Another year older, another year wiser?

Gosh!  Time truly flies when you're having fun....or just whilst you are super busy nevertheless!

First Christmas...and now it's already Easter!!  Where does the time go??

I didn't intend to be MIA for soooo long, I promise I will try to be better at keeping up!

At Cake Love, things have been going from strength to strength.  With us adding more to our team, particularly with the super talented Melissa Woodward joining our teaching team.  Melissa is a multi award winning artist, and we are so excited to have her impart her enthusiam and passion to our students this year.

Our international and interstate teachers this year will include renowned sugar artist Kelvin Chua.

 28 - 30th August 2013

 

A 3 year campaign to coax her to our little town, we've finally suceeded in tempting the simply amazing sugar flower artist, Jacqueline Butler to the studio!  We're thrilled to put it simply.

 

 

 13 - 18th July 2013

 

After an awestruck day with Debbie Brown early last year, we're suuper excited to invite her back to Perth in August.  We often credit Debbie for reinventing modern cake decorating and with her 14 books, have made it available to inspire a whole generation of cake decorators!

 

 

 

The ever charming Handi Mulyana is making his annual trek over, fresh off Masterchef Indonesia appearances and juggling his international teaching commitments.

 

 

With designs such as this gravity defying topsy turvy, we're in for a ball of a time!

12 - 18 April 2013

 

and still to be confirmed, we have local Chocolatier Yuki Nakamura (who's beautiful Japanese inspired chocolates are available at providores like Fresh Provisions, Herdsmans and the Boatshed) who will be running chocolate workshops and tasting evenings!

 

 

and of course, fingers crossed, we also get Margie Carter back later in the year with her absolutely squealworthy and oozing with cuteness design, Peaches and Dolly!

 

September 2013

~~~~

 

Enough about commercialism!  Well, sort of......

Here's to catch you up on some of my creations over the last few months!

 

 

Firstly, this great pic from the Cake Angels of our Nemo cakes at the Ronald McDonald house Christmas party.  I am delighted that it went to such a good home.  The Cake Angels do wonderful work Australia wide, and I look forward to being able to do this again for them some time in the not too distant future.

 

~~~

 

Remember Fred the Chameleon?

 

 

Fred was created in class with Margie Carter back in July last year and sat in the window for a few weeks after, much to the delight of the neighbours...including Portia.  Now, Portia simply knew, that this was the only cake that would do for her next birthday. 

 

Funnily enough, Fred actually lasted until November..... well, that was until he started developing a bit of a whiff....

 

 

 

 

Poor Fred was very unceremoniously dumped into the garbage by Glenda....it really was hilarious and sad all at the same time, as after all, I was very attached to old Fred!

 

But thanks to Portia, I got to make another Chameleon, one I very quickly named Chase...don't ask me why!

 

 

Here he is, snug as a bug in the production stages.

 

 

And viola, in all his colourful glory.  I adored making him, and delighted that Portia chose such an original cake for her birthday!

 

~~~

 

Some more fun birthday cakes,

 

Alice goes down the rabbit hole for little Daisy's first birthday.

 

 

Princess & her castle turret (design by Creative cakes by Julie)

 

 

Cricket enthusiast Jack

 

 

An amazing seaside masquerade 50th for Terryl

 

 

Interesting Geology themed cake for Keith's 40th, complete with oil tap!

 

 

What every 21 year old would want....Chanel!

 

 

Classic with a touch of art deco for Maria's 50th

 

 

Payten's favourite flavour of the month toy...Bubble guppies (thank you google!)

 

 

Thomas themed for Nathan.

 

Alex's Minecraft and Halo 4, Xbox themed birthday cake

 

 

And this cutie for Chiara's first birthday to match the birthday invitations.

 

~~~ 

 

To finish off, as this post is getting a little long....

 

Christmas came and went.  We celebrated with a sumptious high tea at Rochelle Adonis.

 

 

 

The team had a great time and high tea is always awesome, especially with good company.

 

I will leave our wedding cakes for the summer season till my next post, just so I don't stay away too long.

 

Have a wonderful and safe Easter!!

Love,

Yippee for student days!

