Wild and Pretty things......

The last week in February had me making soe great cakes indeed.

To start the week off was a cake for the Ipswich Hospitals 150th Birthday.

Keeping the cake big- but relatively simple- I used the varied blue colour scheme- and made a cake that graduated from a deep blue through to a pale sky blue at the top.

This cake was used for the Gala ball in honor of the hospitals birthday.

The next cake I made was another Birthday cake- for a returning client.

This cake was for a "Wild" themed 21st. With the request of a chocolate creation with a personalised figurine on top- I thought I woudl add more personalisation to the topper- by maker her look a little wild too ;))

Complete with crazy hair- bare feet - a "Tarzan Jane's" off the shoulder dress and her tongue poking out ;-P I thought she was really cute! 

The chocolate chards were also made to be animal print to keep in with the theme.

The next cake is almost the opposite of the last- an all white creation for a beautiful wedding at The Landing- Dockside.

 I have done this style of cake design many times before- but it always seems so elegant.

The last cake for this blog is one which had my nerves racing. Using black icing- as I am sure I have mentioned before- is a no error job. You cannot afford to make any mistakes- because unlike white- which can be removed- black is there for good.

This cakes design was completely inspired by the wedding invites.

The invites had a velvet baroque style pattern on one third of the paper- separated by a satin edged organza ribbon- then the invite wording was on a pearl ivory piece of paper- so minus the wording- and with the addition of a second tier- this cake really resembled the invite itself.

I also put this cake onto a black board to add a bit more of a dramatic element to the cake.

I am always totally humbled to receive thanks from my clients- especially so soon after their wedding- but the recipients of this beauty were so kind to send me a heartfelt thank you the week following thier wedding :

Hi Sarah-Jane,
Just wanted to say a big thank-you for our wedding cake last weekend for Kelly-Gabb wedding at Indooroopilly Golf Club on Sat 27th Feb.
The cake was exactly what we envisioned (actually even better than we thought!) and looked beautiful and tasted fabulous too!
As you can see from the couple of photos from our camera (attached) the marbling of the cake centre looked a real treat too!

The professional photographer has a lovely picture on a different angle and should be getting these files shortly and will send a copy to you.
 
Thanks again for your professional and making such a lovely statement with your cake at our wedding.
Kind Regards,
Tanya Gabb

So as you can see- inside was a Neapolitan Marble cake.

Making the cakes is the easy part- making my clients day is that extra bit special!

 

So I ended my week on a high- such kind words and beautiful cakes- what more could I ask for??

Thanks for reading 

SJ

Classy Fun.......

The Third week in February had me making an eclectic mix of cake designs. Classic Elegant designs- through to genuinely fun talking points.

My week of deliveries began on Friday with this gorgeous and timeless design. A Three teir cake simply decorated with Sugar roses which had their centres dusted a blush pink colour- Simple- Elegant- all round gorgeous- my kind of cake!

I am often heard saying to my clients that fussy doesn't always mean beautiful- simple can be equally attractive. This cake was banded with sugar ribbon- to complete the design.

The Friday also had me delivering a cake for a returning client- Tempe. The last time I made a cake for Tempe was for her 18th- now it was time to Celebrate her 21st! Tempe's  mum came and met with me to decide on a design for Tempe's 21st Birthday Dinner. Deciding to forgo the traditional all out 21st bash- Tempe opted for a more intimate elegant dinner with her closest family and friends. A suitably matching cake design was chosen, incorporating the birthday girls favourite colour- a sweet African flowers she had recently seen whilst in South Africa on Holidays- and her nickname"Flossy".

 

These small flowers were made from an image the clients provided me. I cut out each petal to try and recreate the flowers in the image.

The flowers trailed down and across the front of the cake- finishing at the "flossy" on the board. Once at the venue fresh roses filled between the tiers. Beautiful, girly and elegant!

It is amazing how different the cake looks with an without the fresh roses in between!

