One of the upsides of turning older: getting to pin birthday candles into something fun. I am not sure if this cake endured any instance of lighting or wax-melting but it sure was a party highlight. I think it even earned a round of applause!

Someone who deserves many claps and cheers: Will, who secretly organised this one-of-a-kind cake, hatching the plot with Chris The, of the awesome Black Star Pastry. Originally, Chris was going to make a “hug” cake, where the vanilla half meets the chocolate half in a “hug”. I think plans for street art projections were even discussed! This alternative was pretty spectacular though: underneath the white “petals” were chocolate, raspberry and a genius layer of gingerbread.

Applause also needs to go to Levins, who brought over his deep-fryer (!) to cook a generous batch of his reputation-making battered pickles and ranch dressing. So awesome.

I tried to ply everyone with fun eats (blueberry, half-choc & strawberry Pocky; mini Makmak macarons; Miss Chu rice paper rolls; Sally’s slices of pumpkin delicious) in the hopes it would fuel them for rounds of Singstar. Later, I handed out lolly bags (this is the sole point of turning 30) and the last ones standing enjoyed well-rationed amounts of yuzu sake that Will had employed astounding amounts of detective work to track down. (That’s what friends are for – to share the toast-worthy spoils with.) It was a mega-dose of fun, as ageing-not-so-gracefully should be.

Black Star Pastry, 277 Australia St, Newtown NSW, 2042, (02) 9557 8656