Far and Away

The first week in December had me sending cakes all over SEQ and to FIJI!

I had two cakes go to Mt Tambourine on this particular weekend.

The first was a chocolate creation that was filled with summer berries and finished with dark chocolate chards!

The second cake was a cupcake tower- and although it was collected I managed o get a shot of the top tier- which was an enlarged cupcake itself!

Pale pink and white themed- the cupcakes that went with the tower featured chocolate monogram initials and pale pink and vanilla butter cream icing.

I also had a wicked chocolate creation for a 21st Birthday- A cake that I have done multiple times, but each time just that little bit different.

This time the cake was a tower cake design- the super long dark chocolate cards really gave a tall sleek look- then the chocolate lollipops popping out the top were just a whole lot of fun! This time I also incorporated some chocolate butterflies too!

If you have read my previous post you would have seen that I thanked my wonderful family for all their help and support that they give me throughout the year... but did I mention the favours I also get to do for them ;))

Being the resident cake maker my family can be assured of being able to supply their closest friends with some unreal cakes on my behalf.

My sister Kate's friend Sara was holding her 40th Birthday- In Fiji!!! and what better way to celebrate than to have your own personalised cake flown over??  Kate is always keen to come up with design ideas- most of which are pretty damn cool- this cake was no exception! A girls week in Fiji was what inspired this cocktail drink design- complete with a sugar lae! A collaboration between Kate and Myself to have this design come together and basically look AWESOME!

Kate carried the cake with her to Fiji- and just like I told her- there is no hassles in taking a cake on a plane- you get so many oooh's and aah's form the airline staff- and once the cake has been xray scanned you are free to place it in the overhead locker for a smooth journey to your destination.

Kate was pretty proud of her design- and so she should be.

Sara LOVED the cake- the design itself was a surprise until their arrival in Fiji- even eating the sugar off the board LOL! Keeping with the cocktail theme the cake inside was a coconut frangellico white chocolate mud!

Happy Birthday Sara!

Well I am slowly getting through the final weeks of  2009 on my blog- not far to go now!

Thanks for reading

SJ

Cake That! Xmas Party!

November and Early December are definitely the dates for Festive Xmas Celebrations! Taking time out to relax with colleagues and let your hair down, while your boss collects the tab from a great time out really helps workers moral and show the appreciation for the year gone.

I don't have a boss- not do I have "employee's" per se- but I do have a fabulous Family that helps me out during the year, not to mention a fabulous network of fellow industry workers- most of whom also work solely from home- so this year I decided that I would throw a Xmas party!

An afternoon of fabulous food-excellent company- and not to mention so wicked cocktails and drinks created by my sister Kate!


A huge thank you to everyone who was able to make it- and those who couldn't make it this time- there is certain to be many more gatherings like this in the near future!

Amongst the Amazing Vendors that were able to attend were:
Miranda Greer (photographer), the Vivacious Anne Campbell, Kathleen from Platinum Weddings, Dominique from Invitique, Amanda from Deliberately Delicious, Adrian from Princess Luxury Classics, Karen from KVW Cakes, Gina from Cakes Actually, Karen from Bliss Floral, Glenda from Glenda Pradella Flowers, Leonie form Icing on the cake and Linda from the Party Girls!

I would recommend all of these businesses in a heart beat!

To keep in the party mood- there was a cake (of course) Designed by my sister Kate- who came up with the idea of creating a cupcake tower that resembled a Xmas tree.
It sat in the center of the Lolly Buffet- which was a massive hit with both the kids and the adults. A red Green and White theme- and yes the mini "presents" under the Xmas cupcake tree were also cakes- chocolate fruit cakes!
I was truly humbled by the gifts received- totally unexpected. Thank you!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful afternoon- I certainly enjoyed having everyone over!

Thank you to all of my fellow vendors who continue to support me and Cake That! Without your glowing referrals and friendship my job would not be half the fun it already is!

