Fly away home

When I was very little, my mother shelled out the grand sum of $4.98* on a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book**. In the thirty-odd years since then, it has well and truly justified the cost. Even today, she still lends it out to friends seeking simple but effective birthday cake ideas (and not just for children).

Anyway, it was my birthday yesterday and so I was fêted with a family birthday dinner. After which: "I've made a cake from the book," announced my mother. "It's a ladybird. Don't be frightened."

Now, I like ladybirds. Even if I didn't, I don't think I'd be frightened of them. They're just about the cutest insects ever. But I saw what she meant when she bought the cake out; I think it's the yellow Smartie eyes.

( The gold stars are candles, by the way. )

For all that, it was a very tasty cake.

My childhood attempts at cakes always involved food colouring. Why cover a cake with lemon icing when you can cover it with lemon icing coloured purple? My mother disagreed with this policy; she was not at all keen on eating green patty cakes with blue icing. So I was particularly touched by the lurid pink icing on the ladybird.




* The price is printed on the cover.
** We're apparently not the only family who still treasures our copy. We've had the farmyard shown on that page too. And the castle. And the swimming pool cake mentioned in the text. And the train on the cover...