mmm childhood cakes....lol

My favorites were bought at the grocery store. There was a bakery there (late '60s into the '70s). I remember the icing was soooo good... not the same as mom used. She always used jiffy mix icings.
The cakes I remember had wonderful borders. The ones I liked best were where they put pink and white icing or purple and white frosting into the bag. That made lovely two-tone borders. There were roses... big ones. If it was your birthday, you got it. I always loved the plastic script "Happy Birthday" that was stuck up next to the roses.
The cakes were still in the aluminum pans so just the top was decorated.

Most birthdays we got a mom-baked cake with jiffy frosting. Those would be topped with the royal things that came on a card. Those were usually flowers and "Happy Birthday."

I htink the grocery store cakes are the ones that made me want to decorate cakes. *lol* They were just so... so... special!

My mom use to bake all of our cakes from scratch with homemade icing. I remember her making on my 5th birthday a Snoopy cake. It was really cool though. She made a few sheet cakes and had made a wax paper template of Snoopy laying flat backed on his dog house. The cake was gorgeous! The dog house was bright red with black lines and Snoopy looked perfect. The cake was huge by the way.
Another cake was a doll cake she made. She did this intricate piping for the dress. It looked like one of the dresses off of Gone With the Wind. She had just finished when our fat dog decided to put his paws on the counter to reach the cake and licked the whole back of it in one swipe clean off. My mom cried. She re-iced the cake and my dad was screaming at her to throw it out. She of course already had another cake in the oven to be served and left the doll one out for show. She said after all that work she wanted someone to see it.
My mom learned on her own how to decorate cakes. She never did for a job but just for fun. The neighbor use to decorate cakes though for weddings and would call my mom to make the roses for her. My mom was known for her buttercream roses. She use to make them the size of the palm of her hand. It got the point where she would just go to someones house for free. Make some roses and place them on their cake.
Those were the good ol' days.

My cake always camefrom the grocery store. LOL Sometimes it was ordered but usually it was picked out of the display and they would get it written on.

These stories are great guys. Each one brings back a new memory if not for the cakes, just for the childhood memories. Keep 'em coming!

Since my mom had to work, we were always "treated" with a birthday cake from the neighborhoood bakery, Rueter's on the northwest side of Chicago. Gosh, I miss Chicago and the wonderful neighborhood ethnic bakeries there! About a week before the big day, Mom would take us after school into the bakery so we could look at the display cakes and "pick out" the cake we wanted. They had dummy cakes in cases all around the bakery and I clearly recall standing there looking up at these wonderfully decorated fake cakes. For kids, they had plastic toys for the top, like Snow white and Cinderella and cowboys with horses. I always went for the fru-fru...tons of roses and flowers with a lot of pastel colors. The cake was always yellow with raspberry filling...all buttercream. I cannot duplicate the buttercreme from my childhood memories...it was certainly just veggie shortening based 'cause my Dad hated it and said it was garbage, LOL! Some family friends always invited us for Christmas eve after church of course, and it was the Dad's birthday on Christmas Day, so we celebrated with cake on Christmas Eve. It was always the same cake as mine, yellow with raspberry, the flowers were red poinsettias and holly leaves. That cake from my childhood memories at least, was the best I had ever had...I still make yellow with raspberry and my dh gets really snotty!

For my 4th Birthday my mom made me a Wonder Woman cake, with the Wilton pan. I remember going with her to the store that had all the cake stuff to pick out the pan, and all cake decorating stuff she needed. For years whenever we drove by that shopping center, I would remember that was where the cake stuff was/used to be. Growing up, when I would have to dig through the kitchen drawers for something, I would come across the decorating bag, or the old Wilton book (had a cake with a clown on it), and would instantly remember sitting on the counter watching her pipe all those stars on that cake. And even though she says it was an ugly cake, I remember it as one of the most perfect cakes ever. All my other cakes were from the grocery store, and I cannot remember a single one of 'em.

I had the wonder woman cake too!!! I loved WW!!!!

Ahh yes, childhood memories. There were 6 children in our family. We each had our favorite kind of cake and that was what our birthday cake was each year. Yes, my younger years were before shaped pans, plastic toys or anything fancy (40's). I always had an angel food cake with 7-minute icing. The decorations were always the ones on a card in the baking isle. We loved putting those on the cake. I went to school in a little country school. At the end of the school year we always had a school picnic. One year the picnic was on my birthday and I brought my cake to school for the picnic. I felt so special.

My mom always made homemade cakes. We got to help her out in the kitchen adding the ingredients, mixing & decorating. It wasn't just about the cake, but the time spent together to make it happen. It was magical.

