Birthday’s Birthday’s and Birthday’s they are everyday and someone is celebrating a huge milestone somewhere!  I looooooove birthday’s not just the big party celebration but the reflection of how far I have grown in all things within the last 12 months and lets not forget I love a good CAKE!!!

 

When recently Jamie had his birthday and our son Kory comes to me the day before and says ‘mum, dad is another year wiser tomorrow!’ It truly is amazing when you look at from that perspective.  We become wiser though our emotions and relationships and also in what becomes even more important to us as each year passes.  For our family its family and dear friends and those we love the most and for that we love the gift of spending a time together over a meal. So this year for Jamie I made a double flavour mudcake, vanilla mud on top and chocolate mud on the bottom with a spread of Kosie Country Made Orchard Bliss Jam to sandwich them together and a beautiful chocolate ganache on top with orange sprinkles and served with fresh local cream on the side and was delicious even if I do say so myself.

I hold very fond memories in my heart as a little girl dreaming of what cake mum would cook and decorate for my birthday.  As a January birthday my birthday was celebrated often on the school holidays and with a little get together of friends and the joy especially from that was all the other kids that would come to play on our little 12 acre farm we would enjoy the usual games musical chairs, dancing, pass the parcel and then followed all the wonderful party food that mum would be very busy cooking up the day before, fairy cakes, pink flummery, chocolate crackles, honey joys the list went on and on and it was always a super exciting day.  The grand finale and always my favourite was the birthday cake always a huge amount of excited anticipation of what mum had decorated, as a child I had a Dolly Vardon and number cakes but there was always a little bit of disappointment as I got older about the 2 cakes that I dreamed I would get and never did!

I don’t think any kitchen I certainly knew of was vacant of the Aussie mum’s essential of the 80’s the Australian Woman’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book.  The ultimate fun and fresh cake decorating instruction book that allowed any mum or dad to be a modern day cake decorator easily and adding a bit more fun than just a regular 20cm round sponge cake with smarties on the top (no offence intended to the smartie cake).   I was always flicking through to page 92/93 drooling over the sewing machine and sewing basket cakes, my two favourite things combined into one cake sewing and food!  Unfortunately for me my mum wasn’t able to read my mind and so I never got that cake that I dreamed of!  Now a mum myself and I could well make that cake for myself however the effect wouldn’t be the same.  What I mean is there is a really special feeling about someone else taking the time to either make or purchase you a birthday cake the fact that they took the ‘time’ to make your day special that YOU matter and YOU are very loved.  I know every year Kory and Rosie celebrate their birthday’s I enjoy the challenge of making them a cake of their choosing, that be a Calamity Jane Cowgirl Cake to a Motocross Track.  Now know this I am a home cook and am not ashamed to admit my decorating skills leave a lot to be desired however I know that Kory and Rosie get so excited when they see their cake and then all their little friends crowded around singing Happy Birthday in all different tones and giggling in pure joy! This joy is transformed into the love and friendship that our children enjoy on their special day!  That to me is why we need to enjoy and have Birthday Cake!

So maybe one day I’ll get those cakes from those pages for real or someone may make them for me! In the meantime I will always make  time to make that special someone close to me a cake for their birthday to celebrate the unique extraordinary person they are capturing their passions and tastes and always to sing Happy Birthday! ……as there is no one I know who doesn’t love a good cake!

Love and Kindness through Food Kim x