The Thunderbirds 2 Cake From Parteaz

It was Hux’s 4th birthday this week, and before now he hadn’t had a party to celebrate the occasion of growing a year older. Elfie has always been very aware of birthdays and has loved a party ever since she was a toddler, but my boy was entirely non-fussed by such things. Beyond the odd present he knows he’s allowed to request he’s just not that bothered, the little weirdo.

But with this being the last birthday before he hotfoots it off to school and out of babyhood I wanted to create something special. A wonderful celebration of him, Thunderbirds-themed as he adores anything and everything vaguely related to Virgil, Gordon et al.

Which is how I found myself Googling ‘how to make a Thunderbirds 2 cake’ at 11pm one particularly slow Tuesday night. Suffice to say, I quickly gave up and put the idea in the hypothetical box I like to call ‘open only in emergencies or when I’m feeling like supermum’. I might be a hands-on mummy but I’m afraid anything that involves more skill than an icing bag and a Hummingbird-recipe cupcake gives me chills. And not in a good way.

Luckily, in what can only be described as proof that fate exists, the very next day I received an email from the lovely people at Parteaz Cakes. They happily asked if I had any important birthday parties coming up, and I happily answered “DO I EVER!?!”

A quick three minute browse of their website later I came across the cake I knew we had to order – the cake Hux was destined to have for his 4th birthday celebration. The Thunderbirds 2 birthday cake. And with not a modicum of stress required on my part.

Parteaz are exactly the kind of family-run business I like to support. Founded by a husband and wife team in 2006, they’re based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and is a small organization run with the kind of passion you’d expect from people who love helping you celebrate your favourite occasions. I mean, can you imagine making people happy with cake every day? It must be such a lovely reason to run a business, and this definitely shows.

The process of ordering the cake was a seamless one: I answered a few easy questions via email about the kind of cake I wanted (chocolate, Hux’s favourite) and discussed the size of the party and wording I wanted. I was called to double check a couple of details (including delivery, which can be a couple of days before the party) and was texted a delivery window the day before.

Because I like to really test out the people I work with on my blog I changed my delivery address last minute (this working in an office schtick can be sooo inconvenient ;), this didn’t faze Parteaz at all and I had a swift text confirmation from them.

The cake appeared the Friday before Hux’s Sunday party to my workplace bang on time, impressing an office full of difficult-to-rouse Video Game professionals. I knew Hux was going to be excited and I was literally hopping with impatience as I counted down the hours until he could see it!

Carefully packed in a sturdy cake box, I transported my sponge Thunderbirds 2 to my parents house with the care you’d give a newborn baby – though I’d hope you didn’t put the baby in the footwell as you should with a Parteaz cake…

I couldn’t wait to show Hux so snapped and shared the cake on Instagram, sneakily letting Elfie having a glimpse that evening.

Somehow during the birthday party at Hollywood Bowl (more on this later!) I managed to keep the cake out of sight, until it was time to sing a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. The cake came with sparklers and I’d bought my own ‘4’ candle, which were blown out with delight and excitement at a THUNDERBIRDS 2 BIRTHDAY CAKE!

He was delighted. It really was quite mind-blowing for this newly 4 year old that here was his favourite machine of all time, made out of icing and chocolate sponge! Magic.

There was more than enough to go round and the children happily tucked into Thunderbirds 2 with gusto. It was declared delicious and I can attest to that as – despite being currently sugar free – I have eaten it twice for breakfast this week. The sponge was lovely, the buttercream delicious and the icing generous. I mean, just look at it! The dark greens and bright yellows and magical blues… amazing.

So, I can safely say that my first step into the world of buying custom cakes went wonderfully. If I’d attempted this myself I would have spent at least £40 on ingredients and equipment and worked myself to the bone over 2 evenings creating a cake that would probably have been a bit wonky and disappointing. At £79  I wouldn’t hesitate ordering from Parteaz again, and will do so come Elfie’s birthday in July.

Huge thank-yous to the people at Parteaz for making a little boy’s birthday that little bit more special. It was SO worth breaking my sugar ban for you.

Parteaz Cakes are based in Essex and supply cakes to London and the surrounding areas. They supplied us with this cake for the purposes of this review but I genuinely can’t wait to order from them again. You can call them on 01702 421900 to chat about the kind of cake you want to surprise your favourite people with.