To my family- every weekend- without a second thought- you offer to help and are often delivering cakes all over SEQ for me, running to collect supplies, or just in general helping me clean up the never ending trail of sugar- Thank you for your continued support and willingness to work to help me create a better business. Thank you also for keeping me real and reminding me what is most important in life.
To my fabulous Husband Steve!! Thank you for once again helping me get through another huge year! Giving up every weekend after working a full week yourself to deliver cakes with me- putting up with my "crazy cake lady" moments and last but not least choosing great "staff" lunches each Saturday! Together we delivered over 300 cakes in 2009- what a year!

I am already looking forward to the next Cake That! Xmas party- Xmas in July perhaps???

Festive Sensations!

The last week of November was HOT! not just in temperature- but some smashing cakes too!

First stop for the week was at the ever gorgeous Restaurant Lurleens at Sirromet! I Love going to Sirromet- the venue is gorgeous and Kylie and Marie Louise are just wonderful!
This cake was for a Friday Afternoon wedding- and when I turned up at around 3pm- the lunchtime festive party goers were still in full swing.
Bringing a cake to a restaurant is like lighting a huge beacon that says- "come over and point your finger really close- whilst oohing and ahhing" LOL!
Although the cake was being set well out of the way of the leaving traffic- it seemed though that it was a destined detour for most of the Merry folk as they left. I felt for Kylie as she tried to keep curious onlookers away from the cake, as harmless as their intentions are, after a few drinks you almost need to remind the viewers to "look with your eyes" as you would do with a toddler in a department store.


All jokes aside- this cake smelt better than it looked! the warm temperature really made the chocolate scent carry through the venue!
A tower of mini cupcakes in varying shades of butter cream icing- complete with a cute couple on top. Such a fabulous couple too! Congratulations Emma and Scott!

Saturday meant a huge day of deliveries for me!
First stop was the Stamford- where I delivered this Damask finish cake.


The icing bow was coloured to match the Bridesmaids dresses, complete with edible brooch- it was elegant with a vintage feel.
After this picture was taken I finished the sugar ribbons with some luster- to really give them a satin look- Stunning indeed!

Matching the event colours to the cake is a common request- and this next cake had the draping coloured to match in with the bomboniere ribbon detail. The dusty blue colour was also extended to the centers of some of the sugar roses too! Congratulations to Daniella and Jon!

This particular weekend also had me headed over to Michael's Oriental at Sunnybank to deliver this next cake.


A design that I do reasonably often- Classic Pretty- beautiful!

I also had a cake go to a private home wedding at Stretton- this two tier version of the Skeleton leaves design was a twist on the original cake.

Last but not least for the weekend were some cupcakes for Victoria Park!

A simple black and cream design- that was finished with fresh flowers later on.

That rounded off a big November for me!

Now all I need to do is blog about December and 20o9 is all wrapped up!

Thanks for Reading
SJ

Happy 2010!!!

OK- Firstly a Very Big and sincere apology to all of my loyal readers for not posting on my blog for SOOOOOOOOOO long! While I have been on holidays from making cakes- the emails and calls have been coming in thick and fast- and while today is officially my first day "back to work" I am yet to actually finished half of the tasks I set out to do on my "holidays" LOL!
Any way I am back and Wish everyone a fabulous 2010 ahead.

Although we are many weeks into the New Year already I still have many weeks of cakes from 2009 to share with you all.
This blog is featuring cakes form the second last week in November- sounds like a long time ago now- time really flies over the festive season!

First up is one of my Favourite Designs to make! This cake with the piped icing pearls rising up the sides and fresh roses to decorate is just beautiful.I also had a similar design- but with the inclusion of some pale pink pearls as well as sugar roses.Piping the coloured pearls felt a bit "unusual" at first- but with the lightly dusted centers of the roses to match- it looked really pretty!

It seems that pink isn't only my favourite colour! I also had this Cherry blossom pink cake too!


This cake also had a porcelain figurine on top too!I am also excited that I got my new "Cake That!" stamp - the last one I had for 5 years then all of a sudden it vanished :0 ! So I had new ones made (including a spare just in case)!

