Ah, the humble cupcake - the power these teeny weeny parcels of cakey goodness pack never ceases to amaze me. A couple of years ago we introduced our three day Cupcake Boot Camp workshop, which has since gone on to become one of our most popular courses on the market. Kudos to Luigi and Debbi-Lee who both took the class for the first time this week. Judging by the volume of the laughter erupting from the classroom all week, it looks like our students think they did a pretty ace job too!

Meanwhile in the kitchen, it was definitely a case of big is better this week, and with ten larger than large than life prop cakes made for a special event,  in our kitchen there was barely room to swing a cat...

Unfortunately there's nothing in this photo to show the scale of this thing, but think Harry Potter's Hagrid on a cold night - and check out this size of this gorgeous castle cake (which went to a real life castle this morning) next to Ant.

For the Young At Heart

Ah, the Labour Day long weekend. While for some it heralds sleep-ins, boozy afternoons and LOTS of football, for many of us, it means something entirely different: The School Holidays.

Personally, I love the school holidays, for one thing it means loads of great kids movies - I'm not ashamed to admit it - and there is just something great about the energy that kids bring to a city, although I'm sure many public transport commuters may not agree! Regardless, I thought we would celebrate all things kids and take a look at some of the best of our children's party cakes from the last few weeks, which are often overshadowed by the more impressive, grand-scale wedding cakes.

When designing cakes for little ones, our resident designer Antony's advice is to keep things simple and clean, cute but never cutesy, and always with just a hint of quirky.

At last - the Masters!!!

Day 1 and 2:


GUESS WHAT??? It's the MASTERS time!!! Yep, those wonky funny looking cakes that we luuuurve so much! Good thing: no ganache. Bad thing: polystyrene. Great thing: LUIGI is our teacher for this class! Woohoo!!!! This is my first and last class with Luigi, our Mario Brother, lol! Bless him, he's such a great teacher and a lovely guy. Although I think that he's having difficulties adjusting to being surrounded by a horde of women, who have the tendency to slag off their husbands and kids (and males in general!) every other five minutes, lol! But he's doing great - we think!

In this workshop, the students get to choose between those sexy corset cakes and the topsy-turvy cakes. Only Ellie and I have decided to do the Topsy-Turvy in the class. So there I was thinking that I would "take it easy" and all, but that was before Luigi asked us to design our own cakes. For a good 30 minutes, my brain went blank. I couldn't think of good design and couldn't make up my mind about the colours. The funny thing was that within about 5 minutes, I went from "taking it easy" to "ARE YOU FLIPPING INSANE????" cake. The original blank canvas has miraculously turned into a 4-tiered topsy-turvy cake, extra large, with individual designs on each tier, and about 100+ flowers! Could this possibly be any more insane? Yep. Ellie and I have decided to make the flowers together because she hates making roses and I hate suffering on my own, so we now have to make 140 roses together! I wish I could say that this was fun…

Nothing, except from the set-up of the cake, seems overly complicated so far. We're pretty much left to do things at our own pace and the way we like, which is an interesting experience. By the end of the second day, all our cakes and spacers have successfully been iced and flower buds prepared. In a way, I am quite nervous about how my cake will turn out because it's like a proper wedding cake, which I've never really done before. I guess that we'll just have to wait and see!

Day 3:

Sometimes, I feel really bad for poor Luigi. All the women in the room seem to enjoy teasing him a little bit too much and he's now become a common joke, lol! But despite being traumatised by us students, the man ploughed on and continued to give all he's got - always ready to give careful guidance and important advice. He's definitely one of our most favourite teachers!

So Ellie and I have finally finished making our roses! While Ellie carries on making MORE flowers, it was time for me to decorate the cake. As things were starting to take shape, I noticed that my topsy-turvy is looking quite pretty and elegant, which is not my usual style. We were definitely feeling the pressure today - three days have gone by so quickly, it's almost impossible to imagine our cakes being finished! But the show must go on - there's no stopping now. Tomorrow, four of us will be graduating from the Planet Cake Basics Series so we're all really excited! Anyway, I’d better get some rest before the big day. Night night! xx

The Graduation:

The day has finally come. Here we are standing at the end of the road, about to begin our own adventures, left to our own devices. Two months earlier, I would never have imagined myself as an "advanced" cake decorator. The truth is that I feel less than confident to be leaving this safe learning environment and embarking on a new journey - on my own. Will I be able to make it out there? Have I got what it takes? Will people like my products? Will I be able to overcome unforeseen obstacles? I am absolutely terrified!!!

