Am I a Bad Mummy? Bad Birthday Cake

Shhhh! It’s Mummy here. This is a secret. I have just made GG’s birthday cake. It has taken most of today, starting with the purchase of several packets of sweets for embellishment, and ending with a covert evening of eating decorating – what cake? Me, making a cake? No – why? The cake of choice came from Australian Women’s Weekly Kids Party Cakes and is supposed to look like this:

Women's Weekly Candy Train

Well, not living in Australia, I don’t have access to Life-savers, nor do I know what a lamington is, but I bought every kind of sweet available that looked vaguely promising, before discovering Fruit Polos – who knew they still sold those? Here is how mine looks:

My Candy Train

Thing is, GG had the idea that we could make a jelly-bean-stuffed lamington for each party guest. I was up for that until she invited 21 friends. So I have made it according to the script in the book – it is fortuitous that there are 7 – one for each candle. To get round this problem, the guests will see, but not eat this cake. I have bought a Morrison’s tray cake to wrap in napkins and send home – does that make me a bad Mum?

Will she like it? Will it be ok? Will it be worth the aching back, the sugar-sweats I am in for tonight after consuming all the spare sweets. Will she be disappointed that her friends will not each take home a little carriage of their own? Worse – will her friends judge her for my lack of perseverence?

Will I survive the party?

😕

PS: I debated the title for this post for a while. I really wanted to call it ‘Am I a Bad Mum?’, but when I googled it I came up with this: Am I a Bad Mum? Check it out – you will see that we are all bloody amazing parents by comparison! 

24 thoughts on “Am I a Bad Mummy? Bad Birthday Cake”

  1. I think your cake looks great, the one on the picture above is way too perfect and probably airbrushed, Photoshoped and not even made from cake 🙂 And I am sure that your daughter will forgive you for not sending home a carriage per guest in the party bags … especially when she realizes that she still has all the cake to eat herself! Enjoy the party! x

    Reply
    • True – more sweets for us! *groans*
      Like the idea that the cake is not made from cake. Am thinking about crafting a dummy cake for next year – I could get years out of it!

      Reply
  2. Your cake is beautiful! I’m very impressed. I think the tray bake is a great idea and I’m sure GG will want to admire the ‘real’ birthday cake for as long as possible. Enjoy the party!

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  3. by the time they get their cake home they won’t be able to tell whether it’s a lamington carriage or a slice of Morrisons tray cake anyway! I love the cake…well done
    x

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  4. Wonderful cake! Now, I feel shamed into actually making a cake for Mstr5’s upcoming birthday…or maybe not. Our local bakery does much tastier cakes than I could ever manage and my kids are not fussed as long as there IS cake.

    Just followed that link and OMG is all I can say about that.

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  5. Woo hoo! The cake is amazing and the bought cake was a stroke of genius if you ask me. I am sure that it will all go down a storm.

    Argh! I followed the Am I a bad mum link. Oh dear.

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  6. I wish I hadn’t read this now I know what I’ll be missing out on for my afternoon tea today! I never heard of Lamingtons before but now I desperately want one, especially if it’s stuffed with Jelly beans… I vote bad mummy 😉

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  7. LOVE the cake, well done! As an Aussie, I grew up with being able to choose a cake from that cookbook each year so now I feel obliged to do the same for Sun each birthday. Last year I did the other train in the book and found myself in Morrisons trying to work out if laces would substitute for the Australian sweets. A whole new education for me. I was just about to do a post on his cake this year as his birthday is 4 weeks away and this year I wanted to get my mum to post over the right sweets. I’m rapidly running out of time – bad mother here too then 😉
    I bet GG will love it! Enjoy her birthday!

    Reply
    • Great idea! I will remember to put an order in with you around August time next year! Then GG will no doubt change her mind. Have you ever done the carousel? That bad boy took me 5 hours to decorate!

      Reply
      • Yes I have done the carousel too! A lot of ribbon that got in the way of the munching wasn’t there? And my horses were rather sad cut-outs, which I think let the whole thing down aesthetically-speaking 🙂
        I’ll happily put in an order with my Mum for your stock next year, she loves a mission and would be very happy knowing she’s helping another child experience one of the AWW cakes.

        Reply
  8. your wondering if not sending home home made cake to guests makes you abad mum?! oh heck theres no hope for me then I simply am the worst cake maker lol
    As for will her friends min, no i doubt they will ntoice, will you surive the party on the other hand humm i hope so!

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  9. Well I wasn’t expecting THAT from that link, thought it would be some too good perfect mummy making a too perfect birthday cake and harping on about the virtues of it…. Any mum that spends the time to organise a kids party with cake – bought or homemade – is a BRILLIANT mum, end of. I’ve worked with kids where their parents don’t even remember it’s their kids birthdays!!!

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  10. I was hungry for some of that cake until I followed the link you put in the post. I may just have had to battle the urge to be sick in my mouth. The cake looks very pretty though. I think you have definitely proved your brilliant mum credentials!

    Reply
  11. totally sympathise with your cake traumas (been there) but love that train! well done you. I have an Australian womens thingy cake book – don’t use it as I don’t get the cups thing??
    You’re hosting a party, you made a cake – you brought another cake for party bags because you cake – are you a bad mother? Nah! not on your nelly! enjoy the party

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  12. it looks really nice! I havent had Lamingtons, but my Aussie friends all love them so am sure this was great. and well done on making something with so many components!

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  13. Reading this post brought back memories. My grandmother has an archaic version of the book you talk about and I remember having a version of the very same cake when I was younger. I wonder if she still has it?

    It looks FAB by the way.

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  14. Are you a bad mum? No of course not. Silly thing! The ones on that website though – are a different matter. Scary.

    Hope you all have a fab party.

    Reply
  15. Bleurgh! I have a basset hound that likes to eat horse pooh and that’s bad enough!
    Great looking cake by the way! Brings back memories of my mum baking me the wtiches cottage from Hansel and Gretel as a child 🙂

    Reply
  16. The cake is amazing, well done! You’re hosting a party, you made a cake – you brought another cake for party bags because you cake – are you a bad mother? Well I wasn’t expecting THAT from that link, thought it would be some too good perfect mummy making a too perfect birthday cake and harping on about the virtues of it…. A whole new education for me.

    Reply

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