Wedding Mania

I'm at the stage of my life where most of my friends are either getting engaged or married! .... But recently one of my best friends got engaged and of course I have been dubbed her cake maker (and bridesmaid)! This is going to by my first time in a bridal party so I'm uber excited!! To get me in the mood I've decided to put together a Wedding special's post today! Below showcases some of the recent wedding cakes I've made for some lovely brides this year.

And here... are some happy snaps of her engagement cake that I made for her engagement party. The top tier was double choc and the bottom 2 tiers were white choc (which was a massive hit!)

♥ Congrats my lovey!! ♥

Oh and a few weeks back I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for an article by News Local. They wanted to find out what it was like being a baker and having my own business as a career... It was a little nerve racking but I'm glad I did it :)

Here's one version of the article:  

It was printed in the Mosman Daily, North Shore Times, Hornsby Advocate, Northern District Times and Manly Daily. I've only seen the one in the Mosman Daily so if you've seen a different version please let me know! :)

Three Weddings and a Birthday

I can't believe it's the end of Nov/beginning of Dec already. Where has 2012 gone? Maybe it is true what they say after you turn 25, time just flies! lol!

To give you an update about whats been happening at The Dainty Baker is just one word - "Weddings". It's definitely that time of year! .. and upon lengthy conversations with my cousin, who is in the process of becoming a bride, I was educated as to why this is the popular season for them. I'm going to share this newly found knowledge with you guys incase you're like me and clueless about weddings - I just do the cake part!

It is currently Spring (although only for a few more days), so the weather is warm enough yet not too hot yet. Summer is too hot (Dec-Feb), Winter is too cold and Autumn tends to rain too much... so there you have it! Sept -Dec seems the best time to get married in Australia :)

Here's the first one:

Croquembouche - This is probably the biggest croquembouche I've made to date. It was especially ordered by a bride from Hong Kong who was coming over to Sydney for her reception. It had a whopping 180 puffs. Each filled with pastry cream then constructed together with golden toffee.

Spring Delight - The top tier was a vanilla bean custard flavour, second tier - lemon curd and vanilla and the 3rd tier was a Mango, Lychee and coconut combo. The bride had peonies for her flowers, so I used this to incorporate into the design of the cake.

Isabella - The cute stripe top tier works well with the elegance of the second tier. The second tier was based off the lace of the brides wedding dress. The 3rd tier adds a bit of edge - covered in edible silver leaf. Gumpaste peonies were also used to top off the cake. Flavours of this cake include - "Little Red Riding Hood"- Red Velvet, "Americ-Amel" - Caramel & "Gianduja" - Hazelnut. 

Also, a few weeks ago... if you didn't see on my Facebook Page... my Croquembouche wedding cake got featured in Colin Cowie Weddings! I was sooo excited!! :) :) :)

In addition to these wedding cakes I also had the honor of making this veryyy cute and adorable birthday cake. It was a combination of Minions from 'Despicable Me' facing off with Pikachu from Pokemon. Each little figurine had a different expression and it was so awesome to see it come together so nicely!



Another announcement is, with the Festive season coming on we are starting to take orders for Gingerbread Houses!!

Place your order at The Dainty Baker Shop or alternatively drop me an email. But remember to hurry as there is only a select number available and you don't want to miss out!

Happy Caking!!

♥

Decorating Cakes

Harlo!!!

I am back from my European adventure!! (actually been back a few weeks but was so swamped with work I haven't had the chance to post!) It was great ... my goodness, 3 weeks of eating, eating more eating and of course roasting it out in France was intense, relaxing and awesome all at the same time! As per usual it went by much too quickly but before I jump into details of it all, I have to share with you all something very exciting! I received this beauuutttiful cookbook upon my return. It's a new cookbook out called "Decorating Cakes" by The Australian Women's Weekly.

Although I was totally jetlagged I had a quick flick through and was totally mesmerized by the gorgeous eye candy staring back at me. This book covers all bases from basic cake mixes recipes to cake decorations on all levels (easy, experienced, expert) and even tips and tricks/ conversion charts the lot! An added bonus is that its all just so PRETTYYYYY which makes it alot easier to digest!

It was quite difficult to choose between all the decorating options available but I decided to show 2 ends of the spectrum to demonstrate the versatility of this book. For my sisters birthday I made her a Hello Kitty Cake. I used the method for making Hydrangea's as shown on page 62-63 to add to the decorations around the cake.

This is quite an easy and simple technique to master. It makes a huge difference to your cakes by adding that extra 3d element. Simple and quick for a massive result!

Another great thing about this book is the step by step guide of how to do a certain technique. Personally, I dont like reading copious amounts of writing in order to get out what I can with a few pictures ... could be my laziness but hey "pictures speak a thousand words"!

The second technique that I learnt from this book was "raised embossing", not sure if thats what its called but that's the best way I could explain it lol. Basically its using embossed fondant on a cake then piping with royal icing over the top for that extra layer of lace look. I used it on a recent wedding cake that I made and was really happy with the results. It's more difficult than the Hydrangea flowers but its all about practice! 

Mine wasnt as fancy as the one in the book (see below) but I know with practice I'll get there! :)

     

Here are some snap shots of random pages in the book...

