Wee Love Baking

A Floral End to 2011

2012-01-06T12:27:00.000+11:00

It's unusual for me to dedicate a whole blog post to one cake but I spent hours and days and days on just making the flowers alone that I think I need to document the process and remember the challenge.

Making sugar flowers is an extremely long process... You are trying to create something in nature that is so delicate and consists of lots and lots of layers and details. It is truly an achievement when I see some artists who have created flowers that are so realistic that you would not even think for a second that they are made from sugar. Hopefully that will be me one day :D

So anyways, although my sugar flowers were more stylised, it took two full days just to create them all. Cutting out hundreds of petals and wiring and sticking them all together. It may bore some people but I find it quite relaxing... it is quite a repetitive process so I do get to watch some TV in the background which is a bonus :)

Peonies. I love these flowers but with each petal wired on separately, these take such a long time to make and assemble.

Filler berries.

Lots and lots of leaves. I actually thought I made too many but in fact I could have used more!

Rosebuds.

Colouring dusts... I love rainbow colours :)

Burgundy peony buds.

Filler berries.

Dusting trays.

Group shot!

The hours and days all lead up to this point... when everything is ready to be assembled on the cake. This is my favourite part but by far the shortest. It goes by too quick :(

So this was the last wedding cake of the year... and certainly the one I am most proud of due to the challange of having to match the flowers to the ones the florist was providing. The bride and the stylist had such a clear vision of how they wanted the cake to look like in their midsummers garden theme and I was so honoured to get to be part of the magic.

After all that, we headed off to my cousin's new place to welcome in the New Year with the rest of my family.

How cool is this?! It's ice cream! From Messina

Flynn getting into the New Year spirit with her paper crowns.

Honey chicken... yum :)

Welcome to 2012! I can't wait to start my cakey adventures with all of you and get though my long list of 'to dos'!

My Top 10 Cakes of 2011

2011-12-31T15:29:00.004+11:00

As we approach the last hours of 2011 I thought it would be a nice trip down memory lane if I looked back at all the cakes I did this year and picked out my top 10 favourite ones. Much like how the news channels will do the 'year in summary' segment, I present to you my cake year in summary...

Number 10 - This 3D bear was created for teaching... I wanted to make something challenging and all out of cake. I can't wait to teach this next year :)

Number 9 - I just love the colours on this topper, it was based off the invite and is such a fresh approach to the traditional Noah's Ark theme.

Number 8 - This is one of my favourite wedding cake toppers. It's so cute and personalised. The couple both met while studying dentistry and I can only assume the bunnies represent a personal sentiment. So, so sweet :)

Number 7 - One of the grandest wedding cakes I made this year. I'm personally not a fan of gold but when this cake came together I absolutely loved it!

Number 6 - This cake is one of my favourite wedding cakes. I loved it so much I have it blown up on a canvas :)

Number 5 - Because I can't have a puppy, I decided to make one for my first entry into the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was just a bonus that I got second prize... I was very flattered!

Number 4 - One of my favourite kids cakes this year. This was made to match the invite and although the design was simple, I just loved how cute it was.

Number 3 - I'm pretty proud of the piping on this cake... mainly because it took me a good 6 hours + to pipe all that detail through a 00 tip. Ouch! It really taught me a thing or two about perseverance.

Number 2 - This cake is just so sweet, cute and romantic! I also think it best represents my caking style. I made so many of those birds this year but somehow I think they work best on this cake.

Number 1 - And finally... The last cake of the year and my current love :) Hours and days went into just the creations and colouring of the flowers. A blog post about the challenge of this cake is coming up soon.

That's it, my top 10! I had so many more I loved but I had to cut them all out or else this list would have been 3 times as long.

Hope you all are enjoying the last hours of 2011 and are as excited about 2012 as I am. There is so much I want to do and share with all of you. So for now, thank you for your continued support and enjoy ringing in the new year with some bubbly and yummy food!

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake Parcels

2011-12-17T17:22:00.001+11:00

I'm not a fan of the traditional fruit cake. I'm not exactly sure why but perhaps it's the fact that it contains so much fruit, has those glazed cherries or is usually soaked in alcohol. And when I was younger the alcohol burned when I ate it so I think that never gave me a good impression.

So for all of you out there who are not fans of the fruit cakes during Christmas time, I came up with something similar... but different. Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake. It's a rich chocolate mud cake with dried fruits folded into it and because of the chocolate, it doesn't really have a strong fruit flavour. If you are not a fan of the dried fruit, you can always leave them out and perhaps use nuts instead. Although it will then be a Chocolate Spiced Nut Cake :)

I initially made a batch to cut, wrap and give away as little presents to my friends and suppliers but the boyfriend liked it so much he devoured about a third of it so I now don't have enough and will have to spend this weekend baking more.

On the plus side, he did suggest that a cinnamon whipped cream would go really well with it and oh boy... it was SO yummy!

Ingredients

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake (approx 10 servings, will fit an 8in square tin)

- 150g Dried Fruit (You can use your favourite dried fruits but I used 50g of cranberries, 50g of figs and 50g of raisins)

- 40ml of Brandy (if you are not a fan of alcohol, you can always just soak the fruit in a syrup made from jam and some water)

- 110g Butter

- 110g Dark Chocolate

- 70g Flour

- 70g Self Raising Flour

- 30g Coco Powder

- 1/4 teaspoon Bi-Carb Soda

- 200g Caster Sugar

- 3 teaspoon Oil

- 2 eggs

- 40ml thickened cream (you can use milk but cream was all I had the day I made this)

- 1 Tablespoon Mixed Spice

For Brushing

- 40ml Brandy

- 1 teaspoon Mixed Spice

Topping (optional)

- 50g Milk Chocolate

- 50g White Chocolate

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream

- 300ml cream

- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (optional, you can use vanilla essence instead)

Instructions

Chocolate Spiced Fruit Cake

1. Soak the dried fruit with the brandy over night or for a couple of hours. Until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

2. Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line the tin with baking paper. Melt the butter and chocolate together.

3. Sift the flours, spice, bi-carb soda and coco powder into a large bowl and add the sugar. This forms the dry mix.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, cream and oil.

5. Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and pour in the chocolate mix and egg mix. Using a whisk or a wooden spoon slowly start mixing by staring from the middle and going outwards.

6. Once the mix is incorporated, fold in the fruits and any leftover liquid.

7. Once the mix is in the tin, tap it against the table a few times to even everything out.

8. Bake for approx an hour or until a inserted skewer comes out relatively clean. Note that the skewer will not come out absolutely clean due to all the fruit in the cake.

Brushing

1. While the cake is still warm, poke lots of holes on through the cake with a skewer or fork.

2. Combine the spices and brandy and brush generously over the cake.

Topping

When the cake is completely cooled, place on top of a newspaper (with baking paper still underneath, this helps to contain the mess) and drizzle melted white and milk chocolate over the top. Allow it to set before cutting and wrapping.

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream

Whip cream until soft peak stage and then mix in the cinnamon and vanilla. Serve on the side or on top of a slice of cake!

For a really decadent option microwave the cake for 10 - 15 seconds and then serve with cream... yummm!

Gift Idea

As a cute little gift idea, you can cut up little slices, place in a plastic bag and wrap with paper and ribbon.

Challenging Yourself

2011-12-15T14:58:00.001+11:00

Last week I faced was one of the most challenging weeks I have ever had. I should not have taken on the number of orders I had but somehow the little voice in my head kept telling me I would be able to do it (maybe I am a sucker for self inflicted stress!). And on top of all that I ran a four day intensive class during the week and another class on Saturday.

Cake by students from the intensive class. To put you in the festive mood :)

Cake by students from the intensive class. I just love this design!

The Sunday before, as I prepared for the storm I really did worry how I would get it all done. It was not a matter of not finishing (I knew I would finish) but more the matter of the amount of sleep I would have to sacrifice to get there. Oh dear...

At one point, my studio was packed to the brim with cakes - created by students as well as those for my weekly orders. Cakes, cakes everywhere! Not to mention trying to schedule the deliveries. Three of the cakes all had to be delivered to venues all over town before 10am. It's at times like this I wished I had my own delivery driver.

But you know what? As I now sit here and reflect on last week, I think the pressure and challange was just the right amount of fire up my bum I needed to get myself to move faster and be better. I realised what I thought would take me a long time to do based on past experiences actually did not. I managed to really push myself and I guess when you have no other choice, something inside yourself snaps and you somehow just move, move, move!

This reminds me of a really inspirational speech I watched on You Tube a couple of years ago. Chef Johnny Iuzzini of Jean Georges in New York was addressing the graduating class of 2008 from the Culinary Institute of America. The advice that stood out to me the most was to always push yourself to be better than the day before... and there is always someone behind you that can do your job better and faster than you. You can watch the full the speech below.

Since then, with things that I do on a regular basis - like ganaching, I always have a quick look at the clock and aim to do each cake faster than the one before. In the past, what would usually take me half an hour to do now only takes me about 10+ minutes.

Everyday is a new challenge and especially when you work for yourself, if you don't care to constantly push yourself to be better, no one will.

Penguin Obsession

2011-12-02T15:12:00.000+11:00

As Christmas gets closer, I imagine families snuggling up by the fire, setting up their trees, rushing around like mad to buy presents and catching up with friends and families before the year comes to an end. Here in Sydney, it just gets hotter. Christmas and New Years is associated with the beach and summer and even though I have not had a white Christmas in the last 10 years, all I can think about when the holiday season rolls around is snow and all things cold.

I've recently been inspired by the penguins in David Attenborough's Frozen Planet. I love how they huddle around in a big mass, the super cute way they waddle around and how their arms are so much smaller than their bodies... but most of all I just love their general silly nature. I really wanted to make one out of cake! So to continue with my new penguin obsession, I watched Happy Feet to better understand the movement of these cute little penguins so I could give my cake some sort of personality.

Made to look like Mumble :) I just want to give him a hug!

