The 70th Birthday Party of the Year

My father-in-law, Geoff, knows all there is to know about John Deere tractors. He couldn't have anything less than a John Deere cake for the big 7-0! This was a large cake (8"x16"). I also had to pull out all my piping tools. I smelled like icing sugar for the next week. Many thanks to my husband Russell for designing the cake and making sure we had just the right tractor.

  

Happy Birthday Ned

This was my first attempt to make a tiered cake. I was just happy that it didn't collapse. The first layer was butter cake and the second layer, carrot cake. Trying to make the twisted yellow rope between the two tiers was very difficult. It kept breaking. My tip to prevent breaking is to wet the fondant, making it softer and less brittle. I was very pleased with the way the bears turned out. They were way too cute to eat! 

Donuts, data and dolls

Last year the other teachers at work learnt of my baking bug and I was asked to make several birthday cakes. This has been a great opportunity to experiment.

Donuts
My first task was to make a donut cake. My inspiration was Homer Simpson. I used a donut-shaped cake  pan (I had to go to a speciality cake store to find one). I made two butter cakes using the pan and sandwiched them together using strawberry jam. For the icing I used a glace icing recipe, which was quite simply:

• icing sugar
• hot water (not boiling)
• food colouring

For the sprinkles, I cut Licorice Allsorts into little strips and placed them on the cake while the icing was still wet. Here is the result!

Data
The principal at school loves data and the Richmond Tigers whose colours are black, white and yellow. I tried to bring the two things together for his birthday cake. This was my first time using fondant. After numerous attempts to cover the cake I finally got it covered, with some minor imperfections in the corners. The graphs were also made using fondant and licorice.

Dolls
The doll cake was a real challenge. It took a lot of time to get a good shape for the skirt. I made a chocolate mud cake, but it was so heavy that it collapsed in itself. I made another cake to fill out the original cake. It took a lot of time but the result was well worth it. In the end, I loved the colour and the shimmer. Happy birthday Sharon, you're a doll!

Bon Voyage

My husband Russell is a musician with the Royal Australian Navy Band. Last year he was on a ship (to be more exact a frigate) for 6 months. The thought of him being away at sea for 6 months was really difficult. But planning a Bon Voyage party and making a cake into the shape of a lifesaver were great distractions. If you keep scrolling down you can see some pictures of some other sweet treats (thanks to my lil' sis Cathy for bringing the Hershey Kisses all the way from LA to Melbourne) and Russell in his uniform :o).

Two 8-cm butter cakes, with buttercream icing

Lemon Meringue Tarts

Peanut Butter Blossoms 

Too cute to resist.

Russell's Journey

Gotta love a man in uniform.

More Buttercream

Dave and Trin, being very trusting friends, let me make their son Ayden's 1st birthday cake. After taking the cake class this was the perfect opportunity to practise my piping skills.

Ayden's 1st Birthday - Quilt cake

(9"x18")

Novelty Cakes 101

The next part of my journey was signing up for a cake class. I love learning just as much as I enjoy teaching. My first task was to make a butterfly-shaped cake and decorate it. I started with a round, 8cm butter cake. After some cutting and re-shaping this was the outcome. I was pretty pleased with the shape and the icing. I have a new-found respect for those who work with buttercream. Tip of the day: Half fill your icing bag. The heat from your hand overheats the icing causing it to melt, particularly if you're working with it for awhile like I was because I kept making mistakes.

Hi!

Hello bloggers and friends. I'm entering the world of food blogging after being inspired by the likes of Bakerella and so many others before me. Let me introduce myself, my name is Christina. I grew up in El Segundo, California but now live in Melbourne, Australia with my husband Russell who grew up in Oz. I am a primary (elementary) school teacher. While I thoroughly enjoy teaching my other passion is for all things cake. I caught the cake bug after offering to make a friend's wedding cake. Little did I know that I would be hooked.

This is Dave and Trin's wedding cake. It was a two-layer chocolate mud cake, iced with dark chocolate ganache and topped with fresh white roses.