Photos Kelsey Zafiridis and Yusuke Oba
Words by Jo Walker · Published on 25 Jul 2025
For most Aussies, a quick flip through The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book instantly unlocks childhood memories of sweet treats, backyard parties and endless sugar highs. Plus weeks of pestering Mum and Dad in the lead-up to your birthday that you want the train this year please! Or the duck with chips for a mouth!
Now celebrating 45 years in print, the iconic book and its colourful parade of 1980s bakes has inspired generations of Aussie kids and enthusiastic parents to get into the kitchen and give cake-making a go.
It’s hard to top the originals. But we asked 13 pastry chefs and bakers to share their own tips and recipes for re-creating the cakes, so you can follow along at home while adding pro-level extras to your own nostalgic treats.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
Simple tweaks make this retro (re-)creation accessible to bakers of all skill levels – and just look how cute it is. All you need is a piping bag, a “shag” tip, and some good kitchen vibes. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
This homage keeps the iconic look of the original duck cake (including the all-important chip mouth) and elevates flavour with a recipe for tangy passionfruit Italian meringue. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
The cricket pitch cake is now a cricket pitch tart. Whitton’s detailed recipe talks you through shortcrust pastry-making – plus salted caramel, vanilla custard and chocolate work – for a dessert that will bowl over any sports fan. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
Creepily cute and literally out-of-the-box, this classic cake gets a glow-up with a recipe for sour cream Swiss meringue buttercream – including tips for how to rescue your mix if it splits – and clever decorating ideas with vodka and crackers. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
It’s a toy and a treat in one. This new-age Dolly Varden glams up with an easy recipe for Russian buttercream (that may even rival the Swiss meringue version), plus some simple tricks for piping and decorating. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
This luxe makeover includes recipes for a “magic cake” and egg yolk buttercream, plus homemade pâte de fruits, marshmallow and lollipops for the castle cake of your dreams. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
With a few clever tweaks that are very doable for home bakers, the koala cake gets a glow-up with fresh macadamia gelato filling and organic activated charcoal whipped cream. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
Start your engines. The OG car cake is now fuelled by recipes for chocolate layered ganache cake, vanilla buttercream and homemade marshmallow. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
Goth kids need cakes too. This homage comes with a recipe for scarily good carrot cake with cream cheese buttercream and apricot jam. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
The pig cake you obsessed over as a five-year-old gets a slightly grown-up remake, with a recipe for gluten-free sponge (using rice flour instead of regular wheat) and a classic Swiss buttercream. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Yusuke Oba
A retro throwback made modern with recipes for light vanilla sponge and rich chocolate ganache buttercream. The decorations are where the fun really begins. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
Easy-to-follow tips and tricks take this train cake full steam ahead into 2025. Colourblocked lollies and a little piping are all it takes. Find the full instructions here.
Photo Kelsey Zafiridis
Fall in love again with an old fave. This version adds a few simple tweaks to the original, with a glitzy strawberry coating that mixes dehydrated fruit with edible shimmer dust. Find the full instructions here.
The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book was first published in 1980 and is still in print today. It’s available (RRP $14.95) online, in newsagents or where good books are sold.
This story is part of Broadsheet’s special Nostalgia Issue, presented by Up, documenting food, fashion, culture, travel and tech that makes the past new again.
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