Babushka dessert table

On Sunday I completed another Amazing course at Faye Cahill Cake Designs in Marickville.

                                                         The beautiful Babushka...

I knew what I wanted to do with this cake. I wanted to give it to my Son's teachers as a thankyou for all the countless hours they have spent, not just being his teacher, but offering him the best Start to his schooling for Infants. I decided the cake as beautiful and stunning as it was, was simply not a big enough Thankyou, I needed to to more. I desided that I would Style a Christmas Dessert table for them to enjoy on the last day of term. I found a beautiful Wrapping paper at Officeworks, that was designed by Christina Re. That was my inspiration. From there I took the colours, red, gold, and white from the paper, and hints of Purple from the Babushka. I made the Cupcakes, and used my stencil pattern and gold Luster to highlight them. The Dessert table featured different heights, beautiful jars, ferrero raffaello, fererro rocher, macaroons made by Her Macaroons, Fruit mince tarts, Malteasers, Jaffas, Candy Canes, Individual chocolate bars, Gold Bon bons, Lindt Choclate balls, Chocolate Brownies, and of course the Centerpiece Babushka cake. {the crying babushka}. They loved it so much, and I was really pleased with the end result. It Just proves that you don't always need fancy back drops, {I used the wrapping paper} and also used the wrapping paper to style the plates, and wrap the Chocolate bars. The jars I found in a dollar store for a bargain price of $35ea. The stand the cake was on was a cardboard box {nothing fancy} That I covered in the Wrapping paper. The only problem was that my Camera battery had exhausted itself, and I forgot to charge it, so the pictures are... well... Ordinary... However, Im sure you will still be able to appreciate the photos none the less... Please enjoy looking at the Photos as much as I loved to do this table

Lessons in cake making

1. Always be organised
2.clean as you go
3. mistakes may seem like the worst thing in the world but there is nothing that can't be fixed or covered.
4. What 1 person may not like, other people will love
5. always credit where you got inspiration from
6. do not copy exactly other peoples designs... change it to make it yours.
7. You never ever know it all.... There will always be people better than you to learn from.
8. The day I think I know it all is probably the day I should stop making cakes.
9. Find equipment that isn't just for cake making and use it. eg. play doh impression mats, craft equipment, sewing equipment etc.
10. find your inspiration beyond cakes.

Wonderful Weddings

The last week was a busy one, One the line up was A Wedding Cake with 200 Dessert Serves, A cupcake Party event for 16 hens, Some Christmas Cupcakes, and Im sure a few more things in there that my mind has blanked on after a week of total sleep deprivation... The week started on Monday, I consulted my sketches for the Wedding cake. Could I really pull this off? Was I bitting off more than I could chew... Well I have paid an extensive amount of money in training... But 200 dessert serves????? I got all my prep work done... making flowers, preparing ganache, making syrups, torting cakes. Then the fun began, My kitchen was a swarm of Ganache come tuesday... I had to make 3 different flavoured ganaches... Raspberry and white chocolate Ganache, Bittersweet dark chocolate ganache, dark chocolate ganache, and white chocolate ganache... Sorry did I say 3 flavours? I meant 4! Any way, using my new found skills that I learnt at Faye Cahill Cakes A few weeks ago, I set to on the task ahead. Somewhere in between looking after 3 children (and a husband), between the hours of 8pm and 4am My work was being done. Day 1 Prep, Day 2 Ganache, Day 3 Ganache, Day 4 Cover, Day 5 & Day 6 Decorate! Well I finished the cake. Phew... but before delivering it, I had booked in to do a cupcake party on the same day (Will I ever learn when it is too much?... I don't think so ;)) It was so much fun and a good distraction from the impending "Cake delivery". Now I have come up with a term, It is called "cake anxiety". I am sure 99.99% of cake decorators experience this. It is the sickly nervous feeling (similar to being in love,) that you get a) when moving a heavy cake, b) when transporting a cake, and c) walking the cake into the venue d) until we hear feedback (reduced but still active) . I find us cake decorators can be extremely sensitive,whilst this feeling usually decreases significantly when the cake is sitting safely on the cake table, and instructions are in the correct hands, and the venue staff oooooh and aaaaaah over your cake. The feeling never subsides completely until I hear any sort of feedback from the person whom has ordered... (In fact I still have a few restless nights from cakes I made near the beginning that I never heard feedback from) Lucky for me in this instance, my cake anxiety was short lived with a Beautiful message from the bride the next day (A record!)

To finish the week off, I started on my Christmas decorations, well Christmas cupcake decorations anyway :) I am still yet to put up A Christmas tree... My poor Children, It must be hard to live with a cake obsessed mum ;)

(Oh yes I knew I would forget something).. I also set up a Toy Story Lolly Table, for the compettition winner on my facebook page. Anyway... Until next time, stay true, and keep on caking...

Course with Faye Cahill Cakes

This week I embarked on my first course at Faye Cahill Cakes.
I have done other classes, but I knew this was going to be different. It was amazing I learnt so many new skills and tips and the flow of coffee and drinks through the day surely helped. The teacher Mav and Viola were so lovely and really made the class a perfect day... I even got to see an amazing cake that Faye was doing finishing touches on. (cake envy if I ever experienced it;)) I really really enjoyed the class and would recommend their classes to everyone. Here are the pictures of the finished cake. Beautiful... Even if I do say so my self. :)

Cake collage

Ooooh look a collage of cakes :)