What's new Pussycat

A cute sugar figurine I made from the wonderful Carlos Lischetti instructions in the Squires Kitchen Sugarcraft book

La Ville-Lumiere

Everyone loves a Paris themed cake, who wouldn't.But did you know why Paris has been nicknamed the City of Lights. Let me share with you what I know.  Firstly the name grew in fame as Paris became the centre of education and ideas during the Age of Enlightenment.
Secondly it took a more literal sense when Paris became one of the first European cities to adopt gas street lighting. Makes sense right.

Well what ever the reason the City of Lights is a magical place and I have fond memories of a beautiful river cruise on the Seine admiring Paris by night and I think the Eiffel Tower was sparkling just for me, well that's what I like to tell myself.

With all this in mind here is my Paris themed cake, hope you like. xox 

A Special Wedding Cake

This weekend not only did I make the wedding cake but I got to go to the wedding too. Pretty cool I thought as so often I wave cakes out the door and wonder how things turn out.
It was great to see the happy couple cut the cake, the first official task they do together as husband and wife, so quite symbolic.

The cake was 3 tiers of chocolate with a dark chocolate ganache, decorated with a huge explosion of sugar flowers. The flowers were made to match the bridal bouquets. Whilst I sat in the church watching the gorgeous bride Hayley walk down the aisle I quietly  said to myself yeeeeeeeeesssss!
I think I got got the colours and theme of the bouquet right. To those of you of the non cake decorating variety you're probably thinking how strange, but to us cake decorators things like that are tres important.

My favourite part of this cake, I think I like the succulents and the grey foliage, which by the way is my new fave colour. Who would have thunk Grey could be so beautiful.

So congrats to the happy couple Mark & Hayley. Welcome to the family Hayley and as your new Father in law  stated you have condemned yourself to a life time of spelling your new surname. I know plenty about that. But 20 years on Iacomella just rolls of the tongue. ha ha . Wishing you both Happy days.

Best wishes. thanks for dropping by xoxo
 

Baptismal Cake

A cute  three tiered cake to celebrate Adrian's baptism. Teddy Bear on top has a polystyrene core and is covered and hand modelled in fondant so can be kept as a keep sake. Cake is chocolate with dark chocolate ganache. Sweet wishes Adrian.  xx

Floral Wedding Cake

A pretty mid week wedding cake to show you. This is really the type of cakes I love to make. Soft muted colours and a riot of sugar paste flowers cascading down the front of the cake.
I particularly like the little pops of grey from the succulents and berries. Cake is chocolate and there is also some piping around the back of the cake but whoops I forgot to take a photo. Next time.
Thanks for stopping by. xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mad Men Cake

So if you've never watched Mad Men ( on HBO) the name Don Draper will mean nothing to you. As an avid fan of the hit show I always wanted to do something cakey with the theme.
My husbands birthday presented the perfect opportunity and voila before you could say, where's Roger, this Don Draper Cake was born.  I cut out of fondant the iconic image of Don sitting on the edge of his desk with the obligatory lit cigarette. So the whole cake is edible.
Happily my husband is nothing like the tortured, damaged Don but we had some fun with it, a Lucky Strike you might say.
Enough said, hope you like my little foray into the world of silhouette cakes.
P.S. The cake was a delicious orange and almond extended 6" tier with dark chocolate ganache.

 

 

 

Wedding Cake with Orchids

Hello, I'm back from an overseas holiday feeling refreshed and inspired for the year ahead. First Wedding cake of the year with some pretty sugar cymbidium orchids I made. The finish on the cake actually has a lustre effect but unfortunately you can't really see that in the photos. Hope you like.
Thanks for dropping by. xo

 

A Year In Review

A little snap shot of some happy cake moments 2013. I can't wait to see how 2014 unfolds. Lots of cakes and lots of sugar flowers and hopefully a few more master classes.  xoxo

 

Happy New Year

Best wishes for the new year.  As we say goodbye to another year and welcome in a new please accept my best wishes for your health and happiness, the two things that really matter most in life. Hopefully you'll also find time to enjoy a little cake along the way.  Thank you for all your support and kind words.  Tammy xxx

Ginger Bread Houses

My kitchen has the most delicious scent of Ginger Bread. Here are some cute Gingerbread House I have made in need of a good home.
The perfect edible Christmas gift.