This next tower cake was for a surprise birthday.
Fresh lilies coming out the top - two cakes inside and dark and white chocolate- could you ask for more???

Last but not least for that week was a gorgeous Christening cake design.

With the baby's name in 2D name blocks around the base tier- and a cute baby in a blanket on the top- it was just gorgeous!

The pale green blue and lemon colour theme is soft and looks fabulous for a baby boy!

More blogs to follow!
Don't forget you can also keep up to date with my cakes through Facebook- at the Cake That! Facebook group!

What you read on the net............

ISN'T Always true!

To cut a long story short- Today I phone my friend Amanda- who also operates a fabulous cake business here in Brisbane- just to have a quick chat.
When I called Amanda was so very upset- because she is being targeted by an anonymous person over the Internet to try and disgrace her business.
Unfortunately there are sites out there where you can leave unfounded comments about any business- maliciously attacking the company and its integrity without justification.
These people who are targeting Amanda were not past clients and are using Blackmail and threatening tactics to coerce money from her. It is most likely that these people are from overseas.

While the police are now involved it doesn't help the already (potential) tarnish to Amanda's business and her image. It seems to be a slow process in finding the person or persons targeting Amanda's business and all the while it seems that these same predators have ways of increasing the link to the articles on Google.

Thankfully I have this platform to inform you all that what you may read doesn't necessarily mean it is the truth.
Targeting a small successful business- which for those of you who have your own business know it is your heart and soul- can really break you.

I hope that this gets sorted really quickly and that the untruths removed from the net.

Hopefully Amanda and her wonderful business Deliberately Delicious manage to get through this awful ordeal quickly.

Catching up slowly........

I feel quite slack being so behind on my blogging- when you receive than yous and professional images from your couples before you have had a chance to blog about their cake- means that I am indeed well an truly behind!

The week ending the 15th November had me making bomboniere as well as cakes!
I also made a "Neapolitan sponge"- which is a layered chocolate /raspberry/vanilla sponge cake! I cannot wait to see the cut pictures of that one indeed!
The cake which held the sponge was a gorgeous vintage style design.

The icing was a pearl effect Ivory- with a white cut overlay- just beautiful. A cartoon Bride and groom sat on the edge of the top tier.


The Brides gown was a lovely soft silver with a white chiffon overlay- so I made the topper and gently dusted the gown with pearl white to create the chiffon effect.

I also made chocolate heart bombonieries- which acted as the name place tags too!
I hope this doesn't sound odd but -I always feel quite embarrassed when people get excited about what I do.
I made this Tiffany box cake for an engagement party- and when the couple came to collect the cake- the Bride to be was super excited about getting a "Cake That!" cake. She is an avid follower of my blog- and told me about how long she had been waiting for an opportunity to get on of "my" cakes. Whilst it is my absolute pleasure to make the cake- I only make cakes and don't feel special about it at all.


Seeing clients get so excited is a fabulous thing-and is something that certainly makes me blush for sure.

I also had another Chocolate Mountain cake design this week- this time it went over to Stradbroke Island!For a change to the design- this cake had Leucodendrons in amongst the chocolate scrolls to finish it off.

With the heat of summer rising- I am just about to take my annual leave from making cakes.
I will be unable to make cakes between the 24th December 2009 and the 20th January 2010. ( I will still be answering emails/calls and am able to take bookings during this period)
This is the time of year I take off to catch up on all the "fun" part of running a business- like bookwork and equipment maintenance. I also plan to update my website with some new images too!
I will also be visiting Melbourne - to check out some of the fabulous Cake stores and equipment suppliers- and hopefully get some wonderful new tools to use too! Of course I will also include allot of eating while I am down there too!
I haven't been to Melbourne since I was a child- so I look forward to spending a week there immersing myself in all things cake! If you are from Melbourne and have any suggestions of where I should check out- I welcome your suggestions!

Thanks for reading!
SJ

Lucky 7!

