Maria - Wishing you a Happy Birthday. My thoughts and prayers will be with you at your beloved father's funeral. For what you have told us, he is a very talented man. Love the The Tower of Tuscany!.

Cheryl - Hope you DD is feeling better soon. Had to take my youngest DD to the doctor yesterday cuz she was complaining that her throat and ear hurt. She has swollen and imflamed tonsils and is on anti-biotics. Doc said she should be as right as rain by Sunday for her Holy Communion.

Elena - Best of luck with your surgery. My left thumb has been killing me the past 6 months or so but I am too chicken to go to the doctor. Does not help that I work in a library handling all those books.

jo0312 - For the year 6 farewell how about making an open book to look like a report and stamping on the pages 'GRADUATED IN 2007!'

Happy birthday Maria.

BarbaraK: Hope your thumb is feeling better soon. Do you find that it gets better during summer and worse in winter? Hope you daughter gets better soon. Is she the sort that sleeps when sickk or just gets clingly.
DD gets sooky DS sleeps

Yes I saw the article about the bride sueing the florist. What a joke, everyone knows that the only way to get flowers to match perfectly is to spray them!!! You just cannot grow flowers to a colour palette as much I would like them to! Life would be easier for me then

Quite frankly i feel that if that stupid bride loses she should have to pay all court costs, including the wages for the magistrate for his time spent listening to that sort of dribble!! Maybe then these elchepos would think twice about lodging petty disputes.

Did anyone see the one on Judge Judy were the bride tried to sue the cake maker a year later!!!!! Judge Judy wiped the floor with that bride

As for our legal system, just wait until that sort of travesty hits our courts here............... its coming. And what a joke it will be.
The amount of petty s&*t that goes through clogging up the court system is amazing.
Unfortunately everything from the US flows down to Aust eventually. Maybe we should all sort putting our solicitors on retainers.

Ok, by know you will all realise that I have some very hardar*s opinions about the legal system and how it operates. You shouldnt get me started on it!!

Thanks Cheryl. The pain comes and goes but I do find that it hurts more when it is cold. My DD gets clingy, whiny, sooky and grumpy when she is sick. Oh wait.... she is like that most days!!

Hallo ladies! I am so glad that day is over!

Maria i am so sorry about the 3 messages! It kept saying there was something wrong so i kept trying again!

Nicole i am registered i just need to get over there.

Oh ladies i have missed you all so! Everyday is just another 8 hours i'm not on the computer! So who in melbs is interested in a meet up? i found a great place in town, a little japanese bakery called little cupcakes, they do red velvet cupcakes! Ive never actually seen them before, heard alot about it on here. Its a tiny little venue but i think if we call them we might be able to reserve the table ( yes table) lol. i had chocolate with cream cheese icing.. so lovely!
Tonight a need to get started on the bride to go onto the bike. I had so much trouble i did something very naughty- i painted the red... with red nail polish! Well its not going to be eaten! I will post some pics when the bride is on the bike.

I woule really love to meet up with the Melb people. Hopefully we can pick a day that is good for all. Tues, Wed and Thurs are no good for me.
Would a Saturday be good for most people?

I am good on weekend arvos after 4, and monday and tuesdays. For now. I think my roster will change AGAIN, wheich means i could be good on fridays and saturdays! But i can arrange something if there is a day that suits all. How's betty going barbara?? ( sorry i named her for you!)

Betty is working very hard. Just made a quadrapule batch of buttercream and she handled it with ease!!!!

Is there anyone out there that can tell me a little bit about marzipan. I have only been decorating for a year and I have never used it. Some one asked me if I would use marzipan on their christmas cake. I have a recipe for it and it dosent look hard but my problem is with the raw egg that goes in it. Can any of you more experienced and knowlagable ladies let me know if this represents a problem where food safety is concerned as these days we live in an overconscious world.
I have been reading your posts about your dad Maria, I am accually from regents park myself. You have many happy memories of your dad to comfort you at this time, he must have been a lovely man. Take care.

Very cool, I think Betty is the perfect name for your mixer Barbara, Babs has a Betty heheheheheheheh!

Happy Birthday Maria! My thoughts will be with you tomorrow. It has taken me this long to get back on here.

Anyone have access to Cake Stand makers. I need a specialised cake stand made and I need it for 22 December at the latest. Any and all help or advice is more than greatly apprecited.

I was a good girl and dowled....... I'm a complete dowel convert and will never not dowel again!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1149549

Now Nicole..... you know this is a pet peeve... posting your cake photo in a forum
You did a great job... I like the colours. I bought some wilton lollipop sticks... but bought them because I think they are a good width and strength for dowells. Came across them by chance.
I had so much to say reading through all comments.... now can't remember a thing!!!

