Ever thought of making a savoury birthday cake using a bread base with cold meats, cheese and other savoury snacks to decorate the basic shape?

I found [...]]]>

We all know the cake is the highlight of any child’s birthday party but 99.9% of these cakes have one thing in common. Lots of sugar – inside and outside.

Ever thought of making a savoury birthday cake using a bread base with cold meats, cheese and other savoury snacks to decorate the basic shape?

I found the image and instructions for this cake in a magazine dated September 1991. It can be the perfect birthday cake for any kind of party with an animal or farm theme, for instance,  Old MacDonald’s Farm Party, Barnyard Animals Party, a Cowgirl or Cowboy party or even a John Deere Party

Farmhouse:

1 loaf white bread, crusts removed
1 loaf brown bread, crusts removed
half a loaf white bread, crusts removed
half a loaf brown bread, crusts removed

Red Filling:

250g butter
250g smooth cream cheese
60ml tomato sauce/ketchup

Brown Filling

250g butter
15ml Marmite/Vegemite/Bovril
250g smooth cream cheese

Green Filling:

250g butter
300g full cream cheese spread
50 g (125ml) Gouda cheese, finely grated

Yellow Filling:

250g butter
250g smooth cream cheese
2 ripe avocado pears, peeled, stoned and mashed
5ml lemon juice

Roof:

2 pieces of cardboard, (each about 450mm square)
100g butter
5ml Marmite
300g grated biltong

Windows, Door and Chimney

Cheddar cheese (thick slices) for door and windows
salami slices for shutters and outer door
green cocktail onion for door knob
Gouda Cheese for chimney

Farmyard:

500g (5 x 250ml/1 cup) grated Cheddar cheese
salami for pathway
parsley for bushes
red cocktail onion for flowers
thick slice of Cheddar cheese for cow/other farm animals

Cut loaves of bread lengthwise into thin slices. Mix ingredients for four fillings in separate bowls. Divide slices into four stacks (two of full loaves and two of  half loaves).  Spread each slice with a different filling and place alternately on top of one another. Form the base of the house with one long stack for front and other for back.

Place two half-loaf stacks on top to form base of roof. To assemble roof, cut two triangles the width of the base from one piece of cardboard and shape rooftop by folding the other. Tape triangles to inside of folded roof and secure on to half-loaf stacks with toothpicks. Mix butter and Marmite, spread over roof. Sprinkle thickly with grated biltong***, pat on firmly.

Place windows, shutters, doorknob and chimney in postion, secure with small dabs of butter and toothpicks.

Sprinkle cheese around the house, place parsley bushes, onion flowers and salami pathway into position. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cow (and other animals if you like). Place in position and serve.

Serves 25 to 30

To make cocktail onion flowers: Use a sharp knife to carefully cut into the onion but not all the way through to the bottom, forming 6 wedges to look like petals. Alternatively, you can use cookie cutters to cut flowers from carrot rings or from thick slices of cheese.  You can also try to make tomato roses to add more colour to the farmyard.

*** As biltong is a South African product, you can substitute the grated biltong with finely crushed potato crisps or cornflakes if you do not live in South Africa.

If you like this savoury birthday cake idea, please share it with your friends and family.

And as always, remember to have fun when you plan your child’s birthday party!

Article source and photograph: Supplement to Your Family – September 1991 – Compiled by Rene Barnard, Photos: Arno Koster

To host a party for your kids can be a lot of work but [...]]]>

Here are a few photos of birthday cakes that I have made for my son when he was a kid… he will be 31 in a few weeks and I realised when I looked at the photos how quickly time goes by.

To host a party for your kids can be a lot of work but to see the wonder on their faces when you bring out the cake and other goodies is worth all the time spend on preparing the food and putting together a theme for the party. The personal joy one experiences cannot be compared to anything else as well. So enjoy organising theme parties for your kids and make memories that will last a life time.

racing track cake for boys

racing track party food

I used a racing track theme for his 3rd birthday party at the day care centre that he attended at that stage. Click on the photos to open in a new window and get some ideas on how to use store bought cookies, sweets and vienna sausages to make racing cars and “spectators”.

Kids Alien Space Ship Birthday Theme Party

On his 6th birtday I tried a space ship theme but the cake eventually turned into an alien monster kind of space ship but the kids were very impressed with it…lol. Store bought wafers and ice cream cones turned into smaller space ships and boudoir finger biscuits became small planes.

Alien Spaceship Cake

alien spaceship party food

Train cake

I tried to make a train cake for his 4th birthday but now that I look at the photo again, it is actually a far cry from a train, still it was a lot of fun to make the cake.

Train cake for a boy

The radio cake for his 8th birthday looked more realistic and suited his passion for certain songs on the radio at that stage.

radio cake for a kid's party

If you have read my post on where to find ideas for theme parties, I hope these few photos will help you realise that it is really not difficult to come up with a kids-theme-party idea.

Remember to have fun planning your kid’s next theme party!