Testing Strength!

This week is my last week of cake making for two whole weeks!! My husband and I are off on a holiday for the first time in 2 1/2 years!!
This week I have been challenged and my strength- emotional and Physical- has been tested! I have had two cakes this week- whose end result- justifies all the challenges.
The first pictured cake is of one of over 100 individual box cakes that I made today! There were two designs for the tower- white or teal blue- both with sugar bows and ribbons. With this large amount to do- I called in my back up support- my Mum and Sister- who helped out where they could. My sister (Alex) mixed the wonderful teal colour for the icing ( it took 5kg of icing for these little cakes!!) and my mum was on the fine task of making the bows!- I iced and painted the cakes- with an edible silver lustre- and the end result is too cute! My mum will also have the task of setting the cakes up for display too! I can't wait to see a finished picture!

This next designs beauty- more than makes up for the 5 1/2 hours of patiently applying each individual silver cachous in place. I thought I was going blind!! only joking!! I used around 400g of cachous on this cake- of which I am sure I vacuumed up at least 50g!!! In the end this large scale three tier design weighs in at over 20kg! A whopper! I had to use all my muscles to lift this one!

So this week I am signing off for now! Back in August with some fabulous designs ahead!
'Til then- Happy Baking!!

Published Cake Designs

This Week- the 23rd Edition of "Wedding Cakes- A design source" arrived in Brisbane Newsagents!!! I have been waiting for this Magazine to arrive in Australia- as I knew I would have a cake picture published in it- to my surprise- after purchasing the magazine on Friday- I had seven wonderful pictures in this fantastic magazine!!
I had received various emails from UK based decorators commenting on my cakes over the past months- the magazine came out in April in the UK- so I was almost bursting with excitement to see it! I certainly wasn't disappointed- and I look forward to the next issue- which also has some of my designs in it- and a couple of my past clients pictured with their cakes!
Knowing that some of my past designs may inspire other Brides, Grooms and cake decorators alike- is great!

Lucky Sevens!

This week has been my biggest yet!
With a record breaking number of couples tying the knot in Queensland today (07/07/07)- some of this frenzy of course had to trail down through to all the wedding suppliers out there.
Brisbane turned on a perfect winters day today- warm enough to go without a jumper- barely any wind and a vast blue sky!
I have had every type of cake flavour, style and design to create this week. From the prettiest cupcakes, through to bright novelty designs- Chocolate creations, classic styles, and a true "designer cake" thrown in for good mix!
Starting Yesterday- I had a soft classic three tier design that just made you go Ahhh- when you saw it. The soft icing folds, that floated down and across the design, along with the pink centered ivory sugar roses- completed this classic design.


Then today my day began at 8am. With our newly monogrammed "Cake That!" shirts on- My husband and I set out delivering the 7 (yes 7- freaky I know!) wedding cakes I had on order for today!
We had to make multiple trips to deliver the masterpieces! Driving around all day today- I began to ponder- once again- all those mouths that will be sampling a little bit of cake tonight! It is really exciting!
To throw a bit of spice into my already hectic week- today is also my grandmothers birthday! I love making cakes for my family- especially because I can make whatever I like- and normally whatever I feel like eating too!! So a layered sponge filled with a vanilla bean, honey and ricotta cream, and cinnamon poached pears slices! Yum! I can wait to cut it tonight!


Having to pick a favourite from all the cakes I have created this week is very hard! But purely for the uniqueness of the design I have chosen the cake below! This cake was designed incorporating elements of a design the bride found on the web- the delicate sugar Arcs and monochromatic colour scheme really draw me to this design. I am sure the guests of this wedding will remember this cake for years to come.
I can't wait to deliver this cake tomorrow and see the reaction of the reception venue!
Until next time.....SJ

Dietary Requirements

With the increasing instances of food allergies and intolerances- I am often asked to create cakes that suit these needs.
Being a Chef- I am happy to create cakes to suit the dietary requirements of my clients- and their guests. Whilst Coeliac- or Gluten intolerant- is the most common- I can help with Dairy free, Egg free, Nut free,Vegan- you name it!