Look at his cute little tail!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Thank you for your continued support, kind words and encouragement this year. May you be filled with lots of cheer, happiness and yummy food this season :)

For the Love of Chocolate

2011-10-27T00:53:00.000+11:00

In my semi short lifetime on this planet I have only met a handful of people who don't like chocolate.

Till this day I am still amazed when people say they don't like chocolate. Well, because I love it. I absolutely love chocolate! Which is dangerous in my line of work. They are always around and if I am just craving chocolate I don't have to walk more than 2 steps before I have access to about 15 kilos of it.

Last week I travelled to Savour School in Melbourne to learn all about how to make artisen chocolates. I have always wanted to attend a class at Savour and if I lived in Melbourne I think I would be there all the time.

I was so excited about the class. So much that I didn't mind that I had to wake up at 4am in the morning to catch a taxi to the airport. And that upon landing in Melbourne the school was still a bus and a train ride away. It was freezing and I was exhausted but nothing could dampen my spirits as I entered the school doors. Yippie!

The class was amazing and there is nothing like it in Sydney. They not only explained the science behind tempering chocolate and chocolate production but they also explained they different ways of achieving the same results at home with existing equipment too. Oh it was so much fun :)

When I got home my taste testers (aka the boyfriend and brother) managed to scoff down 3 each in less than 10 minutes. Obviously they were all good but everyone agreed that the hazelnut praline with feuilletine and coco nibs were the best by far.

Wedding Cake Deliveries

2011-10-10T22:21:00.001+11:00

Do you know what is the scariest, most stressful and nerve wrecking part of being a cake decorator?

Deliveries.

Why is it that when I have a cake in my car there seems to be road bumps everywhere and reckless drivers all around me? Building a structurally stable cake is so important. If the tiers are not supported correctly or stacked well, the hours of work and love that goes into my creation will be gone in a matter of seconds.

That's why I get so stressed before and during deliveries. Once the cake leaves my studio it faces a world where things are out of my control. All it takes is a pot hole or a careless driver to slam their brakes in front of me for my creation to get hurt. If a minor boo boo happens it's not so bad and can easily be fixed, but if a major boo boo occurs, that's it. Usually at about 3 - 4 hours before the wedding reception, there is no chance fixing it really.

Over the years, I've become accustomed to two or three tier cake deliveries. They no longer give me the stress they used to. But big cakes... ones that tower over me as I work on them seriously still make my heart skip a beat whenever I go over a bump on the road. The cake always appears to be swaying in the back and with every bump if there are sugar flowers on the cake, they always seem to be rattling against each other extra hard.

At every traffic light, I always turn around to check on them and silently beg the cake gods to help me make it there safely. Last week there were two big cakes to deliver. Both on the same day and due around the same time. So you can only imagine what it was like - everything was doubled!

And to add to that, when I got to one of the venues not only did the florist show up with less fresh flowers than required, she also proceeded to arrange her flowers (which were wet!) onto my cake in her own way... oh boy. I think that is a story for another day :P Luckily with some quick thinking I managed to make minor some design adjustments. I still felt really uneasy until the bride texted me the next day saying she loved it... phew!

Design inspired by Delectable by Su

So after that stressful afternoon, we at least got to stop by Burnt Orange for some yummy late afternoon tea and sweets.

Caught this cute little guy running across the car park too :)

Go-Karting Horses Wedding Cake

2011-10-04T18:39:00.000+11:00

The best thing about my job is that no two weeks are the same. I get to make all sorts of different and special designs each week but some cake designs are so unique and meaningful to the client that I even count down the weeks until I get to start on the creation!

I've been looking forward to this order ever since the bride emailed me months ago. She wanted something a little serious but also wanted to incorporate her love for horses and her fiance's love of go carting. And finally, last week I got to create the wood textured board, the go cart driving horses (which were the bride's idea!) and colourful flower arrangements. How cool is the bride for having such a intimate and special cake?

I think this will go in my all time favourite cakes pile :)

Time = Very Precious

2011-09-08T05:23:00.000+10:00

As I sit here at 2.55am in the morning furiously typing away at email replies, I'm left wondering how a little careless thought like 'I'll just answer a few emails' turned into an hour long event. I'm beginning to wonder where all my time has gone!

Last week I was teaching in Singapore and ran a range of public and private classes for 8 days straight. I enjoyed meeting all the returning students and new students and a lot of them commented on the post I had previously written on this blog about knowing your 'real' cost. If you were interested in that, then you will find this post interesting too.

Photo from Bake King

A few students asked what I do every day after class and it is usually pretty standard... meet up with my mum either at the shopping centre, do some shopping (I'd like to have a little holiday after all :) ) and grab some dinner. Then go home open my lap top and brace myself for the emails that await my reply. I swear they seem to just multiply like rabbits when I am not looking! After all, as I have mentioned before, when you work for yourself work does not just stop when you go on holidays.

In this new age world of emails, smart phones, SMS, twitter, facebook and many other communicating channels we are starting to really forget how to organise our thoughts and have a real life conversation (and I admit I am guilty of that too!).

I am terrible at time managing myself when it comes to emails and the internet. I am easily distracted and before I know it I have spent hours in front of the computer and not making any actual cakes. The more time you spend on replying to emails the less profit you are making on each of your cakes.

Photo from Bake King

So lets take for example if you have 15 emails in the morning which you take 5 minutes to respond to each... that is a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then after lunch 10 people come back to you with additional questions. At 5 minutes each that is another 50 minutes. See the pattern? One of the biggest issues when I started working for myself is the concept of time management and what is realistic and expected of me by my clients.

So let me ask you... where does all your time go?

What Have I Been Up To?

2011-08-10T22:49:00.000+10:00

Today was the first day in the last month or so where I have had a chance to sit down, do some admin work and breathe. It's been almost a month since I last posted on the blog and it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks!

So what have I been up to? Designing cakes, teaching classes, preparing my online tutorials and going back to school.

Yes, I've decided to go back to school... pastry school that is. My good cakey friend Lilia and I have been thinking about this for awhile and recently we finally got around to making it happen. We're supposed to specialise in patisserie but the first semester of classes focus on proper kitchen etiquette, food handling and basic cooking skills. What does this all mean? Well, our days consist of prepping food, deep frying, precision cuts, boiling and cutting up chicken and filleting fish. Not really what you'd expect from a patisserie class but it's fun none the less. Occasionally during our practical sessions, Lilia and I would look at each other and just burst out laughing... we would never have imagined ourselves, being cake decorators, having to pull skin off a fish or measure our carrots to ensure we have cut them right. No joke, I actually used a ruler to check my precision cuts were accurate!

My practise precision cuts for a test we were having.

Together with attending classes I've also been teaching back to back classes... business sessions, round cakes, 2 tier cakes, square cakes and cupcakes. It's been so lovely to meet so many new and returning students, and just look at some of their amazing work...

And at at every spare moment of sunlight, I try and squeeze in the photography of my online tutorials. I've got lots of ideas sketched up and here are some of them, ready to go. Feel free to recommend topics you'd like to see :)

Little boy in pool...

Yes, I do weigh everything :)

Large bling feature flower.

Greedy little piggy!

Princess Inspiration

2011-07-20T20:05:00.000+10:00

Isn't it amazing that all little girls seem to go though the stage of wanting to be a princess? We were all obsessed with the pink dresses, sparkling fairies, magical castles and a dream that one day we will meet a handsome prince. In fact, I think some women still dream about that today.

The inspiration - a wall decal from Becky and Lolo.

This little girl was having a fairy party (complete with a real fairy who visits and entertains everyone) and I'm sure the cake completed her fun filled day. I know I would have loved this cake when I was 5 :)

What is Your Real Cost?

2011-07-07T01:21:00.000+10:00

I'm excited to announce that a couple of days ago, marks one year since I walked out of the corporate machine and entered the cake decorating world at full speed.

A couple of months ago I posted about my 10 month mark and I thought I had learned lots. But in the last 2 months, there have been many more eye opening moments. One of them in particular, especially due to reaching the end of our financial year, was the 'real' cost of everything.

I know I have current and future clients reading this post as well as other cake decorators, inspiring bakers and bloggers of all sorts. This post isn't about me having a whinge about how 'expensive' things are but it's more a question for my fellow decorators and anyone else who is in the similar business to consider.

A cute little picture of my cousin's dog Flynn to ease the seriousness of this post - Woof! :)

What is your 'real' cost? I'm not just talking about how much it costs to bake a cake but also how much did it cost you in electricity, rent, admin time, labour, training, cake boards...etc? It may sound petty to consider things like electricity, rent, training and admin time, but if you don't consider these costs upfront, they will still exist later, and will only end up coming out of your profits.

Working out how/what to charge is always a hot topic with cake decorators and this is my take on it based on my experience. Yes, look at what the competition is charging and what they are doing (and what your clients expect to pay), but don't base everything off that. Cutting your competitors prices by 10% every time is not a very solid strategy. You need to know what YOU have to charge to cover costs and what additional margin/profit you want on top of that. Once you work out the numbers, they speak for themselves. You will also quickly realise that just because a customer wishes to pay a certain value for your work, you might actually be losing money taking in that order or not even making any money at all.

Your competitor may be skimping on quality ingredients, decorating as a hobby or may not have even worked out their true costs and may in actual fact be working for less than $5 an hour. Do you want that for yourself? By just copying what is out there and not knowing for sure if they are correct, it is not a sustainable strategy. We all want to be proud of our work and be respected for what we do but by undervaluing yourself, you're just digging a big hole for yourself to jump in to. So just think about it ...

I'll now leave you with an interesting article I stumbled upon recently from Melissa Capyk of Wild Cakes in Canada - Why Does a Cake Cost so Much?

