Sponsored by nuffnang
Mister Monster. Mister Monster. Without a doubt the most memorable cake from my childhood. Perhaps not the most predicable cake choice for a pre-teen girl, but I didn’t care. There was something venerable about Mister Monster that appealed to me. Looking at the image of the cake as I type this, gives me a warm sense of belonging as I remember a time when I felt incredibly special and loved.
As was tradition during my growing-up years, in the upcoming weeks before each birthday, I would spend hours flicking through the pages of the iconic 1980 Woman’s Weekly Birthday Cakes Book in search for the cake to express myself for that year. And Mr Monster was it for me. To this day, it’s the cake I remember loving the most. Ah, the memories!
From my own experience, cakes play a special part in creating special memories for marked events in time like birthdays, Christmas and family get-togethers on Mother’s/Father’s Day, and I continue the tradition of picking cakes with my own family. We rarely eat dessert so this makes a sweet masterpiece even more special!
When it comes to choosing a dessert for family get-togethers, like Mother’s Day, I look for a dessert to (hopefully) please everyone. If it were up to my husband, he would be overjoyed (ridiculously thrilled) with a big tub of good quality ice-cream. The kids like the prettiness of a gorgeous cake; that wow factor. And me? I like a proper dessert, so not just ice-cream, and not just cake, but a combination of both…and a bit of cream too please?
Our family LOVES Baskin-Robbins ice-cream, so when I was offered the opportunity to try one of their new premium cakes, I thought it would be interesting to road test it as a dessert idea for our next big family get-together. Not the most difficult thing I’ve had to do in my life…and my family were very willing participants in this review. You’re welcome.
You know, I hadn’t thought about ice-cream cakes before to be honest. Often, a cheesecake is the fall back when we have many people to feed. Well goodness me…my-oh-my-oh-my I’m so impressed. Seriously, it’s like an all-in-one crown pleaser! I picked out the Praline Berry Spleandour cake and it was a winner on every level: there’s the definite wow factor (I mean, just look at it!), and there’s chocolate, and berries, and rich thick icing, and cake, and ice-cream! Plus it’s huge! Plenty to feed a crowd!
Two words: SIMPLY SMASHING!
May the cake-picking-tradition to celebrate the togetherness of family and friends long continue. It feels like I should put an Amen at the end there. So, Amen.
Giveaway
I couldn’t put this delicious review up without offering a giveaway! Since, it’s Mother’s Day soon, this is what’s up for grabs:
1 x premium cake from Baskin-Robbins valued at $50
10 x $20 Baskin-Robbins gift vouchers for the runner ups to enjoy on ice-cream at their local Baskin Robbins restaurant
So that’s 11 prizes!
To Enter
Share with me your own favourite cake memory in the comments below.
Terms & Conditions: Giveaway open from 4 May 2013 to 10 May, 2013. Read the full set of T & Cs here.
Check it out & Share
To view the full range of Baskin-Robbins Mother’s Day ice cream cakes, check local restaurant details or order your very own signature, premium or custom ice cream cake visit www.baskinrobbins.com.au
Share pictures of your own cake using the hashtag #mums4cake
81 Comments
Nicole Grant
May 4, 2013 at 6:29 pmI had an ice cream cake for my 7th birthday. By far my fave!
Rachel Willey
May 4, 2013 at 10:19 pmMy mother had the exact same Women’s Weekly Cake Book growing up, and I can remember always admiring the Piano Cake (I learnt piano) but was never game enough to ask for it, because it looked so complicated. I think it was my 13th Birthday, I finally asked, and was so surprised when Mum actually made it for me. I too, remember feeling so special that I was worth all that time and effort. My mum has now passed the Cake Book on to me, but I’m afraid to say it has not been out of hiding from amongst the recipe books, but this year, I think that will have to change! Thanks for this post Kelly, it brought back a lot of happy memories!
Ashley C
May 4, 2013 at 11:57 pmOne year my mom made a banana split cheese cake that was delicious! I want to try making it myself just for fun 🙂
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
Mary Preston
May 5, 2013 at 10:31 amAll my life my Mother has made me a light fruit cake with pink icing & red glace cherries for my birthday.
One year when my brother’s birth was imminent I did not think it was going to happen.
It just turns out that while I was at school my Mother found the energy to get baking.
Forget the baby, that cake meant more to me at the time. Not EVERYTHING had to be about the baby. My Mother understood that. Mothers are very cool people!!
