Love And Cake

Engaged in cake

2011-11-10T09:07:00.004+11:00

This cake makes a statement instantly - right away you can tell it's a cake for an engagement. On top of that, it doubles as a display for the couple's most romantic photos. You can't pack more punch into a cake than that! The rest of the cake was designed to match the invitation - with scattered blue leaves and royal blue ribbon.

Telltale design

2011-10-31T17:06:00.005+11:00

As mentioned in my previous post, the theme of a cake can be a testament to one's personality - or what someone thinks of one's personality. This was a love job for a close friend of mine and this is what I thought of her... a shopping queen! The shoe, the handbag, the shopping bag, the feathers, the pearls, the bling, all very her. I must admit, this would be very similar to a cake I would make for myself. No wonder we're friends!

Personality festivity

2011-10-31T10:49:00.004+11:00

You can gain great insight into people's personalities through their cakes... the theme of any cake can be one way of answering the question: what is your one possession that defines you at this point in your life? The usual suspects are a car (for guys), a designer handbag (for girls), an iPhone (for the tech-savvy), a cartoon character/soft toy (for kids), or a football or football jersey (for the sports fanatics). For this discerning lil boy it's his Sony Vaio. For such a serious and grown-up toy, we wanted to jazz it up with a little festivity, so we added balloons, presents, party hats and a colourful cake base.

Wedding night sight

2011-09-30T10:55:00.006+10:00

One of the least traditional wedding cakes I've had the pleasure of cakeing. Even more risque than the cupcake tower a few posts ago, this one actually had the wedding couple *ahem* asleep in their bed... and with undergarments strewn all over the three layers of cake no less! The offset layers of cake also added to the quirky theme. Lucky the lights were on during the wedding but who knows what the little figurines got up to once the night was over!
PS. That is a garter at the foot of the bed.

Farmyard banter

2011-09-30T10:54:00.004+10:00

This is before Porky Pig, Shaun the Sheep and Cow and Chicken became famous... they were just farmyard animals enjoying the greenery and having farmyard conversations! What a simpler life they led without the trappings of fame, and Porky was still walking on all fours!

Speeding fine

2011-09-28T13:57:00.006+10:00

I'm not sure if the birthday boy owns a Ferrari, but this sure is the closest I'll ever get to one! Gentlemen, start your appetites... this cake weighed about 8kg upon completion!

A stroll down memory lane

2011-09-28T13:42:00.005+10:00

I've made a few larger pram cakes so it was fun to make a mini pram this time, suspended on shaped wire. The advantage of having a fondant topper is that it can keep forever as a memory of the special occasion it was made for. Note to those preserving toppers/figurines - they keep best at room temperature. Please don't fridge them! :)

Bridal power

2011-08-25T03:18:00.013+10:00

In the setting of the beautiful Tea Room at the QVB, this 7-tier cupcake tower was arranged for a lovely couple, both of them wedding photographers/ videographers. So their own wedding of course needed to be fantastic and elegant. It was such a pleasure working with them and observing their creative flair come alive in their theming and decorations. Purple hues were used all over, as evident in the vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icing, and fresh flowers peeping in between. The personal touch of this tower is the cute wedding couple figurines sitting atop the cake, in a slightly risque pose... the bride, with a camera around her neck, appearing to slap the ever-cool-looking Aviator-wearing groom on the butt. Their playful personalities personified forever in fondant icing!

Sesame surprise

2011-08-25T02:59:00.004+10:00

A fun cake for a kid's birthday... full of colour, some shapes to stimulate their curiosity and a bunch of the characters they've fallen in love with through the tv. And unlike other newer characters these days, adults can probably identify with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the gang too. "Can you tell me how to get...."

Guess the cake

2011-08-25T02:25:00.003+10:00

Every girl's gotta have a handbag cake some time in their lives.... whether it be Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Christian Dior, Guess it's up to the individual!

Guitar zero

2011-06-30T23:39:00.007+10:00

This guitar has been through alot... it's been strummed, waved in the air and smashed to pieces. As if that wasn't enough, it then got sliced up and served on a platter for dessert. Such is the life of a caked electric guitar!

Funky in a traditional way

2011-06-30T23:37:00.005+10:00

White and gold is a popular colour scheme for weddings and I can see why! Even with a cake that is mostly white, just a few embellishments in gold can make all the difference. Here the slight twist on the traditional with funky whimsical hearts all over the middle layer makes it a little modern and edgy.

100% Corporate

2011-06-30T23:30:00.015+10:00

This is one of my first corporate orders and true to form they had set guidelines to cake by. Moore Stephens wanted something to celebrate their century that represented the occasion as well as their corporate identity. As the logo had to be precisely reproduced, we had it printed on edible paper and then stuck onto the cake.

Big brother gabba

2011-06-30T23:30:00.009+10:00

Ever felt like someone was watching? If you're a kid, you might recognise these Yo Gabba Gabba characters. If you're like me, you might just feel like you're in the Big Brother house! I love creative ways of presenting characters and although this is undoubtedly a normal round 3-layer cake, the characters (if you're a kid) are unmistakeable. It's all in the eyes...

