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

Countless Calories!

To round off October and begin November- I had the chance to create some cracker cakes!
Moving away from the mainly fondant iced cakes- I had mainly Butter and ganache iced cakes this week! Both icings are truly divine- but are also totally bad for you. The pure cream mixed with rich chocolate- or butter and pure icing sugar- can be whipped together to create wicked icings choc full of calories! But it is only one day- isn't it???

I had Two cakes for the Friday that week- the first a cupcake tower out at Boulevard Gardens. A twist on my regular design with the sugared rose petals- to include a fondant iced top tier and ceramic topper.


The room was set beautifully with soft pink and white- just gorgeous!

I also had my first ever cake at Mirra- in the Valley. This venue is stunning inside! When I first drove into the street I wasn't sure that I had the correct address- being a side street and all- but when I saw the gorgeous Entrance I was rest assured that this indeed was the stunning venue I had seen on the net.

The Function was a 10 year awards dinner hosted by UDIA- Urban development institute of Australia.


They had chosen a design from one of my novelty wedding cakes to mark the occasion- and from the glowing feedback I received- it went down a treat!

I also had the RBCH Oncology siblings day again on that day- but more on that in another post to come.

Then the Saturday was a big day of delivering. Beating the heat involves carefully timing when you get to venues- when not to get caught in traffic- and taking the shortest route possible to get there.
I had a chocolate creation for the Pavilion at Albion- Luscious fresh berries piled into this decadent chocolate cake!


With the white walls and the white table cloth this certainly looks like I know some tricky photoshop stuff- but it was purely how it came out form my point and shoot camera!

Nest we headed over to the Hotel Diana Plaza- where I saw my Bride- Kim- in the foyer- such a joy to see brides on their wedding day- bursting with excitement!!!


Kim and Ken had been around the world travelling and wanted their cake to reflect their travels. With a different flag for the more than 20 countries they had visited made in sugar to sit behind their cartoon- backpack wearing- toppers!



After drama the week before- I was more than on edge with this similar design- totally unnecessary- as everything went a treat!

Next was the Marriott- where I delivered this mini version of the "chocolate Mountain" design I first made last year for Carly and Dom!


This mini version is only three tiers of cake inside- but is still impressive fro sure.
Later the cake was decorated with fresh flowers to finish.

After Scooting about town it was over to Virginia Palms to set up this cake for Jacqui and Justin.
I had never met either Jacqui or Justin as everything was arranged via email.
Miranda Greer - a Photographer from around the corner from me- shot their wedding- and you can see her blog of the wedding here!


A cupcake tower with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes- with fresh white Singapore orchids dotted through!

On Sunday I had one last cake to set up at Vic Park.
A tower of butter iced individual cakes and a tall chocolate chard top tier- almost like a crown!




It was a mega hot day- but with the Air Con Cranking everything held up and looked adorable.

I feel a bit guilty as it is December tomorrow- and I have not yet started Blogging November!
I may need to take solace in some Air con and knuckle down and get my blogging up to date!
Thanks for Reading
SJ

Real Wedding Ideas Australia

This Week Real Wedding Ideas Australia was launched- and I was lucky to be included in two feature weddings from past couples!

Real Weddings Australia is a website that is set out to help you plan and theme your wedding by seeing what others have achieved before you!

An easy to navigate site with featured weddings categorised to include Themes Styling and Colour elements- as well as Locations.
Each couple has credited their favourite suppliers to help future Brides and Grooms seek suppliers.

Real Weddings Australia is looking for Newly wedded couples to submit their Wedding Story for consideration for inclusion in this new site!

You can see two of my past couples on these pages:
Anna and Dugald May 2009

Rebecca and Oran June 2009

So if you want to share your Special day contact Steph at Real weddings Australia through this webpage.
Submit your wedding to Real Weddings Australia!

Highs and Lows......

Well- this weeks blog is about the fourth week in October- This year October blessed up with 5 Saturdays- so it was indeed a very long month!

As the tittle of the blog states- it was certainly a week of highs and lows for me. I am very appreciative of the fact that- as a general rule- my work and business runs pretty smoothly.

I have sat and contemplated the possible repercussions of what I am about to reveal- but I am honest- that is part of who I am- and this honest post is just as much about me as it is about the fabulously kind and understanding nature of my brilliant wedding couples. I take it very seriously the role that I play in my clients wedding day- it is not just a cake I am providing- it is a symbolic element of the reception- a step towards the commitment between a new Husband and wife. So after much contemplation I have decided to just tell it how it is and reveal....


.....After all these years I had my second only cake "tragedy".
To get the bad out of the way- I had a cupcake tower that was delivered- set up- and left looking pretty awesome- only to have staff ring me after I had left to let me know that the toppers had "come off" the cake. With my heart racing a million miles and hour- as this was now around 4.30pm on the Saturday afternoon- guests arriving in an hour- I raced back to the venue and saw the tragedy!!!!!! I am totally perplexed how a set of toppers pinned into a cake could have "jumped off"- but there they were- broken and battered!!!! My heart was racing- my anxiety levels at an all time high- fighting back the tears- I did what I could to restore the toppers to the once perfect state they were in. I was doubly disappointed as the toppers were made at short notice in a funky pose- and I had looked forward to surprising the Bride and Groom with the posed toppers they had wished for.