Tips and Tricks Part 2 – Decorating top 10

2011-06-26T23:10:00.000+10:00

As promised... here is part 2 of my tips and tricks. Again this is just the way I do things and lessons I have learnt along the way :)

For piping and stenciling, the royal icing should be relatively stiff (like whipped cream) and not runny. If it’s runny, it will just bleed. The best way to achieve this is to beat the royal icing with a mixer (make sure the icing sugar is sifted too). Always cover the bowl of royal icing with a damp cloth to prevent it from crusting when not in use. Similarly, cover the tip of your piping bag with a damp cloth to prevent the royal icing from hardening in the tip.
For extended tiers, the rule is if the height is more than the diameter (for example if the cake is 9in high and 8in in diameter), than wrap the fondant around the tier. If not, you can cover the tier as per normal.
When designing, bear in mind any seams or ‘pressure points’ in decorating. For example if you are wrapping the fondant around the tier, there will be a seam where it joins, or sometimes, the bottom of your tiers may not cut off evenly. Design something that will hide these.
When making figurines, ensure there is enough support! Just like we have a backbone your figurines will need a skewer all the way down the body and through the head.
If your figurines are large, ensure the head and body have time to harden and dry before putting them together, or else they will sag and flatten.
Styrofoam is an amazing medium. It is light and will enable you to create things that are structurally impossible out of cake or fondant. There is no magic way to carve styrofoam. You just need a serrated saw/knife and sandpaper. Oh, and you need to be able to think in 3D… and beware, it’s messy!
Purple and certain shades of blue and pinks fade instantly (I mean within a couple of hours you will see a difference). It’s a matter of knowing which colours/brands do this and to keep it in mind when decorating. Perhaps by colouring it a shade or two darker.
When making tiered cakes, ensure that all the tiers are the same height! This might seem like a no brainer but it be very obvious once all the cakes are stacked together.
Think about the total weight! A 6 tier cake might sound like a beautiful idea but will you be able to lift/move it? The last thing you want to do is break your back over someone else’s cake! Either assemble on site or construct half of it with stryofoam.
Learn how to carve a cake properly. Don’t be tempted by shaped tins. You may be able to bake a cupcake shaped cake easily, but that tin may only serve 20 people. What happens when you need to make a cupcake shaped cake that serves 40 people? There will not be a 3D tin for every serving size you require.

Chilling out at Cake Spa with Jacqueline from Petalsweet

2011-06-22T10:24:00.000+10:00

What is a cake spa? Is it somewhere cakes go to relax? No... but it is somewhere where cake decorators go to chill out. There are no facials and mud wraps but lots of demos and learning outcomes.

It's been almost a year since I have had a chance to indulge myself in learning from someone else. And last weekend was such a special treat! Together with some cake girlfriends we all had the honour of playing host in a private flower class with Jacqueline Butler of Petalsweet. Oh, it was exciting and just like what you'd imagine gathering 6 decorators in a room might be. There was lots of chatter and gossiping and occasionally Jacqueline had to tell us to quiet down and get to work!

Jacqueline's Hydrangeas. Pretty, pretty!

People outside the cake world might think that it's strange for us all to be friends considering that we all run businesses in competition with each other. But what they don't understand is that the cake decorating community is filled with lots of lovely people and that we are mostly all friends or know of each other. We love to share information and brainstorm how to handle difficult clients and at the end of the day, this circle of friends are really the only ones who truly understand how hard it is to run a business in this market, bail you out when you are in trouble (I've run out of sliver balls! My cake doesn't seem to be balancing right!) and can laugh at cake type jokes with you.

Our finished flowers!

So it was truly a fun filled 3 days that I got to spend with my friends and also learn from the super talented and down to earth Jacqueline. She has such a unique style when it comes to flowers and I love how her technique is simple but so effective. In 3 days all of us have learned so much and at the end it felt like our eyes were opened up to a whole new way of making sugar flowers...

Tips and Tricks Pt 1 – The Basics top 10

2011-06-13T00:36:00.001+10:00

So I’m finally back from my holidays and I know this is a little overdue, but I have finally complied a list of tips and ticks based on your requests awhile ago.

I’ve split it up into 3 parts and part 1 is all about the basics (stuff that is under the fondant) and part 2 and 3 will be all about the decorating.

Please note these are my suggestions and the way I do things, it is not the be all and end all and if you have tips of your own, feel free to post them in the comments section so everyone can learn from them too!

Preparing the cake:

Don’t bake and decorate your cake on the same day. Ensure your cake rests over night and chill your cake before cutting as it’s less likely to be crumbly and the ganache will also set instantly.

Like the cake, don’t make and use your ganache on the same day. It needs to rest overnight at room temperature and should feel like smooth peanut butter.

To ensure a moist cake, each layer should be brushed with syrup before assembling.

Ganache should be made with pouring cream not thickened cream because thickened cream contains geletin. Ganache should also only be made with good quality chocolate (couverture if you have a choice) and the ratios for dark and milk chocolate are 1:2 (cream:chocolate) and for white chocolate 1:3.

DO NOT overheat your ganache. This could be overheating the cream or even microwaving the cream and chocolate mixture for too long. This causes the ganache to split (meaning the oil comes out of the chocolate) or seize (meaning you’ll find lots of little tiny balls when the ganache sets).

If the above happens, it’s fixable! Let the split ganache cool down (or place it in the fridge for awhile) and then remix the ganache until the oil and chocolate recombines. If the chocolate has seized, simply re-microwave in 30 second bursts until the ganache has melted but is not hot, then remix well and let it set.

Make sure your cake and board size match – for example if you have a 8in cake, make sure you have an 8in board even if the cake shrinks don’t be tempted to use a smaller board. This ensures your cake sizes remain consistent and it will also help with the step below.

When ganaching the sides of your cake, you will NEED a 90 degree scraper. Metal is better than plastic. When scraping the side of the cake (to get the excess ganache off), ensure the scraper is always kept at a 90 degree angle.

The turn table is your friend! It’ll help you ganache the sides and top of the cake a lot better. Hold the scraper on the side of the cake with one hand and rotate the turntable with the other hand and use the cake board as a guide. ALWAYS look at the cake at eye level along the way to ensure everything is even.

Use hot water and a metal spatula to smooth out the ganache after it has set (let the ganache set for at least an hour). The ganache should be smooth and even before covering. Look at the cake at eye level, the ganache should be smooth, but the top of the cake should also be flat and even at all angles. Don’t get lazy with this step as this is one of the most important elements in getting a good looking cake!

A Lesson in Piping

2011-05-16T13:13:00.001+10:00

Do you have any regrets?

Sometimes I say things in the moment and then immediately mentally kick myself, 'why did I just offer to do that!' or 'why did I just say that!'. But it's too late! The words are already out of my mouth. So the best I can do is either back paddle or follow through... and I don't like back paddling!

I remember a couple of years ago when I was looking for a new job, when my current boss found out, he asked me if it was because of the salary. Immediately I said, 'no it's not. I don't care about the money I want the experience'. Which was true at the time but when I told a friend of mine she was shocked 'never tell your boss not about the money! Wouldn't you like a pay rise anyways?' Oops, she did have a point.

Recently I made a design recommendation to a client and kicked myself in the head after. And as my hands were aching after all the piping I knew I only had myself to blame.

This bride brought in a cake picture that had used a black and white print from the Christina Re paper range. In the picture, the print looked like it was printed out on an edible image sheet and stuck on the cake.

I personally didn't like the look so I said the design will be piped on. Oh boy did I suffer for that! The pattern was so intricate that I had to use a 00 piping tip to pipe it on and as I did the first pattern block I realised in dismay that it had taken me 20 minutes and my thumbs were already sore. What do I do? Suck it up and keep piping! slow and steady, slow and steady (but try and move faster!) and 6 hours later...

In the end it was worth it and I was really pleased with the cake. I don't think I would have done the cake any other way and I learnt lots from the challenge I set for myself. But at the beginning and during the process, the finish line looked so far away, I was mentally kicking myself all the way.

PS: If you guys left a comment on the post below, it disappeared because blogger was having some issues over the last couple of days :(

A Massive Week of Business and Decorating

2011-05-12T21:42:00.000+10:00

What a MASSIVE week!

For those of you who don't know, I co-own and teach decorating classes at Couture Cake Classes and we ran our first ever intensive cake decorating and business session this week.

The intensive session was only available to 4 students and this week they got an insight to my studio and how Louise from Cupcakes for Poppy, Lilia from My Sweethearts Bakery and I run our businesses. There were hours of discussions, brainstorms, designing and days of ganaching, covering and decorating.

The students got to design their own cakes and by today (day 4) we (and the students) were all mentally and physically exhausted but extremely proud of the cakes that were created. One of our students, Katie even traveled all the way from Melbourne to join us. I was extremely flattered!

Here's wishing all 4 of them lots of success and fun decorating times ahead!

We've got a new class date listed for this class in August so be sure to check it out quickly as this class is super popular.

Episode 5 - Sydney Royal Easter Show Special

2011-04-18T14:31:00.000+10:00

10 Months On...

2011-04-12T15:30:00.000+10:00

Can you believe that we're almost half way though 2011?

Well I can't believe it has been almost a year since I finished my last day in the corporate world and dived head first into the world of cakes. So 10 months on... what have I been doing and what have I learnt?

Lots and lots! And I still have lots more that I want to do with what seems like so little time ahead of me.

But the most challenging thing I've had to come to terms with in the last 10 months has got to be time management and the idea of being one's own boss.

I can understand why a lot of people are seduced by the idea of being their own boss. They get to wake up when they want, spend the day in their pajamas and ultimately get to do whatever pleases them. I've come to discover that this is about 20% true.

Yes you can sleep in, but your clients don't. They will be calling and expecting replies during normal business hours, so it's best you wake up. Yes, you can go shopping and laze around the house, but ultimately, whatever you don't do won't get done. After all the lazing around, the emails will still be there, the cakes will need to be decorated and the paperwork will still need to get done. You need to manage your customers, any staff, stock, suppliers, enquiries, promote yourself and at the end of all that, also decorate the cakes. Plus there is no sick leave and no true days off - you can expect clients to still call when you are on holidays!

