Birthdays of people are celebrated usually with birthday gifts, cakes, a birthday party, or a rite of passage.

Birthday celebrations are almost always the same—with the usual birthday cake placed in front of you while you stand awkwardly, waiting for your friends and family to finish singing the birthday song.

While there is no way that you can change the birthday song, there are definitely ways to make your birthday special. Instead of getting the conventional cake for your birthday celebration every single year, here are 9 alternative birthday ‘cakes’ that will make your next celebration extra special.

Photo Credit: P.osh

BROWNIES

The alternative to a great chocolate cake is brownies. Essentially a baked chocolate dessert, brownies come in various forms and may either be fudgy or chewy.

At P.Osh Brownies, you can look forward to interesting chewy brownies such as peanut butter & jelly and spicy chocolate. Alternatively, you can also customise your own brownies with lovely birthday messages written on top.

P.osh Brownies
11 Orchard Road, #B1-40
Dhoby Xchange
Singapore 238826
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 9.30pm
Closed on Sundays
Nearest Station: Dhoby Ghaut

*Multiple outlets islandwide

Photo Credit: Creme Maison’s

CAKE TRUFFLES

One of our go-to bakery is Crème Maison Bakery. They have a knack in crafting over-the-top fancy cakes that taste just as good as they look.

Although they are well-known for their floral cupcakes, we recommend trying their cake truffles—moist cake pops encased in white chocolate and can be dressed up further in accordance to your party theme. How gorgeous and fun!

Creme Maison’s
30 Tai Seng Street #08-03C
Singapore 534013
Mon: 11am – 5pm
Wed to Sat: 11am – 5pm
Sun: 11am – 3pm
Closed on Tuesdays
Nearest Station: Tai Seng

Photo Credit: Lush Platters

CHEESE WHEEL CAKE

Whoever said that cakes must be all sweet and pretty have not tried cheese wheel cakes.

Made from whole wheels of mouth-watering artisan cheese, Lush Platters’ Cheese Wheel Cake is definitely a hot favourite among cheese lovers and it is the perfect centrepiece on a grazing table. Do note that cakes must be ordered a minimum of four weeks before the celebration date as this allows the cheese to ripen nicely.

Lush Platters
Tel: +65 8500 2905
Email: hello@lushplatters.com
Closed on Mondays

Photo Credit: The Patissier LLP

CROQUEMBOUCHE

Using traditional French baking techniques and transforming them into creative and original sweet indulgences, The Patissier has a Croquembouche—a French dessert consisting of choux pastry balls (cream puffs) piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel—that is a showstopper on its own and it requires at least a 10 days’ notice before collection.

The Patissier
4, Mohd Sultan Road #01-01
Singapore 238955
Tel: +65 6737 3369
Mon to Fri: 10am – 7.30pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 4.30pm
Nearest Station: Fort Canning

CUSTARD BUNS

Cartoon dim sums have always been in trend as they are cute and captivating. At TungLok Teahouse, their mini Piglet BBQ Buns is a must to order.

Generous portions of caramelized char siew are encased in the soft and fluffy buns, and the kids are bound to love this.

Tunglok Teahouse
10 Sinaran Drive, #01-73,
Singapore 307506
Tel: +65 6893 1123
Mon to Sun: 11am – 5pm, 5,30pm – 10pm
Nearest Station: Novena

Photo Credit: Little House Of Dreams

FLOWER POT DESSERTS

Situated in the heart of Dempsey Hill, Little House of Dreams is a local bakery that specialises in bespoke bakes and dessert tables.

These cute little pots of flowers are actually cakes that are topped with different types of flower design and the perfectly moist cupcakes are baked in food safe and reusable silicon pots.

Little House of Dreams
Block 8 Dempsey Road #01-14
Singapore 247696
Tel: +65 6472 4977
Mon to Thurs: 11am – 10.30pm
Fri: 11am – 12am
Sat: 9am – 12am
Sun: 9am – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

FRUIT TARTS

For those who love fruits, fruit tarts from Fruit Paradise are ideal for you. They offer a wide selection of fruit tarts that are made with lightly sweetened custard topped with a generous amount of fresh fruits that adds a refreshing taste to it.

Some of the best sellers include Mixed Fruits (S$58.85 for 19cm), Nutty Caramel (S$58.85 for 19cm) and Mixed Berries Chocolate (S$58.85 for 19cm). Do note that some of their tarts include hints of alcohol.

Fruit Paradise
53 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 #02-18
Ang Mo Kio Hub
Singapore 569933
Tel: +65 6483 4094
Mon to Sun: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Ang Mo Kio

Photo Credit: The Jelly Hearts

JELLY CHEESECAKE

No matter how old you are, no one can resist having jelly. The Jelly Hearts offers a stellar array of multi-tiered, handmade jelly cheesecakes.

The Birthday Special (S$39.60) consists of 2 layers of cream cheese and chocolate in the middle layer. Both young and old would love this dessert as it is not cloyingly sweet.

The Jelly Hearts
1 Pasir Ris Close #02-111
Singapore 519599
Tel: +65 6583 8782
Mon to Sun: 11am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Pasir Ris

*Multiple outlets islandwide

Photo Credit: Jtown Cafe

MARTABAK MANIS

Martabak manis is a popular snack in Indonesia and people usually have them as desserts or for supper. It is basically stuffed pancakes—egg batter deposited into a hot, oiled cast iron pan spread with butter or margarine, then filled with chocolate sprinkles, cheese and other toppings.

Jtown Café offers a variety of flavours such as pandan, choco cheese and durian.

