Did you have a birthday cake every year as a child? How old are you now? Was it homemade or bought?

[Pinklightning]

I was reading the thread about Dermot not eating the caterpillar cake and it’s got me thinking. I don’t like chocolate roll type cakes and never have. They taste like chemicals and disappointment. However, I think I might be holding a grudge against them because I never had one as a child. I can remember 2 birthday cakes in my lifetime and I’m 49. One my mum had someone make for my birthday when I appear to have had a party at around age 4 or 5. It was a chocolate cake basket filled with Dolly mixtures. The second one was for my 21st birthday and made by the local cake shop. I think my grandparents might have paid for it.

I didn’t have parties as a child. I can remember only one where I hid from my friends at first. I was diagnosed autistic last year which explains that one. My parents struggled financially but I just don’t think we were a party family. Perhaps that’s why there was a lack of birthday cakes even though my mum baked cakes for cake sales and her cakes were always lovely.

My own children have had a homemade cake every year. Decorated in the theme of whatever they are most into at the time. Some rather ambitious like a three-tiered Disney Fairies cake for DD’s birthday. For her first birthday she had one made by the same shop that made my 21st cake and it was dry and didn’t go very far whilst costing a fortune so I vowed to always make one each year.

Did you have a birthday cake every year? Do you remember them? Were they homemade? Do you dc have a birthday cake each year?

I think I might be hungry and a bit obsessed with cake this morning! I’m making a chocolate fudge cake later for Easter and having given up chocolate for lent I’m quite looking forward to a slice tomorrow.

I don’t feel deprived by the way, because I didn’t have birthday cakes as a child. Our family just didn’t really do them. My sister had a fancy one for her 21st made by my lovely Nana who was an amazing baker. Lots of royal icing which was the only bit I’d eat because it was fruit cake. That was back in the 80s.

Have things changed now and children have more birthday parties so therefore more cakes?

So many cake questions but the final one: what was your favourite birthday cake?

Thank you for indulging my Saturday morning cake musings.

Yes, well I presume so, there's photos of some. Always homemade and some with fantastic decorations. My mum was great baker. I'm in my 40s. She's made some for my kids now too

@PGmicstand

Ah that brings back memories :)

Several / many years ago, I had my 30th birthday cake from there and I had them make a cake for my Father's 70th ( neither were ' numbers ' cakes, but can't remember what they were ) and took it on a train to Glasgow.

It’s lovely to read all your stories about cakes but saddened by some stories too. Childhoods are often difficult things.

Yep - always homemade and decorated to some theme or other.
My children (13 and 11) have always had similar, atterly just decorated with chocolate icing and tonnes of sweet but ALWAYS homemade.

I would never consider buying a celebration cake but I realise that I have the luxury of time, ability to make cakes, and desire to make cakes!

I had the jane asher 7 dwarves cake for my 7th birthday and I did the same one for my daughter on hers. It looks like this (

I don’t remember, almost certainly not.

I make the same cake for my dc every birthday - it’s nigella’s basic chocolate cake pimped up with smarties - they love it and would never accept anything else. Unfortunately their birthdays are very close together, so we get lots of chocolate cake for a bit and then none for the rest of the year.

I had a cake every year to blow out the candles on but only ever a couple of “proper” made cakes. They were usually the supermarket ones with balloons on & some jam in the middle. Think a couple of years there was just a plain victoria sponge in a box nothing fancy & not home made but always something. The “bigger” cakes were birthday party years.

my kids have a cake every year. Few home made but not fancy (just a sponge or choc sponge & icing & sweets or sprinkles) some i’ve ordered again mainly birthday party ones. Few costco cakes as well otherwise just supermarket ones they’ve chosen as they do the job. Past couple of years it’s been a big millies cookie they’ve chosen. My daughter had an asda photo cake one year. I’m not a baker so i’m not confident & the sponges or cupcakes are my limit & ok for family but not if a bigger party & people coming. I have twins & always a cake each too to sing happy birthday individually!

No i never had a birthday cake or party at all throughout my childhood. infact I think i was 40 before I had my first ever birthday cake which was just a small supermarket bought cake.im now late 40s. my own dcs have had a cake for every birthday

I always had a cake as a child. My Mum was a chef and made celebratory cakes as a side hustle but we were always taken to the local bakers to choose one. Round, square or a number … I suppose she just didn’t have the time for non paying clientele 😂 Having my own DDs I usually had a cake made for them. I still do. They’re seventeen and fifteen now. The skill of some of these bakers is off the scale! The latest was a ‘Tom Cruise coconut Bundt cake’. It was off the scale delicious!!!

As a small child (1970s!) they were home made - fave one being a Noah's Ark made out of oblong madeira sponges icing and Cadbury's chocolate animal shaped biscuits - it was SO cool! Similar shaped ones followed as Beach chalets etc! many many years later for my 40th I had a stonking great chocolate Louis Vuitton handbag shaped one...but every time now they;re bought from the bakery. I live overseas now and the bakeries do far more cakes 'to go' !

