Cake requests from a six year old

My niece turns 6 today.

My shy little niece, Chloe, hiding behind her cake.

This year, she dictated who she would invite to her party. I'm glad I made it to the list.

A few weeks before her party, she sent me a voice message on her mum's phone. "Aunty Liz, can I please have a butterfly cake?".

Then, "Can I please have a pink, blue and purple butterfly cake?". A few days later, "Oh and can it please have ladybugs? Eatable ones of course! Make sure they're eatable."

As her party drew nearer, more and more requests came through in her cute little voice. "Grass", "flowers". "Don't forget the butterflies". "Make the butterflies flying up". "Remember the eatable ladybugs". "Ooooh can I please have glitter? Sparkly glitter please!"

Quite often the start of her message would be truncated because she started speaking too early before the recording began, so I would receive multiple messages with the same instructions. How could I say "no" to that cute little voice?!

So here is the butterfly cake, complete with ladybugs. "Eatable" of course.

Happy birthday, Chloe xxx

----

A special thank you to Sotty from Little Sotty, who assisted with cutting the wafer paper butterflies.

Please subscribe to our blog to read more stories like these!

First birthdays!

Happy first birthday to sweet little Joshua and baby Ariana who both recently turned one!

If you've ever planned a themed birthday party for a one year old child you would understand the conundrum. Do you go with what you love and think would look adorable (i.e. that awesome Minnie Mouse cake you've always wanted but never got), or do you go with what your eleven month old, turning twelve month old child, loves? Most people who don't have children would probably answer the latter, to go with what your baby loves... But those people might not have ever watched In the Night Garden before, where creepy creatures in squeaky costumes toddle around making weird noises. Luckily for me, it was quite easy as my daughter was a water baby and loved the beach, hence her Under the Sea themed party, and my son loved Dinosaurs, so both themes were fun for both baby and I.

We often consult with parents of soon-to-be one-year-olds who contact us for a special cake for their child's first birthday, but do not have any idea of what they should order, or what theme of cake they should have. We understand the pressure of wanting to make it really special for their child's first birthday. We would usually ask the parent if their child has any interests, perhaps a favourite book, toy or animal?

Joshua's mum had three options she was considering for Josh's first birthday cake. A Tractor theme, because Josh's favourite book is The Noisy Tractor, a horse themed cake because Josh was born in the lunar year of the horse, and then a cake based on this funny monkey toy which Josh loves. Joshy's mum was such a lovely and easy client, she let us select one of the three themes and then have free reign on the design. It was a no-brainer for me. I love kids books and as soon as I saw the cute illustrations by Stephen Cartwright of the noisy red tractor and of the humble cow by the fence, I was sold. The hardest part was choosing my favorite scene in the book to recreate, and one that would be most eye catching and work the best on the cake. I loved the splash scene with the pond and the ducks, and also decided to do a second scene, the one with the hammer and the barn. Coincidentally when we delivered the cake, the delighted mum told us that the hammer was Joshy's favourite part of the book.

Ariana's mum chose a Minnie Mouse themed cake for her first birthday with an adorable pink bow. Ariana's mum was also a delightfully easy customer, her only real request was for the cake to be pink, not hot pink, but any other shade was fine.

If you need inspiration or help with ideas for your child's first birthday cake or theme for your child's first birthday party, please contact us!

Interested in reading more about or cake adventures? Subscribe to our blog here.

“Another awesome creation Liz! Thanks again for such a delicious and wonderful masterpiece! We’ve read this book so many times the batteries are running low... the tractor is not so noisy anymore.”

— Faye

“Amazing, love it. So delicious and moist! Thanks again!”

— Yee-Ling

Cinderfella...

We absolutely love themed cakes, especially one with a good story behind it. For this week's cake, we were commissioned by a lovely wife to create a wedding anniversary present to surprise her husband, Sid. This amazing couple are hilarious to be around and spend much of their time laughing at one another.

