My parents used to make or organise pretty cool birthday cakes in the 90s, mostly involving my favourite figures at the time as cake toppers or following some classic designs from magazines at the time. Here’s a collection of photos of my birthday cakes over the years. If anyone has any photos of their cool cakes they’d like to contribute, please send them in and I’ll add them to the end.
My 1st Birthday – Chocolate Cake
Here I am at what I imagine was a very small family party, with my dad behind me and my mum’s parents on either side. Due to COVID-19 outbreaks, my son Charlie had a very similar 1st birthday at my parent’s house. I wish we’d recreated this picture!
My Second Birthday? A Snake?
I am assuming this is my 2nd birthday and that the cake is a snake. It’s quite confusing really. This was at my creche in Malvern.
2nd Birthday – Australian Women’s Weekly Cake Book’s Train Cake
The train from the cover of Australian’ Women’s Weekly’s Children’s Birthday Cake Book is a truly iconic Australian birthday cake. Since its publishing in 1980, I’m sure just about every Australian who was here in the 80s or 90s has encountered one of these majestic cakes.
Also, note the hideous vinyl green kitchen chairs that we used to have.
My 4th Birthday – Snow White Cake
This cake featured little plastic trees and plastic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves cake toppers. I kept these toys and whilst very cheap in quality, they might be around somewhere still. Most of the accessories broke off over time such as the shovels.
7th Birthday – Duplo / Gem Stone Theme
When I was around 7, I was really into gemstones and fossils. Here is a cake representing a dig site with edible shiny lollies. There are also real gemstones on the cake. The Lion King tablecloth is pretty cool, this must have been at a birthday party.
Damn my fashion was terrible, a Lion King t-shirt with a vest over it. The hideous green kitchen chairs have now been reupholstered into another hideous green fabric.
7th Birthday Continued – Toy Dinosaur Cake
Here’s another cake for my 7th birthday on my actual birthday after school. This is a dinosaur-themed cake and you can see I got a pewter dragon statue and an amethyst cluster as presents.
Kitchen Sink Cake at the Great Australian Ice Creamery
The most iconic ice cream shop Werribee has ever had, the Great Australian Ice Creamery (RIP) had a special dish for birthdays, a kitchen sink! I believe this had one of every scoop in it, as well as waffle cone pieces and little Australian flags.
9th Birthday – Goosebumps Cake
This is actually one of my favourite cakes, mum used to go to a place that did great jelly artwork on cakes and here’s the cover of the Goosebumps book Ghost Beach, which is not actually one I recall the story of. This birthday party was at Rainbow Park, a playground at the Werribee Plaza.
My 11th birthday? Star Wars Micromachines on a Coles/Woolworths Mud Cake
I decorated this myself and shoved a whole bunch of Star Wars Micro Machines on top of a cheap mud cake from a supermarket. I still love Star Wars Micro Machines.
12th birthday – Something Boring
I guess this is the point where I stopped getting fun cakes.