It's all in the flo-wrist

2011-05-31T23:50:00.004+10:00

I love collaborative efforts and this was a wedding cake collaboration with one of my favourite florists, Stef Smrk-Dansey of Chic Floral Design. I'm extra pleased I got to watch her in action, wiring, arranging, adjusting and placing the flowers onto the cake. Also love the twiggy twirls connecting both layers of the cake. Because the flowers included the deep rich red colour and lots of little extras were added - ie twigs and berries - we kept the cake a simple plain white with just some embellishments in white royal icing. Not I Do - We Do!

Mustang Tally

2011-05-31T23:22:00.005+10:00

Another car bites the dust! I have learnt more about cars through cakeing than I ever imagined I would. Not just the make and model but the shape and curves of the body. So much so that, to blow my own trumpet a little, I saw a car under a sheet of tarp the other day and I could actually tell it was a Ford Mustang. Now that's paying attention to my subjects!

Wedded bliss treats

2011-05-31T23:07:00.005+10:00

This wedding called for an elegant understated design in white and a light blush colour, in the form of delicate lace arond the base of each layer. The angular lines of the square shapes were offset by the soft large open magnolia on top, made out of fondant.
Bonbonierre for the guests were mini cupcakes in seven different designs individually packaged in white pail boxes tied with a pink gauze ribbon and thank-you tag.

Unlucky ducky

2011-05-31T22:57:00.006+10:00

This cake requires a bit of explanation! The recipient was a chef who owns a Chinese restaurant. No confusion over what he serves... yes you are right, roast duck! Oh and he also has a wife, daughter and adorable lil pup. OK so maybe that was pretty straightforward... but one of the more unusual and realistic cakes I've made to date!

Red black and white is alright on the night

2011-05-31T22:48:00.004+10:00

Couldn't make the birthday party for a dear friend so I sent a cake in my place. I think here the colours maketh the cake. I had to choose carefully, the cake was for a girl AND a guy, and I wasn't sure what the party setting was going to be like. All I knew was that there would be dancing, and lots of it... so I opted for something loud with a bit of glam.

Pucker up!

2011-05-01T08:43:00.004+10:00

What better way to show the birthday girl some love than with a larger than life ruby red pucker! This cake pretty much says it all!

Read me right

2011-03-30T02:05:00.002+11:00

Following on from the post before, this is the reader herself! Casually perched reading one of her four favourite titles, in her living room made of cake. At bottom left there is a fireplace... coz you always need a cosy fireplace for a good bout of reading!

Book smarts

2011-03-30T00:50:00.002+11:00

For a book lover passionate about her reading. As she has four favourite books, we had to have each one as cake!

All sliced up

2011-03-25T02:12:00.005+11:00

It was a privilege to provide a cake for Joanne my sometime extra-pair-of-cake-hands. I decided that one cake design wasn't enough for her, so I settled on six in one - each slice a different look. I think we only ended up eating two 'slices' that night. Sometimes I get carried away with cake! The figurine is exactly as she is all dolled up - sleek in (usually) black and full of sass!

It's a dog eat dog world

2011-03-25T01:45:00.004+11:00

Here is a friend's adorable French bulldog Poggi immortalised in cake. Where do I start! Once again I love the challenge of something life-sized, realistic and detailed. The shape of the head was not as tricky to carve as I'd anticipated, but the weight of the head required a bit of engineering effort to support. Cake Poggi is sitting on a styrofoam base because extra dowels were needed to anchor it upright. He was threatening to lick the countertop :p Dusting with edible chalks was the fun part... Once the cake began to look disturbingly real, I knew I'd achieved the look I wanted! The most satisfying part... when my friend thought she'd brought the real Poggi in the car with her when she looked over at the cake - forgetting for a second that she'd just picked up cake Poggi.

Hollywood take two

2011-03-25T01:36:00.004+11:00

Another take on the Hollywood theme. The usual suspects are there - dazzling stars, red carpet, film roll, but this time a giant bucket of popcorn takes centre stage. Litle bit of oversized nostalgia to set the mood :)

Roll out the red carpet

2011-03-02T04:42:00.006+11:00

I always love Hollywood-themed cakes, there's always a bit of glitz and glam, a real sense of celebrating the birthday boy/girl. The trademarks are almost always there - the gold star, the red carpet, the shooting stars, sometimes the film roll too. This birthday girl was going all out, dressing up as Minnie for her 21st do. Hence the Minnie figurine lounging atop the cake. As much as I love Disney characters, they are always the trickiest to create as they have such exact dimensions. One little millimetre off and they run the risk of looking like some other generic character. I was quite happy with the way this Minnie worked out, just need to be more prepared for her large oversized head in future Minnie projects (though that IS what makes her so adorable)! Egg-less chocolate cupcakes accompanied this order for some egg-averse guests.

Push the little daisies

2011-02-28T15:45:00.002+11:00

This was one of the first wedding cakes I had the pleasure of cakeing this wedding season. What a nice opener - strong bold purple on white. Purple seems to be the colour of the season, in various hues. (More purple-themed wedding cakes to come!). The decision to be made here was whether to let the butterflies stand out or the mini daisies. In the end the daisies won out as the butterflies take the cake top anyway. Nothing flat about this cake, everything pops out!

Bunny for your thoughts

2011-02-28T15:41:00.002+11:00

My friend requested a bunny for her cake. Trying to avoid it looking like a kid's birthday cake (I did consider a giant bunny or a 2D bunny face) since it was a 30th, I kept the bunny small but still centre stage. I never usually use more than 3 colours in combination (unless it's a realistic cake) but I loved the various shades of purple here with red and neutral white. I wanted them to make the statement keeping the rest of the cake muted. Tiny flowers and bows added a soft touch especially the flower in the paws of our cute lil bunny.