She was happy to leave the design entirely to us, but requested that the cake to be comical and lighthearted. She mentioned that her husband is a hoarder when it comes to clothes and shoes. He can rival Imelda Marcos in the shoe department and teases that he actually won a radio competition for being a "Cinderfella". His favourite colour is lavender. She sent over a few photos of the shoes he has sitting by the back door and a recent photo of him, and then left it with us.

Making a joke out of his name together with the title he was crowned in the radio competition, we decided on "Sid-erfella". A Sid topper holding back a wardrobe that is bursting at its seams, with shoes strewn across the bedroom floor. To make the cake more bedroom-like, we created a "wooden floorboard" effect out of fondant, and embossed and hand painted each "plank of wood".

What an ideal client!! Thank you for trusting your anniversary cake to us, we are thrilled that you both loved it. Happy Anniversary Sid and Tiza xxx

If you've enjoyed reading about Sid's cake, please subscribe to our blog for other stories like these.

“Thank you Liz, Khanh and Cake Me! for the creativity. Amazeballs! You are uber skilled! Sid-erfella was completely surprised!

Sid loved loved loved it. He couldn’t believe he got a cake that’s so him. Sid literally had no words, haha that doesn’t happen! The cake is so yummy, it’s awesome, so much love put into it.”

— Tiza

'tis the season...

It's been a while since we last blogged.. The weather in Melbourne is warming up and wedding season is upon us. Since our last blog, my brother and my now sister-in-law tied the knot, and if that wasn't exciting enough for one little family, my sister and her fiancé also got engaged! So love is truly in the air here in Cake Me! land.

Warren and Joy's wedding at Stones of the Yarra Valley.

Joy and Warren's semi naked cake, adorned with gorgeous blooms and hand selected fruit.

Those of you who have been following us over the years would know that we take all of our cakes very seriously. Especially wedding cakes. Each wedding cake is unique and created with the bride and groom, for the bride and groom. Although each cake is personalised and unique, from strikingly bold to subtle, detailed fondant-finishes to rustic naked cakes, our signature high tiers consistently make each and every wedding cake that we have created, grand and elegant in its own way.

The last three wedding cakes we have created celebrated three wonderful couples and their three very different weddings. These three cakes showcase how dissimilar wedding cakes can be.

Farzeen and Matt's wedding was held at the very glamorous venue, The Deck, Prince Hotel in St Kilda. Their gorgeous cake with intricate fondant cascading petals complimented the venue's window backdrop.

Farzeen and Matt's wedding cake at The Deck, Prince Hotel.

Cake Me's signature high tiers make wedding cakes appear even more grand and elegant.

Mary and Dat's wedding held at The Park in Albert Park had a very modern retro feel, with the extravagant chandeliers contrasting the jet black walls and the gorgeous windows looking out to the iconic Albert Park lake. We used contrasting textures to highlight the tiers, and gold lustre to compliment the bride's subtle gold theme.

The simplicity of the buttercream together with the smooth gold lustre finish, complimented Mary and Dat's subtle gold theme.

A stunning wedding centrepiece at The Park, Albert Park.

Finally our most recent cake is Joy and Warren's semi naked cake for their wedding at Stones of the Yarra Valley. The bride chose the naked look for the rustic and vintage theme, but semi-naked to keep the cake elegant and structured. Each piece of fruit on the cake were individually hand selected. Gorgeous blooms adorned the cake to highlight the natural beauty of the venue, with the spectacular vineyards and rolling hills sitting modestly in the background behind the cake.

Our cake sitting majestically in front of the amazing view of the Yarra Valley.

Cut figs, plump blueberries, juicy raspberries, baby apple plums and green apricots.

Wedding cakes have come a long way over the years from the traditional fruit cake covered with marzipan, to the infinite options offered to the bride and groom today. Wedding cakes today are exciting. They make a gorgeous centrepiece for the wedding venue and are no longer one-size-fit-all. Wedding cakes can truly reflect the taste of the bridal couple and the theme of the wedding, sometimes incorporating bold colours, some more simple and yet classy, others opting for heavy detailing, stenciling, and fondant-finishing, cakes with softer finishes of buttercream, tiers of hand painted lustre for high-gloss shine, to the raw elegance and simplicity of fresh fruit and flowers.