After the cake had cooled, she would secretly wrap several coins in foil and push them into the cake all over. She would then call us to help her decorate it. We would discover the money upon eating the cake. We always wondered how that money got in there, she told us we must be "lucky" and that the money just "magically appeared" in your cake.

We usually had ice cream cake for our birthdays from Carvel. Think dairy queen/baskin robbins (only better!) for those of you not familiar with Carvel. I used to love the Cookie Puss cake which was a oddly shaped face with cookie eyes and an ice cream cone nose. The birthday kid got to pick the flavor of the nose All of their cakes are 1 layer vanilla with chocolate crunchies in the middle and then chocolate bottom layer. They were special because they were not something we could just make at home and we got all excited. Plus it's ice cream. Looking back, they are quite hideous, but they bring back great memories!

Here's a link to a picture of one. It's not my flickr page.
http://flickr.com/photos/troyismad/234272789/

This is such a great thread.

My birthday cakes were always homemade and always the best tasting cake ever.

Birthdays were very special to my mom because they were never celebrated when she was a kid. I guess in an effort to make up for it, she always made mine extra special. In addition to my birthday, she used to make me 1/2 a cake for my 1/2 birthday. It was sooooooo much fun when I was younger and it was still soooooooooo much fun when I was an adult.

She literally used to serve me 1/2 a fabulous cake on a beautiful cake plate. The drink would be 1/2 full, the card would be only 1/2 a card,she made it so much fun.

She used to say that she didnt want to wait an entire year to remind me how much she loved me and how the day I was born was the happiest day of her life. ( she had 8 miscarriages before she adopted me ) There wasnt a day that went by that I wasnt 100% sure she loved me with all her heart.

I would give anything for one more 1/2 birthday cake...... She passed away several years ago and I miss her terribly.

I have the most amazing memories of her that never fail to instantly bring a smile to my face when I think of them. Birthdays being one of my most favorites!!!

My Grandma always made cakes for everyones birthday. They were always three layer and a pound cake type cake with home made jam between the layers, home made butter cream frosting, sometimes gumdrop roses, but always on a tall crystal pedestal cake plate(which I now have). But sometimes they were theme like when I had a Barbie party and everyone got their own cake. My one friend just remembered that not too long ago and we laughed. Me harder because I did that for my daughter too. My Grandma is gone now but I have all her tips and decorating things guess that is why I got into it, I saw how much joy she used to bring with her fancy cakes.

These stories are wonderful. All the stress I go through to make the perfect cake before my kids' birthdays... and this is what it's all about... the memories of their special cake on their special day.

I have tears in my eyes... and yes I'm pregnant so it isn't that hard to do that... but these stories are very touching!

And I notice how the memories never once mention this or that tiny flaw in the cake .... so we should all remember these stories and stop stressing over a cake that we dont' think looks perfect.

To see things thru a child's eyes .... everything is perfect!

This is such a wonderful positive thread. I can identify with the stories. This is the exact reason why I started decorating cakes 2 years ago. I remember my 5th birthday cake that my parents made with no real equipment or knowhow that is available today. It was the Hansel and Gretel house with elaborate candy and cookie decorations and even a candy garden. I was so thrilled and proud. Now I want to give my daughters those similar memories. My mom still bakes me cakes when I see her and they are not always decorated but they are the yummiest and filled with love.

I remember 2 cakes. When I was 8, my mom let me make my own birthday cake. I was excited about it for weeks and spent tons of time deciding which mix and frosting to buy (yes, the canned crap!) I think it was strawberry. lol. The other my mother made for my 13th birthday. I was sad because we're not jewish so I didn't get a bat mitzvah (sp?) - so she drew a little star of david on the side. Now, these were NOT well decorated cakes. We're talking butter knife icing. Love'd 'em though

For some reason the only cake I remember as a kid is my seventh birthday cake which was storebought -- it was buttercream with nuts on the sides and a giant swirly border (probably similar to a reverse shell or something like that) on top but what I remember best is that I was big into ballet at the time and my mom put a bunch of little ballerinas on the top that held the candles and I still have them to this day. Every now and again I pull them out and walk down memory lane!

My cakes were always baked, frosted and served in a 9x13 pan. Super fancy, right? I think at some point later on my mom took cake classes, but I honestly don't remember any special cakes. (But I have no doubt that she loved me!!) I do remember crying at my 10th birthday because I didn't get any candy from the pinata. Ahh, memories.

My husband, on the other hand, remembers ALL his cakes. They were just about always stand up teddy bear cakes. His mom was pretty good at decorating. A few months ago, she gave me her OLD stand up bear pan and my husband was so excited. Guess what kind of cake he's getting for his birthday this year?

