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The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book

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The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book
Cover of the 1980 edition
AuthorMaryanne Blacker, Pamela Clark
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks
SubjectBirthday cakes
Published
  • 1980 first edition, ACP
  • 2011 "Vintage edition", ACP
Publication placeAustralia
Pages128
ISBN0949892742

The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book (also known as The AWWCBCB) is a recipe book focused on children's-themed birthday cakes published as part of the The Australian Women's Weekly magazine cookbook series by Australian Consolidated Press, written by Maryanne Blacker and Pamela Clark. First published in 1980, and re-released in 2011, it has become an "Australian cult classic"[1] and a "publishing phenomenon".[2] Between its launch in 1980 and its relaunch in 2011, the book sold more than 1 million copies, despite having been out of print for a significant portion of that period.[1][2]

During the 70s and 80s, The Australian Women's Weekly was among the highest-selling magazines in Australia and published a wide range of cake decorating, recipe and meal idea book and magazine titles.

Themes and designs

Child blowing out candle on the brown bear cake (1986)

There are 108 themed cakes appearing in the original edition, "largely composed of packet butter cake mix, Vienna cream icing and lollies".[3] The cover illustration is of the "train cake", for which it became synonymous — the cookbook is sometimes referred to as "the book with the train on the cover".[4][2][5] Some of the more well-known are:[6][7]

Publication history

Recreation of the "train cake"
Credit: Ginger Gorman
External videos
video icon Pamela Clark demonstrates how to make "The train cake"[8]

Clarke was inspired to create the cookbook after creating a tyrannosaurus-cake for a neighbour in 1978, but despite this inspiration, no dinosaur-themes cakes were included in the eventual publication.[3] The first edition was printed in 1980 and a "vintage" edition of the book was published in 2011[1] - being reprinted four times in the first six months with initial sales of 100,000 copies.[2] As of 2015, the 2011 edition is in the circulating collection of over 40 public libraries across the country[9] while the original edition (in various reprints) remains in circulation in 27.[10] Four of the original recipes featuring cartoon characters were removed from the 2011 edition due to the publisher no longer having a license.[2] First editions can sell on eBay for 12 times their original price.[1]

Influence

Australian demographer Bernard Salt has suggested that the book modernised and "grandified" children's birthday party culture in Australia.[11] Despite the low culinary quality of the featured cakes (the recipes use cake mix) their appealing decorative effects have garnered the book a nostalgic cult following including social media fan groups and projects to reproduce each cake.[7] In 2009, stand-up comedian Josh Earl included reference to the "train cake" in his routine. The segment was so popular he expanded it and the following year launched Josh Earl vs. the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book,[12] a show that continued through to 2015.[13] In 2016 all 107 cakes were baked and sold for a Canberra charity to raise money to support women with post- and ante-natal depression.[14][15]

References

Recreation of the "rubber ducky" cake
Credit: Donnie Gomez
  1. ^ a b c d Gorman, Ginger (11 March 2015). "'The best book ever written in this country'". News.com.au.
  2. ^ a b c d e Boland, Michela (25 July 2011). "Fond memories make original cake book the best". The Australian. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b Gorman, Ginger (6 May 2016). "How 'the greatest book ever written in this country' came about". News.com.au. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  4. ^ "Is this the best book ever?". The Australian Women's Weekly. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Australian Women's Weekly Childrens Birthday Cakes (Vintage Edition) Recipe Book". Shop Online. Harvey Norman. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. ^ Yankovich, Gyan (12 March 2015). "The Definitive Ranking Of Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cakes". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b flickettysplits. "Cake It To The Limit". Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  8. ^ "The Australian Women's Weekly Train Cake". YouTube. The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  9. ^ "2011, English, Book, Illustrated edition: Children's birthday cake book / food editor Pamela Clark. Australian Women's Weekly". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  10. ^ "2001, 1980, English, Book, Illustrated edition: Children's birthday cake book". Trove. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  11. ^ Salt, Bernard (6 July 2013). "Fairy bread to Facebook". The Australian.
  12. ^ Healey, Madeline (29 March 2013). "Regent comedian Josh Earl uses iconic cake book as material for show". Herald Sun. News Ltd. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  13. ^ Bailey, John (16 February 2015). "Josh Earl's cake inspired comedy show still on a sugar high". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  14. ^ Reinfrank, Alkira (7 May 2016). "Women's Weekly children's birthday cake-off goes on display". ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  15. ^ "Baking all 104 cakes from the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book". Radio National. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
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