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...

Wow it has been a while

So, fans, and readers it has been such a long time since my last post. I have been kind of busy with a new baby... He is so gorgeous little Joshua.
I took the children to get professional portraits done, and the end result was so cute I simply must share.

http://www.israelsmith.com/portraits/naomis-cherubs-in-studio-april-2011/

So apart from the baby what have I been up to.
Well now Im making and creating  labels, and chocolate wrappers for the beautiful dessert tables that are becoming evr so popular.

They are great because I can design them to match the theme of any event, or use invitation designs to complete a whole package.

I Have made a few cakes, and lots of Cupcakes.

Anyway... I promise regular updates from now on xxx

shoes & cake blues

So this past week I completed a cake course at http://www.cakedecoratingcentral.com/ the beautiful shoe box, It was such a fun course and I met some really lovely people. It was especially fun because I got to do it with one of my closest friends Amanda... her shoe box and shoe were amazing in colours of brown and beige.
I opted with pink and black theme. The cake was made on foam (It was for display)
I think if I make this shoe again, I will definately not opt for black, as it never seemed to harden properly, and I think with all the moistuer in the air it certainly didnt help.

Oh and my shoe box made it to 6th most saved cake on http://www.cakecentral.com/ what an honour... truly as thousands of cake makers, decorators, and enthusiasts all view and post pictures... I was so proud, i even took a screen shot of it, but the credit really must go to my wonderful teachers.

I made this caramel mud cake with chocolate ganache for the lovely Natalie, whom won it on my facebook page through her friend Divesh for her Birthday...

Comments on the cake were...

"THANK YOU! IT WAS AMAZING AND SOOOO YUMMM!!! EVERYONE LOVED IT! THANK YOU! FANTASTIC JOB!"

Very very pink cake... and what a shoe to match :)

Now we have covered the shoes... what about the cake blues...

The bride wanted a beautiful tapered wedding cake with flowers, and a hint of blue, this was the design I came up with....

Can you see the cute little rabbit between the bride and groom... I love it when people really personalise their wedding cakes/ toppers/ figurines...

The cake was delivered to Curzon Hall (near Ryde). It was a beautiful venue, but I was upsey when the staff tried to "help" and proceeded to put finger marks on the cake/ cake board on delivery, these did get smoothed out (mostly), but I was a little furious.

Oh and when the man said my cake was a scrambled eggs cake, because of all the flavours (white choc mud with rasp & choc ganache, caramel mud +choc ganache, & lemon vanilla buttercake) I'm telling you... do not tell a woman that is 9 months pregnant, and has spent the last 60 hours  (add extra for flower making etc) working, dreaming and thinking of this cake that it is scrambled eggs cake... I don't care how you meant it!

This cake did not come without it's own challenges.

1) structure & supports, soloution = alot of supports, chocolate ganache & a very cold lounge room.

2) Delivery (very heavy) + a lot of stairs = took my assistant Josh K. He is proving to be quite useful.

Overall I had a busy week, but I enjoyed it... actually I loved it, even though a couple of times I thought I might just bring on the labour from the stress :)

Beach wedding...

This week I had the privelage of making a beautiful beach themed wedding cake.
The flavour was chocolate mud, and was layered with with chocolate and dark chocolate ganache.
Delivered to Newport Surf Lifesaving club.

Also there were some yummy red relvet cupcakes with elmo & smurfs on them with cream cheese frosting



I had a few troubles with the wedding cake as the weather had been so hot, and the fondant was almost melting in my hands which caused the icing to tear and rip, and especially because of the height on the second tier... What I think I did wrong was have the icing a little thick, which made it very heavy, and pulled alot, but after 3 trys (pulling off the icing and starting again) I finally got it done.

Today Im in the process of making a black and gold channel handbag cake (yep another one) for a 40th birthday. So Now while its sitting in the fridge waiting for the ganache to set, Im going to have a nice cup of tea.

Im running a little behind schedule but It will be delivered on time :)



Designer bags and wedding tastings

This week started off quiet, but of course nothing is ever quiet when it comes to cakes.

So on Thursday met a lovely bride to be, and gave her a cake consultation and tasting.
The flavour was white chocolate mud cake, layered with white chocolate ganache and raspberry compote.

(The cake tasting cake)

So then having already made a cake I decided that 1 was just not enough.

So decided to venture on to make a handbag cake, which was turned into another facebook compettion to win it.

The LV Handbag was soooooooooo fun to make, and I loved how it came to life. All it needed was a designer shoe, some makeup, and jewellery and it would of been everything a woman could want... Whats not to love about cake and designer labels in the same mouthful.

This week coming up is going to be a blast, with 3 awesome cakes to make.
Starting the week off with a designer chanel clutch bag (wow designer fever).
Followed by the great Aussie dream cake a BBQ cake complete with snags for Australia Day, and of course one that I'm very excited to make a naughty nuaghty nurse cake... ;o

Oh and here is a link to make an awesome sugar rose... (not my tutorial, but where I learnt from)
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-rose-with-5-petal-cutter-165313/

0r here are written instructions found at the folowing link...
http://www.perfect-wedding-day.com/cake-decorating-for-weddings.html

Have fun... xxx



New Year... New beginings

Wow, after a busy 2010, 2011 is already looking to get fired up.

Cake orders have come in for January, February, May, July, August, September... and January 2012.
Phew... who ever would of thought that this would ever be possible. So starting the New Year,I would like to thank all my family, friends, and all my customers new and returning. Without you I would not be where I am today, and I am humbled and blessed.

The New Year also brings about the desire for change and new things, So here is my new blog, with a link to my new twitter account, and the webpage need not feel bad as its getting a whole new revamp as well.

This week I endevor the challenge of making a replica of a house for a special client Maria.
Im excited by this cake, as I love challenges, and I love to create.

Here is a sketch of the house I'm making this week...

Starting this blog I would like to post my top 5 cakes/ cupcakes/ cookies of 2010.

5. My hubby's (not quite a suprise) 30th Birthday cake. This was made between the hours of 2-4am for his suprise party... but he was to clever he already knew that a party had been organised.

4. Katherine & Albert's wedding cake. This 5 tier cake was all fruit cake, and was HUGE, it was heavy to deliver and set up, but I loved it because I learnt so many things from making this cake... oh and it looks beautiful as well.

3. Everyone loves the festive season, and I loved these cupcakes. Little Christmas puds, a Santa belly, cheeky elves, and Christmas baubles... The children loved these, and because they loved them so much, I loved them to.

2. Making these cupcakes with a very talented young Josh was so exciting.

He is a passionate and very talented student, who I'm sure will be very successful oneday in all his cake endevours.

I love these cupcakes because they are a reminder that its never to early or too late to start living your dreams.

1. ... But the no.1 spot has to go to ... My very own wedding cake. Of course I'm completely biased, but it was the best day of my life, and everything in it.