Self-raising flower

2011-02-28T15:39:00.003+11:00

I've always loved baby pink, mint green and latte brown together. This was a love job for a 60th birthday. Simple flowers make a statement when placed strategically and not overdone. I much like the pop-out look of the mini daisies scattered diagonally around the middle of the cake. A few little details in royal icing piping and voila! One birthday cake to go.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

2011-02-28T15:38:00.003+11:00

I haven't been uploading many cupcakes lately but they're definitely still gracing my countertop. This is one of our favourite Sesame Streeters with his favourite snack. Didn't have to think of how to fashion cookies out of fondant... I just used actual (mini) cookies! Cookiieeeeeee.....

Bakin' a Birkin

2011-02-28T15:29:00.008+11:00

I thought it was about time I uploaded another handbag cake. This is an Hermes Birkin bag, supposedly one of the most sought-after bags according to SATC! Instead of making a giant bag to feed everyone at our relaxing lunch party, I decided to keep it small and complement it with a dainty lil cake on the side in matching colours, using the buckle from the bag itself as an embellishment. This way we could tuck into the lil cake and let the birthday girl take home her Birkin. Each girl there also got to take home their own little LITTLE Birkin (top right) - I just couldn't resist!

A tall storey - five storeys of cake!

2011-02-08T01:26:00.007+11:00

My first 5-tier wedding cake, constructed with columns no less! Deep red always looks striking on white - an incredibly romantic colour scheme that will always be in vogue.

Thanks Joanne for lending an extra pair of capable hands on the day, rolling fondant and setting up!

Wheel you carry me?

2011-01-31T23:25:00.013+11:00

Vroooom! Still love cakeing the big boys' toys! With all the details a Harley has, the challenge was in deciding how many to include to make it realistic without overcrowding the cake. Feel like you could ride this bike? Well you'd have to be a tiny 2" cake figurine but I hope the answer was a 'yes', even if just in good spirit!

Tiffany boxed up

2011-01-31T23:25:00.007+11:00

I've lost count of the number of Tiffany boxes I've caked so recently for a Tiffany-lovin' girl I decided to put a little twist on the design with a mini Tiffany box inside the larger gift box - all cake. And because who wouldn't want their own piece of Tiffany, separate mini Tiffany cakes for the guests, each packaged individually in tiny pail boxes. Cake for everyone and some for the birthday girl to take home! (However I was later told that she couldn't bring herself to cut up the cake hence didn't 'open' the cake to find the lil Tiffany inside till a few days later!)

Hats off to the chef!

2011-01-31T23:24:00.004+11:00

A small thank you to the chef who single-handedly cooked for my entire birthday party. I love occasions that allow me to show some gratitude to the people who have done me kind favours through the years. Also lets me show them what I think of them. When I see this birthday boy I will always see 'chef''! By the way, this was a tiny hat and I thought I could get away without dowels but note to self, aaalways use dowels. Especially with a soft (yet oh-so-delicious) flavour like white mud.

Hues of engagement

2011-01-31T23:19:00.004+11:00

Two friends of mine - a lovely couple - got engaged recently and ordered a cake but gave me no direction on design *yay* my lucky day! Like any cake decorator who dreams up more designs than she can cake, I turned to my scrapbook (powerpoint) of cake pictures I've admired over the years and immediately a yellow, black and white cake caught my eye - three colours I would never have used together before but I loved the b&w of it with just a tinge of yellow to bring it to life. Moreover it matched the elegant b&w invitation - the only hint of the party theme I had to go on. The third layer was hand-painted - a technique I've taken a liking to especially with the finished product looking a little like it's been printed on and a sunny yellow flower topped it off, taking the hard edge off the b&w and straight lines.

Hats off for a kitchen tea

2010-12-31T00:33:00.003+11:00

Boy did I jump on this one with spatulas ready to fire! It was an understatement to say I was more than a little excited by the proposed cowgirl theme. We looked at various incarnations of the cowgirl hat on a cake and the customer who ordered this eventually went for a bold statement - the whole hat being a cake itself, atop a cowprint base, to feed up to 80 people. In shaping the hat, I realised the contours of the hat needed to be well-defined and in the correct places to look realistic, so I paid special attention to that. The customer requested the upturned sides. The little flowers I thought added a soft feminine touch. After all, don't we always imagine cows in the meadows surrounded by daisies? Maybe that's just me...

Olive to have another martini

2010-12-01T01:10:00.005+11:00

This 30th birthday was a classy martini affair. The cake was designed to closely tie in with the theme, a mosaic collection of squares and lil mirror tiles in black, white and silver. An extremely detailed concept on the birthday girl's part and a fun challenge for me to extend her ideas into cake!

Mauve and lavender

2010-10-31T16:32:00.007+11:00

Inspired by a cake I saw on an episode of Ace of Cakes, I chose this lovely soft colour scheme for a sweet birthday gal who always has a smile on her face. I tried to keep everything understated and simple but when allowed free rein, my problem is knowing when to stop. I couldn't resist adding the lil bows, butterfly and tiny flower. I think little details are the icing on the cake if they don't overpower it!