Saturday had me - for the first time in a very long time- with NO cake deliveries! My actual delivery run was Friday and Sunday- so it felt a bit strange not tripping around Brisbane delivering cakes- but all the same a nice change to actually be able to meet with clients in the morning- and spend the afternoon socialising- like regular people do on Saturdays ;))

I did have one cake for the Saturday- which was collected.

This 40th Birthday present cake.

 

Organised as a surprise by this lucky recipients husband- a chocolate mud cake filled with chocolate ganache- and from the kind thanks I have received since the party- it seems it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

Sunday had me out and about again delivering cakes- The first was totally fun indeed! 

This two tier cake was inspired by a Martha Stewart wedding cake- sugar confetti- yes I cut out each little piece of confetti from sugar- trailed overthe design. The confetti was colour matched to the weddings colour theme- so it fit in wonderfully!

 

The cake was topped with a cartoon bridal couple- with a twist.....

Very personalised cartoon toppers included the groom using a vacuum cleaner to "vacuum up" the confetti! What a hoot! The topper's domestic addition was surprise for the groom- from the bride. As the story told to me goes- there seems to be not a single day that goes past where the vacuum cleaner isn't being used in their household- the groom constantly cleaning up and vacuuming around the house... so the bride thought it a complete laugh to have her groom vacuuming on top of the cake!

Not only is the vacuum a signature of the groom- but his electric blue glasses are also a prominent feature of him. So complete with his glasses and trusty red vacuum- this little guy was set to steal the show at the wedding!

I rounded off the week in a very similar fashion to what it began!

The last cake of the week was just as beautiful as the first- proving that classic elegance is indeed the current trend for cake design.

 

This cake was finished with roses that had the ends dusted in pink- with  ivory centres.

It was a great week of cakes indeed- making it very hard for me to choose a favourite for sure.

Thanks for reading

SJ

Easing in.......

Knowing full well what a hectic Wedding season I had coming up- I choose to ease myself back into work this year- taking only limited bookings so that I could really rest up in time for  the March onslaught :)

The First week in February saw me do a simple yet pretty Cupcake tower for a Surprise Birthday party.

Classy is all I can really say- you don't need to be fussy to be elegant.

The "K" on top had cachous rising up from the base- sparkly and beautiful!

Black papers kept with the theme. 

I also had a cake that was a variation of one I replicated for my Sister and Brother in law almost 7 years ago now. This design is still immensely popular- rolled swirls of fondant and roses dotted across the design. 

 

This cake was sent out to Mt Mee- a venue to which I have made many cakes for - but am yet to deliver personally too.

 

I also had  a Brush embroidered design.

This cake was ordered as a variation of my "Pearls and Lace" design- made in two tiers. This pattern is a generic pattern, but I am able too- and generally do- replicate the brides lace fabric from her wedding gown.

I got to use my brand new sugar icing pearls- from Cake deco- on this cake. They are just beautiful!

This cake was ordered via email- which is some thing that many of my clients do- forgoing the need for a face to face consultation. 

I had my heart set racing by a friend of the Bride on the wedding day- who called me to say "Where's the cake??" at about 9.30am in the morning. I had rung the venue the day prior to advise them ( as I do with all of my cakes) of my expected delivery time (about 1-2pm for a 4pm Wedding) so I was under the impression that this was all good- but the Brides friend thought that it should have been delivered the day prior- and had me in a panic thinking that I had the times wrong and it was in fact a Breakfast wedding rather than an evening reception as stated on the order sheet. But no- all was good- the friend was just "making sure" that I was going to deliver the cake! I seriously aged 10 years!!! When I saw that I had 4 missed calls and two messages all in regards to the one cake- they were certainly eager to get it delivered early LOL!

My next cake design was for My cousins little boy Connor- who was turning 11.

I had such success with the transformers cake in December- I thought I would give it another wirl.

 I only realised that this is indeed the Autobot face and not the Decpticon- I had cake brain but will know better for next time.....

I am a cake maker- not a Photographer- but I really wish I had a pro Photographer here at my house each week to come and take my cake pics for me.

