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Whatsapp A home-made version of the famed train cake from the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.

One dog-eared cookbook has pride of place in tens of thousands of Australian kitchen cupboards: the 'Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cakes'. As a group of bakers prepares to cook all 104 cakes, RN Drive asks what makes the book so special.

Why do so many Australians get nostalgic for a book of cake recipes published more than three decades ago?

There is something quite magical about it. I think the lack of perfection has something to do with.

'Making the cakes isn’t rocket science. Most of them are just made with lollies, packet cake mix and simple Vienna cream icing. For harassed mums and dads, that’s attractive because it seems achievable,' suggests Ginger Gorman.

The thing is, the Canberra journalist and home baker isn't being disparaging when she says that.

'There is something quite magical about it. I think the lack of perfection has something to do with that.'

For decades, Australian children and their parents have pored over the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cakes, often well in advance of their next birthday.

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Whatsapp The Duck cake suffers structural issues mid-construction.

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Whatsapp The Duck cake in its final glory.

Elaborate, multi-stage constructions like the famed train and the jelly swimming pool are not just the centrepieces of birthday parties, but the subjects of photos revisited for years to come.

'It harks back to a simpler time when we didn't get many presents, and it was the hugest thing to flip through the book and say to your mum, "I want the train" or "I want the butterfly". It was a massive treat,' says Gorman.

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Whatsapp The swimming pool is one of the more eye-catching cakes in the cookbook.

In May, Gorman and a group of fellow amateur bakers will attempt to cook all 104 cakes from the book.

Each cake will be sold at a silent auction to raise money for Canberra support ground Post and Ante Natal Depression Support and Information Inc (PANDSI).

'We're just trying to take us away from that dark place and have a bit of fun,' says Gorman.

First published in 1980, the cookbook originally had 107 cakes, but three have since been omitted due to copyright conflicts.

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Whatsapp An impressive homemade take on the clock cake.

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Whatsapp The Owl cake makes use of musk-sticks, Smarties, jelly frogs and banana lollies.

Gorman, who has a three-year-old and a five-year-old, says the train remains the overwhelming favourite in her home.

But in a foodie-obsessed culture where a nation can become fixated on perfecting a croquembouche, why do cakes sprouting potato chips, popcorn and liquorice for facial features endure?

'It's not fondant icing, and we can manage it somehow,' says Gorman.

'I think they're achievable and we feel connected to them. They're not perfect.'



Listen to the full interview Journalist Ginger Gorman joins Patricia Karvelas on RN Drive.

Subscribe to RN Drive on iTunes, ABC Radio or your favourite podcasting app.