But! If I've learnt anything in the past couple of months, it's that you must believe in yourself and never give up.

Planet Cake has given me SO MUCH - more than I could ever have imagined. To have had the opportunity to learn from some of the best decorators in the world is like a dream comes true. Not only did they offer me a vast amount of knowledge and skills, they also made me feel like part of the family - somewhere where I belonged. When I first came to Australia, I was homesick, lonely and scared. Now, I'm going home with a tonne of life-long friends and family, many of whom I'll never forget.

Thank you, Anna-Maria, CC, Jess, Luigi, Margie, Ritzy, Marianne and Neoko for sharing your valuable experience with me and for making me a decent decorator that I am today. I will never forget all that you've done - your patience, support, encouragement, friendship, guidance. I will try my best to remember all that you've taught me and make you proud some day. You were such wonderful teachers and I am so glad to have had the honour to learn from you - my mentors! So thank you, thank you, thank you a million times for everything! You will all be dearly missed. I hope that we will keep in touch xxx

Thank you, Michelle, Lori, Marisa, Kylie and Debbi for being so awesome and helpful all this time! You've all worked so hard to help me get through those rough and miserable days and you guys made the good days fun! You are truly wonderful in your own ways and I wish you all the best in whatever you do! Keep in touch, k? xxx

Thank you, Lesley, Emma, Thea, Cat, Antony for your big bright smiles and never-ending support. A special thanks to you, Lesley, for organising my lessons and looking after me throughout the duration of my stay! You have all been incredibly helpful and welcoming - it was so great to have met you all!

Thank you, Paris, for allowing me to come into your kitchen and learn from your talented cake artists! Also, thank you so much for all your time, encouragement and assistance - I will try my best to make you proud of me some day! I've had the most amazing experience and will always owe my success to Planet Cake!

Thank you, my classmates, you've my time here really fun and interesting! It was so lovely meeting you all and I wish you all the best for the future! xx

Thank you, Ellie, my sister from another mother! We've had such a fantastic time together and I'll always think of you when I sit alone at home making cakes! You're a truly wonderful friend, rose-making partner, moaning/whining/gossiping/having a banter buddy - I really hope that we'll keep in touch and be friends forever and ever... MWAHAHAHAHAH!!! Love you to bits xxx

Finally, thank you so much my gorgeous readers/fans/audience. You guys inspire me to be better at what I do and helped me to get through tough times. I appreciate all your time and support - I hope that you've enjoyed reading my blogs!

So I guess that this is it for me - the Blog. Although I'm shaking with excitement at the thought of returning home to my beloved family (and dog!), my heart is sinking at the thought of leaving such a fantastic place and its people behind. I'm terrible when it comes to saying goodbyes...

Anyway, before I go, I just wanted to let you know about my new Facebook page! I know that it's still relatively empty, but I am working on building up my portfolios and I'll sure keep you guys updated on the progress of my work. It would mean the world to me if you could all help me out by 'liking' my page. Please visit: http://www.facebook.com/sweetobsessionbkk Thank you so much again in advance!

*SIGH* Is it time to say good bye already?? Well, farewell, Planet Cake. Farewell, Sydney. Farewell, everyone. Thank you so much for everything - you'll all be dearly missed! I hope to be back here again some day! Until next time!

Pam xxx

Basics 109 - it's time for the madhatter!!

Ah, the infamous mad hatter cake, taught by our very own "CC"! This little beauty is definitely the devil in disguise. While many of us actually found this course easier than the Basics 108 (or even the Basics 107), we were not left without complications. Firstly, it's tapered. Secondly, it's top-heavy. This means that covering this cake was relatively challenging as you can easily tear the icing if not careful. Another very important thing to consider is the angling of the top tier because if this is not done correctly, the cake will not look "right". I for one did not manage to get the "perfect look" but that's ok. I'm here to learn, after all.