This weekend I had a lovely bride- whose niece traveled all the way from Canada to be a flower girl in her wedding. The little girl had a severe allergy to Eggs- and in keeping with the cake design- I created a batch of egg free chocolate cupcakes- so she too could enjoy the wedding cakes on the day!
These cakes were light and fluffy- with a rich chocolate flavour! If you didn't know any better- you would never know that they were missing eggs.
Gone are the days of awful cakes to fit dietary requirements! I really enjoy creating decadent flavours- with real ingredients- not chemical substitutes- so my clients can eat their cake without worrying about their health issues!

So if you are looking for a fabulous tasting and looking cake- to meet your diet needs- Just ask- you will be pleasantly surprised by the wonderful- and sinful- flavours I have to offer!

Sweet Week!

Once again my beautiful clients have given me a wide variety of designs to create this week! Starting on Friday, I had a wonderful four tier cake- that weighed the earth- to Deliver out to Glengariff at Dayboro. If you have never been out there it is just glorious!
I made the trip out on my own- and using all my muscles- transported the cake from the car- out of its box and onto the table- without a hitch!




Then Yesterday I tripped around Brissy delivering more cakes- then headed up to Clear Mountain to set up another Favourite- this chocolate cake smelt better than it looked! I even saw the Bride to Be getting ready for her big day!




Then today- leaves the last cake of the weekend- a beautiful christening cake- for an even cuter little boy! When I was first contacted to make his christening cake- he was only 3 months old- now 6 months old he has one of the biggest baby smiles I have seen!
His two tier cake featured a muted teal tier with a white design- and a white tier with sleeping baby cuddling his teddy!!

So thats it for this week... Until next week 07/07/07 When EVERYONE seems to be wanting to be married!!

Third time in as many months!

Well for the third time in as many months- I am lucky enough to have my clients featured in the Sunday Mail- as the feature wedding couple.
The couple- Jade and Troy- were married yesterday- and celebrated their union with a wicked chocolate creation! As I was setting up the cake yesterday- the groom was at the venue- having just finished a round of golf with his Groomsmen- and let me in on the secret! He was also so excited that the cake looked "exactly like the picture"! Of course- I told him! He was remarkably casual for a man due to be married in a mere couple of hours! So when I opened the paper today- there they were in all their wedding glory- with a little picture of the cake I made for them!!



This week I have once again been blessed with a truly diverse range of cakes!
I even created a "Salvador Dali's Melting Clock" cupcake design for one couple.
The main clock itself was a delicate sugar piece- that I had my mum transport on her lap to the venue- so it arrived safely!
Mini melting clocks were also scattered throughout the design- that had 5 different flavours- including a Gluten and Lactose free Dark chocolate almond and raspberry cupcakes- which if I do say so myself- were divine!




Then there was a fabulous Tiffany themed 21st which had tiffany blue cupcakes- and cute white sugar hearts! The room looked so gorgeous- everything in a "tiffany" theme.

Once again this weekend meant a trip up to Maleny for my fantastic husband to deliver a cake for me! Whilst I was meeting with clients and setting up the other cakes for the weekend!
These last two pictures are included because I love the photos! I am constantly surprising myself at my photographic artistry!!
Each week I am torn between my favourite cake- but this week I can't choose- I love them all!

Simply Stunning

With almost another week gone by- I must post about a couple of designs from last weekend.
The "ribbons and roses" design was chosen by a lovely lady- who was hosting a wedding at her private home. This cake oozes everything that is traditional in wedding cake design. The classic white and Ivory colour scheme coupled with sugar roses and ribbons- simply stunning!

Then there was also another repeated design- with this Black and white double barrel design. I first made this design over a year ago. The original cake featured piping that mimicked the embroidery on the brides wedding gown- and when she stood beside the cake- it looked fabulous!
This time- there was no embroidery to copy- but the design remained basically the same- embellished with Swarovski crystals- this cake really shines!
When I delivered the cake to the venue- the Bride had the theming just perfect! Everything was black and white- and the cake design fit in superbly!

Long Live the Queen!

