Blossoms and Roses

Sheldon College VIP Afternoon Tea

Curly Wurly

Colin's 50th

Ally's Cake Pops

Steven's a Star

Polka Dot Baby Shower Cupcakes

Kath's Baby Cake

Tim Tam Cookie Pops

Kathy's Baby Shower Masterpiece

Blossom Garden

Phew.....am I glad the month of July is over!!!  July is a busy month for my sister and I with our kids birthdays.  And of course, they all requested a cake with chocolate shards.  So we have spent many hours melting and re-melting, measuring and shaping shards for our little treasures' cakes.  With all that chocolate, I'm very thankful my kids are now teenagers and the hyperactive behaviour antics are well and truly behind me. Thankfully, birthdays only come around once yearly.

Morgan's Cake of Hearts

Magnolia 'Look Alike'

This is another chocolate cake filled with a kahlua buttercream icing and covered with fondant.  I'm not sure how I would categorise these flowers, but I suppose you could call them a 'magnolia' with very thin petals.  As you can see I have a lot to learn when it comes to making flowers...at this stage I make it up as I go along.  I wish I knew someone who could teach me flower making.

Corey's a Star

My son celebrated his 14th birthday in style.  I made his favourite chocolate cake and filled it with a Lindt chocolate mousse filling and fresh cream.  The shards were made of white chocolate and decorated with star cut-outs made out of sugargum paste.  Just to make it look a bit more spectacular I made toffee shards which turned out to be a HIT with the boys.

Multi Coloured Cupcakes

Yes.....more chocolate cakes!!!!

And for all of you who are puzzled with how I piped two colours, I'll let you in on a little secret.  Place the two colours on either side of your piping bag and pipe away, or put spoonfuls of buttercream alternatively in the bag to give a variegated look.  I piped the flowers out of royal icing.  Happy decorating!!!!!

Bernies Rum Delight

This is my all time favourite cake....it is a chocolate torte style cake with each layer being cut into 1cm widths and filled with a rum, coffee and cocoa mixture.  As this is a dessert style cake this step is best done 2-3 days prior to eating to allow the full flavour to immerse into the cake.  On the day of serving, decorate with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shards of your choice.  I chose to marble some dark and white chocolate but there are many other ways to decorate chocolate.  You can get creative with the patterns by using a piping bag and nozzles to pipe stars, hearts or even write names.  I love using chocolate shards as they make the cake look so decadent but it does take a bit of time and patience.

Roses for Rosie

This is a boiled chocolate cake, filled and covered with a chocolate mousse, torte style.  Everyone loves this cake as it is extremely moist without being dense and heavy like a mudcake.  I made the chocolate collar on an imprint sheet and carefully wrapped it around the cake when the chocolate was half set.  Leave the collar in place and carefully peel off the sheet when chocolate has completely set. 

16 Stars

A white chocolate mudcake with a raspberry buttercream filling and white chocolate shavings.  I marbled some blue and black sugar gum paste to make the stars and number 16 on wire.

Up Close and Personal

Thought I'd share this picture perfect cupcake.  Not bad photography for an amateur.

Con's Birthday Cakes

I just love my boiled chocolate cake recipe....it is rich, light and moist, and believe me I have tried many a recipe and nothing comes close to this one.  Add some silky smooth buttercream icing and you have the perfect cupcake that melts in your mouth.  Happy Birthday Connor!!!! 

I love cookies...

especially decorating them.

My son's 12th birthday was an orange, red and chocolate theme and all the kids marvelled at the cookies on lollipop sticks.

Personalised Cupcakes

Here are a few of the 102 personalised cupcakes I made for the Corporate Staff at Sheldon College.  The cakes were vanilla with homemade lemon curd filling and topped with buttercream and fondant.  I didn't realise I could get an abdomen workout whilst rolling the fondant for the cakes.  My abs were sore for three days.

High Tea Setting

I made these treats for an afternoon tea I hosted recently.  Mini chocolate eclairs with italian custard filling, meringues, scones with jam and cream, quiches and ribbon sandwiches were enjoyed by all.  A white and pink rose theme was chosen and a delightful afternoon was had among friends.

Mum's Violet Rose

I made these cakes for my Mum's 70th birthday.  The top tier is a 6" fruit cake decorated with a mauve ribbon around the base with a large handmade icing rose and black vine applique piping on the side.  The cupcakes are vanilla with a lavender buttercream swirl.

Baby Name Blocks

Ok everyone....I know these aren't cakes, but thought I'd share my latest little venture in my craft world.  I just love how sweet they look. 

Chocolate Eclairs

These eclairs are a result of a lazy Sunday afternoon, not to mention the insatiable indulgence for chocolate, cream and choux pastry.  My kids adore profiteroles, so for a change I thought I would treat them with the odd eclair or two or three, but who's counting!!!!!

Orange Sweeties

All of these orange sweeties were made for an "Orange" themed Dessert Buffet. Cupcakes, French Macarons. Cake Pops and Mini Meringues were just some of the goodies on offer. The macarons were a little finicky to make and quite time consuming but they look so cute on the lollipop sticks.

Cake Pops

These cute little "calorie counting" treasures on sticks are cake pops.  The first step to create these is to make a cake (I chose a red velvet cake).  You then crumble the cake, either by hand or a food processor and mix in cream cheese frosting, then roll into balls and refrigerate for several hours. I then used a flower cutter to cut out the bottom of the balls.  The next step is to dip the base into chocolate, insert the lollipop sticks and then turn them over and dip the top into chocolate.  You are now ready to decorate.

French Macarons

This is my second attempt at making these delightful cookies (french macarons).  They have a wonderful crispy shell on the outside and soft and tender on the inside and then joined together with a chocolate ganache.  They will certainly leave your senses quivering with pleasure.  Piping the cookies all the same size was probably the most tedious task of the process.  I think I did them justice, so I guess I've pretty much conquered the elusive macaron. 

Mini Meringues

Lily Pink

If you love rum and coffee this is the cake for you.  I made this for my sister's birthday, not that she is a rum lover, but it is one of those cakes my family loves to make and EAT!!.  This gateau cake is chocolate and each layer is filled with a rum, coffee and chocolate cream.  The cake is covered with a white chocolate ganache and chocolate shards, but make sure you make it 2 days prior to serving as it is delectably rich!!!!!

Brooklyn's Christening

This cake was for the christening of my cousin's daughter.  I actually didn't make the cake as she lives some distance away but I made all the decorations and the teddy bear and sent them to her.  The teddy bear is my favourite....it is soooooo cute!!!

Las Vegas Cake

This is a 50th birthday cake for a husband and wife.  The bottom tier is chocolate mud cake and the top white chocolate mud.  And as usual things didn't go quite to plan.  The chocolate mud cake wasn't high enough so I had to bake a second one and was still watiting for it to come out of the oven at 11pm last night.  Then I wasn't happy with the fondant on the top layer so I peeled it off in disgust and recovered the cake.  Perfectionism....good or bad....who knows!!!!!

First Wedding

This is my first wedding cake.  I was a little anxious doing this cake as it was my first attempt at cornelli piping.