Jtown Cafe
220 Orchard Road #B1-04/05
Midpoint Orchard
Singapore 238852
Tel: +65 9230 5040
Mon to Fri: 12pm – 9pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Somerset

Photo Credit: Nasi Lemak Indulgence

NASI LEMAK CAKE

Nasi Lemak lovers can now have their favourite rice dish in the form of a cake! Presenting to you, Sambal Prawn With Quail Eggs (S$79) from Nasi Lemak Indulgence that is made of fragrant light coconut rice and prawns coated with spicy savoury concoction sambal and topped with quail eggs.

All their cakes are freshly prepared daily and you can also choose your favourite toppings to add on. Surprise everyone with this new concept and relish the authentic taste of Nasi Lemak with a whole new experience.

Nasi Lemak Indulgence
Email: nasilemakindulgence@gmail.com
Tel: +65 9866 9826

SHERPHERD’S PIES

There are not many places that make good Sherpherd’s Pies, but Don Pie is one of them. A venture that was spearheaded by both a humble passion for baking and of sharing good food with the masses, Don Pie first opened its doors back in 2000 and has since won the hearts of many with their insanely modest yet mouth-watering, all-natural pies.

Their signature Sherpherd’s Pies are available in two sizes (S$7.50 for personal size, S$26.20 for family size). Prepared simply, but with lots of heart, the layered casserole of ground beef (or chicken) and veggies nicely melded together with a rich, savoury gravy that gives the pie a robust body and good flavour.

Don Pie & Bazuka Yakibuta
Downtown Gallery 6A Shenton Way,
#03-29
Singapore 068815
Tel: +65 8511 2093
(Closed on Saturdays & Sundays)
Mon to Fri: 8am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

Photo Credit: Sushi Tei

SUSHI PLATTER

With Sushi Tei’s Sushi Platter (Party Pack A–S$62.80++), you get to try a variety of sushi such as salmon, ika, tamago and various maki. Now, just put a candle on top and you’ve a lovely sushi cake for your birthday!

290 Orchard Road #05-04/05
Singapore 238859
Tel: +65 6235 1771
Mon to Sun: 11.30am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

*Multiple outlets islandwide

From baby to toddler, our baby turning one is a bittersweet moment for us. And like most parents, we want to celebrate his birthday as best way we know how, by throwing a birthday party.

When Brad asked me to share about my experience on ladyironchef, I agreed immediately because I hope this post on How to Plan a Baby’s First Birthday Party will give you some ideas when you are celebrating your child’s first birthday.

I do not consider myself experienced when it comes to party planning, much less a first year birthday party. Russell is my first born by the way. As a host, I did a few things right and a couple of things wrong. Here are some lessons learnt, and things I wished somebody told me before.

THINGS I DID RIGHT

There were many suggestions, like BBQ in a chalet, Lunch in a Club, House Party…  but I was very sure I wanted a distinctively kids party because he has the rest of his life to throw stripper parties. He is one, he will party like he is one.

THE VENUE

I want the kids to have fun but not have their fun jumping on my bed. I decided to hold it in a children indoor playground where they can go crazy in. My little guests are mostly toddlers. I read up and visited a few places before deciding on Kiddyfun because they specifically target the younger kids.

• The play area is well padded so the toddlers can run around with little supervision.
• The play is not too huge that you’d lose all your guests.
• The party area is comfortable and cozy, with actual sofas instead of stools, so the adults can lounge around and chit chat.

Party packages prices and offerings are comparable to other indoor gyms like Petite Park, Fidgets and Hokey Pokey. I recommend that you shortlist a few places, then make a trip down to look at their party areas before deciding. We brought Russell to test the play systems in KiddyFun first and he had so much fun that we were confident on our pick.

SPLURGE ON THE CAKE

When people look back on birthdays, they will refer to the cake to check when it was. “Oh, he was one, so that was 2013.” I did a lot of research on the cake and I’m really satisfied with it. I requested for 3 figurines; a baby boy that matches what he wore on the day, a dragon because he was born in the year of a dragon and a lion because he’s a Leo. It is very hard to make a cute fondant dessert masculine ok? But this cake is age appropriate yet manly. And it was beautifully crafted. Perfect.

TIME

The party lasted for 2.5 hours. Initially I thought it was too short, but anything longer and the kids will grow cranky while the adults grow restless. Some friends throw parties that last the whole day and people are free to turn up at different times. I prefer to put everyone together.

THINGS THAT COULD BE IMPROVED

There are a few things I wish I could have done better and it really boils down to proper delegation.

GUESTBOOK

I wanted guests to leave messages for Russell, I even wanted people to leave video messages. However, I was too busy to do this. Delegate this to someone sociable and persuasive.

PHOTOS

To my horror, nobody took pictures of the guests and I was running around all the time that any pictures I took were shoddy. This is one of those things I took for granted. Now it looks like I have thrown a #foreveralone birthday party. Have someone be in charge of taking photos of every guest, preferably someone who knows the guests well and can take a decent picture. I think this is basic party etiquette too.

INTRODUCTIONS

Do proper introductions and trust your guests to mingle by themselves. I was trying to make conversations with everyone that I cannot make conversations with everyone.

VIDEOS

Remember to record a video of the birthday song! The facial expressions on my boy’s face were priceless. Appoint two people to record the birthday song and put their lives on it. Remember to have one more person to take a video of the singing guests too, cover all angles!

Bottom line is, you cannot do everything by yourself and you’d find that people are happy to help. Delegate the right tasks to the correct people so you can relax, sit back and enjoy the party.

Despite the mistakes, we had a wonderful time. Really happy to see my friends and family, happy to see the kids playing and having fun, happy to see Russell’s huge smile and the twinkle in his eyes when everyone started singing his birthday song… and the embarrassment when he realised they were singing to him.

Words by Priscilla Nu