The author of the iconic Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book has labelled one of her own cakes "a bitch to make", telling readers to "glue the pages shut".
Pamela Clarke spoke to ABC News about the legacy the book left on the hearts of Australasian kids, but says one recipe is not worth the time.
"The 'Tip Truck' cake. Bitch of a cake. Don't make it. Unless you're really desperate," she told viewers.
"The weight of the top would collapse on the cake. Don't go there. Glue the pages together, forget."
The cookbook, often referred to as the cookbook "with the train on the cover" when I was growing up, defined the childhood birthdays of many Australasian kids. The tiger, lion, racing car and rocket have all made a feature on many party food tables.
Clarke's personal favourite is the 'Dolly Parton' cake, a mound of cake covered in marshmallows which acts as a skirt to a Barbie Doll.
"It's my favourite because it's so easy. And quick" she says.
"We broke a lot of rules making these cakes," Clarke says, adding that the bird cake with the potato chip beak was revolutionary, as it included something "savoury not sweet".
However, Clarke added it wasn't always smooth sailing, with some resistance over producing a cookbook from the magazine head honchos.
"Some of the team and some of the bosses just didn't believe that the Children's Birthday Cake Book was a goer. So we basically talked our boss into doing this book."
Newshub.