Its so prettily done isnt it? I love the styling in the book. I didn't get a chance to try out the recipes but there was one I had my eye on, it was the "Raspberry Hazelnut cake", sounds delish!! And... for all the recipes there's a chart for loads of different sized pans already calculated for you, so you don't even have to do any conversions or calcs! Genius!

I also forgot to mention its not just cakes. There's cupcakes, cookies, cake pops everything! A one stop decorating .. book :) Be great for a gift or even to surprise a baker.

The Australian Woman’s Weekly Decorating Cakes, ACP Books, RRP $49.95  Available from bookstores and online at www.acpboks.com.au

♥

Then and Now

So about a year ago to this day, I had done my 2 weeks of travelling around NYC, Toronto, Montreal, Washington DC etc and now it was time to get down to business and start what I had gone half way around the globe for. School.

I still remember how nervous I was! I had my Chefs uniform on and ready and I was anticipating how the school would be like and the people that I would meet. Time seems to go so fast, it hit me like a tonne of bricks to think that was a year ago, so close yet so far. 

I like to think that I've come a long way since that day. I've learnt so much and had so many life changing experiences in such a short period of time. "Then", I was learning the basics of baking science. "Now", I'm learning how to conquer my baking feats that come my way, replicating edible versions of things I've never even seen in real life! lol "Then", I wanted to get away from Sydney and didn't really know my direction in life. "Now", I'm home and happier than ever and have a business that I love and am devoted to. 

Although I moan alot I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the great friends that I've made during my Notter days and my friends and family back home who have been my strength and support through such an important time in my life. I am where I am today because of you all and all your words of encouragement and unfaltering faith in me mean more than words can say. 

haha so I've become a little emotional in writing this post lol On the brighter side, here are some more "nows" that's occurring in The Dainty Baker's Life. Hope you Enjoy! xx

Ombre Fantasy Wedding Cake

This was the first proper wedding cake I made for a Client. She came to me with those cute elf cake toppers and wanted a tree/fantasy like wedding cake. The cake was chocolate and hazelnut flavoured with a beautiful light meringue icing on the outside. Different to the usual fondant covered cakes I make and I absolutely love the ombre look!

Chelsea Premier League Cake

My entire family (except dear old Wobbles) are Chelsea fans, so when my cousin turned 18 and requested a Chelsea Premiership league cake I just had to make the trophy! Initally I was going to make the whole cake in the shape of the trophy but decided that they might want to keep the trophy as a token so I altered the design, where the rest of the cake is edible and the trophy could be kept as it was made entirely of gumpaste.

Corolla Cake
This was my first ever 3D car cake! It didnt occur to me that I had never made one before until a Client requested this souped up Corolla her beau used to own. It was so much fun sculpting and making this cake! 

1961 Cadillac Cake

I must have spoken too soon! Funny how I dont get any car orders then in the same week I get 2! I had a last minute order for a 1961 Cadillac. I was like whats a "1961 cadillac?!" at first but then after much googling I was able to piece together enough angles of the car to make this cake.

xxx

Cake Cake Cake

Hello Everyone!

So, long time no post because I've been caking like a maniac!!! lol Anyways thought I'd touch base and showcase some of the things I've been up to :)

80's Themed Basketball cake

When I was asked to make this 80s themed basketball cake, I must admit I had to scratch my head at what that actually meant. Turns out she was having a fancy dress party for her husband and everyone was going in cool retro basketball outfits with afros!! How Funky!! Hope this cake fit right in, with all the complmentary colours to make it bold and stand out. The cake was strawberry and vanilla and the top was chocolate with chocolate ganache.

Baby Cake

I have to say I loveeee making baby shower, baby themed cakes.. think the cuteness is just so totally my style :D I was asked to make another full month baby cake for the cute baby Jonathan. His mum wanted his cute little Nike shoes as the topper so with 4 photos of each side of the shoes to go by. I did my best to replicate them in edible form :) I love the little toot toot cars soo cute!!

Wedding Cake Tasting

I had my very first wedding cake tasting last month!! I was so nervous! I made a total of 4 cakes with some petit fours too. The flavours I showcased included:

- Lemon and Coconut

- Hazelnut and Chocolate

- Red Velvet 

- Double Choc

♥

FujiFilm Finepix X100 Cake

This was such a fun cake to make!!! When my clients sent me the link of this Fujifilm camera as inspiration I thought to myself. "I just have to replicate that!!" so lo and behold here is what I came up with :) 

The Final product... 

I didn't have enough time to take proper pics of this cake so we just took some quick ones outside Soho before the birthday boy came out the club to pick it up lol

Croquembouche and Cupcake Mania

Once again, I do apologise for the retarded photo quality! :( It was taken with the iphone... who decided it wanted to be temperamental and have a black screen when taking pics (Dont ask why - coz I got no idea!)

These lovely sweets were made for an engagement party. There was a croquembouche and a cupcake tower filled with lovely vanilla and red velvet cupcakes :)

Also, a quick reminder incase you missed it on Facebook and Twitter. I will be at the North Sydney markets this Sat selling all the lovely treats such as cupcakes, macarons, tarts and puffs! If your free please come down and give me a shout!

The Dainty Baker Market Stall @ NORTH SYDNEY MARKETS SAT 12th MAY 2012

Time: 9am - 3 pm 

Location: corner of Ridge St, Miller and Maclaren St, North Sydney

♥ ♥ ♥