My entry to the 2011 Royal Easter Show

It was a little weird at first... waking up each day with no where to go and no one to report to but I think I am adjusting to it quite well. On the plus side, there is no traffic to sit in, unnecessary meetings to attend and I get to create something different each week - from puppies to awesome wedding cakes :)

Sharon Wee Creations - Episode 4 - Sometimes things just go wrong

2011-03-29T23:46:00.000+11:00

It didn't seem too hard...

2011-03-28T22:21:00.000+11:00

"What's the hardest cake you've ever made?"

That's a common question I usually hear when people find out I decorate cakes for a living. I've built wide cakes, tall cakes and unique shaped cakes. But this cake last week nearly had me in tears...

Looks simple enough right? That's what I thought when the client requested it. And silly me agreed to do it with a light vanilla cake. How hard can it be? It's still a standard shape.

Oh but it was challenging. The height to depth ratio of a piano is not much when you reduce it down to cake size. In other words, the cake was tall and skinny and did not have much of a base. Which caused it to actually collapse when I was building it. Plus the soft sponge texture of the cake did not help structurally either!

I was almost ready to throw in the towel and call the client to insist that it had to be a mud cake when I decided to give it one last try and to inject lots of support dowels in it. Thankfully, the ganache held it all together and it arrived at the venue in one piece. I even gave the cake a shake every few hours in the days leading up to delivery just to make sure it would hold together in the car. Yes I was paranoid. But what doesn't kill us makes us stronger right? In this case I walked away with lots of important lessons of things not to do!

Sharon Wee Creations - Episode 3 - Late Nights are Normal Nights

2011-03-06T20:31:00.000+11:00

When Deliveries Get Weird

2011-02-28T12:18:00.000+11:00

Last week was my one of my busiest cake weeks but the cake below had the funniest delivery story of them all.

I have delivered quite a few wedding cakes to hotels and venues over the years but almost having the cake delivered to the bride and groom's hotel room has got to be a first.

The lovely bride did warn me a couple of weeks ago that this particular hotel was pretty disorganised... When we pulled up to the lobby, just a couple of hours before the wedding they told me the room was not yet ready. I did think it was odd considering that this was a pretty big wedding. But then after more waiting and phone calls the supervisor came out and told me that the room was not yet ready but I could go in to set up the cake. However, the concierge will be escorting me up and staying with me the whole time and would have to escort me back out. At this point I thought they were being a little tight on security... oh well...

Then as we got off on the 12th floor and as the concierge was helping me trolley this 5 tier cake down the narrow hotel halls, it finally hit me that we were not going in the right direction. It turns out the concierge had been given instructions to bring me and the cake to the bride and groom's hotel room.... and they wanted me to set up the cake there. Who in their right mind would think that this 5 tier wedding cake should be set up in a hotel room? I could not stop giggling about this because all I could think about was the bride and groom walking into their room to find the cake set up on their table.

Eventually after another phone call we were directed back to the proper function room where everything was already set up, the cake fitted right in and the wedding co-ordinator was switched on. All in all, it was a pretty funny ending to a stressful week!

Sharon Wee Creations - Episode 2 - Is That Cake?

2011-02-22T20:05:00.001+11:00

What Inspires You?

2011-02-19T19:51:00.000+11:00

I love when I see something and inspiration hits and I can envision it straight away on a cake...

The ruffles on the bride's dress inspired this cake below...

The drawing on the Christening invite above becomes the below...

I love these cakes the most :) So what inspires you?

Sharon Wee Creations - Episode 1 - An Introduction

2011-02-13T23:54:00.001+11:00

So one of the things I wanted to try out this year was video blogging... be patient with me, this is my first time filming myself and editing it :) It's a bit weird seeing myself on video... I'm surprised that's how I really sound!

Cute and Easy Cupcake Topper Tutorial

2011-02-11T09:34:00.000+11:00

Short of time to make something special for Valentines day? Me too! I had grand plans of making macaroons with heart shapes coming out of a cupcake but cakes got in the way. So instead I came up with this tutorial for making cute little cupcake toppers which are easy peasy and can quickly be put on top of any cupcake.

If you are using butter cream, the toppers can be made in advance and left to dry. If you are covering the cupcake with fondant, then you'll have to make them fresh.

I made my favourite Red Velvet cupcake recipe with cream cheese frosting. These are so yummy I bet I could eat them all in one sitting (no, I have not tried!).

For Cupcake Toppers You'll Need:

- 1 set of circle cutters

- 1 small heart shape cutter

- Yellow, dark and light brown, black, pink, blue and white icing

- 1 blossom cutter (optional)

- Black food colouring pen

- Stitching tool

Bear Topper

Roll out the dark brown icing and cut out a larger circle.

Roll out the light brown icing and cut out a smaller circle.

With the stitching tool, run a stitched line down the middle of the dark brown circle.

Using water, attach the light brown circle on top of the dark brown circle.

Roll a bit of black icing into a ball and attach it with water to where the stitch meets the light brown icing. Then using the side of a blossom cutter, imprint the smile in at an angle.

Roll 2 dark brown balls and using water attach them to the teddy. Then using a balling tool, or your fingers, press down.

Love Bees

Roll a ball of icing into an oval shape, like below.

Let them harden for awhile and then using an edible food pen, mark the stripes.

For the wings, roll some white icing into a tear drop shape and then press to flatten. You'll need 2 per bee.

Attach to the bees with a little water. Be careful to avoid the stripes on the bee (the water will make it bleed). Then use the food marker to mark the eyes.

Roll out some additional icing and cut out the heart shapes.

And that's it! Cute but simple toppers that can be used this Valentines Day or for any occasion really :)

Ritual Restaurant - Not Your Typical Dinner

2011-01-31T14:49:00.000+11:00

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know that I mostly post about my creations and occasionally will slip in a few posts about my holidays and food adventures.

But I have never done the whole food blogger thing and reviewed an entire meal at a restaurant from start to finish... until now :) I wanted to go somewhere unique for the boyfriend's birthday and when I heard about Ritual I knew we had to try it out. Never mind that it was in Nelson Bay and about 3 hours away from Sydney... we were prepared to travel for exciting food!

Our canapes - garlic fairy floss on a rosemary stick. The fairy floss tasted normal but when you sniff the rosemary and then eat the fairy floss it really tastes like garlic.

I made a few discoveries that night:

1. I actually like eating rabbit. I do feel guilty that it was one of my favourite dishes though!

2. First impressions can be very deceiving.

3. Food blogging is hard! I have new found respect for those that do it full time! Having to take pictures of everything that is placed in front of you, in low light, before it melts/ goes cold is not easy. A lot of times everyone would be finished and I would still be trying to get a decent photo. AND trying to remember what everything is drove me nuts (especially when there is no proper menu).

The menu...

Ritual is located in Nelson Bay in the most unsuspecting place - a small residential like area alongside an IGA and video rental store. However, what used to be a cafe has now turned into a creative and fun dining destination.

As a warning, be prepared to try new flavours and experience a completely new way of dining - you don't get to choose or know what your meals are. Instead before each course, you get 2 spoons of flavour combinations.

Flavours on the spoon - Citrus, ginger, honey and wasabi on one spoon and smoke, chocolate and cherry on the other spoon.

After tasting both, you let your waiter know which flavour you prefer and what you get for your entree/main/dessert is dictated by that. This idea can be scary or exciting... scary for those picky with what they eat and exciting for those who are willing to try anything.

We all picked the citrus option which lead us to the above. Coral with fish in squid ink and wasabi batter, and cured king fish with different types of roe. I'm a bit upset I didn't pick the chocolate and cherry option - it had pork with chocolate sauce!

Chicken roulade with white chocolate sauce and potato rocky mountain ranges

The restaurant only sits a cosy 15 people. There is one set time for dinner and everyone is addressed as a whole group which really adds to the intimate and friendly environment. As each course comes out, you can hear everyone's excited chatter and amusement as we all experience the different flavours together.

Tom Yum soup - a perfect burst of zesty tasty liquid.

Deconstructed bruschetta - sun dried tomato raviolo and bruschetta onion ring.

Ritual's chef Carl experiments with different flavours and molecular gastronomy, setting up his dining experience to delight and entertain his guests. I can imagine this experience as a preview of what you'd expect at the Fat Duck or El Bulli. But having been to neither of them, I can't compare. However, I have seen video footage of El Bulli's science lab looking kitchen online and Ritual's kitchen is nothing like that. When you walk in, you can see right into the kitchen and it looks just like any normal kitchen.... however the food is anything but. You can hear the sizzling of meat and the clanking of pans but what appears in front of you feels like it didn't belong. Beautifully arranged food with lots of delicate detail and meaning made me feel like I was looking at a work of art.

Burnt butter and sage ice cream and golden beetroot soup... an introduction to our mains.

Rabbit with roasted carrots, grains, hash brown and cumquat sage and whisky sauce.

Lamb cutlets and back strap with beetroot and lentils.

During the night, between courses, we were instructed to go up to the edible wall art and help ourselves to the spoonful of different flavours. Although small, they all packed huge flavour!

Quail egg - tasted a bit rubbery but had interesting flavour.

Artichoke heart with 'toothpaste'

Can't remember the flavour in the front but it had blue cheese. I'm not a fan of blue cheese but this was really creamy and yum. At the back - triple chocolate fudge with pink peppercorns - rich and yum!

Celery Chips with strawberry spray. The spay didn't taste like much on it's own but when sprayed on the chips it had a nice sweet taste which matched well with the the light crispy taste of celery.

Although Carl was very secretive with what we were being served that night, he was also incredibly accommodating to the various dietary requirements at our table - no seafood, no prawns, no pork...etc the list goes on!

Cardamom, Harissa and Apricot dessert. Quite a savoury dessert which doesn't make it feel too rich.

I loved the presentation of this dessert the most. I had dessert envy! Coconut, rhubarb and eucalyptus dessert.

Coconut and rhubarb liquid being dropped into liquid nitrogen. This added such an element of fun to the dessert.

Ice cream drops in the cone.

I don't consider myself a fine dining or food expert but I do believe Ritual is a step up in creativity, entertainment and presentation from the places I have tired in Sydney.