Santa Claus Cake

Hello Everyone,

Thought I'd share this super cute cake I made for my book club's 10th Annual Christmas Dinner.
Yes he is cake. Fruit cake with dark chocolate ganache and it was delicious. Thank you to Verusca Walker this is her fantastic design which I reproduced. Santa Claus stands about 30cm tall, and the chef at the restaurant even came out to tell me that he loved it, just wish I had taken a picture of him once we cut the cake, such fun xo

Mini Christmas Cake

Here is a cute little 4" Christmas Fruit Cake I have made with a little sugar paste bird on top.
Little birds fascinate me so it seemed like the perfect thing to put on top of these cute cakes. Hope all your Christmas preparations are on track.
Thanks for stopping by. xo

Christmas Figurines

Here are some cute figurines I have made to go on top of some Christmas cakes.

Rudolf dancing and cake decorators will recognize Carlos Lischetti's gorgeous Santa.

Both of these figures have a body and head of polystyrene which I have covered with sugar paste, they are quite large about 20 cm tall. In the photo they are sitting in a cake dummy I will show you some more pictures when they are on the cake.

Hope you like. How are your preparations going for Christmas?
See you soon. xo

Christmas Cake

Thought I'd share with you a cake I made using inspiration from Alan Dunn's Christmas Cake Book.

Since I first saw the picture of an Amaryllis flower I longed to make one but just never quite got around to it, until now. I also made some foliage from the book and tried to put together an arrangement in Alan's style, which is not that easy and very time consuming, never the less I was quite pleased with the result. The cake is an 8" fruit cake. I think it will be the family's cake.
Thanks for stopping by. xo

 

Bit of a close up Ilex berries.

Simplicity

Sometimes simple just works. In fact for me I think it always works. Pared back, toned down however you describe it a simple cake can look well, simply stunning.
I love to create cakes with one or two large statement flowers. This was a chocolate cake for a beautiful girls 21st birthday. Hope you had a great day Georgi.

 

Christmas Figure Modelling

Some cute little Christmas figurines I was teaching the students to make. All our made out of fondant with tylose powder added. Confectioners glaze gives a nice shine to noses and eyes. I use dried spaghetti as internal supports. Hope you like.

A Glamorous Cake

One of the new trends I have noticed with cakes recently is the use of edible sequins. When I say edible sequins I am referring to the little tiny discs of fondant cut out with the end of a piping tube. You can make various sizes and then you  stick them on to the cake. I stuck mine on with some royal icing and then gave them a touch with some edible gold paint. Yes, is the answer to what you are thinking. It was incredibly time consuming and laborious. It does look pretty however and as this was a birthday cake for sweet Giulia who turned 30 I think it was worth it.

I made some sugar paste lilliums to dress up the cake. The cake was an 8" and extended 5" chocolate cake.
Hope you like it.

P.S. People around the world that have to sew sequins onto garments you have my admiration and sympathy. Such pesky little things. xx

 

 

Thanks for dropping by. Tammy xo

Yippee. I'm Published

Some exciting news to share with you. I'm Published. Cake Central Magazine asked me to submit a cake based on an illustration by Arthur Rackham. Rackham was an illustrator in the late 1800's, early 1900's who actually illustrated the first edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
He was a wonderful illustrator producing some deliciously dark drawings, try and have a look at some of his work if you can it's amazing.
The illustration I based my cake on was from Red Riding Hood and the brief was to design a cake capturing the essence of the illustration.
Big thankyou to Jayden my talented photographer and thankyou so much to the Editors of Cake Central Magazine for giving me the opportunity.
So here's the cake, hope you like it.

Some More Cakes

Some more pictures I found in my camera that I hadn't posted.
I promise it wont be so long between cakes, next time.

Alexia's Holy Communion

 A Big 21st Cake { all chocolate }

 

My first Corset Cake

 Angela's Cupcakes

Bit of old School Piping

 



Pretty Sugar Flowers

 



More pretty sugar flowers

Sugar Cymbidiums

 

I'm getting into the piping

Tammy xx