Monday, October 26, 2009

Cookie-enabled


I've recently ventured into the world of cookies. It's a whole new concept altogether (for me) and utterly inviting! Design-wise it's similar to decorating cupcakes with fondant. But shapes-wise, the sky's the limit! Well, the cookie cutter section of the cake shop is the limit. They can come as a matching set with cupcakes too, such as the two pix on the left. And they can carry any message you like. Only setback is I tend to 'taste-test' too many in each batch... *hehe* oops!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Birthday cupcakes




A few sets of birthday cupcakes... the top two were gift boxes, the bottom was for a children's birthday party. Hope they shared!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Inspiration hit

My fellow cake decorator (more like my mentor) just asked me what my current inspiration is... right now I'm seeing cakes in everything.. fashion, nature, stationery, even furniture. But one website has really caught my eye (thanks to a dear friend who sent it to me!): http://amyatlas.com/ This is the constant cause of my net-surfing right now. I can spend hours just scrutinising every picture and it's also got me thinking beyond cakes... which is good coz it all feeds back into cake designs in the end, and I'm seeing things through a wider lens. However, if I ever give up the 'cake stylist' title, you'll see me behind a dessert table instead!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sport the difference

I love a cake inspired by the recipient's personality - if done well, they can recognise themselves in it when they see it. This one combined football and golfing passions for a 50th birthday. On the flip side a cake like this might not mean much to those who don't recognise a logo, such as the eagle in the top left corner, but it does tell them a little bit more about the birthday person that they might not have known before.
(Hmm... It's funny that similar designs seem to come in twos... first the 90 shaped cake and then this 50! There have been others. Weird...)

Monday, October 19, 2009

In full bloom at 90

For a friend's dear grandmother who celebrated her 90th birthday. In the spirit of honesty, we wanted the '9' and '0' to stand, but at 11" in height they decided they'd lie down instead - we had no say in the matter! Much more stable that way, though. I wanted to add a bit of significance by using exactly 90 flowers but we ended up making more as we went, not that anyone would have counted anyway, not when there's cake inside!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mei the plate make the cake

My friend Mei, a devoted Manly Sea Eagles fan, requested this for her 29th birthday. The cake already says it all doesn't it! Hehe.
The choice of cake actually tells even more about her as a person... She's an attention-to-details perfectionist and presentation is of the utmost importance (you should see the chocolate bouquet she made me for my birthday!). Lots of careful thought went into this selection but it didn't take long for her to decide in favour of one of her great passions - the Sea Eagles. And since she can't proclaim it on her licence plate, I guess the next best thing is having it as a cake!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Thomas and friends

Thomas pulls up into my kitchen again this time accompanied by mini friends. I love the idea of cupcakes carrying on and extending the theme of the cake. They're almost like a 'support cast'! And although Thomas is one of the more complicated cakes I've done, it does get easier the second time around. Less chance of him frowning rather than smiling :)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Butterflies and flowers

This was an overseas order from a friend - all the way from Denmark! - for her niece here in Sydney. I was delighted to help bring her wishes to the birthday girl. She's got great taste already at such a young age - a girly passion for handbags! (Don't we all). The order for this cake was pretty with lots of pink and purple... right down my alley. Butterflies were also requested. I tried to make them look like they were in flight (not the ones on the bag itself of course, those are just decorations, unlike the others that are 'real'!).

Monday, October 12, 2009

Monkeying around Dora

Dora would've looked a little lonely on her own so the birthday girl's mother chose to add in her lil sidekick monkey. Let me just say, fashioning a 3D figurine from a 2D picture is no piece of cake (haha). Lotsa fun though especially if I can take my time with it. Proportions are so important!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

LV and Cake

The LV bags are such a popular request I'm thinking of changing 'Love and Cake' to 'LV and Cake'. This is the first large one I've done (the rest are mini sized), measuring 11" across. Perfect for a party of 50-60 discerning bag lovers!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A rugby tackle

I was so relieved this rugby ball was easy to simplify and turn into a cake. I had no more than an hour and a half before I was to leave on a ski holiday and I just HAD to get this done for a devoted rugby fan. Also relieved he recognised what it was meant to be!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

To top it off

For those who bake their own cakes, you can add a personal touch with a cake topper. These were ordered for a combined brother and sister birthday do. If the cake baker is reading this, don't forget to send me a pic of the complete cake! I heard the 'happy birthday' words on the psp didn't last long... :p

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

New Jersey

If you remember the All Blacks jersey I did awhile back - I painted the black on with Wilton icing colouring. With this Wests Tigers jersey, I did something different - I used RTR black fondant instead (mixing in some white to get the right consistency). Much less messy and time-consuming, but doesn't have the sheen.
Since the jersey is so simple in design, I was careful to get the little details right especially the V-neck collar. If I'd had a bit more time for this job, I would've tried to paint the tiger on. Maybe it's a bit of a relief I didn't, I can imagine the tiger turning out as more of a blob than a scary feline!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Hats off to the birthday couple

A pretty simple cake made personal by adding the figurines of the birthday couple. The cake board is also covered in fondant, which I placed on after the cake was covered. However it made picking up the cake a little difficult so I couldn't photograph this in my normal 'studio' - the beige kitchen floor. Hope Agnes and Hon were smiling as much as their figurines were!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Foldable fondant flats

A friend of mine created an awesome new twist on ballet flats - foldable flats accompanied by a pouch that doubles as a mini handbag and something to carry your heels in once you've popped these on at the end of the night. This was the cake version of her flats to celebrate the launch of Chinelas by Michelle, but they look much better in real life. Check out http://www.chinelasbymichelle.com/. (She was also a big seller of the RSPCA cupcakes, go Mich!)

Friday, October 2, 2009

A friend in cake

Simple, understated, and says it all. One funny thing about having a cake business is that I don't get to meet all the people my cakes go to. But I feel like I HAVE sort of met them, not in person but in cake. ie. if I was ever to meet someone who's seen or eaten or received a cake of mine, we'd have a 'mutual friend' already. Hmm. OK this is the first time I've let myself ramble on this blog. Blame it on the jetlag!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Cause cupcakes can

Cupcakes for a very good cause - the Breast Cancer Foundation. The theme had to be feminine of course, but I decided on neutral colours so the pink fondant ribbons would stand out. This was the result of a team of cupcakers including an overseas cousin who was staying with us at the time. You know the drill: you snooze, you swirl.