Bake A Wish: Is Turning Cupcakes Into Life-Changing Wishes
There are few things more Australian than a kitchen bench covered in flour, a slightly chaotic cake, and someone asking, “Who wants the last one?”
This August, that familiar scene is getting a rather lovely upgrade.
Make-A-Wish Australia has launched its Bake A Wish recipe collection, bringing together some of the country’s favourite chefs, bakers and dessert creators for a collection of recipes designed to do more than satisfy a sweet tooth. Ahead of Bake A Wish Day on Thursday, 27 August, Australians are being encouraged to get baking, gather their friends, colleagues or classmates and turn their creations into something bigger: funds that help grant life-changing wishes for children living with critical illnesses.
And, naturally, the recipes are anything but boring.
Tigga Mac Joins Bake A Wish Australia
Campaign ambassador Tigga Mac, the self-taught cake decorator known for her wildly colourful creations, has contributed a particularly joyful centrepiece: a Star Cupcake Pull-Apart, complete with bright yellow Swiss meringue buttercream, marshmallow and an M&M face. It is the kind of cake that looks almost too cheerful to eat — almost.
Elsewhere in the collection, Reece Hignell brings the nostalgia with Coco Pops Cookies, while Katherine Sabbath turns dessert into something considerably more theatrical with Cookies ‘n’ Cream Cheesecake Pops. There are also Peanut Butter and Raspberry Brownies from Trixie Drinks Tea, Strawberry and Black Pepper Jam Stars from Always Butter Days, Browned Butter Anzac-Style Cookies dipped in milk chocolate from Gather & Feast, and White Chocolate Macadamia Cornflake Crunch Cookies from Ali Yusofow.
In other words: consider the baking schedule booked.
Bake A Wish Recipes for Everyone
The beauty of Bake A Wish Australia is that there is no expectation to be a pastry professional. The downloadable recipe cards are designed for home cooks, schools, workplaces and community groups — whether that means hosting a traditional bake sale, organising a morning tea or staging a full-blown bake-off.
“Anyone can create delicious sweet treats that are sure to be a sellout at their bake sale,” Tigga Mac says. “When you get a group together at your school, workplace or local community, it makes it even more fun.”
There is also a little incentive for Australia’s most imaginative bakers. Those who take inspiration from the collection and put their own spin on a bake can go into the draw to win a Le Creuset hamper valued at more than $850. So yes, there is a very good reason to take that Pinterest-level cake a little too seriously.
Tigga Mac’s Melbourne Bake A Wish Masterclass
For anyone who needs a masterclass before attempting their own creation, Tigga Mac will host a live demonstration of her Star Cupcake Pull-Apart at Kitchen Warehouse in Preston, Melbourne, on Saturday, 22 August from 11am to 1pm.
But beneath the buttercream, sprinkles and slightly competitive frosting techniques is the reason the campaign exists in the first place.
Helping Make-A-Wish Australia Grant Life-Changing Wishes
Make-A-Wish Australia has been granting wishes to children and teenagers living with critical illnesses for more than 40 years, having delivered more than 11,000 wishes since 1985. Today, more than 900 children across Australia are currently on their Wish Journey.
“Every child deserves moments of joy and happiness in their lives,” says Kitchen Warehouse Chief Customer Officer Simon Lamplough. “We are proud to be able to work with Make-A-Wish to help make wishes come true and bring communities together.”
Because sometimes making a difference looks surprisingly simple.
It looks like a mixing bowl on a Sunday afternoon. A tray of brownies being carried into the office. A group of friends arguing over who gets to decorate the cake. A slightly wonky cupcake sold for a few dollars more than it probably should be.
And somewhere on the other side of that bake sale, a child gets a wish.
Bake A Wish Day takes place on Thursday, 27 August. Australians can register, download the recipe collection and organise their own fundraising event throughout August.
The oven, it seems, has officially become a little more magical.
Written by Bella Blake
For more information, please visit https://fundraise.makeawish.org.au/event/bake-a-wish-fundraising/home