My mum always got us a cake from Firkins. They were so nice and I've never had any the same since. Firkins closed down early 2000s. They had branches over the midlands and north.

we had birthday cakes every year, home made even if we were not having a party. Not sure when m stopped, probably when I was 21.

my kids have also had a home made cake every year, again, even if they don’t have a party we do a cake with candles.

We didn’t have cake, instead mum bought a Vienetta and we had that. No candles or singing that was our after dinner treat. Presents in the morning if it was a week day dad wouldn’t see the present opening.

Now we do a cake every year for our kids, I’ve stopped when kids moved out. A combination of shop bought, home made and on special birthdays a bakery one.

Yeh, my mam baked a victoria sponge with jam in middle dusted with icing sugar most years for us as I remember. No decorating other than that. My mother didn't go for themes n fancy decorating n such!

I never had a cake as a child - well maybe one or two but can’t actually remember. I’ve made one for my 2 children every year and they are now 14 and 16. I can’t do fancy themed cakes but I bake a nice sponge sandwich cake and it’s decorated with homemade chocolate fudge icing and cover in chocolates they like - for example, Malteasers, Minstrels, buttons etc. It’s a tradition now and they look forward to it 😊 Birthdays weren’t a big deal as a child so I like to make a fuss of their special days.

Shop bought cakes are 1000% better now than in the 1980s. If Colin had been an option, I’m sure mum would’ve given us one some years

Yes I had a cake every year my mom made them and they were so bad lol at least she tried. I grew up to be cake artist and now have my own storefront bakery so I guess cakes were a big deal in my life 😊

Definitely had a cake every year, always home made. My mum was borderline professional at cake decorating (at one point she did sell her cakes but realised she was working for about £1 an hour so stopped) and could make whatever we asked for - Disney characters, spot the dog, bikes, power rangers!

I have felt the need to continue this tradition despite not having her talent!! Some years end up making two cakes 🤦‍♀️ one for the day and one for the party, though I do say one is just cake with icing not a themed one. Unfortunately both my kids birthdays are in the same month so I’m very over it by the time I’ve made 4…

Always have a cake for my children and I remember having birthday cakes when I was a child as well. Sometimes homemade, sometimes bought.

recently taken to buying a plain iced shop cake and then decorating it myself in whatever theme my kids want. It’s a bit of cheat, saves time and money and honestly I’m a rubbish baker so probably tastes better. Last one was a Minecraft cake.

I never had a birthday cake. I received a birthday card but nothing else most years. I do remember, and still have, a necklace my mother gave me when I was 13. It's a silver coloured metal and I suspect was a freebie. The only other birthday present was a gold locket for my 18th.

Always had a birthday cake. Sometimes 2 - one for the party and one for actual birthday with family. I'm pretty sure I had some sort of party every year until 18, even if it was just cake at home then going to the cinema with friends after. The cakes were homemade for parties (and elaborately decorated) but simple chocolate cake for at home with family. Once mum went back to work there were some Tesco bought cakes, but I was the youngest so my older sibling always had home-made. I've done similar with my children but less parties.

I'm 39 and my mum always made birthday cakes for us. She had a book of cakes and we used to choose the one we wanted. I had a rabbit for my 6th birthday, and my 10th was in the shape of a calculator! My sister got a castle shaped one and I remember a boot shaped cake, though I don't know if I'm remembering the picture or if she actually made that one. I don't have any kids, but if I did I'd definitely be making the birthday cakes, probably not to mum's standard, though!

I'm 47 and my mum had a cake for all our birthdays (4 dcs) throughout childhood. She never baked so they were shop bought, but from ethnic bakeries (from our background) not supermarkets. But sometimes quite simple undecorated cakes. We were poor (benefits, council estate, very low wages before min wage existed poor) but mum never skimped on food. We never had big parties with hired halls etc but once or twice we had some at-home parties.

Even as adults, if we have a family dinner close to a family birthday, she'll buy a cake.

Yes, I’m 46 and have had a birthday cake every year of my life. As a kid they were a mixture of shop bought and home made. A couple of times for big birthdays I had a professional one- for my 18th I had one decorated like a Beatles record! One year (I think I was 9/10) someone made a buttercream one that looked like a typewriter. My favourite ever. As an adult they are usually shop bought, although I occasionally make my own.
We always make a huge deal about birthdays in my family.

I’m 45, I had a homemade cake every year. My mum had done a cake decorating course at the local college so she made some extravagant ones, then often got asked by other parents to make for their kids after they saw mine 😂 She’d also hand round her baking books and kids would choose from there. As I got older we were usually on holiday for my birthday (August) so I’d have one from a local shop on holiday and a homemade one at my party.
I now love baking and decorating so my daughter gets a handmade one every year (Costco for her party) in whatever theme she’s interested in. My mum will still make cakes if we’re around 😂 I also make cakes for my stepkids and other people in the family as I enjoy it.