A shoe-in for the job

2010-10-31T16:31:00.003+11:00

The ultimate cake for me - er, for my shopping/shoe/SATC-loving twin, here to visit me in Oz for the first time. In a no-contest, she HAD to have a Manolo, the closest either of us have ever been to one! Needless to say, the research for this was pure fun.

Honey I blew up the doll

2010-09-30T17:44:00.002+10:00

There's a range of Kimmidoll accessories out right now which are just too cute to behold. They are all miniature sized collectible figurines. Usually when I cake something, I'm making it small. This time, I blew it up about 20 times its usual size. It was quite funny to see my Mum's reaction when she saw this cake when you're usually used to seeing them tiny, but not so funny when we chopped it up head first. :(

Kick it to me!

2010-09-30T17:40:00.003+10:00

They asked for a life-size rugby ball... this turned out to be a little larger after it got the fondant treatment! A challenge first in covering the entire ball, even underneath, in fondant - a true 3D experience. Another challenge in making it stand. If footballers played with a ball this heavy, they'd never make it to either goal!

Have her dress and eat it too

2010-09-30T17:30:00.002+10:00

Another princess cake, this time modelled on Cinderella. Which little girl didn't want to have her flashing pink-and-blue dress in the very last dancing scene! What a lucky girl, Cinderella didn't have to make a choice that could've taken her hours, but fondant is not that magical - yet. :)

One slice to share nice

2010-08-04T23:19:00.002+10:00

I was given a 'slice' of cake for my birthday one year (by my cousin the pro cake decorator!) and I loved it... the look, the design, and the enormous size of my one slice of cake!! I decided to re-create it for a special gal who turned 25 last year. However with the number of friends she has, one slice is not enough! So the bottom layer is for her to share :)

Oh my mod!

2010-08-04T23:10:00.004+10:00

I loved cakeing this! The Vespa was the must-have; we created a mod theme around it. I loved the simplicity and the statement it made. I've seen so many cool mod designs in fashion, stationery, furniture, etc, but never had to cake one so I relished the chance! It is the spot on the target (mod for 'icing on the cake'?) that the birthday boy got a nice surprise when he saw it!

Roses are red, cupcakes match too

2010-08-04T22:48:00.011+10:00

An elegant affair for a 30th anniversary. This is the largest cake I've created to date. Every layer is double the height and supported by columns. As you might guess, this sort of cake needs to be assembled at the venue! Matching cupcakes made up the placecards.

Safety pins and baby bottles

2010-07-06T19:39:00.004+10:00

Cupcakes for a baby shower, with miniature bottles and safety pins to boot. Who could resist...!

Earned its pretty stripes

2010-07-06T18:06:00.012+10:00

Here we have a couple who had so much fun with their wedding invitations, they extended the idea to their cake too! I took great delight in helping them transform the invititations into a cake. (The invitation is actually purple where it looks brown).

You will notice - no flowers on the cake! Happens less often than more. That means the details on the cake needed to make enough of a statement on their own. We decided to let the stripes be the main feature and tone down the rest of the cake, only adding the ribbon to top it off. As the stripes were to take centre stage (and we also needed to feed more people than a 9", 11", 13" cake would cover), we made the middle layer twice as high as the rest, which made it super heavy (!) but also allowed more surface area to play up the very pretty lolly-coloured stripes.

Exquisitely fresh and floral

2010-07-06T17:39:00.003+10:00

A wedding cake for an extremely lovely couple. Prior to the wedding I find it inspiring to meet the couple in person and sit down to discuss the ideas and dreams they have for their big day. Small details that might be seemingly unrelated to the making of a cake all add to my process, in this case even their lovely home and warm hospitality.

I love the fresh floral look of this cake. Royal icing piping on the sides added to the texture and provided a little contrast with the ivory coloured fondant. The piping design was based on the embossing on their wedding invitations (though it is hard to see clearly from this photo).

Flowers were provided by Stef of Chic Floral Design http://www.chicfloraldesign.com.au/. I would highly recommend her services to anyone looking for a wedding florist. Not only do you get the beautiful flowers you envision, you also get exceptional service and the benefit of her creative floral concepts for your big day. Always great to work with you Stef!

Santa crashes Christmas for Altrex

2010-07-06T17:33:00.003+10:00

Have I mentioned how much I love working with corporate logos? I think what I like about is letting the owners of the company see their logo in a way they've never seen it before - and edible too!

Altrex wanted a Christmas theme, so I took the liberty of adding Christmas embellishments all over, including a lil Santa Claus caught in the sidelines.

Cake under construction

2010-07-06T17:21:00.003+10:00

I'm flabbergasted that a whole month and a bit has passed since my last update (as one friend kindly pointed out to me, thank you for bringing that to my attention!). Where does a whole month go? To cakes obviously, but this shows me I must learn to stick my head out of the cake-cloud more often!

This cake was commissioned by one of my very regular customers, and from the start I could see how much fun it was going to be. It was for a little boy named Braith on his Naming Day. Not hard to guess he must have a keen interest in construction, as little boys do!

We wanted a little mud pile - but how to make it look like mud but not TOO much like mud - organised mud? That was my biggest challenge. It's still got to look appetising! Loved creating the little men - they are doing various things among them splashing each other with the mud (fun fun hehe).

More to come to make up for the long period of absence...

