2011

I like to take a couple of quick moments each year to reflect on what I've done. I have a tendency to rush through my life, always concentrating on the next goal. It's good to stop and think about everything I've already achieved, how much I crammed into one year. I also tend to concentrate on my last caking mistake, what I need to improve, and forget about the cakes that I finished and loved. So I'm going to use this post to look at my caking & cookieing adventures in 2011.

FYI - In my head this has dramatic remembering type music to go with the photos. You can insert your own dramatic remembering type music as you scroll through.

This year I have decorated 18 cakes........

Not bad, about 1.5 a month.

I've iced at least 100 cookies....... from New Years last year

to Christmas this year!

I think that's a fair bit! I'm going to try to slow down in 2012, do less but do it better :). I'm also going to do more cookies, I received Juila Usher's Ultimate Cookies book for Christmas and it has totally inspired me!

Happy New Year! Here's hoping you have a safe and happy 2012! See you then!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Hope you had a crackin day! Totally planned to post this on Christmas Eve Eve and then Christmas Eve and then family and alcohol (unusual for me) got in the way.

So now, I'm going to cram all of my Christmas goodies into this post!

First up - this time last week we caught up with some friends at my favourite mexican restaurant. We usually only do small gifts if any and I had been dying to try my new Cactus cookie cutter so I attempted to make Christmas cactus cookies. I'm a huge fan of Cacti but it has occurred to me since receiving this cutter that there's probably not much call for cactus cookies......so I seized this opportunity happily.

That's crushed candy cane on top........

I also wanted to test the new bags and cookie pop sticks I had purchased - great for cookie bouquets!

The restaurant loved them and took a photo of them and us to put on their instagram site - our 10 seconds of fame.

The next cake was for a family friend. Somewhat hastily pulled together but successful none the less I think!

It may surprise you to know that even going flat out, a cake like this still takes me at least 1 1/2 days to complete. Cake decorating is a time consuming thing, there are many elements that take time to dry/set and you can't go on until these are ready. Not to mention that even a small cake like this takes a couple of hours to bake and a few more to cool down.

The final cake was for my family on Christmas day. My mum chooses a new colour scheme each year (yes, she changes her Christmas colour scheme every year) - this year was silver and white. I always try to incorporate the choosen colour scheme into the family cake so it won't clash with everything else in the house. I have been wanting to try a 3D Christmas tree for some time (that's what this is).

Apologies, this is the best photo I have of the cake, unfortunately it was just after I finished it and has all my cake stuff in the background.

Some cakes are so hard to photograph, mostly when there's alot of white or the colours are very similar. Also, I often complete cakes at night after work and don't actually have a chance to photograph them in daylight until the day of the event. There is this nifty invention called a cake tent which is, as it sounds, a tent where cakes can be photographed (you know, to add to their portfolio). I believe there are different backgrounds and you can adjust the lighting as you please. Me thinks further investigation of these tents is needed.

To finish up - a close up of the present pile (all edible)........

And that's my Christmas :)

xxC

A few steps back....

Although it is the christmas season and I have some super cute cookies and cakes to show you (pending their being finished)....I thought I'd take this opportunity to show you a couple of cakes I did in November.

This was my mum's 'birthday party' cake, as opposed to her 'family birthday' cake, which you can find here.

So this is meant to be champagne bottle spilling over with the cake being a pile of bubbles. Not sure if that is obvious to you, it wasn't to some. The cake underneath is caramel cupcakes (that's how I got the bubbly effect) covered in caramel ganache - yummy!

Originally her cake was going to be a mini topsy turvy with the champagne bottle on top and the bubbles flowing down the side. However. The November humidity was not kind to this cake decorator who came home to find the ganached tiers collapsed against the inside of her awesome cake cover. But, small mercies, they were not yet covered in fondant and it was only monday night, so there was still time! That cake is now wrapped up in individual portions in the freezer (caramel cake with Baileys filling and caramel ganache).

I've been wanting to try a cake that looked like a cloud for a while. When the first cake (literally) fell apart I figured I'd make lemonade (figuratively speaking - I was way too exhausted to get through anything other then the cake).

Happy holidays my small but treasured following!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

My advent calendar and the countdown app on my phone tell me there are only 12 more sleeps til Santa comes!