Funnily, a lot of us found the bows difficult! Lol!

Once again, this was my last lesson with CC, whom will be dearly missed. CC has taught me many novelty and basics courses and he's truly a great teacher. He's always there for the students, spending most of the time giving us guidance and assistance, even if it means that he doesn't get his own cakes finished or perfected - now THAT's dedication! His calm and relaxing manner also help us to feel more reassured. So thank you, CC, for making my time here so wonderful and full of laughter!

Half the class will now go on to do our Basic Masters next week - so watch out for beautiful photos and terrifying moments! I can't believe that my time here is nearly up.. It's certainly been a great journey - one that I'll never forget!

Better get packing now. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! xx
 

Basics 108 - the results!

Day 3:


Wow! I can't believe that all eight of us have managed to finished our cakes on time despite all the hiccups in between! They're all so fantastic! So amazing! So breathtakingly beautiful! One of the hardest cakes has now been completed and with no unfortunate disasters too! I am so incredibly proud of myself and my classmates! Congratulations, everyone!!!

Since this is the last class I have with Jess (and Kylie, our awesome facilitator!), I want to talk a bit about her. Jess and I have had many wonderful 'first moments' together: first flowers, first round, first square and first novelty. And I'm really glad to have had such a knowledgable and patient teacher teaching me all the basics and foundation. I'm glad to have had her support and encouragement throughout these two months. So thank you, Jess, for everything <3

Before the end of the day, we all shared a special moment - Mary, one of our lovely fellow students, has finally completed the entire basics series today!!! Well done, Mary!

So just in case you were all wondering, yes, I did manage to finish my "crazy cake" (as described by Ellie)! Woohoo! The hand-painting came out really well - although the set-up of the cake was just a tiny bit wonky. Oh, and check out my hand-made African mask, lol! xx

Basics 108 - Pam takes us through Day 2...

Hallelujah! Alas, ideas and inspiration! I can now see clearly! And, of course, I am once again pushing myself to the limit. It's going to be really tough to get this cake done in time and it needs to be done well. Very well, in fact. If you were wondering how crazy my design is, let's just say that all 15 sides will have different things going on. Fact.

I'm not going to lie - this whole marathon is sucking the life out of me. I'm beginning to realise why I was advised to take breaks in between my private lessons!  Cake decorating can be surprisingly tiring.

Anyway, better go to bed early tonight because I'll need all my energy for tomorrow! Have a lovely evening, everyone! xx

Pam's Basics 108 blog

Day 1:

Guess what??? I am now an "ADVANCED" student! How advanced? Advanced enough to put me off ganaching FOR LIFE! Seriously, we spent THE WHOLE DAY carving and ganaching this bloody cake!!! I will definitely charge my future clients extra JUST for cleaning up! Never before have I seen the buckets being changed so frequently as there was so much mess everywhere - all the time. It's an annoying process: check measurements, carve the cake, turn the cake over, carve again, build up the height, carve, turn the cake over, carve, check measurements, check for excess cake, prepare cake for ganaching, crumb coat, ganache, smooth.. It just goes on and on and on and on and this whole process had to be repeated 3 TIMES!!! Sure thing, everyone was on the low - tired and ganached out.

And don't even get me started on how complicated the internal structure is.

Oh, and I've got this big fat giant blockage in my brain! No bright ideas, no clear vision - nothing. I have no idea what I want to do with this cake. The ones that I've thought of doing are either too complicated to do in 2 days or missing the X factor. I'm doomed.

*SIGH*

Hopefully, will have some good news to share with you guys tomorrow! x

Day 2 and 3 of Basics 107 - Pam's Vase experience

Day 2:


So the worst is over! Never before have I felt so much tension in class.. Just to give you an idea, the cake required 2-3 people to help cover it!!! Our partners were put to the test but, luckily, we didn't have a runner. My trusted friend and cake partner, Ellie, and I struggled.. and struggled.. and struggled until we both got the icing on the cakes - which, by the way, turned out quite beautifully!