With my heart in my mouth- and an overwhelming felling of nauseousness- I left the boat and the "repaired" toppers.

All I can say is how wonderful the Couple were- and how understanding of my predicament when I explained to them what had happened after their wedding. I demand perfection from myself and whist I attempted to rectify the damage on the day- it still wasn't good enough for me. Candice and Chris were nothing but fabulous- and I am glad that I at least have a picture of the toppers before they came to their demise.


I am delighted to say that the cupcakes themselves were a massive hit and enjoyed by their guests.

Onto happier times of the week- and boy were there many of those!
I had a lady contact me back at the beginning of the year inquiring about a cake for her Son's 21st Birthday. An avid soccer player and fan- she had me create a personalised topper and cake for his 21st Birthday up in FNQ. She flew down to Brisbane and collected the cake and returned to Townsville with the cake- a long way for a birthday cake indeed!



The cake had wired decorations the included all of her son's favouite things- Soccer balls- Coronas- Poker chips- even sheep dog faces- as the family grew up with the Old English sheep dogs!

I had allot of purple themes this month- and this week there was two- firstly an individual cake tower with purple banded cakes- two styles of decorations- and the top tier had strung crystals and monogram initials!



The next had a band of purple and black ribbon- with simple piped heart decorations around the sides.

Cakes get sent far and wide each week with me- so sending a cake to Stradbroke is an easy task indeed!
This cake was all organised via email and through a wedding planner- Genni Farmer from Blissful Weddings.



Three tiers with a vertical palette royal icing overlay and sugar Arum lilies- beautiful!

I had a stunning Fresh flower stack cake to assemble at Vic Park that weekend too! The fresh roses were supplied by the couples florist- then I stacked it all together at the venue.



A double layer of the Antique roses with the Ivory cake was simply delicious! Having the exposed boards under each layer helps "neaten" the effect of the roses when the tiers have a 3" diameter size difference.

I had a wrap design for Sirrromet that weekend too.


After I delivered the cake the florist added fresh flowers to cover the top tier and complete the design.


Now last but not least is an absolutely stunning cake that I L O V E LOVE!!!!! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous- love it to pieces- are you getting my drift??
I seriously took so many pictures of this cake- it was just the epitome of class and elegance!

Black and white is all in fashion at the moment- it exudes style and grace- and together with and equally stylish cake design you have a ripper room setting!
This wedding was held at Hillstone in the Grand View room. Piped icing pearls diagonally over each tier with black satin bow detail!



Did I mention how much I adore this cake??



Despite the drama- I hope you have been able to enjoy the cakes I posted this week
Thanks for reading!
SJ

Beautiful Blooms

The cakes in this weeks blog were all influenced by gorgeous spring blooms.
My Week of delivering began on the Friday- with two separate clients both having cupcake towers and both having morning weddings.
Getting up early to deliver the cakes doesn't worry me- I am up with the sun everyday anyway- but the morning traffic certainly drives me nuts!

I had the first cake to deliver to Hillstone. This was my first time ever working with fresh Arum lilies- they are quite a large flower- and completely different in shape to the roses I generally work with.
I was hesitant to how this design would look- but I quickly fell in love. The room was also set with Arums- and the fresh white linen and room decor- coupled with the morning sun- it was just beautiful!

Originally a variation of the Double dip design- this tower certainly deserves its own credit for beauty.

After Hillstone I headed east to Sirromet- what a trip-over an hour in peak hour through the city and then out the other side.
I felt a bit rushed- even though I had plenty of time before the reception began- I think the traffic just made me feel anxious as the journey took longer than normal.
This tower was filled with Purple Lisianthus blooms and a topper. A great warm colour palette for the Barrel hall.By the time I set this cake and headed home it was getting close to midday- a very late start for a Friday indeed!

I had some Sugar Arums to make this week too.
Trailing down the cake in a very classic- almost English looking design- this cake was definitely traditional.With Ivy in amongst the Arums and strung pearls around the tiers- it was girly and glamorous.


I am without many of my cake images from this particular week- as a few were decorated with fresh flowers and I did not get to see them completed :(

I did do some more Sugar work though- This cake - with Dusty Pink, Ivory and Soft pink sugar roses pepper berries and green succulents on the top was really stunning!
This cake was taken out to Glengariff Estate.
Complete with pearl Ivory striped overlay- this is certainly a very popular style of design.

Despite the small selection displayed - I still managed another huge week of wedding season!

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback- and welcome any comments you may have!
Simply click on the comment button below to leave your message.

Thanks for reading
SJ




Making this cake with coloured sugar flowers on top is a wonderful change- I really like it!