WoW! The first week of November bought me some truly fabulous clients!
I had cakes all over SEQ- even sending a chocolate creation all the way to Merlwood- around 3hrs north west of Brisbane!

Fridays are doubly crazy for me - especially when I have deliveries to make as well as cakes to finish.
Luckily this Friday I only had to travel to NewFarm to the Vine Restaurant to deliver this "plain iced" three tier cake.
When clients ask me what "plain iced" is- this is it! A cake finished with nothing bar ribbon around the base. This style of design is perfect for those wishing to place their own fresh flowers on top- which is indeed what this couple chose to do. Having fresh flowers supplied by your own florist means that your cake flowers will be perfectly matched with your bouquets and table flowers.

When I reached the venue- the floral cake topper was ready for placement onto the cake!
Flowers were supplied by Northside Flower Market.

I also had a cake collected on the Friday- which was being taken up to Maleny. A "rough" finish version of my "Mummy" cake.

The popularity of this design always amazes me. I first made it more than 4 years ago for a Bridal Couture season launch- taking inspiration from one of their dress designs- and it has been really popular ever since. A very contemporary design- that still has soft romantic elements indeed.

Saturday morning had me up bright and early meeting with 8am clients- before the next cake was collected. The chocolate creation that was being sent out west for a "Special" Birthday!
Nicole is the Sister of Lena- a friend of mine- who's wedding I attended (and made the cake for ;) ) earlier in the year.
Nicole is such a warm and genuine person- it was my pleasure to construct a cake for her that reflected her fabulous personality. Whilst the end design was ultimately up to me- the brief was : Colour, Fun, Dragonflies- and the words "love, peace, family, wisdom, friends and gratitude" to be included in the design.

From the feedback from Nicole- it definitely exceeded her expectations- and was enjoyed by all.

After the cake was collected and my morning consultations were over- it was off on a mammoth delivery run!
First stop was Dockside Marina- where I had a cake to set up for a wedding on a private boat. This was more than a boat- a luxury cruiser- just divine!
I did feel a little motion sickness setting up the cake- and that was only the ripples from the City Cats- but when you are so focused on setting a cake- not usually on a swaying vessel- it make you feel a little queasy for sure.

Most of my clients come to me from word of mouth- and this one was no different. My Trainer recommended Wendy to me- as she also was being trained by Marita (Fitness is Me).
Marita offers both Group and personal training- so if you are looking to get fit, or want to get into shape for your wedding - Marita can tailor a program to suit your goals. If you want to find out more about Marita's Training- please email me sarahjane@cakethat.com.au

Next stop was "The Landing" at Dockside.
This three tier cake had a wrapped top and base tier and monogram initial mid tier- all finished with sugar roses on top.


Strung silver pearls wrapped around the base of each tier- which was a lovely delicate finish to the design.
After Dockside- it was off up to Mt Cootha- where I was pleasantly surprised by the glorious renovations that the Summit Restaurant has recently received! It looked magnificent! A new sleek interior fitting of any five star hotel lobby.

This variation of my Golden pearl design was later finished with fresh flowers on top.
After a quick trip home to pack the car with the next load of cakes- I was off back into the city to the River room at Southbank.
For the second cake in as many days I shared with the Northside Flower Market- this time this was a "VERY Rough palette Butter cream" finish cake. This is harder than it looks- to make the icing rough- but not too messy- many coats of icing layered onto the cake to get the final desired finish. This time I beat the Northside flower Market to the venue- which left Brendan to place the flowers onto the cake.Unfortunately I don't have an image of the completed cake yet- but can imagine Brendan would have done a fabulous job of placing the flowers over the cake.

The second last delivery of other day was to the Tattersalls club.
A three tier cake with piped icing pearls and cartoon couple standing on top!


I always freak myself out when I place such a heavy cake down onto the mirrored platter at the club- but each time it sits perfectly- creating a beautiful setting for the cake to be displayed on.