I do get many pro pics of my cakes from my gorgeous clients- and I really treasure them- it makes the cakes look so good- effortlessly good!

Here is a cake I Did for a wedding out at Acaia Ridge- This is my (best) shot of the Ruby Love design

And here are two taken by the guys at TWK studio!!!!! Magnificent

The studio was kind enough to pass on a heap of images from the wedding- or the cake and the Bride and Groom Cutting it- what a wonderful surprise.

So I have eased myself back into my world of all things cake and am full steam ahead!

For those of  you who want to check out my latest cakes- before I blog about them- join my Cake That! Facebook group!

 

Thanks for Reading!

SJ

Some January cakes

OK- As the tittle suggests- this post will contain "some" of my January cakes.

Why only some you ask??? Well to put it bluntly I am slack- coming back after a 4 week break from making cakes meant that taking decent pictures of the cakes I made was not my highest priority- unfortunately.

So I have decided to blog the rest of January as one post and include what I have.

The first cake is a Brush embroidered design- one which I first did way back in 2006- and is still one of my most asked about designs today. Simple and pretty- with a pearl lustre finish.

This cake was collected and taken up to Redcliffe for the reception held at Sails. Fresh flowers completed the design.

 

I even had time to make anniversary cakes in January- this cute replica top tier with sugar frangipanis was made for a 1st Wedding anniversary in Noosa- pretty.I love dusting up the Frangipani's in the "fruit salad" variety colours- the pinks yellows and oranges look so vibrant!

 

This client had specific instructions that she wanted the cake to look "home iced"- so Iced in a vanilla butter cream icing this White chocolate and Raspberry cake with fresh Panache roses and later finished with a silver "80" was a "home" looking as you could get.

I also had a very yummy looking cupcake tower.

The cakes were iced alternately in either a chocolate or vanilla butter cream icing- then 3 colours of sugar hearts- Red, White and Chocolate- were placed "randomly on top of each cupcake. Now this is HARD! Getting the cake to look random, but symmetrical takes some thinking- but I think it turned out OK.

This was for an engagement party held in a private home- it looked very inviting in the end- don't you think??

Last but certainly not least- was a cake I had the pleasure of making for the Uber Wedding Photographer Toni Snell.

Her 30th Birthday was held in late January- and I was delighted to be able to make her a cake. Toni not only takes brilliant wedding photo's but she kindly passes referrals my way whenever she can. I am forever grateful for her support and thought the least I could do was to make her a cake for her 30th!

The base tier was a double height Kahlua Almond Mud- coated in Chocolate ganache and chocolate chards... (note to self- don't try new ideas out when you are making a "special" cake)...... the chards in this cake design (in my head) were going to be all wavy and overlapping- which they are to an extent- but just not to what I had pictured in my head... anyway- it still looked OK in the end.

The top tier was a double height White raspberry Mud- complete with a mini Toni.

Toni had OK'd the design with the chocolate extended height complete with "Snelly" and a 30- but the mini Toni was an added extra I felt the cake needed.

 

The Posing Toni- complete with black mini dress and high heels was pretty cute- she even rocked the photobooth that Toni had hired for her party.

You can see the pro pic's form Toni's party and read all about the fabulous night here.

A special Thanks to Toni for a wonderful night and including us in your celebrations!

So that - for the most part- was my January. Minus a few cakes that I didn't manage to capture well- it was a relaxed start to the year.

I cannot believe it is March already!

Just one last thing- I was interviewed by Mike from Blog interviewer.

You can see my interview here.

Thanks for reading!

SJ

High Tea Party

This year I am excited to announce that I will be involved with the High Tea Party Weekend  on 5th and 6th June 2010 at the Stamford Plaza Brisbane!

An all day event that includes a decadent high tea sitting, complimentary pamper stations, tastings, workshops, parades, and boutique market stall shopping plus a gorgeous gift bag for each guest. Click here to purchase tickets and choose which time you would like to take high tea during the day.