Mint sorbet palette cleanser

Watermelon Shisha

Parsley sorbet palette cleanser - this was tangy, savoury and sweet all at the same time.

In terms of value for money it definitely blows all of the fine dining places in Sydney out of the water. The journey menu is $95 and you can add matching wines (+$35), beer (+$28) or tea (+$9). Being a non alcohol drinker and the designated driver that night, I really appreciated the tea option!

Chocolate mud ice cream with Fisherman's Friend crust

Yes it is a 3 hour drive but this is not somewhere you'd go every week. It's for that occasion where you wish to be thrilled, surprised, experience the different and bond with your friends and family.

The Year of the Rabbit - Little Bunny Topper Tutorial

2011-01-27T14:37:00.000+11:00

I know I have not done one of my tutorials in awhile but this year I promise to be better and to do them more frequently!

With Chinese New Year around the corner, I thought this little bunny would be a good addition to any celebration. Make many to put on top of cupcakes (if you are adventurous) or just make one to feature on a cake :)

What you'll need:

- White fondant icing/ Ready to Roll icing

- paint brush and a cup of water

- pink flower dust (optional)

- green fondant icing

- orange fondant icing

- frilling tool

- hook modeling tool - for the mouth areas (not sure if that's what it's officially called)

- Pasta sticks

- Sharp knife

- Black edible food marker (optional - black food colouring with a brush will give you the same result)

Instructions:

Roll out 2 basic egg shapes with your hand. A larger one for the body and one about 50% smaller for the head.

Gently hold the head in your hands and using the hook modeling tool, gently mark the nose and mouth areas.

Break off a piece of pasta stick and insert it into the body.

Roll out a long teardrop shaped icing for the bunny's ears. Be careful not to do it too long or too thin as it will have trouble staying up.

Using the frilling tool, gently press down to make an indent. Then gently insert a pasta stick inside (for support)

Mark a hole in the head with another pasta stick and then gently insert the ears. Add a tiny bit of water to stick them together.

Roll out 2 fat tear drop shapes for the bunny's feet and 2 smaller ones for his hands. Use the knife to mark the lines.

Roll out a little ball of orange icing and mark some indents with the frilling tool. Make a tiny teardrop shape out of green icing for the leaf and stick it on the orange with a tiny bit of water. Add a pasta stick to the side of the orange (this is to make sure it stays attached to the bunny).

Attach all the pieces together with some water. Make sure the feet sit right underneath the body.

Brush a small amount of pink flower dust on to the bunny's ears and nose and then add the eyes with an edible food marker. And TA DA.... Happy Chinese New Year everyone :)

Hitting the Ground Running...

2011-01-17T18:49:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! I know my wishes my come a little late but since I've been back from Singapore I've pretty much hit the ground running. My holiday was long forgotten the minute I got back from the air port and started ganaching cakes. But this cake (the first cake for 2011) was not just any cake, it was a wedding cake for my old high school friend who I've known since I was 13. Of course I was excited :)

The couple wanted an under the sea theme with sea shells and pearls.

The first two weeks of this new year was then spent meeting with lots of lovely future brides and grooms to brainstorm cake designs - I can't wait for all of them to come up so I can share them with you guys :)

Then last week was figurine week for me. All the cakes I made had some sort of figurines on them. I love making figurines, it just makes the cakes so personalised.

This wedding cake was for two dentists. I think these figurines are my all time favourite.

Don't forget to brush your teeth (or tooth)!

I must say I am really proud of this surfing cake below. This was made by my cousin, all by herself with me just giving her advice. She's been helping me out casually for over 6 months now and I think she did an amazing job with this cake. Am I a good teacher or is she naturally talented? ;)

For a man celebrating his 50th Birthday and who loves lawn bowls.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2010-12-23T19:33:00.000+11:00

Thank you for all your support and encouraging words on my blog this year. It has really helped me strive to be better at what I do and also reminds me why I love what I do :)

It's been a big year of learning + change for me and there will be lots of new things happening next year too. I can't wait to share it with all of you.

Best wishes for the holiday season, hope you are all surrounded by lovely friends and family and get a chance to relax and eat, eat, eat!

XOXO - Sharon

It's Been a Busy Month!

2010-12-17T12:06:00.000+11:00

It's been about a month since I last blogged! I can't believe a whole month has gone by so fast. Somewhere in between cake orders, preparing for my trip back to singapore, teaching with Couture Cake Classes and organising our stall at Masterchef Live, I forgot about blogging :(

The bride and groom designed this wedding cake themselves :)

But now that I am back in Singapore and enjoying some free time, I can update everyone on what's been going on :)

Last week, as part of Couture Cake Classes we exhibited at Masterchef Live and had so much fun running demonstrations, meeting all the other vendors as well as current and future students. Although the event was quiet, it was fun and exhausting!

And guess who we got to meet? I think I was the most excited out of the 3 of us :)

Then I was headed back to Singapore and into Bake King who were hosting my classes. I was so relieved the ganache set well! Most of the students had also already worked with fondant, so once we all covered the cakes they were off decorating their own designs. It was great meeting everyone and I hope to come back again soon :)

Everyone hard at work!

Everyone with their completed cakes.

Oh and guess what I had for lunch yesterday? Some of you might already know about this but I was so excited to discover colourful Xio Long Baos at Paradise Dynasty.

They all have different flavours and when I saw the feature in the in flight magazine I knew I had to go :) The verdict? They were not as brightly coloured as the picture in the magazine and only half of them had a real distinct taste difference. Surprisingly, the cheese one was really yummy!

Although after eating all of them, we did discover the instructions for the order to eat the dumplings so as to get the optimum flavours.

Oops. Maybe that's why we couldn't really taste the difference in some of the dumplings.

Some Unusual Cake Tools

2010-11-16T14:06:00.000+11:00

A couple of months ago I organised all my cakey items and tools into drawers and there is one particular drawer that people are always surprised to see - the drawer of tools. I'm not talking about cake decorating tools, but more like tools that you would usually associate with hardware and building supplies.

So I thought I'd give everyone a sneak peek into my 'tool' drawer :)

It's got ribbons and glue which is to be expected but it's also got a handful of more unusual items in there. Before cake decorating I don't think I have even needed to step into a hardware store. Now I'm in there at least once a month.

So what else is in there?

- My favourite glue gun which I can't do any major cakes without

- Secateurs (which was on of the best investments I've ever made) - cuts all my dowels and center poles with a single snip!

- Pliers to bend wires

- Skewers for figurines

- Face mask for me to wear during airbrushing and styrofoam carving

- Metal sheet cutter for metal and thick wires

- Measuring tape

- Mini saw for cutting stryofoam

- Grater/ Shaver and sandpaper for styrofoam carving

- Drill (not pictured) - do you know I've never used a drill in my life until I started doing big cakes?

Wow, years ago I would never have thought I would need all these to create cakes. Hmmm, maybe in the future you'll find me blogging about metal pipes, motors and LED lights :P

The Launch of Classes in Singapore

2010-11-12T09:06:00.002+11:00

Guess what everyone? I'm excited to announce that I will be officially running cake decorating classes in Singapore this December! I was toying with the idea on my last trip back and decided that since I will be heading back to Singapore this Christmas to spend time with my family, I'd try running classes in Singapore.

I must admit, the initial task was pretty daunting. Cupcakes would have been the easier option (for me) but everyone who emailed me all asked about cakes.

At this point I was getting a little stressed on how I will bring back all my tools for all the students. Let me tell you, there are quite a lot of tools, icing and chocolate involved which I would need to fly back with me.

Then I came across Bake King... my hero! They rent out their cooking school class rooms and have offered to supply everything I need. I was so happy :)

They have just listed my classes on their website yesterday and I've been told it's already getting a good response. Oh, I am so excited to get to meet everyone :) I am still a little nervous! Teaching away from my comfort zone, with new tools and a new climate... yikes. I'm sure it'll be great fun, I'm just a worry wort :P

So if you know of anyone in Singapore who'd be interested, help me spread the word. There are 2 class dates on offer - the 15th of December and 26th of December.

This class will be run differently from the usual classes. I will be catering for all levels so students will get a chance to choose to do a square or round cake and also create your own simple design on the cake. And I will also be demonstrating how to stack a 2 tier cake... So lots of learning outcomes from this little class!

Hope to be able to meet some of you :)

My Friday Night Off

2010-10-30T00:09:00.000+11:00

It's a Friday night and it's one of the first few I've had in a long time to myself. Usually I'm finishing off cakes, cleaning up my cake related mess, doing admin work or going to volleyball training. But today, thanks to me being super organised this week and my sore finger (volleyball not cake related!) plus deciding to give myself the night off, I find myself a little lost.

I don't know where to start! Maybe shopping for cake related stuff? Or maybe online Christmas shopping? Read my book? Go to bed and get some extra sleep? iPhone games? For now, I choose to blog :)

Sometimes on Friday nights, I wonder what my clients are doing in anticipation of their event (and my cake) the next day. Mothers must be busily gathering their baby's clothes in preparation for their christenings tomorrow and brides must have butterflies in their stomach as they gather their accessories and go through their mental checklist for the biggest day of their lives. I imagine everyone (mums, brides, event planners, caters, florists...etc) running around in a mad rush while I am sitting here with my finished cake :) I'm sure that is not the case, but my imagination tends to get carried away sometimes ;)

For now I leave you with some of this week's cakes... I'm off to do some online cake shopping while the US exchange rate is still good!

This one was not my design, the bride brought it to me so if you know who it belongs to, let me know so I can give them credit for it.

What happens after the plunge?

2010-10-26T23:44:00.000+11:00

In the last few months I have made a lifestyle changing decision. Those of you who know me or who have been following my blog will know that for the last 5 years or so, I was a marketing professional. However, recently I made the decision to resign from my job at a multi-national company to focus on my real passion - Sugar art.

Cake decorating started out as a hobby for me and I never expected for it to turn into a business. But now here I am, taking the plunge to focus on my business full time. I thought making the decision to hand in my resignation was hard and that it'll be great once I can have more free time to myself and actually start decorating my cakes during the day instead of during the wee hours of the night.

