Masterfoods/ Masterchef cakes!

This week we were contacted by the wonderful people at Mars Foods (aka Masterfoods, Uncle Ben, Kan Tong etc) to create 3 Masterchef cakes for a party to celebrate their wonderful relationship with Masterchef, and it's hosts!

After being given some initial ideas by the company, we suggested creating Mystery Boxes. Great part of the TV show for sure, and what better surprise, than for them to be filled with cake!

They may be just a basic rectangular shape, but there's nothing basic about these boxes of cake. The smaller boxes were four cakes, stacked and iced into a 6.5" high cake. They were also delicious! White chocolate and raspberry flavour - our most popular combination. The large, or should I say gigantic cake, was 6 cakes slacked, requiring 24 internal dowels, and at 10" high, and 15" long, it took two people just to lift it off the table! Again, an incredible flavour, Milk Chocolate Mud Cake with Cookies and Cream Filling.

Why three cakes? Well, with 300 people to feed, and round the clock shifts, Mars Foods wanted not only there to be cake left for the night shift, but their own cake, so they didn't miss out on the celebration. What a wonderful company! I think more big business should take the time to think about all their staff in this way. Made us proud to be a part of it!

So here are some pics of the cakes. Hoping to get more over time of the actual festivities, and see just who sunk their teeth into our cakes!!

Looking for Classroom Inspiration - Cupcake Art!

Well, we are proud to announce... we have a classroom! Right next to our shop!  The only thing is, it is still a blank canvas. But that's a good thing! Just need to find the right artwork to jazz it up, (and a coat of paint). So off to etsy I go to look for inspiration :)

Love this one, I think it should be our motto! By PosterPop

But this is so cute! by ohhprettyshiny

or this adorable one by AfricanGrey

So much to choice, however will I choose....

thepoppytree, designsbygenee

Guests Love a Sugar Rush!!!

When it comes to wedding gifts, or bonbonniere, food tends to rank up there fairly high. It's the gift that everyone loves, never forgets to take home, and leaves them with a nice taste in their mouth from your wedding, literally!

We are finding more and more couples are approaching us to do not only their wedding cake, but the little gifts for all their guests as well. Sometimes it's our mouth-watering brownie bites, or cookies, but a large number of couples are handing over the reines to their guests, and letting them choose their own gift! And that's where the candy table/ lolly bar comes into it's element.

It not only allows guests to pick and choose their favourites, it also allows couples to show their personality. A candy table is very much a road map to the couple taste buds. We love to include unusual, zany imported sweets, but many choices on these tables are also the couples favourite lollies! They want their guests to experience their loves on their day. And I think sweets are very telling about a person, and a couple. Some love to add dessert items, some add sweets that are a huge part of their heritage, whilst other couples just want lollies that blow their guests minds, and are in it for the shock value! And that's the great thing about these candy tables, you can include anything you like!

Does that mean we leave couples to fend for themselves in this sea of sweets? Certainly not!

We provide all our couples with a large list of sweets and desserts, and ask them to choose a few favorites or items they deem must-haves. From there, we start making some choices for them; in order to add variety, texture, flavour, and coordinate with the colours and feel of the wedding. Tie it in with some flowers, tags, or a banner, and you have beautiful focal feature in your reception, that tastes as good as it looks!

So have a little fun at the end your night, and your guests will love you for it! 

[beloved] photo shoot with Renee Bell

A few weeks ago Jon and I treated ourselves to a couples photo shoot with Renee Bell Photography. It was by far, the best time we have ever had in front of a camera! For anyone that knows us, we are not fans of being photographed, and were a little unsure if it was being too full of ourselves to be photographed, for no reason! But we felt instantly at ease after meeting Renee. She was so calm, yet artsy. Quirky yet professional. We loved every moment of it. And the images, well, they speak for themselves!

Renee is well known for being one of the top baby photographers in the country. But she has turned her lens to couples, and in this new field, she is shining brighter than ever!  In her words, [beloved] portrait sessions are about unfurling the love that already exists within a relationship by using the art of photography to capture and reflect the way you communicate through looks and touch.  [beloved] images are undeniable proof that happiness is more about being beautiful and feeling loved than looking or dressing any particular way.

If anyone wants to check out more of our session, head on over to Renee's blog. There you will find, not just our session, but many couples, all with a unique look and feel to their shoot, but all with that love in their eyes, and passion in their hearts! Enjoy!

Grandma Love and all things Vintage

Today would have been my Grandmother's Birthday. And even though she has been gone a long time, I will never forget her, never stop loving her, and never stop honouring who she was.  She is the "May" in our "Ruby May", the salted caramel in our "Salty Sailor", and she is the love in my heart when I bake...

So today I honour all things Grandma. Her favourite cookies to bake were Rock Cakes. Very old-school...very vintage..and very comforting on cold rainy days such as this. I loved the glaced cherries best of all, both red and green. Always brings back such fond memories.

Whilst I love baking granny sweets, such as Coconut Ice, Rock Cakes, Slices and more, I am nowhere near being the supreme authority on Granny Goodness. No, for that, you'll need to check out my sister's blogs. Michelle is a blog goddess, responsible for Loving the Vintage, and The Royal Sisters. She is insanely popular all over the world, makes incredible crafts, and writes her very own crocheting patterns that are massive on etsy. She basically lives in a granny world, complete with the vintage Baby Bell oven, scarf in hair, and crocheting hook in hand at all times. I couldn't be more proud of her and her success, featured in Magazines such as Notebook, and would love nothing more than to see her published eventually in her own right, she really is that good!

So enjoy this wet, inside kind of day, and the simple things in life. Like a warm lunch, some baked treats, and a grandma crocheted blanket to snuggle under with the ones you love....

Grand Opening Party of our Sugar Rush Cakery in Mount Hutton!

Last week we had an amazing time, with friends, fans and clients, at our Grand Opening Party. It was a great chance for us to let our hair down, showcase our products, and get real feedback on our new sweet treats.

We were extremely lucky to have Roger from Popcorn Photography there who graciously took photos of our candy bar. For anyone looking for a wedding photographer in the Hunter Valley, check out these guys! Mere and Rog are an awesome couple, with awards, and the fastest turn-around time I've ever seen in the biz. Highly recommend you see for yourself.

Guests included Renee Bell -  an amazing couples photographer, and the best baby photographer we have ever seen, in the world!, Leighsa from Michelle-Leigh Photography, who did all our new in-store images, Hello Naomi - one of my best friends, and a cupcake extraordinaire, Valerie from White Magazine, as well as marketing guru's and web designers. It was truly a who's who of Newcastle & Sydney, and we felt very blessed to have them all in our store!

As we suspected, our Brownie Bites were a huge hit! No one can seem to have just one! These little babies are now available to two different sizes of bags, one makes the perfect wedding bonbonniere, whilst the other large 40 pack is perfect for eating with a cup of tea, in front of an open fire...or the telly!

 We have also added some more awesome little treats. Our Rosewater meringues are so divine, like eating perfume - and yet somehow that's a good thing! 

We discovered that every bag of these sold out that night! Other sweets we now have in the store are coconut ice, marshmallows, cookies and our very cool rock candy swizzle sticks.