High Tea Sittings: 10.30am, 12:30pm, 2.30pm and 4.30pm

Click here

to see some of the exciting brands that will be on hand to indulge you!

If you would love a day of delicious High Tea coupled with pampering stations and boutique products- then the High Tea party is for you.

Cake That! will be apart of the "Portobello Rd" Markets- which are set in the Courtyard of the the hotel- I will have a full display of my cakes as well as Fresh cupcakes available for sale.

Tickets to the day which include a High Tea sitting and gift bag are $95.

I look forward to meeting you there and sharing some of the delicious Cupcakes Cake That! has to offer!

eating eating eating.....................................

This January- whilst taking a break from making cakes- I ventured down to Melbourne to chck out thier Cake supply stores- and of course their cake shops (ohhh and general shopping too of course ;)) !

Now I haven't been to Melbourne  since I was a child- so this was a whole new experience for me. I was in my element- food food and more food- even drinks that tasted like food- but more on that later!

To tackle a shopping adventure this big wasn't one I could do on my own- so I got one of my very good friends TK to travel with me. To say I dragged TK all around Melbourne may be a bit of an understatement. By the end the poor girl had shin splints from tripping all about the place at top speed- as to not miss a single thing/bargain/chocolate shop....LOL!!!

We stayed the week at the Hotel Rendezvous- Fabulous is all I can say! We had a room that had a gorgeous balcony over looking Flinders St and the Melbourne Southbank precinct. A tram stop right at the front door, and all within around 200m of Australia's Largest Cake decorating store!!!!!!!!!!! Yep- I was literally a hop skip and a jump from the Cake Deco store. This place is PACKED with everything cake- so much so it almost gave me a panic attack trying to decide what to rummage though first. Yes this shop is online- and yes I have bought from here on many occasions- but to actually be able to touch and see what I am getting is very exciting indeed!

As a Brisbane Cake decorator- I almost feel ripped off ( for want of a better analogy) when it comes to our local supply market. While ordering over the internet is fast and easy- it is always great to actually go to a supplier- build a rapport and also learn from them how each product is meant to be used. I have serious supplier envy for all of the wonderful Melbourne decorators.

I was probably in Cake deco about 3 times during my stay- I could have gone every day- but there was a weight limit for the baggage on the way home!

Just around the corner from Cake Deco- in one of Melbournes trendy Laneways was "Little Cupcakes"- and little they were indeed. So cute! A huge array of flavours- including a flavour of the day.

So good in fact- that on our last day we came back- and I bought home 2 dozen to share with my family.

Here is a little Jaffa Cupcake- too cute!!

 

TK and I know each other from our Stamford Plaza days- where we both use to be chefs- so going to Melbourne- an absolute Mecca for fabulous food was just divine for us!

We ate and ate and ate- fantastic fresh local food in wonderful restaurants- grazing the multitudes of cuisines that Melbourne has to offer.Whilst down there we also met up with another close friend of ours Natalie ( who is also from Brisbane) and spent a wicked 24 hours together wining and dining- as you do! 

Probably the best meal I had the entire time in Melbourne was at Modiva- best EVER chickpeas, and the Sangria was plentiful too! Not really anything to do with cakes- but I had to mention it as it was really that great!

 Myself  TK And Nat- Midway through a fab night out!

We went out together that night- had dinner at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen- which was disappointing to say the least- but the night was rescued by earlier trip to The Kitten Club. This "hole in the wall" style upstairs Bar on Little Collins St creates a ripper cocktail. I had one in particular that tasted exactly like a piece of French Lemon Cheesecake! Seriously- it was AMAZING!
 

The Girls and I also went to catch up with another Pastry Chef we used to work with  at the Stamford- Geoffry- who now works for Le Petit Gateau also on Little Collins St beside Vue de Mond- in the RACV Club building.

Now Geoff is a Champion- from the beginning he has been awesome at his job- and NEVER pretentious about it. Le Petit Gateau has a state of the art kitchen and a team of uber talented chefs that create everything sweet and chocolate you could imagine!
 