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Judy Crawford
May 5, 2013 at 11:08 amOne year my mum was making the feast for a huge family gathering for my birthday. I’d asked for banoffee pie ( banana caramel cream pie). Well mum also did roast chickens with all the trimmings. When we got to dessert, the pie tasted strange. When we looked closer we found that she’d used the chicken stuffing as the pie crust!!!!
Kim Avraham
May 5, 2013 at 11:55 amI love ice cream soooo much – my wedding cake was an ice cream cake:) Which everyone loved by the way!
Nicola Rodrigued
May 5, 2013 at 12:00 pmOh the monster cake 🙂 it didn’t get made in our family but almost every other cake in that book did lol
The best cake I had was last year when my 3 beautiful children helped make it. It was a super choc mud cake with chocolate wafer sticks around the outside & then topped with a big bag of mixed m&ms. I think the reason is was so good was because it was maxed with love.
kezia bosch
May 5, 2013 at 12:05 pmevery year we would get ice cream cakes for our bday party as kids
one year I got teenage mutant ninja turtles on my cake
best cake ever!!!!!
Sally
May 5, 2013 at 12:05 pmCelebrating my sister’s birthday 2 Sundays ago with a Baskin’s ice cream cake (her fave type of cake). My dad was in hospital recovering from brain surgery at the time so we brought the party to him! ( he loved the citrus sorbet!)
Erica Whittaker
May 5, 2013 at 12:06 pmOur family also had the exact same Women’s Weekly Cake Book! I remember the ghost, I felt so sorry for him as the red dye in the jaffa lolly placed in the center of the half an eggshell would usually run (because some egg white would be left over) and make him look like he had poor, tired, bloodshot eyes!
Amanda Eastment
May 5, 2013 at 5:57 pmI had the pool cake and the jaffas (beach balls) ran in the blue jelly.
Janice
May 5, 2013 at 12:07 pmMy husband wanted to take us camping unexpectedly for a couple of days just before one of our daughters birthdays. We wouldn’t get home until the day of her party so I wasn’t keen as I would have lots of preparation including the birthday cake to do. He said he would help….. I wanted to believe him but from past experience with his ‘help’ I was doubtful=P We went camping, had a wonderful time and my dear hubby iced and decorated a whole plate of tiny cupcakes when we got home while I made the birthday cake=) In amongst my daughters birthday photos is a picture of her daddy helping make her birthday special=)
Donna Leitch
May 5, 2013 at 12:18 pmI automatically thought of my husbands recent cake efforts (last mothers day actually). He thought it would be a nice gift for my daughter and he to bake me a cake. They got out my Country Womens cookbook adamant it was to be done from scratch. I was banished to the shops while they got busy in the kitchen. They were making my favourite white choc mud! When i returned home the cake was cooling, it actually looked amazing. I couldn’t believe the two of them had done so well, dishes included! Once cool hubby iced and decorated it, iwas very much looking forward to eating this amazing thoughtful cake. I get cut a piece and go to take a bite. . . YUCK. It was hard not to spit it out but i didn’t want to offend. It was SALTY!! As it turns out my tupperware wasn’t clearly marked and hubby confused the salt for sugar. Such a shame!! Still the best cake ever because of all the love and effort gone into it.
Esther Spurway
May 5, 2013 at 12:39 pmMy favorite cake memory is from when I was a little girl four years of age. All I wanted for my birthday was a blue cake. Well, my Mum got baking and surprised me with the best looking blue cake ever! The cake itself was vivid blue with vivid blue butter icing and for decoration Mum went through I don’t know how many bags of smarties, but she picked out all the blue ones for my cake!! I have such strong memories of this cake and I am nearly 36!! I even made a blue cake for my little girl when she turned 4! Oh, the fun we had blue mouths and tounges!
Beth
May 5, 2013 at 12:55 pmWhen I was about 3 years old when I was the only one in the kitchen I saw ice cream and cookies left on the bench. I climbed up onto the bench and went to town with the ice cream I leaned back against the window but no screen was in so fell out the window luckily it was only short landing mum And dad came running out to see the commotion and found me on the grass covered in ice cream. My parents tell me and everyone else this story all the time.
Kim M`
May 5, 2013 at 12:56 pmMy favourite cake memory is not mine, but making my daughter’s first birthday cake. One of the most special memories I have. 6 kids blocks spelling out her name.