We are looking forward to creating more spectacular wedding cakes this wedding season and to sharing them here with you all. To those of you who are deeply in love but not engaged yet.. Go and get down on one knee!!

Please subscribe to our blog so that we can keep you updated with our latest cakes and cake trends.

Noah's Ark

Now this weekend's party was truly a party fit for a prince.

Noah, or kunchu (meaning prince) as his mother likes to call him, had his first birthday party probably mostly-planned whilst he was in-utero. We had created Noah's mum's bridal shower cupcakes, his parents' wedding cake, Noah's smash cake, and now his first birthday cake. So it came as no surprise to us when his mother requested to book us out for the second Saturday of September for the next five years, and is currently deliberating on the theme for his third birthday party.

Cupcakes for Noah's mum's hens, Princess and the Frog theme

Although this is only Noah's first birthday, Noah's mum is no novice at throwing awesome parties. Her wedding was a two day affair spanning two weekends, first at Nine Darling Street then at the beautiful Regent Theatre. Noah's party was no different. Face painters, balloon artists, a petting zoo, and of course, a party fit for a prince would also have a Cake Me! kids session ;P.

Sample cupcake for the Cake Me! kids session

Playroom transformed into the Cake Me! kids classroom

The eighteen friends of Noah's were aged between three and twelve. The kids were amazing. For me personally, it was a challenge catering for such a big range of ages and abilities, however all the kids were so eager, so enthusiastic, and all remained focused for the entire ninety minute session. Even the younger ones whose parents warned me prior to the class that their child probably wouldn't be able to last, they were still seated right until the very end. Even though Noah was too young to participate, the class was tailored to the theme of his party and the eighteen kids created their own monkey cupcakes. We loved how the kids were so confident with fondant and wanted to express their own individuality at the end, some giving their monkey a white hairdo, and another little girl gave her monkey a matching chef's hat to the one she was wearing.

The Noah's ark themed party was announced to me a few weeks after Noah was born, and I was so excited to have complete free reign on the design. Weighing in at 31.5kg and 59cm in height, the cake was enormous to say the least. Just the cake batter alone was 14kg. As my four year old put it, "there's enough cake for everyone in the whole world!".. Yes, just about!! Each plank of "wood" was individually cut out and stuck on, each animal lovingly hand sculpted, lustred and hand-painted. Everything was fully edible, including the "sea", "ark", "boathouse" and animals (with the exception of cocktail sticks and wires for the water droplets). Naturally, I wanted to build an ark and put lots of fun animals on it.. But I decided to make the cake more meaningful and relevant to the birthday boy, so I had to do some research.

The first animal on the cake are giraffes. Just before Noah was conceived, Noah's parents went to Africa and stayed at Giraffe Manor. The whales represent Hawaii, where Noah first holidayed. Noah's mum studied in New Zealand, so obviously sheep came to mind. So to make it fair, I asked Noah's mum what animal would represent his dad?... She replied, "hippo" for reasons I won't write in this blog, but it rhymes with hazy and pat. ;p Finally to represent Noah the cheeky and fearless little one year old, monkeys and lions.

Some people may question whether Noah will even remember his first birthday party when he's older? We don't know that answer, but judging from his smile all day, he had a super, fantastic day. But if you question any of his party guests whether they would remember Noah's first birthday party for years to come? They most definitely will.

To join us behind the scenes, read about our cakes and our kids parties, please subscribe to our blog!

Monkeying about with my minions these school holidays

Just over one hundred students attended our Cake Me! kids Term 3 School Holiday program, and what an incredible time we all had! The students ranged from five to 15 years of age, all with varying skills and abilities. A few students came with an impressive lot of experience with fondant, but mostly students had very little experience or none at all. It was lovely seeing so many familiar faces and also meeting a whole new bunch of wonderful kids.

