Making a splash

Inspired by The Weekly's children's birthday cake cookbook, we've made a mini version of the iconic Swimming Pool cake, and reveal how this favourite came together.

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There was a rule when it came to making creations for the book: Don't let any cake go to waste. Whatever you cut off to make a new shape must be reintroduced into your creation where possible. So having a round cake as a base was a boon for the original Test Kitchen team when it was their turn to try their hand at a new entry.

“Once you had that round cake, for simplicity reasons, what could you turn it into?” original Test Kitchen staff member Sue Christmas (pictured fourth from left) says of the team's approach. “That’s where the pool idea came from, because at that time there were more above-ground pools than in-ground pools in the backyard. Then you think, what do you need? The chocolate sticks were first as the fence around it and then jelly for water.”

Next, Sue raided the lolly cupboard the team had stocked since starting work on the cakes. “We'd buy any lollies that looked a bit different that we could use on a cake. That's where I got the little round jellies to use as floaties for the dolls.” The dolls were brought in by one of the team who had children, she guesses, and the beach balls were round sweets painted with nail polish. “You wouldn't do that today,” she laughs, noting that the modern version uses food colouring instead.

Fellow team member Sally Kennard (fifth from left), suggested she add a ladder staircase – that came together with liquorice straps and musk sticks.