So what happens after the plunge? The first couple of weeks were weird - I didn't have a set routine or anyone to report to :) But it also does seem that I am now working much longer hours then I ever did at work! Have I just lost my time management skills or do I really have more to do now that I can focus all my time on my sugar art?

I'm teaching how to create this cake next year at Couture Cake Classes :)

It constantly feels like I have a million ideas and thoughts racing through my head all the time and it's hard deciding where to start! Mostly the hardest thing I have to face now is knowing when to stop. Would you believe that yesterday after answering emails, baking cookies all day and ganaching 7 cakes in a row, I still felt guilty about sitting and relaxing. I always feel like there is always more to do!

I'm probably still very excited about this new adventure and hopefully I'll find a balance sometime soon :)

Falling in Love with Wedding Cakes

2010-10-10T01:42:00.000+11:00

When I first started decorating, I was always really cautious about making wedding cakes. The thought of dealing with demanding bridezillas and the fact that the cake is for one of the biggest days in someone's life really intimidated me.

I had more fun making novelty cakes. Cakes that don't look like cake and getting down and dirty with carving the shapes. I loved the organic and fun process of a 3D cake and always thought wedding cakes with their standard round and square shapes were boring.

But this year I have really started to fall in love with wedding cakes. Maybe I've just started meeting some lovely brides and their excitement and enthusiasm has just rubbed off on me? Or maybe it's the journey of meeting the couple and designing a cake that reflects their story and wedding theme?

The cake below is such a unique one, the lovely bridesmaids came to see me a couple of months ago and they were given the task to design this cake as the bride didn't want to be involved because it was going to be a surprise. How lovely to give your closest friends creative freedom! :)

The design concept presented to the client.

The final creation :)

In any case, wedding season is here and with a whole stack of wedding cakes coming up, I am extremely excited! So please excuse my blogging absence and slow responses to emails because these days I'm usually covered in chocolate or sugar paste. The other day I actually found chocolate stains on the bottom of my laptop!

Oh and here is a really recent one... delivered just tonight this cake has over 200 dimontes and is one of my favourites. Black and white is still really popular at the moment and it is just so elegant and classic. I must admit though, this cake is not as easy as it looks. I had to pay extra attention to everything I did on this cake... there was simply no where to hide any boo boos so the pressure was on!

DIY Chocolate Covered Biscuit Sticks

2010-09-21T12:40:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to make my own chocolate covered biscuits for the longest time (also known in the Asian world as Pocky sticks) but I could never find a proper biscuit stick recipe.

Then last week, I wandered into a Korean grocery store and there they were! A pack of plain biscuit sticks... now I'm not sure exactly what they are made of because there was no English label but from the picture I'm guessing wheat is the main ingredient.

They are yummy on their own but yesterday I dipped them into white chocolate and coated them with my own range of yummy toppings.

White chocolate sticks from front to back: white sprinkles, chocolate flakes, hundreds and thousands and strawberry popping candy.

I made a few different versions and I imagine this would be great for dessert tables, party/ wedding favours or just to indulge in. You could easily colour the chocolate to suit your theme and at $1.70 for the pack, you can go crazy experimenting with different looks :) Here's how I did it:

Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering/boiling water or you could microwave it. Here I used about 200g of white chocolate.

Place the chocolate into a deep and narrow cup and dip in the sticks.

Remove and use a skewer to help remove the excess chocolate

Place the sticks on baking paper and sprinkle with desired topping and leave to set.

Ta-da! The white chocolate did take a long time to set as it was a warm night but they did harden eventually :)

And since we're on the topic of biscuits, here is a picture of some cute cookies I made last week for a christening which were designed to match the cake (I'm loving the little dinosaur!)...

Teddy Bear Inspired Wedding

2010-09-12T14:16:00.000+10:00

Last week, my cousin came over for a private Mad Hatter class. She was holding a dinner for everyone to thank them for their help and support during her wedding and wanted to present the cake as a thank you gift. She created everything herself - all the flowers, the figurine and the cake design too.

That same week I was also enlisted with the task of creating my friend Fonny's wedding cake/cupcakes and to attend the wedding. Which meant that I had to be very organised with my time! I couldn't just show up in the afternoon to deliver the cake, I actually had to work out when I needed to get dressed, how I was going to get to the ceremony and work out how I was going to manage 7 boxes of cakes and bonboneries in high heels.

The ceremony was at the Botanical Gardens and I don't think anyone could have been luckier to have such a beautiful backdrop.

On the day, the storm clouds loomed above and as it neared the time the bride was due to walk down the aisle the chairs and table blew over and we all started to get worried. But the groom and bride were still smiling and they were so clam that I don't think they would have mind if it really did start raining!

Luckily, everything eventually calmed down and we got to experience a beautiful ceremony. The couple wrote their own sweet vows which I was so honoured to be able to witness and I wish them a lifetime of happiness :)

What about the cake you ask? Fonny wanted a garden theme, cupcakes, teddy bears and for it to have pink... the rest she left up to me. I tend to get a little carried away when I have creative freedom :)

Easy Peasy Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Pastry Pockets

2010-08-31T23:29:00.000+10:00

The first time I made these little pockets of pastry and custard goodness was in the French Patisserie class I took last year.

Yesterday, I had a little craving for something sweet (in particular, strawberries and custard or as the French call it - creme patissiere) and decided to make what I have now dubbed as 'the easiest but incredibly delicious strawberry pastry ever'. In fact, don't take my word for it - my cousin actually said to me today that, out of all my desserts, these were the best he has had. Apparently, spending hours in the kitchen on complicated recipes do not mean anything to him!

The creme patissiere really makes this dessert special, so spend the 10 minutes making it and please don't buy the pre-made kind. The cherry jelly is optional and I only made it because I had leftover cherry syrup from the black forest cake I made last week. It doesn't really add anything extra to the overall taste. Oh and the best thing about this dessert? You can pretty much top it with any fruit you like.

Ingredients (makes approx 8 or 9 pastries):

- 2 or 3 sheets of frozen puff pastry

- 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg

- 100g caster sugar

- 1 generous tablespoon of plain flour

- 250ml full cream milk

- 1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

- A little milk

Cream Patissiere

1. Place the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to boil.

2. Place eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk well.

3. Pour the boiling milk into the eggs as you mix and return the mixture back on to the stove and keep stirring until it thickens. (Don't forget the edges!)

4. Remove from the stove and pour into a sieve.

5. Cool it down by placing it over an ice bath

Puff Pastry Pockets (preheat oven to 200 degrees)

1. Let frozen pastry thaw and cut out as many circles as you can.

2. Keep half the circles aside for the base and cut out a smaller circle out of the other half.

3. Brush the base with some milk and stick on the circle cut outs. Brush again with milk and sprinkle sugar on top

4. Place in the oven for approx 15 mins or until golden.

5. Let the pockets cool down slightly and then take a sharp knife and trace around the small circle puff and remove the 'lid'. Feel free to snack on the lids :)

Cherry Jelly (optional)

I used a sheet of geletin and followed the instructions - 200ml of water to each sheet. I added water to the cherry syrup to make 200ml and brought it to boil. I then added the geletin sheet and poured it into the moulds.

Assembly

1. Spoon the cream patissiere into the pastry pockets.

2. Top with fresh strawberries and sprinkle with some icing sugar and add cherry jelly.

3. Savour the crunchy sweet pastry together with the thick creamy vanilla custard and juicy fruit.... mmmm

Oh and another good thing about this amazing dessert? The pastry is still as crispy after being in the fridge overnight :)

Teddy Bears at the Beach

2010-08-30T14:03:00.000+10:00

It was a beautiful day in Sydney yesterday and what better way to enjoy it than to head to Bondi Beach? The sun was out and warm but not extremely hot and the water was a beautiful shade of sparkling blue.

This cake was inspired by my Teddy Bears Picnic cake but made for Curtis' beach themed christening party. Perfect for the Bondi venue I delivered to and with such a beautiful day, I don't think I could have asked for more.

Doesn't this little guy just want to make you head to a beach right now?

I also finally had a chance to have my very first deep fried mars bar! I can't believe that I've been living in Sydney for 10 years and did not know they existed until a couple of years ago... and would you believe didn't even try one until yesterday.

All I can say is that I have missed out on 10 years of awesome crunchy, warm gooey, chocolate and caramel goodness! The only unfortunate thing was that I had to share it with the boyfriend. Plus, the shop had deep fried ice cream on the menu which you can bet I will be returning for!

Up, Up and Away!

2010-08-29T01:51:00.001+10:00

This has been a crazy week for me. For some strange reason everyone decided to visit/celebrate and organise events all this week.

But I have been looking forward to this cake since the lovely Simonne contacted me earlier this month. She was planning to have a circus themed party for her twins but admitted that all her son really wanted was a rocket ship cake. So guess what he got?

A circus themed rocket ship :) I love cake designs like this, they are so original and although may seem a little strange to outsiders, means a lot to the client receiving it. As I rang the doorbell this morning the cutest thing happened... I could hear from all the way inside the house, an excited little voice, 'Mum, my rocket cake is here!'. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet him but I'm sure he had a fun filled day.

This week I also hosted a private lesson for my cousin and her sweet friend Dawn who wanted to make a cake for her goddaughter's birthday. She was inspired by my fairy cake and changed the design to suit the garden theme that her goddaughter was having. I think she did amazingly! Looking at the pictures below, no one would have guessed that she had never ganached a cake or worked with fondant before. I'm sure everyone at the party is going to be blown away when she walks in with this cake.

Making sure everything is straight.

Adding the final touches...

And look at the final result! What a great present for her goddaughter :)

The girls and their cake.

My Cheer Up Cake

2010-08-25T10:51:00.000+10:00

Or as it's more famously known - The Black Forest Cake from Masterchef.

The boyfriend was feeling a little stressed this week and a couple of my close friends have also been going through some tough times so what better to cheer them up than to offer dessert? :D Chocolate makes everything better right?