Masterchef Asia

2010-05-30T20:55:00.005+10:00

Quite an appropriate time to ride on the Masterchef brand... but this was actually done about 6 months ago. I was extremely excited by this idea, taking one element of the theme - the chef's hat - to be centre stage. Especially when you know instantly what it symbolises - food but not just food, DELICIOUS gourmet cuisine. It was also such a fun shape to make a cake out of and there was a LOT of cake inside.
One thing I remember clearly about this cake was that it was unexpectedly heavy. The height and proportion of the hat and its position off-centre on the cake board made it a quite difficult to carry. If you supported it from underneath in the middle, the whole thing would topple over - a caker's worst nightmare!
Oh and to clarify, the Asian detail on the figurine was specially requested. Her exact words were "yellow-skinned, nerdy with square glasses", lol. I have to admit I felt more than a little politically incorrect but since I'm Asian too I figured it's OK hehe.

Flying Miss Thirty

2010-05-30T20:36:00.003+10:00

I love making a cake as personalised as possible... straightaway you can tell from this that the birthday girl was turning 30 and she is a seasoned world traveller. Well I HOPE you can :) If you could see all the flags on the '3', you'd know exactly which countries she's been to. She was in our part of the world for only a week or so and happened to turn 30 here so I grabbed the chance to cake her birthday special.
The earth is loosely based on our earth's actual map but I have to admit is somewhat not to scale... when I'd finished it I realised I managed to fit ALL the countries on.. er.. a half globe lol. On the bright side, it was easier than I'd envisioned and even carving the dome-shape wasn't too hard... helps alot if you have a turntable - thank you Diane!

Giant rings or tiny cake?

2010-05-18T23:49:00.004+10:00

And this is the wedding cake that followed the lingerie party. Clean elegant lines with elements of silver and a hint of colour softened with the natural curves of the oriental lilies. I think this is a good example of how a bold oversized ornament can share the cake with flowers. The key is the flowers being understated (ie same colour as the cake) and having just a few (in this case two big ones) rather than lots of little ones. Out of curiosity... can you see this cake as being really tiny, as it would be if the rings were life size? The cake would be about 3 inches tall. Maybe if you squint your eyes... hehe just a thought!

A way with lingerie

2010-05-18T21:32:00.003+10:00

A lil cake to celebrate a lingerie party. You can just imagine how much fun I had with this. I've seen so many corset-style cakes but never had the chance to create one myself. The orderer also kindly let me have a free hand in the design - thank you! Remember my rule - anything mini is cute... well I now think anything mini with ruffles and polka dots is irresistible! As people are usually reluctant to cut the cake, for ease of pigging out, matching cupcakes were also on order. I picked out various features of the corset to be used as the decorations.

Tiffany & Cook

2010-05-04T12:11:00.003+10:00

This is based on a popular cake design that I see a lot of cake shops have already done. I think it's such a great combination of the luxury Tiffany brand and domestic goddessness! I love it when brands are taken out of their context to make a statement. And this girl has definitely got the right idea... "I don't mind cooking for you but first things first... which gorgeous piece of Tiffany bling did you buy me today!"

Rule of engagements

2010-04-28T08:01:00.003+10:00

Two friends of mine (incidentally with really similar names!) got engaged around the same time. What better gift (especially when you don't know what else to get them hehe) than something edible and pretty... and pre-emptive of their big day.

Matchy matchy

2010-04-22T02:18:00.006+10:00

For two special ladies on their birthdays... I chose black and white for understatedness and elegance but I couldn't resist using a bit of colour. Big bows are always a winner with me. And those roses were made without a rolling pin, cutter or balling tool - I call it the lazy caker's rose, easily done in front of the tv!

Anniversary cake

2010-04-21T10:56:00.003+10:00

Every 10th wedding anniversary deserves cake! As it was a special occasion only for 2, we wanted to scale it down but keep a grand towering 3-layer look. The size came to 4" on top, 5" in middle, 6" on bottom. And even with such small sizes, dowels are still necessary - take my word for it!

Teletubbies makes four

2010-03-15T21:12:00.005+11:00

And then there were four... Teletubbies that is! I love their little dome-shaped cubby house they live in. Complete with flowers on windowsills!

If I were to live in a green dome-shaped cubby house, it'd have flowers on windowsills too. And maybe a skylight and Foxtel antenna.

This cake was taken all the way to Canberra by four friends of mine which I hope wasn't too difficult as everything was secured to the cake in some way. That's why I love fondant! The only one that had to travel separately was the purple Teletubby... I doubt he would have been able to balance on that dome in a bumpy car ride for 3 hours. He had his own first class seat in a tissue-lined cake box:

I realise this might be slightly disturbing to some kids but I had to share... the Teletubbies body parts before they were 'put together':

Almost got it together but two are still missing their heads, hehe:

It's even more disturbing when it's figurines of real people. But don't worry, I'd definitely not share those ;)

Triple dose of Dora

2010-03-15T21:00:00.005+11:00

Here's a popular girl and her favourite monkey friend:

With matching cupcakes:

Popular because here she is again:

And again!

Lightning strikes twice

2010-03-15T20:40:00.005+11:00

Next up, Lightning McQueen! I was extremely happy with how these worked out. The key was definitely in the carving...

Then in making a car look friendly:

If you thought they were one and the same cake, you've made my day! They are of course meant to look identical as they're the exact same cake but for two different orders, both in the same week no less. When it rains it pours Lightning!

