A choo-choo train, a hickory dickory clock, a swimming pool filled with jelly or a Dolly Varden cake – if you were lucky to grow up in the late '90s or early 2000s, these nostalgic bakes are sure to stir up lots of memories. But celebrations looked very different before The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book entered the chat and long before Instagram changed the home baking game.
You can learn a surprising amount about Australia's past by looking at its cake evolution. From humble colonial sponges and the birth of the lamington to multicultural flavours and uber-aesthetic creations, every slice serves up a piece of our nation’s history. Let’s dig in.
65,000 years ago
Long before ovens were invented, Indigenous Australians were baking scones, damper and ‘seed cakes’ made from crushed native seeds, nuts and roots. They mixed these ingredients with water to form a dough, then roasted them over hot coals or ash, or boiled and steamed them in ground ovens. While not many Aussies are blowing out birthday candles on a damper cake these days, it’s a classic Aussie camping tradition that’s lots of fun to make.
Late 1700s to early 1800s
When European settlers first arrived in Australia, they brought with them recipes for bannock (Johnny cakes), fruitcakes, boiled puddings and simple sponges. With limited fresh produce and sugar available, these cakes relied heavily on preserved fruits and dried ingredients. Love 'em or loathe 'em, fruitcakes and puddings are now a festive staple during Christmas.
Early 1900s
By the early 1900s, Australia began carving out its own baking identity with two now-iconic creations – the lamington and pavlova. Legend has it that the lamington was created in Queensland in the early 1900s when a maid of Lord Lamington (the eighth Governor of Queensland) accidentally dropped a sponge cake into melted chocolate. Instead of tossing it, she coated it in desiccated coconut – and the rest is history. The pavlova followed in the 1920s, created in honour of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova during her tours of Australia and New Zealand. Its origin sparked a friendly rivalry with New Zealand that continues to this day.
1920s to 1950s
During the Depression and wartime, cakes were shaped by rationing and frugality, relying on basic ingredients. Boiled fruitcakes and dense slices from colonial times remained household favourites, with the Country Women’s Association (CWA) preserving these baking traditions through their cookbooks. The CWA’s recipes also popularised afternoon tea favourites from the Victorian era, including tea cakes, sponge cakes, madeira cakes and seed cakes. Oh, and who could forget scones with jam and cream?
1950s to 1980s
Post-war migration introduced new baking traditions to Australia, including Greek honey cakes, Persian love cakes, Italian tortas, Vietnamese pandan chiffon and Eastern European cheesecakes – and thank goodness it did. Imagine life without cheesecake?!
1950s to 1980s
The release of The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book changed birthday celebrations nationwide, with brightly decorated cakes featuring jelly, fondant and playful shapes becoming party staples. Nostalgic recipes from my childhood include the swimming pool cake with blue jelly ‘water’, Dolly Varden cake with a Barbie wearing a ‘skirt’ of piped buttercream, and number cakes covered in icing, sprinkles and lollies. With the cookbook celebrating 45 years since its release, I'm stoked to see these cakes making a comeback.
1980s to 2000s
In the 1980s, mass production ramped up, making cakes readily available in supermarkets and bakeries across the country. By the early 2000s, Coles and Woolworths' legendary mud cakes were a household staple – and I’ll admit, I had a slice for morning tea almost every single day as a kid.
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2010s to 2020s
Social media changed the cake game once again in the early 2010s, ushering in a new era of cake pops, rainbow layer cakes, drip masterpieces and even watermelon in disguise (thanks to Black Star Pastry). Then the early 2020s lockdowns sparked a home-baking boom, which led to a surge in side-hustle cake businesses. Now, we see talented home bakers piping up cakes that are bona fide works of edible art – think glitter, bows, ruffles and edible flowers.
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Now the question is – what story will Australia's bakers tell next?