Well Thank goodness for a Long Weekend!
This weekend is very popular for weddings-so I had many weddings this weekend- all today(Sunday) bar one!
Everyone seems to be taking full advantage of the national long weekend. It has been a beautiful day here in Brisbane- so hopefully everyone enjoyed their glorious wedding day!
It has been hard to pick a favourite from this weeks designs- one that really jumps put is a reverse "Dotty Kate" design- which had dark chocolate chards with white chocolate polka dots. It was fun and a true chocolate lovers masterpiece rolled into one. If you are prone to falling into a chocolate coma- well this cake is for you. Each tier features either a rich Jaffa mud cake- or a divine white chocolate and raspberry mud cake- then the entire cake is smothered in a velvety dark chocolate ganache- topped off with the dotty chocolate chards, and white chocolate shavings!!!!
The Chards with the dots were originally made in white chocolate with dark chocolate dots for my sister Kate's birthday- a couple of years back! So I was only too happy to reverse the design for a wedding cake!






Reverse "Dotty Kate"

Then there was a contemporary style design that had the couples monogram embellished on the front wall of the top tier in tiny(2mm) silver cachous. Whilst getting each individual silver ball into the cake in the correct pattern was no easy feat- the result was rather impressive.
With a copy of the couples "CJ" monogram beside me on the laptop- I sat very patiently applying each little ball to the cake with royal icing. I am sure I ended up vacuuming up more balls than what ended up on the cake!!!




"Edible Bling"

Although I have made the last cake design a couple of time now- this is the first time I have made it with a touch of pink.
I love the digital camera era- it means I can take a dozen or two pictures of a cake- and end up with at least one great one! I feel that I am getting better as a photographer- so I thought I would throw in ths last pic- as my favourite photo of the week!
This cake had a marble mud cake base- and white raspberry mud cake top tier- all smothered in a creamy ganache before being finished with a white rolled fondant. Tiny piped icing dots in white and pinks drop down in peaks from the top of each tier.

Weddings Parties- Anything!

This past week bought me much diversity in my cake making!
From Classical wedding cake designs through to corporate and Birthday cakes- made for an artistically challenging week!
I traveled to Sydney with the "chainsaw" cake- to celebrate my Uncles 40th Birthday! After much security checking, and curious onlookers, I made the trip safely to Sydney with the cake!
It is great to be able to create cakes which are so much fun- and really get guests talking!
The cake is entirely edible- including the saw part- and when I went through airport security the guards there were very curious as to how it was all constructed- so in true form- I held up the waiting passengers at Brisbane Airport whilst I tried to explain-quickly- how I managed to make the whole cake from sugar- to curious people who had never decorated a cake before! It really wasn't an easy feat!
I then again spent much time with fellow party goers- explaining the ins and outs of cake decorating! At least I love to talk!
The cake was a surprise for my Uncle- he knew I would bring a cake- but he certainly didn't expect a chainsaw to arrive from Brisvegas! His job is what prompted the unusual design- which he seemed to really love!
I enjoy seeing peoples reactions and cutting the cake just as much as I do enjoy the finished product. It isn't often that I actually get to see one of my designs being cut- or get to talk with guests, and hear their thoughts first hand. Suffice to say the cake ( white Chocolate and Raspberry mud cake inside) was gobbled up as fast as I could cut it!


This week brings a lot of weddings for the long weekend! until then.... Have a great time!

Reflections

I don't know what bought me to this thought- but in average my cake would be eaten by around 600 people each week!! I can't believe it- from doing a job that I really enjoy- I manage to put a little bit of sugar into more than 600 mouths each week- its just amazing!
Having a consistently fantastic product being eaten by this many individuals each week is by far the best form of Marketing anyone could have. I have been looking into advertising lately, and have discovered that you don't always get what you pay for.
I pride myself on being able to give my clients a fantastic quality product at a reasonable price, and therefore I rely on a lot of word of mouth advertising.
So with over 600 hungry people experiencing a Cake That! cake each week- this has got to be the best form of advertising yet!

Letichia and Jim 14th April 2007

All the unexpected and wonderful thank yous and photos from my past clients that I really treasure- make my job that extra bit wonderful! The clients above also thanked me for referring me to their florist- who did a marvelous job on the wedding flowers.
Without fantastic clients who choose gorgeous cakes-I wouldn't be able to do what I love!

Photos taken by Helen McConnell Photography