Australian Cake Decorating Championships 2014

My entry at the Australian Cake Decorating Championships at the Cake Bake and Sweets Show in Sydney this weekend. We had to leave at 6am yesterday to drive 3 hours to Sydney to submit my entry. I came at second place. Would've loved to be first but second is still great considering this is my first time entering a competition. 

The theme was "Nature's Best" so I've made a bobblehead of a famous UK cake artist (with her permission of course!), and she's Mother Nature in an apple orchard airbrushing the trees and apples to bring out their best colours. Don't know how clear you can see it in these pics, but I made her balanced precariously on a ladder that's tipping over and she's sorta lost her airbrush which is floating in the air and as a result, made splotches of paint on the tree and ground. 

Incidentally, the splotches are in the shape of her logo - that was her only condition of granting me permission to use her as my model, and that is to feature her logo. Please visit her facebook and give her a like! https://www.facebook.com/DinkydoodleDesigns

2013 Recap

2013 has been a busy year. My caking activities took a new turn this year and I discovered my love for bobblehead cake toppers. To my utter delight and amazement, it turns out I'm not the only one loving those bobbleheads. As a result, it's been a steady stream of orders through the year and almost every weekend has been a bobblehead weekend, hence why I've neglected my blog. 

In addition to bobbleheads, I also discovered a fitting name for my little hobby-turned-small-business, Cakicature, which is a play of words combining "cake" and "caricature." I set up a Cakicature Facebook page and a website as well. Do click on the links and check them out. 

To all those people who have been a great source of support to me this year, I'd like to say a big Thank You. My hubby Greg for being so patient, my fellow cake decorating friends on Facebook, whom I fondly refer to as "my cakey friends" - an uber thank you.... yes, you know who you are! Thanks for all the invaluable support, advice and awesome tips. And of course, to all my customers, thank you muchly for giving me the opportunities to make such a variety of bobbleheads and cake toppers. They each have their own unique challenges and I've learned so much more from them. 

Finally, I'd like to thank the master cake artists whom I've been fortunate enough to meet and learn from by attending their workshops - Peggy Tucker and Dawn from Dinkydoodle. The skills I learned from you have greatly expanded my capabilities. Oh, and all those Craftsy video lessons have been truly priceless as well. 

I still have one more person to thank, and that's Gary from Oldvision for his "how to pack fragile items" youtube. If not for this youtube video, I wouldn't have a clue how to pack and ship my bobbleheads safely. Check out his video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4X-8a2YVtw

That's my oscar-wannabe-speech done. Hahaha! Here're a few pickies from 2013. First, the bobbleheads....

And I made some cakes too...

Ribs dinner!

It's my dinner!

Errr... actually no, it's cake! Don't believe me? Here, let me show you.
A few weeks in advance, make bones from Satin Ice ivory fondant, score then brush with Americolor airbrush dark brown and tints of red. Leave them to dry, post pic and freak out some FB friends... yes, I'm sick in the head like that.

Next, make crinkle cut fries, again from Satin Ice ivory fondant. Leave to dry for a few days.

 

First time trying a marble cake, torte and cut slits.

Round off square edges.

 

Make buttercream and coz it's hot in summer, I used Nioka's half-half butter and melted copha recipe, whip it real good till it's pale and fluffy, add icing sugar mix. I also threw in some white chocolate ganache, vanilla essence and 1 to 2 teaspoons of pavlova magic. Whip till stiff, and into the fridge to chill. 

Crumb coat the cake with buttercream, and back into the fridge to chill some more.

Remove cake from fridge and wait about 10 to 20 mins for the cake to come back to room temperature. Roll out Satin Ice ivory fondant and cover the cake, make dents on the side for the rib bones.

Now comes the bit I love to do - airbrushing!! Airbrush the fries...

Airbrush the cake, stick in the rib bones, arrange everything on a plate. Sorry, no pics. I always get carried away with airbrushing coz it's so exciting and all...

Make sauce by mixing liquid glucose with some hot water and Americolor airbrush dark brown with a drop of red. Dribble sauce over the ribs and bones. Final touch of dried herbs (which is really green coloured desiccated coconut!)

Get the full instructions and more from Debbie Goard's "Twisted Cakes" book.