Alana Blase
May 5, 2013 at 1:07 pmMy best cake memory was one my mum made me…I had just started playing the piano and she made me the perfect grand piano cake! Was awesome and made me feel super loves
James Sharpe
May 5, 2013 at 1:28 pmHaving my mum make me a caterpillar cake for my 7 th bday because I loved bugs using cupcakes as the body and having chuppa chups as the eyes
Julie
May 5, 2013 at 1:43 pmI was a nightmare 2 year old and my big brother was turning 5. After much deliberating he chose the train cake, with lots of lollies down the side of each carriage. When it was time to cut the cake, all of these lollies were missing, and my coloured fingers and lips were the give-away of who ate them. I was in lots of trouble, and to this day I still get reminded with every birthday cake!
Stacey Parker
May 5, 2013 at 1:47 pmIt has to be the peach coloured Barbie cake my Mum got made especially for my 10th birthday at the Bowling Alley! I loved it and felt super cool, and thanked my mum a gazillion times for allowing me to have such a special cake…..ahhh memories
Megan
May 5, 2013 at 2:04 pmMy favourite cake memory was just last year! My partner and I had never made a cake, however with much determination we spent 7hours making a 3D DisneyCars Lightning McQueen birthday cake for our little boys first birthday! It was well worth the effort – he loved it! 🙂
Kari
May 5, 2013 at 2:16 pmI have the happiest cake memories of 3 cakes…. But it’s actually 6 cakes! (just to confuse you a bit!) the earliest birthday cake I can remember, and love it most dearlyout of all my birthday cakes, was an Agro cake! Remember him? Cranky brown puppet on morning tv? I loved him, adored and worshipped him, but I remember myself blowing out candles on my Agro cake in different outfits, with different family members around, turns out I insisted on Agro cake 3 years running!!! So those 3 cakes are all rolled into 1 happy memory. Cake number 2 got used as 2 cakes, it was a triple tier confection of chocolate mud, caramel choc mud swirl, and traditional fruit cake covered in touch white (glittery) royal icing with my brand new husband and I on too of the cake, and our two little boys sitting on the next tier with legs dangling over the edge! Our wedding cake! And since we were married Easter Saturday, on the Sunday, the choc caramel tier came out again decorated this time with elephants, lions, zebras, monkeys and the like for our young sons first birthday! He adored it! And my 3rd happy cake memory is a recent one, just this Easter our little one who is now 3, made his first chocolate cake from scratch, he measured, mixed, poured (I baked) and then decorated it. Nevermind that he refused to let me take it from the oven till he wanted it to come out, so it was virtually inedible, he took such pride in decorating it with Easter eggs, sprinkles and toy cars, and he showed it off so proudly to his daddy. That cake made him sooo happy, it has got to be my best cake memory!
Katie
May 5, 2013 at 2:18 pmI remember my first ever cake (1st birthday) was a little pink pig !!! haha I have photos of it still and for my 16th I asked my mum to recreate it for me because it was the only one I could ever remember 🙂 She did and it was awesome !!! Now with a son I can not wait to try make cakes for his birthdays !!!
Jasmine
May 5, 2013 at 3:12 pmI remember for my 21st birthday, my cousin made me a cake. It was chocolate with pink writing. Pink is my fave colour
http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/12020_10151552496881390_1716941528_n.jpg
Elaine Allen
May 5, 2013 at 3:57 pmMy parents used to have an icecream business when I was younger so every year I would look forward to my icecream birthday cake. One year my parents thought they would trick me and put my cake in a different box so I didn’t see it and told me they had forgotten to make one (I was 7!) It was such a nice surprise after dinner when they brought my icecream birthday cake out! My parents closed down the business when I was 11 – really miss getting an icecream birthday cake and would love to win one!!
Kim m
May 5, 2013 at 5:10 pmMy Dad cooked and decorated a white rabbit cake for my 6th birthday, I loved the fact that I was the only kid I knew whose Dad made their cake for them, it made it even more special!
Tamara
May 5, 2013 at 5:13 pmBarbie ice cream cake was my favourite memory 🙂
Carrie McLeod
May 5, 2013 at 5:18 pmMy favorite cake memories are ones made by friends. One was a Dora cake back in the day I was tormented by Dora every day with my 2 girls (now 7 and 9). Another is of an amazing concoction my dear friend from ‘Caketivity’ did of one direction for my 9 yo. So cute! Nothing like a group of tweenies picking what bits of the boys they wanted to demolish first!
Amanda Eastment
May 5, 2013 at 5:47 pmIt has now become tradition that just before my birthday, the girls and Paulie have a “make mummy’s ice-cream cake” night. They choose yummy double chocolate ice-cream and add all kinds of delicious goodies like m+m s, tim tams, ice-magic and LOVE. Mmmmmmm <3 Makes for lovely memories every birthday.