Here is a before shot to prove it... one completed McQueen and the other before his embellishments:

Honey to the Pooh

2010-03-15T19:10:00.003+11:00

Shame on me, it's been awhile since I've blogged! I've amassed quite a few children's cakes in recent months, so I might just do a kids blitz tonight.
First up is Winnie the Pooh and his mate Tigger enjoying some honey:

And here they are with matching cupcakes:

Too fun!

Technicalities

2010-02-22T23:17:00.004+11:00

Ordered by a girlfriend for her boyfriend so no one was in trouble with this kinky lil number! He's a tech freak who is evidently also a hot-blooded male ;)
At the bottom of the screen are minimised windows of his favourite games. The keyboard is an actual representation of an Acer keyboard - I consulted a few different Acer laptops for the right sequencing.
I should mention the most tricky part - the standing cover (I'm sure there's a technical term for it) - it managed to stand with cake board inside, but had to be planted sturdily in a base, hence the layer of cake underneath. Very relieved cake decorator I was!

Flower power

2010-02-22T18:52:00.003+11:00

Usually my cakes are based on a design or a theme. For this one, the message took centre stage. I used a simple decorative flower design with a little dotted detail on the side to embellish. The colour scheme flowed on from that. All flowers were individually hand-cut, some on the sides were 'standing', popping out from the cake.

Saw this and couldn't resist

2010-02-22T17:56:00.006+11:00

I'll give anything a go. Even power tools I haven't heard of and even at short notice (I was glad I could fit this in with just 2-3 days to play with). When the customer mentioned jigsaw, the only jigsaw that came to mind was the type that kids play with that make up a nice picture. Lots of Google pix from different angles did the trick (what did people do before Google?! Btw Google over Bing any day). Just like cars, the main challenge with this was to get the shape right. Then little details added realisticness, even if I didn't know what all those little details represent in real life. I'm sure they start it or turn it up a notch or make it go bbzzzzzz or something. This one tho, is just good to eat!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-22T17:52:00.002+11:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai to those who celebrate! Here is a touch of Chinese for my blog... even the taste had a hint of Chinese - I tried making green tea cupcakes for the first time. Still trying and getting there...!

Poker faced

2010-02-16T01:45:00.006+11:00

I love themed parties and this one went all out. The cake was merely a small part of the occasion and it's so great to have seen the complete picture with outfits, props and decorations later on! My first poker cake and my first hexagonal cake - not sure if there is a significance with the shape? I can't even work out how to play poker (I most definitely cannot pull a poker face when I need to the most) but at least I can cake it.
I provided complimentary poker-chip-cookies coz I thought they were too cute to pass up. They ended up as a bit of an energy boost for the party planner that day!

Love Birds

2010-02-10T01:28:00.008+11:00

When I get the chance, I always suggest some element of continuity that ties different aspects of a wedding or function together. With this one, I was asked to incorporate what I could of the invitation into the cake. The lace embroidery around the base of each layer (a bit hard to see here) is derived from the lace print on the invite and the pair of lovebirds is an exact replica. I think it gives such a lovely personal touch - it's the little things that make an occasion unique and memorable.
The figurines were customised for the couple's features and the Ducati is a dream toy of the groom (you may remember a Ducati cake awhile back... same guy!). Little trailing tin cans give it the wedding touch. Of course it all starts with a bride who is willing to be a bit adventurous with the design - thanks Michele!

The invitations were created by Katrina Lee, the 'Love And Papery' part of Love And, and gorgeous flowers were arranged by Stef Smrk-Dansey of Chic Floral Designs. Great to work with a team of gals who produce brilliant work and are so easy to work with, they made my life so much funner and the ease with which everything came together also created a positive flow-on effect for the bride!

Valentine's Day goodies

2010-02-10T00:20:00.006+11:00

Here are some Valentine's Day treats to share with your special someones... you'll land right in the first page of the good books with these you'll probably also get to share some too. Score!
Let me know asap if you'd like to place an order, V Day is just round the corner... how did it come round so fast, feels like New Year's was just yesterday!

Horsing around in a Ferrari

2010-01-27T21:23:00.004+11:00

It's extremely flattering to me when someone picks one of my designs and puts their own spin on it (pun intended). I love that they can see the potential to modify it to make it personally theirs. This one was given a touch of class with a Ferrari theme. The car may be too little to see but it was modelled on the birthday boy's fav Ferrari. I added the badges on the side to drive the theme home (another pun intended, heh heh).

All dolled up

2010-01-27T21:04:00.005+11:00

I almost felt like I was 8 years old again dressing up my Barbies, except this time it's with cake and fondant. And I get to 'tailor' the outfit. So much fun deciding on dress design and working with a princess theme. We wanted to do more with her hair but it was too heavy. If I had my way I would have pouffed, pinned and sprayed. By the look on her face I think she looks mighty pleased with the outcome anyway!

By invitation only

2010-01-27T20:49:00.004+11:00

A lil centrepiece for a bridal shower, this was based on the wedding invitation, to a tee. A different sort of task for the designing part - rather than designing from scratch, transforming a 2D graphic into a 3D cake. We kept it relatively simple using the main image for the top and continuing with the stripe border theme down the sides. But when someone's not expecting to see an edible version of their custom-designed invite, it makes quite an impact!

Guess the bag

2010-01-27T20:37:00.008+11:00

Anyone who knows me knows this is a project that is so suited to me. The challenge of making it as realistic as possible, the little details that are so necessary to the overall look - and oh yes, it IS a handbag!