After dropping the 'I've never had a really good black forest cake before' comment a couple of weeks back, I knew what I wanted to make for the boyfriend. I'm not sure if it's officially cherry season, but my local Woolies only had some sad looking ones. Regardless, I bought them and had to throw a few out but they get cooked in sugar anyways so it was all ok.

Although my other friends are not around to enjoy the cake, I'm happily eating it on their behalf :) In any case, I'll send a slice through cyberspace - it's the thought that counts!

So this cake is for everyone out there who is feeling a little down and who may not be having the best day/week/month/year. It'll be ok (after you have some of this cake)!

Give the recipe a try if you get the chance. It's not hard at all, it just has quite a few components. The end result? YUMMY! It's not like the usual black forest cake you'd find in cafes but it's really good and I'm sure is bound give you some extra cheer :)

I actually halved the original recipe and omitted the candied cherries (where would I get semi-candied cherries from anyways?) but here is the original recipe (I've commented on my changes below):

Ingredients:

For the chocolate sponge7 eggs
250g caster sugar
200g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the candied cherries (I skipped this part)

½ cup semi-candied pitted cherries, ¼ cup juice reserved
¼ cup caster sugar

For the cherry compote
1/3 cup caster sugar
600g pitted fresh cherries, halved
1 tbs brandy

For the cherry sugar syrup

90g caster sugar
¼ cup cherry juice (instead of buying cherry juice, I just squeezed some out from the fresh cherries)

For the chocolate hazelnut praline mousse

½ cup caster sugar
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted lightly and skinned
300g chopped dark chocolate
3 egg yolks
300ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the mascarpone cream
500g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbs icing sugar

For the dark chocolate ganache
150ml cream (I used thickened cream only because I did not want my ganache to be too runny and I found that I could just scoop it on top and spread without having it fall down the sides)
200g chopped dark chocolate

How To:

1. For the chocolate sponge, preheat oven to 160°C fan forced. Grease and line 2 x 20cm springform cake pans.

2. Add eggs and sugar to a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, and set over a saucepan of simmering water over very low heat. Whisk the mixture until 37°C. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat with an electric mixer on a medium-low speed for 5-8 minutes or until the mixture has cooled and thickened to a mousse-like consistency. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together twice. Using a large metal spoon, fold the dry mixture into the egg mixture in 3 batches until combined, adding the vanilla extract with the first dry batch.

3. Pour the mixture into the lined cake pans and smooth surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until sponge springs back when lightly touched. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks. Place in the blast chiller for 10-15 minutes until cake has cooled completely.

4. For the candied cherries, preheat oven to 120°C. Place cherries on a lined baking tray. Lightly dust with the sugar and place in the oven for 50-60 minutes. Remove and cool. Coat with remaining sugar. Set aside. (I skipped this step)

5. For the cherry compote, add the sugar to a non-stick saucepan and place over medium heat. Once the sugar begins to dissolve add the cherries and cook until they start to release their juices. Add the brandy and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and thickened. Strain, reserving liquor.

6. For the cherry syrup, heat 170ml water and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved cherry juice and compote liquor. Allow to cool.

Leftovers! yay :)

7. For the chocolate hazelnut praline mousse, line a baking sheet. In a dry heavy-based saucepan, cook sugar over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Once melted, cook without stirring, swirling pan, until lightly golden. Add hazelnuts, stirring until well coated. Immediately pour mixture onto the baking sheet and cool completely, in blast chiller for 5 minutes. Break praline into pieces. Place into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.

8. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the egg yolks in a small heatproof bowl. Heat 250ml of the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir through half of the hot cream into the egg yolks (whisk then add back to the remaining hot cream). Return the mixture to the saucepan over low heat and stir until thickened. Strain into a clean bowl. Stir the melted chocolate into the hot custard. Add the vanilla and allow to cool. Whisk the remaining cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture with the praline, until just combined. Set aside.

9. For the mascarpone cream, beat the mascarpone, vanilla and sugar in a bowl until smooth and slightly thicker in volume.

10. For the chocolate ganache, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Set aside. Bring the cream to just below boiling point in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, then add the melted chocolate and stir until smooth. Allow to cool until thick but still pouring consistency.

11. To assemble the cake, slice both cakes into thirds. Place the base of 1 cake onto a serving plate and brush with some of the cherry syrup. Spread over half of the chocolate praline mousse.

12. Place the next layer of cake onto a board, and brush with cherry syrup. Spread over half of the mascarpone cream. Divide the cherries into two parts for two separate layers. Place cherries around the border of the cake, 5mm from its edge and scatter remaining in the middle. Carefully remove layer from the board and place on top of the first layer. Repeat each layering process on the board (you will have 1 spare slice of cake), starting with the praline mousse and ending with the cherries on the mascarpone cream. (Basically, it's cake - syrup - mousse - cake - syrup - mascarpone - cherries - cake - syrup - mousse - cake - syrup - mascarpone - cherries - cake - ganache)

13. Place the final layer of the cake on a wire rack sitting over a baking tray. Evenly pour the ganache over the cake, ensuring it is completely coated (I skipped this because I used thickened cream in the ganache so I just assembled everything together). When the ganache has set, place on top of the layered cake. Decorate with shaved chocolate, fresh cherries and candied cherries.

Do you think I can get away with having this for breakfast? It's got fruits, so it's healthy right?

My top 10 ... Business Tips

2010-08-18T22:31:00.000+10:00

Welcome to my 100th blog post! I know it has taken me awhile to get here because I am not a frequent blogger (I do try!) but lets hope it's not another 2 years before I reach my 200th post.

So what better way to celebrate this momentous post than to dedicate it to what this blog is all about - A behind the scenes look at what I do and a little insight to my life.

Now, by no means am I a business expert or do I consider myself a successful business owner (I'm trying though!) but I do get a handful of emails from people seeking advice on how to go about doing what I do. So here is my top 10...

10. Be patient and don't be discouraged. Learning anything new can be frustrating, don't give up if your work does not look absolutely perfect from the get go. I still have cakes/cupcakes that I create now that I am not 100% happy with but I always make a note on how I can make it better for the future.

My first wedding cake :)

A recent wedding cake...

9. Try new things and take every opportunity for a learning experience. Remember when your parents used to tell you 'you won't know until you try!' well, it's true. Too many times I hear people say that it's too hard or that they're afraid to try - don't be, how else will you learn?

Made for my friend's birthday two years ago.

8. Try not to take things personally. You can't please everyone and not everyone may like what you create. And be ok with that. It's hard because you put your heart into what you create but accept that some people may not see that - they are judging your business and not you personally.

7. Never stop day dreaming about design ideas. Open your creative mind and always be inspired. Sometimes my favourite designs are inspired from fabric colours, tea cups or other cake designs.

This design by Matheus C inspired this...

6. Don't forget you have to pay yourself and grow your business too! One of the biggest struggles I went through in the beginning (and I'm sure most people go through the same thing) is how to price your work. Whatever you decide, don't forget that you need to 'pay' yourself as well as reserve some money aside for your business to grow. In my opinion this is the most sustainable way.

5. 'Will this help further my business?' There will always be people seeking out freebies. It's great to give but you'll have to think if the time and effort you are putting in will be benefit your business. It's ok to say no.

4. Never stop learning. You can only get better if you keep learning.

3. What is your unique selling point and who are you targeting? Think about what will set you aside from the rest. You don't have to be the biggest and best or the cheapest to score all the customers, but you should have something special that no one else has.

2. Connect with like minded people. It's lonely when you are doing something new by yourself. Find some like minded people and make friends. It comes in handy when you have to discuss problems or develop ideas that your friends or family won't understand, or even when you run out of icing at 11pm at night :)

1. Smile and Relax! Whenever I am stressed I always reflect and think of how lucky I am to be able to pursue what I love doing, have a roof over my head, a loving family, a bunch of fun friends and access to clean water. It makes me realise that whatever cake stress I have is not the end of the world. This instantly makes me happier and more motivated. It's important to keep happy or you are just going to be like the majority of people who hate and resent their job.

Now, here is my disclaimer: Of course this list is not the be all and end all but it's just what I have learned in my journey so far :)

Do you have any other tips/advice of your own? I'd love to know :)

Is that a cake?!

2010-08-14T16:58:00.000+10:00

The thing I love most about novelty cakes is that they don't look like a traditional round or square cake. I have so much fun making a cake look like something else and I'm so thrilled when I hear 'wow is that a cake?!'

Did someone order a burger meal with large fries?

I've never wanted to hug a cake before but I think I came pretty close with this one...

These were all done at Planet Cake's novelty classes where I got to learn from the super talented Anna Maria and also got to meet and work along side some really amazing cake artists.

Bring on more fun novelty cakes, I say!

Sweets in Singapore

2010-08-09T22:26:00.000+10:00

In case you have not noticed, I have a major love for all things sweet... especially dessert. I never say no to dessert :)

On my recent trip back to Singapore I was on a mission to taste some amazing desserts. First stop was Canele and I could not help but stare at the long stretch of beautiful looking desserts that were displayed along the counter. I forgot to bring my camera that day so all I have are photos from my phone.

The highlight would have to the matcha cake and the chocolate cake (which I can't remember the name of! But it's the one on the far left hand side). The matcha was light but packed full of yummy creamy matcha flavour and the chocolate cake was rich without being too sweet or bitter - just nice. We ordered 6 cakes in total and the best part was cutting all of them up into 6 little pieces and sharing them around. yum yum. The waiter did look at us funny - I guess people don't usually share desserts like me?

I had actually only planned on visiting Canele since I didn't know anywhere else to go, but on the day we decided to go on to the top deck of The Sands Hotel, we stumbled upon another dessert treasure - Sweet Spot.

They had wasabi macarons! I wonder what they taste like....

Rum and raisin cheese cake - I love the little capsules!

