I think my cake-baking desires originated with early memories of the birthday cakes my mother used to make.

In particular, I recall a pink elephant, sprinkled with coconut. I also remember our dog Sandy, fully stretched to her maximum cocker spaniel height, trying for just a taste of that cake. There was a photo of it attempted theft at some point, though it is likely lost or misplaced in a box of old family photos I have yet to stumble upon. Here I am with the culprit.

I began getting invested in cakes when my firstborn, Andrew, turned one. It was a simple affair, a large flat surface covered in green icing with sprinkles and coconut for grass, topped with carefully arranged plastic farm animals.

It was a beginning; every year after, I made the children their birthday cakes. To this day, they remember most of them and that has made it all feel worthwhile.

But I wanted to do better. With no Youtube or Pinterest, it was hard to learn techniques. I collected books (Australian Women’s Weekly was my goto) and clipped magazine articles on ‘how to’. The file folder is still in my cookbook collection, though a bit dusty for lack of use.

I invested in better pans, gel colouring, decorator bags and tips, and an extensive collection of sprinkles and tinted sugars that I am unlikely to get through in my lifetime. A few cake stands came much later. I don’t know why I never found a beautiful board for the larger cakes. Year after year they appeared on an orange plastic cutting board covered in tinfoil. It was functional, but always orange.

I would bake the cakes during the day then decorate at night after the kids were in bed. Their cakes were always a surprise and designed to go with the party theme.

Laura’s first cake was a step up. I had developed some skills at cutting and shaping cakes, and my piping capabilities were slowly improving.

I especially loved the 3D cakes – part art and part engineering. My first was a pirate ship cake for Andrew. Version one took me 3-4 hours to decorate. The last step was the addition of the mast. I stepped back to proudly to admire my work… and the entire thing collapsed. The cake was not sturdy enough to hold. Somewhere around midnight, unwilling to admit defeat, I pulled out the flour, butter and eggs and baked an entirely new batch of cakes. This time, it was all pound cake. I would not be defeated! Nothing was going to take that cake down. I think I finished it shortly before the kids got up on the day of the party. But damn was I proud of that ship, floating a sea of blue jello.

Some of the cakes turned out exactly as intended, surprising even me. The dress cake turned out so well, I made it twice.

I never really perfected the ball cake, though I think the second one was an improvement on the first.

Aided by a stellar set of pans, this train was one of my favourites. Though I do recall how much my hands ached after a relentless hour (or maybe two) of piping.

Flat cakes were generally easier, though they often required some advance paper and scissor work to figure out how to create the shapes. Tracing paper helped me with the more artsy bits. Without tracing paper, Sponge Bob would have likely looked like.. a sponge

A few were pretty questionable; this one which was intended to go with the pedicure themed party. On reflection, it did not look at all appetizing, though I heard it was tasty.

Now that my children are fully grown, I still make cakes from time to time. They are a bit more sophisticated and usually for a party event like Andrew’s thirtieth. My camera is better and I think a bit more about the composition. Those nice cake boards and plates really help.

I sometimes make cupcakes; the scale is smaller and the options are quite wide-ranging with the right piping tips.

The first few were early efforts at animal cupcakes. Kind of meh. Maybe the pink bunnies weren’t bad. The marshmallow ears were a huge hit.

My most challenging cupcakes were the ones I made for Rick’s 60th. The cupcakes themselves were not difficult. Baking and decorating them mere days after my ankle surgery certainly created a new set of challenges for me. Thank goodness I had decided to keep it simple with sticks and labels. It was a bit of a marathon to get through them all, though they were well received when Mom served them up. I watched from the comfort of my lounge chair.

Lately I am into flowers, and wow is that fun. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy combing through Pinterest on the 100+ ways to make beautiful flower cupcakes. I am grateful for friends willing to consume my experiments.

Over the years my children have also made cakes, for me, for friends, and for a range of holidays. Only yesterday, Laura spent most of the day making a beautiful cheesecake for her friend’s birthday. I appreciate that they see cakes as I do, an expression of love.