Here are some cookies I whipped up for my work Christmas party. They are plain (but del-ici-ous) sugar cookies with royal icing. Not super great but I am getting better every time and they taste great so they always get eaten :)

Across the Burning Desert Sands....

Moved a lonely caravan,
Men on Camels, two by two
Destination - Timbuktu.

This poem forms part of one of my Dad's all time favourite jokes (google Timbuktu Joke - surprisingly popular). I couldn't get the poem out of my head as I assembled this cake for my mum - the first of two for her birthday a couple of weeks back. This cake was for the family celebration during the week and the second cake was for the party on the weekend - more on that one soon!

My mother is crazy for Camels, not sure why but she always has been, in recent years she has started to acquire more and more Camel ornaments and they now adorn many of the shelves in my parents house. The obsession reached somewhat of a peak on a trip to Egypt a couple of years ago, when she rode one around the Pyramids of Giza. That pretty much sealed it for her. I was pretty sure she would like the cake, but it was the second, lesser cake compared to the effort I had put into the party cake. Imagine my surprise when she squealed with delight at this cake and had to ask me what the second one was the next night (not optimal). She immediately took a photo of this one and sent it to everyone she knows :). *sigh* at least one of the cakes hit the mark!

The cake is chocolate mud with Baileys white chocolate ganache - yum yum yum! As I've mentioned - I like to use my family's cakes to experiment with new flavours and the Baileys ganache was a definite hit. The only problem was the Baileys stopped the ganache from setting firmly, meaning it couldn't be used under fondant (found that out the hard way!).

The Camels and 'K' are made from chocolate using cookie cutters. I find the best way to do this is to pour melted chocolate onto baking paper and smooth over to form a sheet of chocolate, pop it in the fridge and wait until the chocolate is semi set (this takes a bit of watching because once it starts to set to happens fairly fast). Sink the cutter into the chocolate forming an outline of the shape in the chocolate and then put it back into the fridge until it sets firm. Once set, chip the chocolate from around the shape, generally it will come away with a clean break.

If you wait until the chocolate is set before trying to cut it, it can be very difficult to get the cutter into the chocolate, and I've found it often ends in parts of the shape missing (particularly with shapes that have lots of fragile parts like camel legs and tails and noses!). At a pinch you can heat the cutters to get them to cut set chocolate but it gets very messy and there is still a high probability of losing parts of the shape.

Cutting shapes from chocolate is easy as and is a quick way to make any cake, cupcake or dessert look spectacular!

Have a great weekend!

Caramel Ganache

I have had two super huge weekends (caking and socially)! But before I post about the cakes of the past couple of weeks, here is an icing discovery I made a couple of weeks ago - Caramel Ganache.

It may not be news to you but it rocked my world. This is how it's done.

I made the caramel from scratch (which I think is made out to be harder then it is) by melting 3/4 cup of castor sugar with 1/4 tsp of lemon juice in a saucepan over low heat. At the same time heat 1/2 cup of cream to boiling and then allow to cool.

Add half of the heated cream to the caramel - the mixture will bubble and froth up - be ready! Take mixture of the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add remaining cream, return to heat and whisk until smooth.

Pour the hot caramel over 250g (soft ganache) - 375g (firm ganache) of white chocolate buttons - allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir in a clockwise direction (otherwise the stringy caramel goes all over the place and doesn't blend with the chocolate) until chocolate and caramel are combined.

Allow to cool and use.

Divine.

Multi-coloured

I sit down at the computer - intending to write a blog post - but instead I open google reader and BAM! two hours later I'm up to date with the blogs I follow (perhaps I should follow less) and I'm bored with the computer and get up and walk away. SO, from now on, I'm not allowing myself to open google reader until I've blogged. And here it is....

I'm becoming increasing bored with normal (i.e. white and brown) coloured cakes. When I remember and when it's appropriate, I like to squirt a smidgen of colour into the cake batter.

Like this..

I forgot to dabble with the batter colour of these cupcakes but thought I've make up for it with the icing.

To get this effect, I loaded my piping bag with purple icing on one side and yellow on the other, obviously it's not an exact method if you want an equal half/half colour in the piped icing but I like the effect.