I thought the trickiest part would be all those perfectly round Gs but that went more smoothly than expected (hurray). The little details - buttons, rings, stitching, straps - the very things that make it look realistic or not, were the most time-consuming, but well worth the time spent I think.

It figures to make it personal

2010-01-20T20:13:00.003+11:00

A really sweet and elegant cake that lets the toppers make the statement. It was only fitting then that the figurines were highly personalised, right down to the last hair spike. This wedding was held at the gorgeous Gunners Barracks with exquisite decorations that took your breath away, nevermind the view!

Hush lil babycake

2010-01-20T19:15:00.009+11:00

Every lil bubba deserves their own pram. Here baby Zane is sleeping soundly in his custom-designed purple pram, based on the napkin above left. Cue lullaby...

(Btw the original title of this post was 'Pram slam'... tennis season... but thought that sounded a bit un-baby-friendly).

Suits the cake

2010-01-20T19:10:00.003+11:00

Here's another idea for a birthday cake - design it in the theme of their present. However make sure you let them open their present BEFORE they see the cake!

Matching cookies in classic butter flavour lets them munch on their birthday goodies all through the week.

Sparkling hens

2010-01-18T23:48:00.004+11:00

You might be able to guess I relished this job. Inside were a mixed bag of chocolate, vanilla and caramel. On the outside I played around with a sparkle girly theme with pink (of course) and purple in various shades which in my opinion is better than using 4 different colours altogether. The orderer for this usually gives me a good allowance for creativity and she also happens to be my most vocal BDM! I guess you could say she's a great mait!

Flowers picked for a lady

2010-01-18T23:47:00.003+11:00

Another cake for a lovely lady, this one was done when I'd just come back from hols, so taking into account my jetlagged frame of mind, I picked this one partly because it wasn't too difficult. I actually got the inspiration for this sometime during my holiday... a little change in scenery is good fodder for the mind!

Bingo we got a design!

2010-01-18T23:43:00.003+11:00

We needed a quick relatively easy design as this cake was ordered with little time to spare (think I was going on hols or something). The Bingo theme was too inviting, I wanted to make it a bit fun but also a cake fit for a lady. Polka dots always work!

Christmas cheers

2010-01-06T02:03:00.002+11:00

Hi everyone,

I would just like to say a heartfelt thanks for your support over Christmas. From the Christmas cakes sold, $60 has been donated to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal to help them continue their important work.

Thank you!

Christmas cheers

Kevin Levin - pimp my cake!

2010-01-05T22:39:00.013+11:00

Another lesson in lil kids toys - this is Kevin Levin's car (all along I thought it was his friend Ben 10's, tsk tsk). The turning point when cakeing cars is getting the cake carved into shape. Then it's pretty smooth sailing from there.

The second pic shows a collection of Ben/Kevin-related symbols on egg-free chocolate cupcakes (the car is egg-free chocolate too). I've got quite a few cars under my belt now and surprisingly they are some of the most enjoyable challenges to cake. I recently did two Lightning McQueens which came together really well... will upload soon.

It greatly helped with this one that I had a 3D model to work from (third pic). In future if you could all provide scale models, that would be much appreciated - thanks! :D

Honey I shrunk the cupcake toppers

2010-01-05T21:51:00.005+11:00

I have a lot of fun shrinking things down to Tinkerbell size. And since pretty much anything can sit atop cupcakes, I chose a yumcha and a dessert theme for two gals who can't do without their dumplings and sweets. I must admit I had a ball making these. Too cute!

Hello, 2010!

2010-01-02T04:17:00.004+11:00

And some cookies and mini cake/cupcake combos...

Farewell, 2009...

2009-12-30T23:21:00.009+11:00

I admit it, I totally got Christmas-brain! I completely forget I had a blog for awhile. Before this year is up I think I should just upload a whole lot of pix I haven't had a chance to share here. It doesn't seem right to leave these hanging till the new year. Here are a collection of cupcakes...

A run for the Hills

2009-12-14T22:35:00.005+11:00

I love it when customers want to be a little adventurous. There are numerous Hollywood themed cakes out there but I haven't come across any that have made the Hollywood Hills and paparazzi into a 3D diorama cake. This took a little creativity to visualise but we got there in the end. I particularly like the fact you can see 'around' and 'in between' the cakes, complete with waiting limousine!

Love And Christmas

2009-12-11T16:18:00.009+11:00

This week has been THE scariest cake week of my life - 2 wedding cakes, 5 birthday cakes, a couple of Christmas orders... *eek*! But it's all done and iced and all customers are happy as am I! Now on to the edible Christmas gifts for this year... everyone I know is goin to get fat. This is where the Christmas fun starts!! As you can probably guess I love Christmas and look forward to it with open arms, holding rolling pins and piping bags. Here are some I prepared earlier ;) Please have a peek at Love And Cake's Christmas catalogue.

Most importantly, there are so many who won't see a smile or a present this Christmas day and the real spirit of Christmas means doing what little (or a lot) we can to make their situation just a little bit better - sharing the love we have been blessed with. 10% of all proceeds from the Christmas cakes and cookies will go to the Salvation Army who DO do that - every day of the year. That's one small way Love and Christmas goes hand in hand!

