Quickie post - The Engagement cake! (Updated with a better photo)

I was honoured to do the cake for Hayley and Dan's engagement party on the weekend, Hayley was stunning in every way and Dan's bum even got a mention in the speeches!

Fairy Toadstool and Croque-en-bouche

I'll tell you something for nothing, I've been a bit busy! The school term has started which means Lia has Swimming one day, Preschool the next, and dancing the day after that. Preschool is great because it means I get half a day to myself to try and get the house under control... but I'm usually baking and decorating cakes instead.

Here are a couple of my latest creations, a fairy toadstool for a very lucky 2-year-old. This one was white chocolate mud cake with white chocolate ganache.

And this one was my birthday cake that wasn't a cake! Behold, the leaning tower of Croque-en-bouche! It was pretty yummy if I do say so myself. I made everything from scratch, from the Creme Patissiere (Custard Filling) to the Choux Pastries (Profiterole cases) and the Caramel/Toffee. It was all edible, even the flowers!

I've got a few more cakes coming up, including a 2-tier engagement cake, three themed little boys cakes, one of which is wheat-free so I need to test out some recipes before then, and Shane's birthday somewhere in there too. Where are all the girly ones!?

My visit to Myrtleford Butter last week wasn't as fruitful as I had hoped, their cafe shop was closed so I couldn't browse their whole range or see the churning machine, but I still got some butter, which is divine! Do you ever intend just to take a bite of something and end up eating the whole thing? I almost did that with my stick of Myrtleford Butter! The shop reopens on 26 Feb so I might do a little trip sometime after that.

Stay tuned for some boys cake craziness!

Myrtleford Butter

I've got a meeting in Myrtleford today, I might pop in to the Myrtleford Butter Factory and grab myself some to use in my birthday cake that's not a cake. Is it strange that my birthday cake is a surprise for everyone except myself? Anyway, back to the point... I know you can get Myrtleford butter at a couple of places in Albury/Wodonga, but there's really nothing like getting local produce right from the source.

Last Saturday I delivered the Fairy Toadstool cake then dashed straight off to Merimbula for a week so I haven't had a chance to put any photos up but I will, it's just a matter of time! Speaking of getting produce right from the source, I had a delightful time exploring in Merimbula, but more about that in my next post.

Cheerio!

Practice Session, Cake Boss and I need your opinion...

Happy New Year!

I have a couple of cakes coming up and bought myself some gumpaste to make decorations like figurines and flowers with - the only problem is I haven't made figurines before, and I've only ever made roses as an experiment- and I certainly need a bit more practice.

I had some spare time today so I had another little practice session, here is my first ever sugar figurine, a fairy. She is mainly made out of fondant, but I made her wings out of gumpaste because I need them to set hard.
One thing I learnt is that I should leave painting the features on the face until last, because I smudged them putting her hair and wings on.

I also had another go at making a sugar rose, I have some flower making tools now and I think it turned out a lot more rose-like than last time, but I still need a little practice.

The picture could be better but you get the idea. It is really humid again so I had to put them in the oven to dry out, I only had it on 50 degrees celsius but it worked really well, plus the wire rack was good for hanging the rose upside down, I just put a hook in it's wire stem. I'll remember that trick for next time.

I'm a bit obsessed with Cake Boss at the moment, it's a show on Pay TV but I just watch it on YouTube, someone has uploaded almost every episode and I can stream YouTube on my T-Box and watch it on the normal TV. The cakes they do are just massive and they have some really talented artists there. Visiting Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, NJ is definitely going on my bucket list!

Last but not least I need your opinion. I'm thinking of starting to use local produce to make my cakes. Just to name a couple, I can get eggs from a friend, or Lake Hume eggs, and Myrtleford butter, and who knows what else there is available around here in the small grocers or at the markets. My question is, would locally sourced produce be a selling point for you, and why or why not? Let me know in the comments!

A very Harry birthday!

Here's my latest cake! Thank you Liana for sending me a photo of it with the candle and glasses, they are the only things I didn't make, or that weren't edible.

Technique-wise, I think this was one of my best yet. I found the courage to try ganaching and I can't believe the difference it made when I was setting up the cake compared to buttercream. Starting with a nice smooth, square base definately made covering the cake with fondant a lot easier. It would have been ten times as yummy too!

I was just so happy with this cake, from the improvement in my technique, to the edible gold lettering that I airbrushed on. Thank you cake gods!

Here's the link to the video on YouTube with some progress shots, a bit of video and some cool music to match! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig-aK2PbCiE&feature=colike

Christmas Pops and my newest recipe book

I finally got around to having a play with some more cake pops today, these ones were made using a Women's Weekly fruit cake recipe and it was mammoth - The biggest cake I have ever baked. I've only used half of it and it made about 40 cake pops.

I received a gift from a dear friend today, Adriano Zumbo's fantastical kitchen of other-worldly delights. I can't wait to make something from it, but I'm not going to bake again for a while, at least until Wednesday...I just found this picture of the cake I made for my Dad's 60th, an oldie but a goodie!

Tow Mater!

Here's my latest creation, Tow Mater from the movie Cars.

The word seems to be getting out, I have another cake to do for next weekend and a couple of other enquiries. I'm working on something for christmas too!