The cake was vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream icing - a yummy classic. It's funny how as soon as you colour the icing (or cake), people doubt your assurance of its vanilla flavour - as if you might be trying to trick them with surprise blueberry and lemon swirl icing :). One day I just might do that!

Have a smashing week!

Mexican Fest

I first saw this on the Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle - Here. It's very Heston Blumenthal.And I have been dying to try it, just waiting for an occasion.

There was a small celebratory afternoon tea at work last Friday and I volunteered to bring something - I saw my opportunity. I love testing stuff out on my work peeps cause there's a variety of tastes and they're willing to test my weird experiments.

Now, it's meant to look like a cornchip with guacamole and salsa. It's actually a lemon and poppy seed biscuit with a citrus marshmallow dip and fruit salsa.

It didn't look quite like the Sugarbelle picture but it's pretty close and taught me heaps (it's always a learning experience converting things from American speak to Australian speak).

The recipes for the biscuits and dip are below - adapted from the Sugarbelle website. Excuse my approximations, I wasn't recording amounts as I went but more 'feeling' my way and using my husband as a test horse.

For the 'salsa' I cut up 2 kiwis and about a cup of raspberries, squirted some lemon juice on them and sprinkled a couple of teaspoons of icing sugar over them and left them to go squishy.

I think the general consensus was that it worked, some people just went for the biscuit and mallow dip or fruit salsa and some combined all three.

Either way it's quirky presentation added a little something different to the mini party!

SweetSugarBelle’s Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

 *Preheat oven to 400° *

250g unsalted butter

1 ½ cup Icing sugar

1 egg

2 tsp Lemon flavouring

1 tsp vanilla

2 ¾-3 cup Self-Raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 tsp poppy seeds

Cream together butter and confectioner’s sugar.  Add to this the egg and flavorings.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, adding this mixture one cupful at a time to the wet ingredients.  Mix until the dough forms a ball on the paddle.  Roll out on floured parchment paper and cut into desired shapes.  Bake at 400° for 7-8 minutes.

Fruit Mallow Dip

What You Need

1 pkg. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 packet of marshmallows - melted in the microwave until it's all goopy

approx 150g of sourcream

approx 1 tsp of orange rind

approx 2 tblspns of fresh orange juice

Make It!

Mix ingredients until well blended - colour green if desired.

Enjoy!! C

Beach Pancakes

On holidays at the beach, with the early morning sun rising up over the ocean, pancakes were really the only option for breakfast. My friend watched on as I (in charge of cooking said pancakes) shook the mixture in its helpful shaker bottle and poured three perfect pancakes into the pan on the stove. While I kept an eye on the pancakes, we chatted away, catching up on the missed details of each others lives, as you can only really do when you have time on holidays.

After about ten minutes my friend questioned whether the pancakes were taking a while to cook or if I was perhaps slow cooking them (you know, so they were more tender) and we realised, (I think we both need to take the blame), that the stove was not even on. So, in fact, there were no pancakes cooking at all. And we couldn't get the stove on for another couple of minutes because we were laughing so hysterically (all giddy with holiday fever, footloose and fancy free).

The wonderful thing is......it didn't even matter, because on holidays you have all the time in the world to cook a gazillion pancakes, guzzle them down with maple syrup, wash them down with orange juice and head down to the beach to catch a few more rays.

Love + Cake

I downloaded this awesome new app (well I think it's awesome) on my mac that makes things (I've chosen soap bubbles) trail my cursor around my computer screen. It makes every computing experience more whimsical :)

I love new things, new ideas, taking an existing idea and giving it a new twist. And that is precisely what this gorgeous engagement cake was. The design of this engagement cake was a collaboration between the couple and myself and I think it turned out splendidly. It's the combination of an intertwined heart cake they found on flickr by Jenny at OzCake and the idea of roses curving down tiers of cake - this is the end product.

There is something so symbolic about intertwining hearts and what better time to display this symbol then when celebrating the start of a life long love! I was a little apprehensive when I started this cake, that it could look as good as did it in my head. That the design would hold together. But once the dark red borders were on, the cake came together. The handmade sugar roses added a beautiful feature and completed the design. I also loved the topper Celina and Rob found at Pink Frosting - who have oodles of gorgeous toppers made to order.