My kids WILL totally remember their cakes. I won't let them forget because I'll keep the photos. Plus, they spend the whole year planning them...how could they forget?

When I was about 3 my mom made an angel food covered in what we always called fluffy frosting. Then she put a cupcake large enough so it didn't fall through the hole in the middle with a pointed ice cream cone on the top. The cupcake was decorated with cut up gum drops to form a clown face and the angel food cake had whole gum drops on the top and side to make polka dots. I thought this was so great I had her make it the next two years.
I must have been about 12 when I got a decorated cake. It was sitting on the counter and when I walked by I bumped it and it fell into the garbage can sitting on the floor. At least we didn't have to clean it up. No cake that year but we had a good laugh.

When I was about 3 my mom made an angel food covered in what we always called fluffy frosting. Then she put a cupcake large enough so it didn't fall through the hole in the middle with a pointed ice cream cone on the top. The cupcake was decorated with cut up gum drops to form a clown face and the angel food cake had whole gum drops on the top and side to make polka dots. I thought this was so great I had her make it the next two years.
I must have been about 12 when I got a decorated cake. It was sitting on the counter and when I walked by I bumped it and it fell into the garbage can sitting on the floor. At least we didn't have to clean it up. No cake that year but we had a good laugh.

The only one I really remember is one my sister made. I was little, 3-4ish, and she made me a Cookie Monster cake. Covered in BLUE icing. I remember everyone being blue. Dont't remember anything else about the party, just the cake. When we were older, Mom always got us an ice cream cake from Basin Robbins. Any flavor we wanted and would bring it in the car when she picked us up from school. That way is melted just enough to eat when we got back.

I have seen pictures of myself with Mickey and Donald cakes and the doll cake. I remember having a Smurf party and the cake was white with blue trim and it had a Smurf drawn on it with mushrooms. I think I was 7. After that, I don't remember any character cakes, but Momma baked a Duncan Hines 9x13 with canned chocolate frosting. She would spell out Happy Birthday in the candy from the cake isle in the grocery store. She did take it out of the pan and frost the sides too. Having a birthday in summer, I had several strawberry shortcakes. I may have had a Strawberry Shortcake cake, my room was decorated in that. My momma still makes the Duncen Hines cakes with canned chocolate frosting ever once in a while. I still love them. Childhood memories....

My Mother couldn't bake to save her life. My cakes always came from the neighborhood bakery. I can't remember a single one. I think that is one of the reasons I started decorating when my children were babies. They have children of their own now and the still remember their birthday cakes

i remember every cake i've ever had, they've all been the same chocolate cake with pb frosting in a 9x13 pan , don't get me wrong i love my mom to death, and these cakes were not bad tasting either according to the general populous, and it took me 32yrs to work up the nerve to tell her that i hate chocolate cake and pb frosting (i know i know how is that humanly possible) so finally this year i got the b-day cake of my dreams ............yep you guessed it white cake with pb frosting, not exactly what i had in mind but old habits die hard i guess and after 32 yrs of chocolate and pb i imagine it wuz just to difficult to make a complete break with that pb frosting, at any rate, luv ya mom
i know you tried your best

My Great-Aunt lived in Michigan and every year would come south to see my grandmother the last week in April. She was a professional cake decorator and with my birthday being the end of April I was lucky enough her and my mother would always make me what all my friends called "the coolest cakes!" for my birthday. It was the early 60's (geez, now I feel really old) before any wonder-mold or character pans and I got the princess doll ( make out of an angel food pan with a cardboard hoop and doll, and the clowns and all kinds of stuff nobody else seemed to get. It made me feel really special and I loved those cakes so much and wanted to grow up to be just like my aunt. GUess that's what got me started in this all. Makes me smile just thinking back to all those good childhood birthdays.

I'm not sure if my mom has ever made a cake... it was my dad who always made my birthday cakes. I don't remember my first birthday cake, but there are pictures - 3 tiers with little frosting swans on it. I only really remember two - one year it was a cake that looked like a bed with a teddy bear on it (I later found it in an old Wilton magazine), and my favorite was probably the most simple (don't tell my dad!) - when I was 8, he made two bundt cakes and put them together to form an 8, frosted them blue, and put Teddy Grahams all over it with frosting swimsuits, a stick of gum for the diving board, etc. He might not have thought it was a masterpiece, but I loved it! It's true that we should remember that when making cakes, because I tried the Wilton castle set for my daughter's 3rd birthday last June... I am too embarrassed to post a picture on here because I think it turned out terrible, but she still talks about it!