Thanks, Ellie! =)

On a more serious note, it would be smart to check your face and clothes before leaving the room after a serious air-brushing session..

And yes, people WILL and DO stare if you're walking around with BLUE NOSTRILS!!!! ***cringe***
 
Day 3:
 
The energy was low in class today. Everyone just looked exhausted.


Luckily, all the big parts have already been completed, so were left to our own devices most of the day. I did all the painting and air- brushing before lunchtime just to make sure that the icing will be dry during the assembly. ***Note to self: check you nostrils before leaving class*** Speaking of colourful nostrils, it turned out that I wasn't the only one with embarrassing moments yesterday! SCORE!!!

Was I happy with my cake? Yes, I guess.. All the elements came together pretty well and I got to do draw and paint the sea turtles like I'd hoped to do.

Sea turtles:

And the final result:

I better go and work on my Facebook Page now - will sure keep you updated on the progress! Speak soon! xx

Pam for Planet Cake : Basics 107

Day 1:


Something was telling me that I was going to have a good day. And I did. This morning, Anna-Maria, Michelle and I decided to indulge ourselves and had scrumptious German pastries and Adriano Zumbo's for breakfast before class. Today was Anna-Maria's last day at Planet Cake before she goes on her long-awaited holidays. We were rather sad to see her go.. It would have been nice to be able to have her for the whole course, especially for the covering tomorrow (which, by the way, is known to be the most difficult cake to cover our of all the cakes being taught at PC!). But as the wise man would say, you gotta live in the present, so all the worries will just have to be save for later.



An interesting fact about the vase - it actually took us all morning plus after lunch time to ganache the whole cake, which is longer than all the other cakes we've done up till now. Unsurprisingly, it was a day full of challenges, which, sadly and unintentionally, I have somehow set for myself. 30 minutes into class, as my tapered vase was starting to form, we spotted the problem. I had sliced too much off the cake, which means that I had to 'glue' the off-cuts back on again with ganache. Soon after, it was obvious that my cake was one of the tallest and slimmest in class - a.k.a. good luck with the covering, Pam, it's gonna be a miracle if you could get the icing on tomorrow!!!

Ganaching this thing was also awkward. There were many things to

consider: the slope, the tapered top, the off-set corners. Can't say it was a fun process, although the end results were utterly satisfying!



During the afternoon, Anna-Maria taught us how to make water lilies/ lotus. But after much consideration, I decided that the usual 'under the pond' theme wasn't going to do it for me (come on, it wouldn't be right if I was too easy on myself!), so I was trying to come up with a more "unique" design. First, I thought about adding new elements to what's already been done in the previous classes.. May be adding a frog or goldfish to it or something. But I don't like frogs and find goldfish a bit boring.. **SIGH** Then I thought about doing ocean theme. BING! CORALS! STAR FISH! SEA TURTLES! NEMOS! But.. but.. what about the lotus? Lotus don't grow in the ocean - do they?? May be it could be a cast-away lotus? May be someone dropped the lotus? DROP THE LOTUS.. Yes!!! I'm gonna drop the lotus! No one said that they've gotta go on the cakes! **evil grin**



Damn! I've already given too much away! Anyway, let's hope that I'm going to be able to pull this off this weekend! I'll let you know how things go on Sunday =)



Nighty nighty xx

Maisie Parrish for Planet Cake

With so many celebrity clients under our belt, I have to say, to get the PC crew star-struck is damn near impossible...with one exception. Whenever we are faced with celebrities from our own world (the crazy world of cake decorating) we just loose it. This week we were thrilled to host sugar figurine fairy Maisie Parrish. Maisie spent years modeling her unique characters but it was only in 1998 that she turned her hand to sugar art. Based in England and recognised and renound nation wide for her exquisite and unusual work, Maisie has been sharing her art with some very lucky Planet Cake students this week.

Missed out? Unfortunately Maisie is only with us for a very short time, but check out her website for a list of her books and DVD's:

http://maisieparrish.webeden.co.uk/#