As I explain to all my students, no matter if you're five years old, or eighteen years old, you can still attend these sessions and have so much to learn. Even for me, I find myself always improving upon my own skills. Whilst a five year old may be attempting to sugar sculpt a monkey's head, the eighteen year old could be making sure the monkey's head is smooth and wrinkle-free. Both kids might be creating monkeys, but they end up with very different results.

One of the youngest of the kids having a great time sugar sculpting

An eleven year old concentrating hard on perfecting his minion

A five year old proudly creating her minion

Week One of the school holiday program was so exciting for my cheeky monkeys and I, I mean, for my students and I. As requested by the students from my previous school holiday program, Week One saw us sugar sculpting monkeys. The class was quite intensive and we had so much we needed done in the ninety minute session.

One of my first-time students, C*, showed me a photo of an incredible animal cake she had recently made. Even though she was quite experienced with fondant, she was still blown away by the monkey she learnt to sculpt in our class.

Five year old K* with her seven year old brother

It was K*'s second time with us at the school holiday program, but this time she brought along her older brother. Although K* is only five years old, and her brother is 7, K was the "experienced" sibling, so she was even able to give her older brother some help with his monkey. Her skills had definitely improved since we last saw her, it is amazing how quickly these little ones grow and learn.

Eleven year old E*'s mum was hesitant when she dropped him off as she was worried he was too old for the class. I was so pleased that E loved the class so much that he signed up to a second class in Week Two and had an amazing time there too.

Minions were the theme for Week Two of the Cake Me! kids School Holiday Program.

The kids and I had a blast creating our minions - with the kids starting off following my instructions very carefully, and then giving their "Bobs, Stuarts and Kevins" its own personality. It was such a joy for me to see how confident the students were with experimenting and doing their own thing, after starting off being extremely cautious. By the end of the class, we had minions flexing their muscles, minions with their own bananas, afro-minion and minion girls complete with eyelashes.

My workshop series was small and intimate so I was able to give the students my undivided attention. As it was a workshop series, the students were able to learn from the very basics to more advanced sugar sculpting and cake decorating, and develop and build on their skills from the first class to the fourth class. I loved getting to really know these students. It was uplifting knowing that I had played a small part in their lives and inspired some of these young people.

My eight year old workshop student, P*, who had also attended my previous holiday program, now dreams of opening up her own cafe one day. I felt this overwhelming sense of pride when her mum showed me a photo of the magnificent hamburger cake that the eight year old created after attending my session and she was able to use the skills and passion that we instilled in them. I know I didn't actually play a part in making the cake myself, but I felt so much pride. It was incredible.

A photo taken of the incredible hamburger cake hat an eight year old student created (photo courtesy of the child's mum)

Eleven year old workshop student, G*, has seen every episode of Cake Boss and all the different cake shows. This was G's first Cake Me! kids experience and she dreams of opening up her own bakery and has even named it "Sweets and Treats". After the 2D monkey cupcake session, she went home the next day and made another six monkey cupcakes. Her mum told her that they were good enough to sell. She asked her mum how much would people buy them for? She then decided that after four hours work, no amount of money would be worth her time, she would rather eat them all herself. I have to say, that I feel that same way all the time!

The third and fourth workshop in the series was dedicated to sugar sculpting Gemma the Giraffe. The word "amazing" just doesn't do it justice. I was totally blown away by how much love and patience was put in these giraffes and the end result was totally mind-blowing. These students ranged from eight to fourteen years of age, but if you saw their creations, you would not have known. I loved seeing the students utilising the skills learnt from the first three classes, in personalising their final showpiece giraffe in the fourth class. We not only ended up with Giraffes, these creative students also sculpted "zebraffe" and "gragon".

We look forward to seeing all your gorgeous faces again at the next Cake Me! Kids School Holiday Program.