I hate flying. 

There, I said it.  I am a terrible flyer.  I am one of those people who watch all the safety demonstrations and count the rows to the nearest exit.  I get airsick and in general, am not a fan of airline food.....icecream excluded.  Icecream is always welcome!

But there are some things that are worth braving the skies for.

One of them is the chance to train with the Japanese Imperial Hotel's head pastry chef - Kanjiro Mochizuki.  Chef Kanjiro, widely known as one of Japan's leading pastry chefs, leads a team of 54 classically trained chefs at the historical Imperial Hotel, which caters almost exclusively to the Japanese Emperor and guests of state.  Team Japan, mentored by Chef Kanjiro also won the prestigous 2012 World Pastry Award with these amazing centrepieces.

The other, is to be in a class with some of Australia's finest cake decorators, learning from Rick & Sasha Riehart from Cakelava, Hawaii.

 

 

That my dear friends is how I found myself in Melbourne, twice in a month.  I'm becoming quite the seasoned traveller.... haha!

~~~~

Being back in the Savour kitchen is one of the most wonderful things!  Kirsten, Paul and Robin make such an awesome team and I might be biased, but anything that comes out of that kitchen is just fantastic.

Training with Chef Kanjiro was just one of those once in a lifetime experiences.  Having a chef of such calibre willing to share his recipes and knowledge is rare, and watching him work was truly inspiring. 

But of course, we didn't just watch.  There was definately a lot of doing as well.  And we made a whole buffet of delectable desserts, with some interesting ingredients like sugared oranges from Japan and fresh semi dried strawberries in a pistachio sponge.  (yup, that's me glazing our chocolate entremets)

 

These amazing OMG eclairs with innocently hiing a dark caramel sauce, creme patisserie, caramelised macadamia nuts and topped with couverture dark chocolate.

 

Fun with pulled sugar!!

 

 

These are agar agar lychee spheres, coated with real pearl dust...on cocoa butter sprayed petite gateaux.

 

 

 

and we definately had a lot of fun in the process.

 

 

 

and what does a group of pastry enthusiasts do when presented with a table full of desserts?

 

 

It goes onto instagram of course!!  #foodporn.  Look at the smiles on those faces!

 

 

~~~

 

and Cakelava? 

18 months in the planning, and finally the day arrives.  Oh the excitement!  Naturally we had a ball!

 

Covering the equivalent of a 6 tiered cake? ... not a problem....!

 

 

Colouring the cakes in a miriad of rainbow colours? .....not a problem...!

 

 

 

Attaching icing bamboo to the massive cakes?  .... er.... not a problem...!!

 

 

 

 

(Rick is photobombing)

 

Adding hybiscus flowers free hand? .... eek...definately not a problem.....!!

 

 

 

Shaping a fish on coral out of cake and *gasp* buttercream? ...... ah easy peasy!

 

 

 

 

 

Loved being in class and beaving like a naughty school girl.  Better still, someone cleaned up the mess behind us!

 

 

 

 

(Rick is photobombing...yet again)

 

Creating an edible coral reef, was just in a day's work....though it would've been far more productive had Melbourne decided not to turn up the thermostat to a very balmy 39°C!

 

 

 

 

 

(Rick's very colourful hands on day 3)

 

Bringing our fishies to life was probably the best fun though.

 

 

 

 

 

After all that hard work and heat....time for a frozen Aussie treat!

 

 

 

Hmmmm....says Rick to the double coated Tim Tams!

 

and finally after 3 long days....taa daa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very sad about saying goodbye to my 'super friendly' Nemo (Rick's words).....

 

 

But he ended up in a good home, with Mez (Wicked cakes by Mez) and Michelle's (Michelle the Cakechef) cakes at the Ronald McDonald house Christmas lunch - kindly organised by Cake Angels.

 

Linda and Betty couldn't part with theirs....so we ended up packing 4 huge cakes into one little car, to be taken home to Sydney!  Way to go girls.  Funniest thing I saw all week!

 

 

Many thanks to Three Sweeties for bring Rick over.  And thanks to all the lovely girls in class, we had a ball and definately a very memorable 3 days! 

 

 

Love,