In 1856 James Calder established a bakery in South Australia, called the City Stream Biscuit Factory situated in Adelaide. John Balfour, his nephew, joined him in 1877. A few years later the business was renamed Calder and Balfour. By 1922 they had a popular chain of six tearooms called Balfours  in Adelaide. They adopted a green frog cake as a trade mark.

The cakes are made in the shape of a frog's head, and consists of a square sponge cake coated in jam (the frog's body). The frog’s head is made from a firm butter cream, and both the body and head covered in fondant icing. The concept is now used to promote the culture of South Australia to both locals and tourists.

The Encyclopaedia of South Australian Culture quotes Balfours as describing the cake as “delicious sponge topped with a special butter cream and enrobed in colour fondant.”

In 2001 the Balfour’s frog cake was named a Heritage Icon by the National Trust of South Australia.

Frog Cakes (Photographer Natalie Townsend

Link to Photographers

Natalie Townsend

---