Birthday Cake Study

Our study this week, the week before Lewi turns 11, has had a birthday theme. Our resources: The good old Women's Weekly Cake books!

Every year Lewi dusts these  books off and studies them, painfully trying to decide which one he'd like me to make for his birthday. I used to do this too. So did my brother, Josh. Then my little brother and sister did it. It's such a tradition in our lives. I even have the original copy that we grew up with, complete with oil stains from dribbling chocolate and creamed butter and sugar from a bygone era.

Most times though, in this new and modern era of me creating a childhood for my own, we've ended up doing something completely different to the books. Lewi often seems to have some other creative idea up his sleeve, something to cause me pain and heart ache and much, much stress.

Take his 2nd birthday for example. A fan cake that could actually spin {thank you to the lovely person who leant us their lazy Susan for the day}. His first birthday was a number 1, straight out of the original Women's Weekly cake book.Then there was the fire truck for his 3rd birthday and a monster truck for his 4th {both with bright red icing!}. His 5th birthday was a whale shark. His 6th a weird dragon scene with blue icing {big failure!}. 7th was a piñata cake  {I had to call in help as it was not going to happen ~ thank you for that, Lynda!}. 8th was an aquarium, another one from the original Women's Weekly book - we converted the swimming pool  into an aquarium complete with sharks and rays!. His 9th was a number 9 in cupcakes topped with chocolate aniseed rings {Lewi's favourite lolly} and the big 10, last year, was a Mario Kart racing scene.

So, on looking through the years, all the study Lewi has done on these cake books has not really produced many replica cakes. His creative flair has led him on a tangent and given me many  pre-birthday cake making nightmares. This year, however, it looks like I am in luck. Phew! {I so hope I'm not kidding myself}. Lewi has chosen the echidna icecream cake in book no# 2. It looks easy. {Have you ever muttered those words to find yourself regretting you ever said them? I so hope this is not one of those times}. And he's happy for it to look exactly like the one in the book. YAH!!!!!!!

Here it is...  It's just icecream put into a metal bowl and re-frozen. Then it's taken out and it's head is covered with ice magic. Then you plonk those TV biscuits into it's back and sprinkle shaved chocolate over the top. The nose is a jam roll covered in more Ice Magic and the eyes are good old smarties. The biggest problem is going to be making room in my overly crammed  freezer for this little fella to sit patiently waiting for the big cut.

I'm so happy! An icecream cake at last. I never had one as a kid. I always wanted one though. I have been to some kidlets parties at McDonald's where they have icecream birthday cakes. They are truly disgusting little things ~ the cake that is.

Please wish me well!

 

Did you study these books when you were a kid? Which cakes did you have?