There’s no greater rite of passage for parents than that of baking their child’s birthday cake… (or outsourcing it, no judgement here!).
If you’re game enough to give it a go yourself, it can be somewhat of a daunting task.
But for four decades, there’s been a trusty bible Aussie parents have turned to for inspiration and guidance, the Australian Women’s Weekly’s Children’s Birthday Cake book.
Tasty and impressive – but most importantly, achievable – the cookbook had kids across the country pouring over the pages to pick out the perfect cake.
To celebrate its endearing legacy, we’ve rounded up the best Australian Women’s Weekly children’s birthday cake book creations of all time.
In celebration of the 90th Birthday, The Australian Women’s Weekly: 90 Years of an Australian Icon exhibition opens on Sat 27 May and closes on Sat 27 August at Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street, Bendigo VIC.
The exhibition celebrates the contributions of some of the influential and trailblazing women who have made the Weekly what it is today, plus fun moments like two reconstructions of our iconic Choo Choo Train and Swimming Pool Birthday Cakes.
For more information, head to the Bendigo Art Gallery website.
From celebrities to politicians and everyday parents – check out these incredible homemade cakes, straight from the pages of The Weekly.
Sylvia Jeffreys
Sylvia Jeffreys went back to the AWW’s birthday cake book for her youngest son Henry’s first birthday. It seems like it’s becoming a tradition for the presenter, and she revealed her project was a success on her Instagram stories by posting a picture of her son reaching for more.
Sylvia Jeffreys
Sylvia turned to AWW’s Children’s Birthday Cake Book for her eldest son Oscar’s second birthday. She brought her fans on her baking journey by sharing a series of posts, including one of her KitchenAid mixing cake batter, which read, “Double batched the cake mixture (using a @donna.hay vanilla cake recipe) in case one of the cakes was a failure. It’s always best to prepare for failure. Am I right?” Unfortunately, disaster hit when her cake came out of the oven crumbly. Luckily, her mother-in-law Jenny Stefanovic convinced her “that the crumbled cake was salvageable and that all it required was a bit of icing surgery.” Saved, they did! Although Sylvia dubbed it ” a not-perfect ” racetrack, the cake was a hit.
Duck Cake
Here is the original Duck cake pictured in the Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake book.
Bluey
In a special feature with iconic Aussie children’s TV show Bluey, the iconic Women’s Weekly duck cake was the baking creation of choice between the characters. Aussie chef Adam Liaw decided to put it to the test by harnessing the help of three other dads to tackle the creation.
Bluey
The top cook gave the dads a good demonstration as he put the complicated creation together.
Bluey
The final result! Look, his eyes might be a tad wonky, but it still looks cute and delicious.
See the moment in the player below!
Women’s Weekly’s iconic Duck Cake features on Bluey with Adam Liaw
Sylvia Jeffreys
In a gorgeous reveal, Ben Fordham shared this brilliant creation to Instagram alongside a very sweet explanation: “Oh My… I told @sylviajeffreys I missed out on the racing track cake when I turned 8 so she baked it for me. She’s bringing it into the radio show at 8:40am. I feel that I’ve lived a full life but this is one that I never ticked off the bucket list. You can bake a cake and raise money for the brilliant @youngcareoz It doesn’t even have to be your birthday. I’m so happy. Shake and bake.” Cute!
When actress and radio presenter Kate Ritchie revealed she’d made this superb AWW fifth birthday cake for her daughter Mae, she quipped she was “taking birthday cake orders for when this silly career of mine is put to bed.” But all jokes aside, the former Home And Away favourite is clearly a talented baker!
Iconic Pool Cake
Here is the original pool cake pictured in the Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake book.
This mum’s genius Bluey rendition of the swimming pool birthday cake is sure to be popular among young fans of the beloved kid’s TV show.
“My baby turned five today. 😍❤️What better way to celebrate than with a modified version of the #womensweeklybirthdaycakebook Swimming Pool cake – but with the Heeler family! Bingo has floaties made of lolly snakes heads (!), Chilli has a lilo made of musk sticks held together with white icing, and they all have sunscreen on their nose,” @crimsongardenia penned.
Racing royalty and presenter Kate Waterhouse treated her daughter Grace to a pastel pink number four for her birthday over the weekend.
It doesn’t get any cuter than The Weekly‘s teddy bear cake and Instagram user @pnwbabayaga is giving us all kinds of feel-good nostalgia with this guy.
Elsa in cake form! How clever is this Frozen take on the Dolly Varden cake?
Reader Em Diggs shows off her picture-perfect castle for a princess cake.
Lachy Wiggles’ partner Dana Stephenson teamed up with her mum to make The Weekly‘s choo choo train cake for her son Jasper.
“Choo-Choo-Chooooooooo! 🚂One of our best yet! Mum @glenva.stephensen you are a legend and I couldn’t have done this (or anything else!) without you ❤️ #womensweeklybirthdaycakebook #womensweeklybirthdaycake
thetraditioncontinues #choochoo,” Dana shared at the time.
Jasper looks pretty stoked with his mum and grandma’s handiwork.
This has got to be one of the best swimming pool cakes we’ve ever seen, bravo!
“Sigh, haven’t enjoyed making a cake as much as this one in aaaaages. #childrensbirthdaycakes #womensweeklybirthdaycakebook #classic #iloveretro #swimmingpoolcake,” Sweet’Ems Cakes & Catering penned next to this snap.
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won hearts for keeping it oh-so-real on social media as she shared a snapshot of her “imperfect” piano player cake from the pages of The Australian Women’s Weekly‘s famous Children’s Birthday Cake Book, complete with her own genius hack.
“Cake making lesson number two – don’t focus on making the cake look in proportion with little to no attention on structural integrity….there is a jar of lentils propping this thing up. Happy Birthday Neve! Thanks for ignoring all of the imperfections in life and just being a joy #PianoCake #australianwomensweeklybirthdaycakebook,” Jacinda confessed alongside a selfie with her impressive piano cake creation.
It’s not the first time the mother-of-one has turned to our much-loved Australian Women’s Weekly’s Children’s Birthday Cake Book, which has been around for almost four decades. For Neve’s first birthday, Jacinda baked our iconic bunny cake, albeit with a few hiccups.
“I may be smiling but about an hour earlier I was not enjoying the first birthday cake making experience (like just about every parent I know!) I recommend cakes that you can legitimately cover in coconut – it hides almost everything. Happy Birthday wee Neve!” she penned at the time.
This is straight-to-the-pool-room good!
“NAILED IT! 🍰I have waited for this moment for so long when I could whip out the Women’s Weekly Kids Cookbook and make my child their birthday cake 😍 (p.s it was rainbow inside 🌈)”
Train cake
Here is the original Train cake pictured in the Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake book.
In 2018, ABC journalist and broadcaster Virginia Trioli revealed she’d made The Weekly‘s classic choo-choo train birthday cake for her son Addison.
“I was Mother of the Year for a full week. My proudest moment,” the former News Breakfast star quipped.
We’re taking the plunge into this epic number! How cute are the vintage Kewpie Dolls?
A for effort! Today Extra presenter Sylvia Jeffreys honed her baking skills in prep for Oscar’s first birthday last year. And while things didn’t go according to plan, we can’t help but commend her for showing us that a cake fail is always worth celebrating (and eating!).
