks collection for the biggest bangs and thunderous effects.
Noticed fewer bangs in modern cakes? Find out why salutes are disappearing from UK fireworks cakes and what manufacturers are replacing them with.
Not sure about F2 vs F3? Our types of fireworks explained guide covers categories, classifications and safety distances.
Planning a wedding display or a Bonfire Night show? Cakes make up the core of both — pair them with sparklers for a finishing touch.
Looking across every category in one place? Buy fireworks from our full 1,600-product range — cakes, rockets, barrages, sparklers, fountains and complete display packs.
Before lighting a cake or barrage, check the F-category on the label. Our fireworks safety guide walks through 8-metre F2 and 25-metre F3 distances and what to do if a fuse fails to light.