Renae
May 5, 2013 at 5:49 pmI can’t wait to start making the Woman’s Weekly cakes for my kids. I had them every year as well – I chose the piano one year and wanted it to be my favourite colour – purple! My Mum very kindly obliged and it was one of my favourites 🙂
Thanh
May 5, 2013 at 7:32 pmI remember in kindergarten when my mum came into class with a surprise birthday cake to share my special day with the other kids! I felt so special that day and I made lots of friends in that class after that day!
Gemma Westacott
May 5, 2013 at 9:24 pmAfter a disappointing (and in all honesty hideous looking and tasting) cake attempt for my daughter’s first birthday, I really wanted to redeem myself for her second.
Having loved looking through the Women’s Weekly Birthday Cakes Book as a kid, I decided to keep the tradition and bought an updated version for my daughter to choose from.
Luckily she picked the pink piggy (looked to be within my skill level! Lol) and I got to work. Hubby wasn’t too confident in my skills but was pretty impressed with the results. But the best bit (and why it’s my favourite cake memory) was the look of pure delight on my daughter’s face when she saw her cake. Thrilled to bits!
Only problem was that she loved it so much, she wouldn’t let anyone touch it, let alone eat it! Stayed like that for more than a week, with her checking it out several times each day. in the end i had to secret squirrel it out to the bin. Lol.
Priya
May 5, 2013 at 10:09 pmI have the very same cake book and all my birthday cakes were from that book. Birthday’s were always special and used to love choosing a cake and then the whole family would do it together. My most memorable birthday cake was the sweet shop cake. Was so excited about it and loved the way it turned out
Marnie
May 5, 2013 at 10:22 pmMy favourite cake memories are actually current and come as I now enjoy motherhood. As I child I never got to experience that iconic birthday cake like so many of my friends did. I am not sure why really, perhaps because I was the product of a broken home and birthdays were always a source of stress for all involved. But I digress…I want to create happy memories for my own child. And a special birthday cake in my mind is symbolic of childhood, and one’s own specialness, and of celebration, and family. I must admit that I love spending hours trawling cake making websites, have hunted down several well loved childrens birthday party books, and have even done a cake decorating course! For my son’s first birthday last year I made a rainbow cake, and what a special joy it was to me. A lovely (and edible way) to symbolise to the world (OK, so just family and close friends) just how much I love my son, and how happy he makes me. I was sure to take precious photos so that he will know one day that we came together to celebrate one year of him. I look forward to the future when we can choose his cake together. This year though, I am already contempating options for his second birthday which is still 4 months away. Did anyone say car cake???
melanie w
May 6, 2013 at 12:42 amFor my 5th birthday party my mum made me a Puss In Boots cake it looked exactly like the picture and was my best cake ever i loved it.
Lesleigh
May 6, 2013 at 7:10 amMy kids got hold of a neighbours Womans Weekly birthday cake decorating book and persuaded me to make this cake that ended up looking like a train smash. They however thought there was nothing wrong with it.
katrina oconnor
May 6, 2013 at 7:39 amMine cake memory would be the year it was cold and the oldies were inside and the young ones outside and my dad was showing the oldies inside my cake and he tripped over an ottoman and well lets say the cake looked quiet different after that so my birthday pictures with a split crumbled up cake .
Kim M
May 6, 2013 at 8:47 amAs an 18 yr old, I worked at Baskin Robbins first store in Cairns QLD. As soon as I realised they made ice-cream cakes, I was sold. I talked about them so happily and enthusiastically to customers that I sold heaps of them (and heard heaps of happy stories about them too!) so I like to think that my enthusiasm for ice-cream cakes was a part of many happy birthday memories for others because I know those were happy cake memories for me!
Melissa Brown
May 6, 2013 at 11:56 amFor my 8th Birthday my mum created a treasure cake, once you cracked it open lollies and treats rolled out of it. I remember my friends talked about how awesome it was for weeks.
Jade
May 6, 2013 at 12:40 pmIt was my 4th birthday. My cousin and I are 6 weeks apart in age (me first), and this particular birthday I think my cousin was mighty jealous that I was having a party before him as just as soon as we had sung happy birthday and I went onto blow out candles he came running out of nowhere and shoved his whole face in my cake!