The cake formed the centre piece for this spectacular dessert buffet. I am just waiting for an event of mine that warrants a dessert buffet - it was all I could do not to dig into this one!!

Thanks for letting me make your cake guys, I'm honoured!

xC

Beautiful Blooms

There is just something about fresh flowers, they brighten up a room, make you feel special when you receive them and they turn cakes into stunning works of art.

This gorgeous cake was for a lovely Bride and Groom who organised their wedding from afar - the Bride sent me a computer generated sketch of the cake she wanted, which was just awesome! I need to learn how to do this kind of thing for other clients, to show them what is going on in my head!

The four tier square cake had the back corner of each tier lining up with each tier stepping down from the Bride and Groom topping the cake and providing the base for the cascading flowers.

I delivered the unadorned four tier cake to Customs House where I added the fresh blooms waiting for me and they absolutely completed this cake. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous about arranging the flowers having not done a lot of flower arranging before, but I think it worked out.

There are sooo many options with fresh flowers and they are often a cheaper alternative to sugar flowers (particularly if they are the feature of the cake) and they can be sourced to match the bridal party and venue flowers exactly. While I was setting up this cake yesterday, fresh flower combos were flying through my head - perhaps a topsy turvy with fresh tropical flowers spiralling down the tiers? Any other ideas???

In addition to the gorgeous exterior, the yummy flavours inside this cake included traditional fruitcake (yum!), cherry-ripe, and a relatively new flavour - caramel, white and choc splotch (similar to swirl but not).

At the end of the day one of my favourite parts of making and decorating a cake is loading all the photos I take through out the preparation onto my computer and watching the transition from naked cake to the finished product! And of course, sharing them with you guys!!

Have a spectacular week!
xC

My Birthday Festival

My family has always made a big deal of events. We always do something for birthdays, Mother's day, Father's day, Christmas, Easter and Australia day. We have traditions. An integral part of our traditions is the food, the cake, the champagne breakfast bbq, the rum balls, the hot cross buns.

A big part of birthdays has always been the cake. We had the Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake, the one that nearly everyone in my generation seems to have grown up with. Two weeks before our birthdays we were allowed to get it out of the cupboard and commence negotiations with Mum about which one we could have. My aim was always to pick one with a fair bit cake so there would be some left over after the party (to remind me of my birthday during the coming week) and one with lots of lollies.

The importance of my birthday cake has continued into adulthood and the complexity of cakes has increased following my foray into the cake decorating world.

I always make myself the same flavour (which I forgot to take a picture of - sorry!) - dark chocolate espresso with coffee buttercream. I LOVE IT. LOVE IT. It's a very specific taste and not many people like it, which is probably lucky as otherwise I'd be eating a lot more cake off cuts from other people's cakes. As I only make it once a year for my birthday, I make it a little bigger then I need (ok, a lot bigger then I need) and I cut the remaining cake into single portions and freeze it for rainy days. Because no one else in my family likes the flavour, I can be assured it will still be in the freezer the next time I go looking for it.

This year, I wanted to try a cake design I had seen by Sarah Jane from Cake That! I didn't really do it justice, but it was good practice and it tasted great, so I forgave myself :).

Have a great week!

White Chocolate Mountain

I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate but one of best friends is gaga for it. For her birthday, I made her a mini white chocolate extravaganza (I was going to make her a starbucks coffee cup but changed my mind at the last minute). I like doing chocolate decorations because you know people are going to enjoy eating the whole cake not scraping the cake from the inside of the fondant.

This cake is 4" square, I love the illusion of height the piped white chocolate adds without the extra cake!

Enjoy the rain!

Sunflowers for a cause

Tomorrow is RSPCA cupcake day! These are for my work morning tea to raise money :)

They are white chocolate, passionfruit and raspberry with passionfruit buttercream - YUM! We may have tried one already - just to check they tasted ok................

I was aiming to pipe sunflowers on the top but my piping needs a teensy bit of work!

I also made some dark chocolate espresso cupcakes with left over mixture from my birthday cake. They have a very rich distinctive flavour that isn't for everyone but is my. absolute. favourite. I won't post pictures of the cupcakes cause next week I'll post pictures my birthday cake! Yay!

Have a super fabulous week!!!