Kristin McKinnon won for the cake most like the original. Photo: Kristin McKinnon.
The Australian Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book has been a staple of childhood celebrations since it was first published in the 1980s. Flipping through the pages and choosing a cake is a special moment for any child, and many of the cakes within have become instantly recognisable.
One particular cake is having a moment in the sun after featuring in an episode of Bluey – the ‘duck cake’. And Floriade has jumped on board with a competition for Canberra’s cake makers and a garden bed celebrating this much-loved childhood icon.
The duck cake was also featured with a floral display in the Celebration Bed at Floriade: best viewed from the top of the Ferris wheel!
With separate categories for kids and adults, judges scored the cakes on different criteria. Some cakes aimed to be carbon copies of the picture in the book, while others had gone wild with their own (Floriade-inspired) decorations.
Floriade’s celebration bed was planted out as the iconic Women’s Weekly duck cake. Photo: Floriade.
The entries were judged by Beth Madden, a Canberra Show Cookery Steward, Cake Decorator and Country Women’s Association member and renowned Canberra chef Malcolm Hanslow (of Pilot Restaurant and Such and Such).
Mal was something of an accidental addition to the judging panel; he was at Floriade for a cooking demo and happened to be chatting to one of his staff about the Women’s Weekly cakes when staff asked him to join the fun!
“I thought it would be a cool dessert to do at Pilot when we have birthdays, but I haven’t got round to it yet,” he told Region.
“It was really fun, and everyone put in so much effort and did such a good job. The judging was actually really difficult!”
Mal said he’s feeling extra inspired to add some birthday cakes to the menu.
Penny Gibbons remembers choosing her own birthday cake from the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book. Photo: Penny Gibbons.
Kristin McKinnon won the 18+ category for ‘Likeness to the Original’.
“The duck cake is a classic, but also a cake I would not normally choose to make due to its structural instability. The competition was a nice opportunity to make a cake purely for looks, and it meant I could use a lot of bamboo sticks to keep it all upright!”
“I have never seen it made before this past weekend, but I can see the appeal. It’s cheerful, instantly recognisable, and a good challenge.”
Second-place winner Penny Gibbons recalls the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book from her childhood: “I remember choosing the piano. My brother had the castle and the train,” she told Region.
“Bluey has had a big influence on the popularity of the cake. With good reason, it’s a great episode. But the whole book deserves to have its moment. It’s important to celebrate Aussie classics, and the duck cake has such a distinctive and fun look.”
For the record, this Canberra food writer had the castle cake, and we were also a big Dolly Varden cake family (look it up – IYKYK).
Floriade’s program this year includes lots of chef-led demonstrations and special appearances. Mal will be doing another cooking demonstration from 1 to 2 pm on 6 October.