The store was so beautifully styled and and desserts and macarons even more stunning to look at. The only thing I love more than eating desserts, is staring at beautiful intricate ones... and then taking photos of them (must be the Asian blood in me!). There were so many things I wanted to try but we just had to settle for 3 mini cakes.

Look, the first cake was almost gone before I realised I didn't take a picture of it!

The 3 we had were so yummy. I'm bad with names, but we had a black forest one, a nougat one and a hazelnut one - all light and yummy. The boyfriend did pipe up that they 'wernt as good as Zumbo's'... I guess I agree to a certain extent, but these cakes were more yummy in a traditional way whereas Zumbo's creations tend to have a bit more of a creative flair. Not really comparing the same thing in my opinion :)

The infinity pool at the top of the hotel. Very posh!

Now are you ready for one of the best desserts I had on my trip back? My brother actually told me about this place and it's tucked away on the top floor of Suntec City shopping centre. It's a Turkish restaurant but we only stopped for dessert.

I've never had a kunefe before but this dessert was so unique and decadent. The crispy pastry had cheese inside and was topped with crushed pistachios and surrounded by cream and honey. It was delicious and did not even taste oily - apparently it's better than the ones you'd find in Turkey (that's what the shop owner told us anyways!). This was so good, we ordered a second round :)

Baklava... not as sweet as the ones you find in Sydney.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish Tea

But alas, I am now back in Sydney and freezing my butt off - which is a nice change compared to hot and humid Singapore.

So now I leave you with some recent creations :)

I LOVE this cake and actually had trouble parting with it when I delivered it this morning :)

The Big Day is Finally Here!

2010-08-02T03:25:00.000+10:00

After about 18 Months of planning, frustration, stress, anticipation and excitement the big day finally arrived yesterday.

One of the first things my cousin did when she got engaged was to draw out an exact sketch of what she wanted her cake to look like. Eventually the idea turned into a dessert table and to make it just a little more stressful she was having her wedding in Singapore. For those of you who have not been to Singapore, it is extremely humid - and fondant and humidity are definitely not friends!

So I had to ensure that I planned for all possible issues on this trip back. Let me tell you that it was stressful trying to pack all my tools and to think of all the possible things that can go wrong and how I was going to fix it!

On the big day, as we started loading everything into the car, the cake had only been sitting outside for 5 minutes and it was already starting to sweat and become sticky! Grrr I was so annoyed and frustrated :(

Eventually when we arrived at the church everything was fine and the whole day flowed so smoothly. I guess the 18 months of planning really paid off!

Please excuse the background, it wasn't the best so I had to edit it out :)

My cousin's wedding is the biggest one I've ever been to. There were approx over 200 people and I've been told that this is considered relatively small/medium for Singapore! And after going though the planning experience with her, I truly can appreciate all the work that goes into the little details.

Although it was heaps of fun I must admit, the first thing i felt this morning was a sense of relief followed by gratefulness. I am so relieved it's all over and it all went so well and I am also so grateful to have had the time to spend with my family. With my aunt in Hong Kong, my Brother in Brunei and my cousins and I in Sydney, it is a very rare occasion when we can all get together and spend time with each other.

Now it's time to really relax for the next few days and continue to stuff my face before heading back home :)

My Time at the Good Food and Wine Show

2010-07-23T01:36:00.000+10:00

The following thoughts passed through my head last Thursday as I was setting up my tiny stand at the Good Food and Wine Expo:

- Oh my god, have I done the right thing?

- I'm not ready!

- What if no one stops to look at my cakes?

- What if no one likes my cupcakes?

- Have I forgotten to fill out a form?

- Will my cakes be safe at the stand over night?

Turns out, I was just being a big worry wort! The expo was a great experience and I'm so grateful my friends and cousins were on hand to help me out.

The cakes did get some good attention and you won't believe the number of times someone asked me if my topsy turvy cake was meant to be 'wonky'. Or they'd approach me with a real look of concern on their face and say 'um, do you know your cake is leaning?'

But the best would have to be the girl who walked past with her boyfriend and had a look of shock and what I can only describe as disgust and said 'urgh, that cake is wonky' before rolling her eyes and walking off. Or maybe the drunk English girl who wouldn't stop talking (or trying to get close) to my friend and musing about how one should get a discount for the cake because it wasn't straight - poor guy.

My cakes did manage to stay safe over night at the expo but on the last day as we were packing up, someone stole my foldable table! :( It was nothing special but I did just buy it a couple of days ago!

It was also so exciting that lots of people were interested in my workshops... it was more popular than I anticipated! So please hang in there all of you because I now have to re-juggle the workshop schedules and potentially look at a venue that will hold more people. It will be ready soon I promise!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hi and to let me know they read the blog :) Makes me feel a little special because I don't get to meet many people who read or comment on my blog very often! A super thank you also goes out to Phuoc for donating some of her time to help me decorate the cupcakes and to Simon for the awesome award! I'm touched :)

So after the craziness of last week... I'm now preparing for my trip home to Singapore and my cousin's wedding. As I type, I can hear styrofoam being packed and heavy boxes of icing getting shifted. I also have to start organising + packing all my cake tools once I finish my orders this week.

The wedding figurines. Now fingers crossed they survive the plane trip home!

See you all in Singapore :)

Sydney Good Food and Wine Show Week

2010-07-12T15:33:00.000+10:00

This weekend I'll be exhibiting at the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show! Although I am very excited, I am well aware that it's the week of the show and I'm still running around like a mad person trying to finalise everything before the show opens on Friday.

There will be cupcakes for sale in their own cute little carry box and of course my creations will be on display too. Cupcakes are $10 per carry box and there will only be a limited number on sale each day, so make sure to visit early!

There will also be a handful of new creations on show. In fact I'm working on them this afternoon, so don't miss it ;) Details below...

The Good Food and Wine Show is on at Darling Harbour from the 16th - 18th of July - this weekend - and it's a fantastic show for those passionate about food and eating :) There are lots of samples from different vendors and I will be there with cake for all to try too!

So make sure you try and visit me this weekend! I would love to meet all of you - I'll be at stand H14.

More than 'just cake'

2010-07-06T00:02:00.000+10:00

My heart always breaks a little when someone says 'it's just cake' when referring to what I do.

I know what is under the sugar works of art is deliciously moist cake, but it is what's on top that I am the most passionate about.

This week I made a cake for the cutest little boy. He loves playing Mario Kart and his mum wanted to surprise him with a cake of his favourite character and kart for his birthday.

The bullet bike is balancing on the two wheels by the way! This was a structurally challenging cake but I'm so happy to have had the honour of making it. Why? Because when I delivered it, the little boy came down stairs with his mum and I wish I had a picture of his face as I took the cake out from my car. He had an initial look of shock which then quickly turned into pure joy when he realised that I was holding his cake.

'Is THAT my cake?! Oh wooooow! I was just playing that game this morning mum!'

I don't think I have EVER felt so rewarded when delivering a cake. It was just so touching to see his excitement and eagerness as he stared at the cake. And the look on the mum's face as she saw her son really made my heart melt - it really confirmed that I did not deliver 'just cake' ;)

Last week I also attended Planet Cake's master class and it was truly an intensive 4 days. I was mentally and physically exhausted each day when I got home but it was the most fun I've had. I made lots of awesome new friends and got to learn and experience from some of the most talented people in the world.

Almost 30 hours of work went into creating this cake. Yes that's right... 30 hours - over 4 days. The sugar flowers are the most time consuming - every single petal and leaf you will see on the cake was created individually by hand, assembled and painted and dusted with colour.

All the orchid petals hanging out to dry.

The roses getting their drying time before the next round of petals are added on.

The cake assembly itself takes a long time.

All the flowers then need to be carefully attached to the cake.

Don't forget the little details!

And TA-DA....

The finished cake!

The cake was nearly half my size! A big thank you to AM and Linda for all their wonderful help. I learned heaps over the 4 days :) and a super thank you to my new friend Winnie who was generous enough to help me with some of my sugar flowers (even though she had tonne to do!), I don't think I would have been able to finish on time if it wasn't for her!

Happy Birthday to Meeee :D

2010-06-28T22:09:00.001+10:00

It was my birthday last Friday and it was a little sad because it didn't feel so 'magical' anymore. I had a fantastic day (as much as you can have at work!) and the celebrations continued into the weekend with some wonderful presents and people.

The boyfriend took me to Becasse and it was absolutely amazing! I had the Royale of Spanner Crab entree. It was so light and the creamy bisque looked like foam... it was all bubbly and delicate - the whole thing just basically melted in my mouth. But the absolute highlight for me was the banana creme brulee. It sounds simple and basic but this was one of the most amazing and creative desserts I've ever had. It was presented beautifully in a cone shaped glass, had fresh pieces of banana between the layers of rich, creamy custard and hidden inside all of that were crunchy sweet clumps of salted peanut brittle... and to top it off, all this was covered by a thin layer of crispy sugar crust - YUM.

But the magic I used to feel as a kid - when it would feel as if ANYTHING could happen and that it was the most special day in the year had disappeared for me. Maybe because I am finally a real grown up and reality has hit? It just felt like any other day really! Minus all the birthday wishes of course :)

Yes, I made my own cake!

A week earlier I also attended my first Planet Cake class (one where we decorated real cake). So with a cake weighing about 17kgs and big enough to feed 220 people, I invited my closest friends over on the weekend to celebrate and most importantly help me eat some cake!

The class was amazing and i just loved spending the 3 days at the Planet Cake studio just taking in the surroundings and getting access to all their cool decorating toys ;) I can't wait for the rest of my classes and all the awesome cakes I'll get to make!

I must admit it was really hard for me to make that first cut into my cake. In total there was over 20 hours of work that went into this cake. The little birdies carefully carved from styrofoam and each individual petal on the flowers were made on separate wires and bundled together.

Yum... six layers of rich chocolate mud cake.

Remember little Isla? Look how much she has grown now! Unfortunately she wasn't allowed to have any cake :)

Thank you to all my wonderful friends who came and for the presents!

My friend Steff reckons you could use the sugar flowers in your hair.