Novelties for Grown-ups...and more

Kicking off with a 30th birthday cake I made awhile ago for a good mate of mine. He's a proper Aussie bloke, so I thought this BBQ cake might suit him!

The BBQ "meat" were all made out of fondant. 

I'm pretty pleased with how the colour turned out!

The silver "grill" is edible too! 

After I took this picture I painted some syrup on the "meat" to make them shiny and glossy, 

like they've been oiled for grilling!

Here's a pic of the inside of the cake.

Chocolate mud with Oreo buttercream

 And this one's for a client's 30th - hot pink leopard prints were painted on

 And I popped a big bow on the cake as well ;)

Moving away from fondant work (which I do love, but takes quite a bit of effort!)...here're some pretty buttercream cakes. I like how buttercream gives a lovely vintage feel to the design of the cake.

This design was supplied by the client for her own 30th birthday cake.

Silver cachous and a lovely sugar peony completed the picture :)

Rosettes and Ribbons for a classic choc-fudge and vanilla cake to celebrate

Candlelight Productions' 10-year anniversary.

(They're an AMAZING not-for-profit company that aims to strengthen community through creativity.)

 And lastly, something a little more modern - ombre chocolate work.

This was done with a new recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream kindly shared by

my idol and baking goddess, Nat Paull from Beatrix in North Melbourne.

Speaking of whom, I can't wait to try her recipe for Elvis cupcakes next! Or maybe I should just mosey on down to the joint...

Singapore Sweet Safari

Coming to the end of my trip here in Singapore, I've had the lovely opportunity to try the many varied and interesting sweet treats this island-nation has to offer.

My tastebuds have been tingling from the the many delicious desserts I've been tasting. And my girth has expanded in tandem. But oooh...how can one say no to all of these?

Display at Wimbly Lu, a darling little place near my parent's home

Eclairs and Rocky Road

 Their chocolate molten lava cake

Cupcakes! From Plain Vanilla bakery

A whoopie pie from Pique Nique...'twas delicious!

 

A cake pop made by my husban's cousin for her own 21st birthday.

How talented is she?! 

Now...to bribe her for creative license...

And now, on to ASIAN DESSERTS!!

 My ALL-TIME fav (especially because we can't get it in Australia),

the DURIAN

 

 At a little Asian eatery on Leong Siak St.

Clockwise from top left: 

Mango Sago Pomelo dessert with mango ice-cream,

Boiled black glutinous rice (pulut hitam) with almond slices and ice-cream,

Mango Sago Pomelo dessert with DURIAN,

Warm almond pudding.

 At the Old Airport Road hawker centre

A custard egg tart with a biscuit instead of pastry base

and Taiwan-style sweetened silky soya beancurd (Lao Ban)

Just yesterday we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday at House @ Dempsey with a Vintage Tea Party buffet they put on every Thursday and Friday.

 Vintage table settings, complete with bunting!

And mismatched plates!

Sweet treats of different sorts. I die!!

Miniature cupcakes, similar to the Vintage Rose ones I've made

 

Mini skinny pizzas. The truffled mushrooms...OHHH the truffled mushrooms. 

Mushgasm in yer mouth!

 Piping hot tea in an old school thermos flask.

Serving tea that smelt of cocoa, and sweet ginger tea!

WELL! My little getaway abroad has finally come to an end...time to head home, for some new and exciting baking thingamajiggys! Next up will be the North Melbourne Market's special event as part of the L'Oreal Fashion Festival, and my lil' ol' cake pop class at Thread Den!

Hope to see you there!

 

xoxo,

Sarah

Righty-O

Well, after a few blips and bothers I've decided to switch over to Blogger because a) I'm more familiar with its format, and b) Wordpress was just way too confusing! For a luddite like me, technology has its inherent obstacles (ooh, what does this doodad do? *click* ARGH all my pictures are gone!! The ones that took me an hour to upload), when all I really want to do is skip right to the writing and connecting with people! YOU!

If you're interested, you can find my other posts here.

Anyways, onto the fun part. CAKES!!

Over the last year I've been quite fortunate to rekindle a dormant passion for baking. I've always loved to bake, mostly as a hobbyist, and I have to admit, all of the recipes were chocolate ones, although there were some forays into pies and tarts and such that involved citrus fruit. Few and far between though! ;p

I'd have to say the most memorable baking session I had was with a housemate back in Uni days, where I shared an apartment with 3 other (clean, Phew!) boys. Being an erstwhile baker, and a rather proper rule-follower, I knew that recipes had to be followed to a T(easpoon). But my co-chef came from the Jamie Oliver school of thought - ie. "bit 'o this, dash of that, muddle it all together and bob's your uncle, eh? Pukka meal!" and decided a teaspoon of salt wasn't just a teaspoon, no, it could afford more salt couldn't it, how about a half-handful, I'm sure it'll be fine!

Result?

Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

Yes, I think I've learnt my lesson.

Over the last year, I had the opportunity to learn from and inherit some cupcake recipes from a very talented baker who wanted to return to teaching, and after a few hits and misses (and plenty of tears), I started supplying to Guava Bean cafes in Melbourne CBD and Southbank. Then a good friend of mine asked if I would bake her son's first birthday cake based on a design she'd seen online and it just took off from there!

I realised then that what I really enjoyed, beyond baking, was decorating! Cake decorating to be exact, and so this year I set up the Bakeshoppe, threw my name into the hat for the North Melbourne market, and voila! We're in business!

Speaking of which, I'm pretty excited about our North Melbourne Market with Peek! Sweets this Sunday! If you want to check out some excellent vintage finds (I've bought heaps there...in fact I think I spend more than I earn on these market days!), great knick-knacks and pressies, it's a one-stop shop!

I have to say, I love these markets. It's one thing to bake and put all your heart and soul into creating something darling and delicious, but quite another to see someone eat it, and have the pleasure of savouring your creations. And I get to watch (ok, voyeur in me, I know!) But I love interacting with people, and dressing up for each event, it's all part of the package, no?

See you all on Sunday! (Lithuanian Club, Errol St, 10-3pm. Listen out for the musical stylings of Charles J. Tan busking outside.)