Abby
May 6, 2013 at 6:27 pmMy hubby baking me a cake for my 30th – lovely gesture but still not really sure what he did with the icing as it was more of a sauce…
Heather
May 6, 2013 at 9:20 pmBest cake memories? My mum’s boiled Christmas cakes, complete with marzipan and royal icing. I blame them for my love of fruit cake, even 50 years later!
Michelle V
May 7, 2013 at 6:54 amMy best cake memory would be my wedding cake.
I worked in a cake shop for almost 7 years, and during that time, I had seen some extraordianry wedding cakes created.
When the time came fo rme to choose my own wedding cake, I sat down with one of the pastry chefs, who was a lovely man named Terry, and he designed the cake for me based on my description.
On my big day, when I saw the cake at the reception, I was BLOWN AWAY. Terry had done an amazing job, and I was thrilled.
Sadly, a couple of months later, Terry passed away suddenly. We were all devastated. Now when I look at the photo’s of my wedding cake, I am reminded of that time in the kitchen of the cake shop when we were planning my dream cake.
Elizabeth
May 7, 2013 at 1:02 pmI will never forget my 5th birthday where I tasted my first ever ice-cream cake. It was magic. The cake was a bright yellow Big Bird (from Sesame Street) with a bright pink happy mouth or rather inside it’s beak. I can till taste that first mouthful today.
Kylie Hall
May 8, 2013 at 12:11 amMy mother had the classic woman’s weekly cake book which has now been passed down to me for my kids. I ALWAYS make an amazing cake for each of my kids birthdays even on the years they don’t have a party! I just love doing it! My favourite cake memory was from my second birthday, and this would have to be one of my earliest memories. Mum made me the ducky cake, with all that whipped icing to look like soft feathers. I remember the two samboy chips used to make the beak, I got to eat them! I still remember how good the salty and slightly soggy chip tasted with the sweet icing on it! Probably the first time I ate chips!
Ross S
May 8, 2013 at 1:04 amWe got our son a Thomas the Tank Engine ice cream cake for his fourth birthday and he was thrilled. What he was not thrilled about was when we came to cut it up. He was so distressed that we were “hurting” Thomas that we had to leave it alone and rush out to buy normal ice cream to feed everyone.
From that time on we just got him regular ice cream cakes for his birthday and everyone was happy.
Interestingly enough his little sister had no compunction of carving up Barbie at each of her birthdays and keeping the best parts for herself.
Erin
May 8, 2013 at 2:06 pmI too, like you, in my childhood spent hours going through my mum’s Women’s Weekly Birthday cake book (and so too now do my Miss 3 and Miss 5, who start planning their next birthday the day after they have one!). Every year, my mum made me a spectacular homemade cake – so many that I couldn’t pick just one! But what is really memorable is when I turned 27. That was the first year mum *didn’t* make me a cake. I think she just had so much on and I insisted that she not make one as she was so busy, so we just got a caramel mudcake from the Cheesecake Shop. She was totally guilt ridden and we still talk about it 6 years on. What makes the story even funnier is that I didn’t even have one bite of that cake. I was so horrifically sick with hyperemesis gravidarum that I couldn’t keep anything down, and had none of the dinner – or the cake!!
Awesome giveaway Kel, thanks 🙂
Alyra Shaw
May 8, 2013 at 2:58 pmMy mother used the Women’s Weekly cookbook when I was growing up.
I still have it and love now that I have kids going through it with them.
Written on each cake is how old I was when I had it for my birthday – such a lovely reminder of my childhood memories 🙂
Kelly Ryan
May 8, 2013 at 3:31 pmMum and Dad agonising over making a Barbie cake for me for my 8th birthday! I was so proud to take that cake to school!
Anna
May 8, 2013 at 8:24 pmMummy to triplets which is often a challenging role!
The kitchen and the bathroom I always have to parole!
The night before they were turning two,
I stepped away for a few minutes and they were out of my view,
Too quiet I must confess,
Walked in on the three of them covered in icing sugar and mouthfuls of chocolate cake! I was by far impressed!
We lit candles and sang “Happy Birthday” with what cake remained,
As I reminisce I can’t help but laugh about the treasured memories we did gain!
They were by far from well-dressed and clean,
But I guess their delight and “mess” set a joyful scene!
My most loved memory till this day,
I always laugh when I hear someone say “Happy Birthday”!
Margaret Hollis
May 9, 2013 at 11:53 amThat old Womens Weekly birthday cake book is still used in this house, and, saved my sanity many a time when my kids were little. Not my cake, but last year, I made my singing teacher the piano cake, and he loved it