Women’s Weekly birthday cake book returns with limited edition copy

It hit shelves in 1980 and has Jacinda Ardern as a fan – but now the iconic cookbook is returning to shelves with exciting new recipes.

The Australian Women’s Weekly baking handbook has changed the way Aussies celebrate kids’ birthdays.

It hit shelves back in 1980 with 106 different cakes modelled after everything a child could dream of, from rocket ships to colourful animals.

To celebrate 40 years since it was first published, a special 40th anniversary edition and is being released and it is expected to be a joyful stroll down memory lane with all of the traditional favourites.

The original has earned many fans, with the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently shared her recreation of the much-loved “piano” cake with her Instagram followers.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shows off her baking skills with a recreation of the Women’s Weekly iconic ‘piano’ cake for her daughter Neve. Picture: Instagram/JacindaArden

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“Cake making lesson number two – don’t focus on making the cake look in proportion with little to no attention on structural integrity … there is a jar of lentils propping this thing up,” she said as she wished her two-year-old daughter Neve a happy birthday.

It appears to be a tradition for the PM who previously made the bunny cake from the classic recipe book for Neve’s first birthday.

Now there’s plenty more animal-themed cakes to choose from when the new limited edition book hits shelves on August 16.

Not bad at all Jacinda! She made another cake from the book last year for Neve’s first birthday. Picture: Instagram/JacindaArden

The book will feature more than 50 recipes with five themed sections – animals and creatures, playtime, numbers, for everyone and fantasy – along with a bunch of decoration ideas, icings and frostings.

Author Pamela Clark said the book put birthdays on the map for kids, but its birth wasn’t just one quick and easy moment.

“We racked our brains and tried to think of just about everything that a child would have been interested in,” she told the ABC in 2018.

“In fact, in that book there are 106. We wouldn’t do that number of cakes in any kid’s cake book now. We broke a lot of rules making those cakes.”

This 40th-anniversary limited edition will hit stores from August 17.

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She told the publication one of the most important cakes for the book, is the “train cake”.

“And that book is often referred to as the book with the train on the cover. The train is a labour of love, let me tell you,” Ms Clark said.

“It’s just become an iconic cake in Australia.”

From The Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book (1980). “Imagine the look on their faces.” @70s_party pic.twitter.com/64aZikUF2p

— Sarah Dempster (@Dempster2000) March 4, 2019

Sally Eagle, general manager of publishing for Bauer Media, said the cookbook has been a part of family birthday traditions for more than four decades and they’re excited to bring back this special edition.

“Not only celebrate the incredible imaginations behind this cookbook but also to keep the tradition alive for future generations,” Ms Eagle said.

This 40th-anniversary limited edition will be available for $19.99 from newsagents and supermarkets from Monday, August 17 and in bookstores from Tuesday, August 18, while stocks last.