Some of the more classic- but ultra delectable creations- Chocolate tart- Citrus Tart and Apricot and Almond Frangipane Tart.

 

  

Choca Chup- Brilliant- from what I hear from my Husbad Steve who gobble the whole thing to himself- next along is the Passion fruit Brulee and chocolate brownie- then the Strawberry cream cheese and Carrot cake........MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

 

Now we visited Geoff a couple of times- I just HAD to take a box of cakes home from here! All of the top quality ingredients- and the fabulous innovative desserts were just too beautiful to leave behind.

The Kitchen at Le Petit Gateau is like a fish bowl- with a mammoth glass window allowing you to peek into the kitchen and watch the chefs at work.

Even the off cuts are gorgeous! Thanks Geoff! These Chocolate Brownie passionfruit brulee gateau end pieces are calorie free - aren't they???? 

The box of cakes made it home in one piece- and was shared the next morning with my family who flocked over to get a tasty morsel!

The Week I was in Melbourne was the week that it hit 44degC- the heat is very different to Brisbane- Dry not Humid- so was bareable. TK and I were surprised that there was hardly anyone at Docklands that Monday- seriously if we saw 6 others that would be a stretch. We headed later that day to St Kilda- where there were Giant Jellyfish in the water- freaking me out totally. I found comfort browsing the cake shops in Acland St- super sized pieces of traditional bakery style cakes. While each shop carried a variety of the same cakes- each had their own style.

 

Like these mammoth meringues- thses were seriouly 7" across!Sugar hit!

  

We spent he best part of a day in Prahran- at the markets, buying a heap of tools from The Essential ingredient- and then  strolling the shops and patisseries on Chapel st. Once again a huge array of shops- with some cool cake shops there too!

Not only did we check out all things cake (and food) at Chapel st- I also found the elusive pair of Pink Birki's in my size!!!!

Just by chance I wandered into the Birkenstock store- with really no hope of their being an actual pair of pink Birki's available- but chance turned into reality! There was pair- not at this exact store- but they had them shipped into Spencer St for me to collect the next day! So now I can swan around in my gorgeous pink work shoes- enabling my love of everything pink to grace my feet too!

On our last day we headed to Williamstown- the boat ride was a welcome reprieve for our tired feet for sure!

It was in Williamstown that we stumbled across Schwabs Bakery- with what had to be the BIGGEST Lemon Merinue Pie I have seen!

 

Seiously it woudl ave been at least 13" wide and 6" high. Too nice to slice- and the fact that for the past 6 days all I had done was eat- so there was no room for more sugar for me ;)

Leaving Melbourne our bags were more than 20kg heavier- we had shopped and eaten our way through a Myriad of Cuisines and food styles, and left with a promise to return very soon. 

 

I must also mention Max Brenner- where I had the most Divine Hot chocolate too! I am not a coffee drinker- and whilst Melbourne is also renowned for its coffee- I didn't bow to peer pressure and drink coffee- yet I stuck to my love of all things chocolate and hose Italian hot chocolates and TK had a "Make your own" Belgian hot chocolate! YUMMO!

While we were there we packed our days- seeing and doing allot! The Shop 'til you drop Exhibition, the Casino, St Kilda Night Markets- Luna Park Rollercoaster- Docklands-Lygon st- DFO- Bourke St- Jersey Boys-Museums- Tram Trip..... and much more! Exhausting but worth every second!

Thanks to all of the shops who took time out to chat with us about their businesses too!

When I came home and realised that I have so many clients that reside in Melbourne who are getting married here in South East Queensland- it made perfect sense that I should perhaps arrange a short two day trip and meet with clients in Melbourne- I could bring down all the cake samples- along with my trusty Laptop- and consult right there in Melbourne for them! I am thinking a Sunday/Monday in Late May at this stage- so if you are keen let me know!

Phew- I am feeling tired just reliving the week though my blog!

Thanks for reading

SJ