When my boys were young, I loved to throw them a birthday party at home. We would pick a theme and everything would be based around that – invitations, games, activities, food, prizes, lolly bags – the works. Cowboys, wizards, astronauts, the alphabet, Cat in the Hat – we had a lot of fun. In an era of contracted-out birthday parties at play centres and fast food joints, ours were something of a novelty.
My favourite, though, would be the year my eldest had a Knights of the Realm party. I spent months saving up the cardboard discs a local pizza restaurant used for their takeaway pizza (we also ate a lot of pizza in those months). I spray-painted them silver, attached a vinyl strap and stuck paper to the front so the kids could create their own crested shields. Dressed up and with their trusty steeds (made from shoeboxes and the inner cardboard tubes of rolls of fabric), we held a jousting competition in the front yard. The cake, of course, was a castle. The lolly bags were the pièce de résistance. I made leather pouches.
I can get carried away.
The parties were only every second year and they stopped once they hit twelve years of age, giving way to easier movie/bowling/sleepover versions. But I do still love to have a crack at a good cake.
The Eldest Son turned 18 on Friday. I am now officially a parent of an adult. Don’t give me the argument about it being 21. Here, everything hits at 18. They can drive, drink, vote, gamble, get married. You hope not all on their birthday.
A significant birthday demanded a significant cake. The theme for the party was Pop Culture and as Eldest Son was going dressed in his customary 10th Doctor costume, a Doctor Who themed cake seemed mandatory.
Enter the Dalek cake.
It took me two days to make it. One to bake the cakes (five of them) and one for construction and decoration. Being a Jack of All Trades, I was, of course, making it up as I went along with nothing but an image in my head and a half-baked (ha!) idea of how it would work.
I’ll confess I was really happy with the result. As was Eldest Son which made me even happier.
Take these and my favourite mudcake recipe and build a Dalek. No worries.
Okay. So somehow I have to turn all this into a Dalek.
Stacked, glued and trimmed. (I love using mudcake – it cuts beautifully with a bread knife.)
I could have saved myself a lot of work and just stopped there and called it a Cousin It cake.
The finished product. This cake could actually kill you. It has 1.2kg butter, 1.2kg sugar, 1.2kg chocolate and 18 eggs in it. And that’s not counting the icing and decorations.
I think I’m proudest of my inspired Wagon Wheel eye and half a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg suction cup!
Sparklers!
The birthday boy with his cake, just to give you some perspective on the size of the thing. We’ll be eating cake for the next month.
Master of Something I'm Yet To Discover 
This is not a cake ! – this is un chef d’oeuvre!! And I’m not the only one who thinks so: just look at the wonderment on the Eldest Son’s face ! 😀 It’s absolutely enchanting, the whole thing. And so are you as a mum.
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Sometimes I get this parenting gig right and I live in hope that it will make up for all the times I get it wrong.
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How amazing is that?! A labour of love and a masterpiece creation! Though…….with an ingredient list like that…I do hope you have VERY GOOD health insurance! 🙂 Well done!
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Ha! I’m hoping the boys will take some to school to share with their friends. There really is such a lot of it! 🙂
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I absolutely adore this! I definitely do not have the patience to build such a masterpiece! I am impressed and your son looks like he is too! way to go 🙂
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Thanks! I think my favourite part is the whole trial and error and wondering if what I have in mind is going to work. I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun working from a recipe. 🙂
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What a Mom! The suction cups are my favorite part. Googling Dalek right now……
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The funny thing is that I set out to use the bottom half of the egg but it broke so I had to use the top and it actually worked better.
I’m glad you googled. If I have extended the reach of Doctor Who, my work here is done. 🙂
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This is absolutely brilliant! My kids should have been so lucky! In fact I’m saving this post to inspire them to greater heights for their own kids!
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I think this would make up for his first birthday cake which was a small square with purple icing and Happy 1st Birthday written on it with one of those icing pens. Tell your kids it’s never too late!
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WOW – what a labour of love! Nicely done! I must confess that I also had to Google the term…
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Oh, I’m very happy to have introduced you to the Daleks. I have three kids so maybe over the next few years I can also introduce you to Cybermen and Weeping Angels. 😀
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I look forward to that. Will there be more cake?
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Oh most definitely.
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Just hope my own three don’t take a look at this and expect something similar for their big days. Fabulous cake.
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The trouble with actually managing to pull this off for the Eldest is that now I have to somehow manage it two more times in the next five years. Rod for my own back….
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I refuse to be sucked into the vortex of Dr Who – even if there is cake involved. I watched the original show as a child and it scared me half to death. Son #2 says the Weeping Angels are the scariest. With that knowledge, I’m not going anywhere near Dr Who.
Having said that, GREAT cake Mom!! Two thumbs up for the creativity, effort, and caloric overload 😀
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Aw, go on, Joanne! I thought you liked to live on the edge. 😉 And if you really want to hang way out where the air is rarefied, you should start with ‘Blink’. 😀
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*shudder*
There’s living on the edge and then there is hanging by your fingernails!! I like to sleep at night 😉
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I wish there was a LOVE button on your page. I LOVE it. Fabulous. Your kids have a very cool mom.
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They probably just think I’m mad. But they did love the cake and that is cool. 🙂
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I am so glad I found this one. You had me at ‘Dalek Cake’ and I just had to look. In case your son neglected to tell you, you are one wacky, wonderful woman!
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Thank you. Of course, when I took on this task I neglected to consider the fact that there were two more sons to follow who would of course expect the same offer. And thus I found myself last year trying to construct a Pokemon Ball cake for the Middle Son’s 18th. Let me tell you, ball shaped cakes are ulcer-inducing.
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One of my favorite episodes of The Big Bang Theory has a scene where…I think it was…Amy and Bernadette make a Star Wars themed Death Star cake for Sheldon. Here’s the link:
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I have nephews who banded with my now niece-in-law who is Canadian to build a gingerbread one. 🙂 (Her family has serious gingerbread skills. It’s too hot at Christmas for this to be an Australian skill. They had to do it for a ‘Christmas in July’ event. 😉 )
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I’ve often wondered about the Christmas dysphoria that must happen with anyone who has to listen to ‘White Christmas’ when seasonally, everyone is in flip-flops and shorts. Perhaps then it refers to the SPF zinc sun block?
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