Making your own Birthday Cake...

My nephew Mayson had a Spiderman party for his 3rd birthday in 2007 and I ended up in charge of the cake. First time I had ever used one of those character cake tins, you know with the nice lines on the tin showing where all the different colours go when icing it? Well let me tell you when the cake was baked there was no lines on it and I was baffled about what I did wrong. How was I supposed to know where all the lines went on his face now? So, I had to wing it and let’s just say that’s easier said than done, who would think it would be so hard to draw a spider web?

“Oh Kate, that’s a lovely dinosaur” says my Grandma. The tears of frustration and embarrassment flowed then and I spent a lot of the party sulking and finding a hidden meaning behind people asking, “Who made the cake” or saying “great cake”.

But you know what, when that silly old cake was brought out Mayson was grinning from ear to ear yelling “bider man, bider man”. He knew it was Spiderman and not a dinosaur, so ultimately that was all that mattered wasn’t it, because it was his special day

Parties are supposed to be fun and they are about the birthday boy or girl and in the long run they aren’t going to remember how much you spent on the cake, whether you’re icing colours were right or whether Spiderman really did look like a dinosaur. So now I just try to have fun with it, try my hardest and overlook the imperfections. After all, kids are only going to remember the fun they had and the love that mum and dad put into making their day special, wonky birthday cake and all!

Some tips from me, all basic but even the simplest things can sometimes be forgotten …

- Plan your cake in advance and make sure you have all your ingredients and equipment organised. (Extra ingredients are always handy ,just in case)

- Let your child help you make their cake. Ethan, my oldest is only 2 but he loves to help, he puts on his apron, pours in the milk and lays out the patty pans if we are doing cupcakes and he cant wait till he is old enough to finally be allowed to do the eggs. Kids love to help and even the smallest of jobs make them feel proud and special, and the look on their face once they see what ‘they’ have made is always worth it.

- Be mindful of allergies and if you are having children from your child’s school or sporting group double check with their parents if they haven’t advised you already, just to be on the safe side.

- Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. Get tips from cake books, the internet or ask at a cake decorating shop.

- Don’t get frustrated or aim for perfection. It doesn’t matter if you use a packet mix instead of a recipe or if you create something from the good old Women’s Day Cake book rather than a 5 tiered original masterpiece. Laugh at the imperfections, just have fun!

- Oh, and lastly always remember to grease your cake pan!

So don’t be afraid to give it a go Mums and Dads and hey if all really does fail, who doesn’t love a choccy mud cake from Woolies

Kate x

A few of my cakes and some others submitted by some lovely mummies via our Facebook fan page. Thank you to all those who shared their cakes with us xx