Birthday Cake is Overrated

Picture this. I’m at my sixth birthday party in my backyard. It’s a pool party, duh. My dad lights the candles that are placed atop of my light pink frosted strawberry birthday cake that has “Happy Birthday Alexandra” in script written on it. The cake is larger than my six-year-old head. It’s my time to shine. Everyone sings the song, I blow out my candles, and we dig in. Except the strawberry cake that I had been dreaming about was not very good. Not that I had the most sophisticated pallet at age six, but I gave my plate to my dad, and he helped me finish the slice off while I jumped back in the pool.

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that cake would not be in my ranking of top five sweet treats. I would just always prefer something else. The birthday “cake” tradition can feel very restricting. As a girl who is celebrating her 21st birthday very soon, April 25, I have started brainstorming what other treats can replace a cake. Why do we even we use cakes to celebrate birthdays?

Apparently the Roman Empire was the first to do it. Romans made cakes out of flour, nuts, yeast, and honey for wedding celebrations, as well as the occasional 50th birthday. But only if the celebrant was famous, and not a woman. Women’s birthdays were not celebrated until around the 12th century.

An essential part of every birthday is blowing out the candles and making your big wish. The Ancient Greeks started this tradition by bringing moon-shaped cakes to the temple of Artemis, the goddess of the moon, and placing candles on top to make the cakes appear to glow like the moon. 

If candles are all you need to symbolize a birthday cake, I say we should start slapping candles on anything. Here are some of my favorite birthday “cake” alternatives that would still support the weight of your candles:

• Cookies
  • Perfect for mixing and mingling since they don’t require a plate or fork, and they provide great stability for one or more candles. I always love receiving a box of Tiff’s Treat cookies on my birthday. They are out of Austin, Texas (my hometown), can be delivered anywhere, and have such a cute story. 
• Ice cream/gelato
  • Even as a lactose intolerant girl, this is one of my favorites!
• Lemon bar
  • The citrus is so refreshing on a hot spring or summer day!
• Waffles
  • Who doesn’t love a brunch birthday!
• S’mores
  • Your campfire is just a glorified candle!
• Pie
  • “It’s healthy, it’s got fruit in it,” says my best friend.

My birthday “blueberry pie” from my 18th birthday!