Formula for a muscle cake

2009-12-07T23:14:00.001+11:00

One of the muscliest cakes I've done, this Formula One racing car belonging to Mark Weber (yes that is his head in that lil white helmet there) was for an F1 fanatic.
Vroom vroom!

The accountant wears Prada

2009-12-06T23:39:00.003+11:00

Yet another friend in accounting, I seem to attract them! This accountant loves her Prada handbag so in this collaboration with the girls again, we decided a posh designer + corporate numbers theme would be most fitting. The good thing about having mini cakes is that the main cake can be saved for a later date while we munched on the mini ones that night. The birthday girl was nicely surprised so our job was done. She even showed it to the restaurant owner and left my business card with him! Nice work, BDM!

Baby cookies

2009-11-30T20:15:00.003+11:00

A boxful of cookies hand-cut for Baby Rico, whose parents' cakes have made a few appearances on this blog already. First the wedding then the baby shower then the baptism! What a journey I've been on to be able to cake their milestones, I feel so honoured :0)

Hmmm must be on the lookout for onesie and baby bottle cookie cutters now, I'm sure there will be Rico #2!

The hole package

2009-11-24T23:35:00.002+11:00

If good things come in small packages, then delicious things come in big spotty-holed fondant-covered bow-adorned packages!

Feast your eyes

2009-11-23T22:45:00.005+11:00

For a girl who's been on the receiving end of a couple of cakes and cupcakes from me, I wanted to give her something different. I came across the idea of mixing cupcakes with lil mini cakes and loved the idea. This was my first attempt. I like the focus they bring to the set - from my point of view, they are a different canvas to decorate altogether thus an opportunity to introduce something different, eg words, colours or decorations. Variety IS the spice of life, gotta play up those assets! If the balance is right, it should be a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.

High on peepy-toes

2009-11-19T17:43:00.004+11:00

You can tell what sort of girl this cake was made for... a girl with great taste and impeccable style for sure! The shoe was modelled on the birthday girl's actual Peeptoe shoe. I was especially nervous drawing in the Peeptoe logo - one chance is all I get. But it was surprisingly easier than I expected. Luckily no sudden sneezes or an unfortunately timed 'boo!' or I'd have to start all over again... right from baking the cake!

Wonder if this girl saw the chinelas cake... might be an idea for her high-heeled nights out...

Naruto no keki

2009-11-18T18:30:00.004+11:00

How many of you recognise this guy? I'm feeling rather not with-it as I had no idea who Naruto was. I don't mind so much not knowing the kids' characters, but this one was for someone my age!

I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out, it looks sufficiently like the real character for my liking. Bit mischievous. To make the 2D pic pop out, I added a layer of 3D hair to give it a little texture and some folds on the bandanna.

I was at a loss for what to do around the base, but when in doubt, use an extension of the main feature. So I used the idea of the bandanna and dusted it over in silver to make it look a lil snazzy and dangerous like the Naruto pix I found online. Wonder if he's like hero-dangerous or naughty-streetkid dangerous.

A standing occasion

2009-11-17T23:39:00.012+11:00

This was done for a dinner party at my house, so I was allowed to go with a colour scheme of my very own choosing. Pink is always a shoo-in for a girly girl. Remind you a bit of Neopolitan? hehe

A cake stand adds so much to a cake or cupcakes. When presented nicely it's like the icing on the top. I encourage anyone who buys a cake to think about how they can display it to create the wow factor. This cake stand could even be played up with a couple of bows or maybe a string of beads... think Sportsgirl accessories. Such inspiration to be found there. It's all up to your imagination!

I have my cake and eat it too...

2009-11-16T23:52:00.005+11:00

The sweetest friends in the world tickled me pink by their adventures in cake-making for my birthday. I cannot ask for better gal pals and if you're thinkin of stealin them, you can forget about it. They're mine!! *hugs* This is what they surprised me with at dinner. Totally me and totally them. I LOVE IT!!! xoxo

A rose to the occasion

2009-11-12T15:42:00.003+11:00

We wanted something soft and pretty for a friend's mum's 60th. I thought a rose theme would be nice (roses always the classic!) without being over-the-top about it. So I scattered mini roses on the giant cupcake with matching rose-style swirled icing on the pink and yellow cupcakes. It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but it's the first time I've tried those swirls and it came out as I'd hoped - a bit ruffled around the edges and in imperfect circles.

Party bags

2009-11-10T17:21:00.003+11:00

A great idea for giveaways when you find yourself hosting a party of laydeez are these mini sized cakes made to any theme you like. Handbags is an obvious one and here are some I prepared earlier...!

Crane cake stance

2009-11-09T00:07:00.004+11:00

I hope you recognise this throw-back to the Karate Kid movies! I was especially tickled by this request for the birthday black-belter who can obviously use the crane kick stance to his advantage. And thinking of his reaction made it even funnier. An especially tricky figurine to do but it kept me laughing all the way. I wore an extra bright grin when I could finally see some resemblance. Two white slightly bent legs without any body, arms or head takes a lot of imagination to shape! Oh and I didn't mean to give him such a flat-top, though that's how it came out (hehe).

Bapt-iced

2009-11-08T23:40:00.004+11:00

An open Bible for a lil baby's baptism. My first attempt at an 'open pages' effect and there were no surprises, thank goodness! The cake was unbelievably heavy and was carried all the way to Queensland by plane for the service. Kudos to the messengers! A lil boy topper was added on later.