Last but not least was the BIGGEST cake for the week.
This cake is one of my favourites to recreate. It is almost the epitome of a "wedding" cake- in the traditional form.
A four tier version of the "Grandioso" design was created for Melanie and Peter. Originally Melanie had chosen a classic three tier design- but she decided after booking in her date that she wanted a real "statement" cake- and that is what she got!
With close to 140 fresh roses piled in amongst the tiers- this cake looked and smelt divine!
I only got rather poor images of the cake set up- but Melanie was kind enough to send me a wonderful Thank you- including some images taken by her guests at the reception.


This was possibly my only OK shot of the cake- thank goodness for more images!

Such stunning shots from the wedding guests- I cannot wait for the pro pics!

Here is a little excerpt of Melanie and Pete's email:

I just wanted to email you and thank you for the AMAZING cake that you made for us for our wedding.

Everyone absolutely loved it and it was the most wonderful experience walking into the reception and seeing the cake – our cake – in person after looking at pictures of it leading up to the wedding. It more then met our expectations and tasted delicious! We had so many comments from guests and it really made the whole theme (I based our white roses theme of the wedding around the cake because I loved it so much!)

So thank you again – you did a fantastic job. I have included a couple of photos below of us with your work of art!

Awwwww- this is the stuff that makes my day!
Melanie runs the fabulous new website "Brides in Brisbane" which features all you need to organise your Brisbane wedding! Check out her site for more wedding ideas.

Congratulations to all of my couples!
......and if you made it to the end- Thanks for reading
SJ

RBCH Oncolgy Siblings Day October 2009

On Friday 30th October- I was once again kindly invited to attend the Oncology departments Sibling day at the Royal Brisbane Children's Hospital.
It is such a great way to round off a hectic week- seeing the kids absolutely burst with excitement getting to go wild and create their own cupcake designs.


This time we had a group of 16 kids attend- each got their own box of baked- uniced cupcakes- and then were "let loose" with a table full of colourful sugary goodness to pile on top!


Being Halloween the very next day- my sister Kate ( who also kindly gave up her day to help me with this) decided that we should have some orange butter cream- as well as purple and chocolate. I also sent Vanilla butter cream for the purists ;))


The bright coloured butter cream was all lined up- along with the kilos of lollies and decorations we had carted to the hospital for the kids to get creative with.

Filling the boxes....


There was 3 kids who had been to my other demonstration earlier in the year- and they knew exactly what they were going to create!

Kate with some of the ward creations- including the minimalist icing one- in front- we loved it!

The Kids were fabulous at piping too- each one having a go!

After the massive Jaffa decorated cupcake in May- it was time for a bigger and better design this time. How many lollies is too many on top of a cupcake??



It was like a whirlwind of colour and creation- as the kids went like rockets into decorating their cakes and showing their individual flair!


It seemed to be all over and done with in a blink of the eye- the once well set decorating table now resembled a site where a tornado had ripped through- but all in the name of fun for sure!



The Oncology Siblings day is operated by the RBCH to teach the Siblings of children with Cancer about their Brothers/Sisters illness and also teach them coping strategies for dealing with their feelings too.
Getting the kids to have a bit of fun icing decorating- and eating cupcakes is a bonus of the day that really seems to light up their faces!

After everyone had made their own take home box we decorated cupcakes to share with the kids in the wards.
This indeed is the hardest part of the day- seeing the sick kids- in their wards. They are always so polite and even when they don't feel like a cupcake themselves- they ask so politely if it is OK to keep one for their parents.


I didn't realise just how long some of these kids are in hospital receiving treatment- some are in for years. Many a long way from home, friends and family.
The Nursing staff are also very humble- they do a great job- and were hesitant to share the cupcakes that we had made- instead wishing the cakes to be shared with the kids and their families first.

So a HUGE Thank you to Amanda and her team at the RBCH for including us again in this very special day!
Kate and I had a blast- and hopefully the cleaners managed to vacuum up every last sprinkle!

We look forward to next time for sure!

If you want to help the RBCH here are some Charities that you can donate to

Working Wonders

The Starlight Foundation

Thanks for reading
SJ