One thing I did want to share was something that happened last week. My daughter is doing a choir class for 12 weeks... and I volunteered our house Anyway... the first lesson, all the mum's ended up in my kitchen.. and I was in the middle of my hearts and I had to continue (although I hate people watching me work, seeing how I work etc... ) anyway... all mother's were lovely except for a misery guts sitting at the end of the table. She didn't smile once... anyway.... her first comment is, with monotonous voice, "if you want my help, I worked years in restaurants and I can wash my hands..".. I reply politely that no, I really need to do this.... then was chatting to an anglish lady and she was asking about the fondant etc.... at which MiseryGuts... says... "So, at the end of the day, your strong point is this fondant, because inside it's just sponge cake"!
I translated that as best I could.... but basically she was implying I have no talent and anyone can make these cakes if one has the fondant!!! I kept quiet but I really wanted to let her know that i hadn't invited her into my house... that she could keep her comments to herself.... and then I wanted to show her a Collette Peter's cake, and say....... well if it's so easy..... why don't you try that!!!!!!
Thankfully she decided not to continue with the class... so today was spared!

My left hand is cramping and sore tonight.....is this stuff contagious girls??? what have you sent me via cyperspace??????

Just finished a yummy roast dinner with my specially imported GRAVOX gravy powder

Morning girls!

Nicole, I love your cake! Simple and elegant!

Can't agree with you more ... falling apart all right ... they say it starts after 40 ...

I need help. Made MMF, don't normally but thought it taste better. Needed rich red colour and din't want to buy ready made. Anyhow, made a fair batch and it is all spongy, or crumbly not elastic at all. It goes all crackly when rolled and too soft, stretchy. Bloody hard to explain. But it is not workable. Can make a ball, but I need package bows and stripes. Any way to recover????? I guess mixing with Bakels fondant will help, but then the color will faid.

Thanks Yana, you know your problem sounds like the one I have when I use the ready made black fondant. It cracks and is difficult to use how do I manage to use it I don't know I just keep rolling and trying to get a relatively smooth patch and run with it..... this isn't really helping you I suppose, I don't really know the best way to help specially never tried the MMF myself.

Thanks for the comments on the cake I'm a silver girl myself so I think it's the colouring for me, but as it's not my cake then it shouldn't be my issue.... I will be doing a smaller dummy version with silver just for me though in the coming weeks!

Thanks Yana, you know your problem sounds like the one I have when I use the ready made black fondant. It cracks and is difficult to use how do I manage to use it I don't know I just keep rolling and trying to get a relatively smooth patch and run with it..... this isn't really helping you I suppose, I don't really know the best way to help specially never tried the MMF myself.

Thanks for the comments on the cake I'm a silver girl myself so I think it's the colouring for me, but as it's not my cake then it shouldn't be my issue.... I will be doing a smaller dummy version with silver just for me though in the coming weeks!

Mzsweet - I buy premade marzipan ( it's quicker !! ) I always put it on my fruitcakes under the fondant,even tho' I was told that "we don't do that here in qld,because of the heat,confuses the cows" & other such rubbish...
If you do use it for fruitcakes - don't use cornflour when rolling it out ( as if anyone would do that ?? ) 'cos it ferments the marzipan...

thanks for that jules, I did all my christmas cakes with mum last year, she decorated for twenty or so years and was anti marzipan because she hated the flavour, therefore she never used it (thats how I started decorating 40 something xmas cakes last christmas) This year she is back in the country and I am doing them on my own. A work mate popped her head around my office door yesterday and said, I would love a christmas cake, just a thin layer of marzipan thanks. So it looks like this year I will be adding marzipan as an added option, LOL cant wait to tell mum that one, I have never tasted marzipan myself if its made from almonds I bet its lovely. THanks girls its good to know I wont be reduced to crushing almonds to make this delicacy. Cheers

as for the black fondant.......what a nightmare. I added some tylose to mine to model with it and I find it all just goes to crumbs. It cracks, its oversoft its horrible. I saw something somewhere (not sure if it was this discussion or another) written by fran about mixing red and green fondant together to make black, I am going to try that next time.

Urg I hate the taste of marzipan it's awful, but an almond nut, love them. I always use marzipan for fruit cakes, as the can bleed through fondant, and the marzipan stops that also it helps give you a nice smooth base to work on, you use it to fill in all the little holes and gaps etc!

But I there are some people who love marzipan each to there own!

How funny! I'm a total marzipan NUT (no pun intended!) As you say, each to there own!

Most of my fruitcake customers prefer "no marzipan" - I guess it's a bit of an acquired taste, 'cos only the oldies seem to want it.

Oops - dating myself again

I love marzipan too !! I have been known to just eat it out of the packet

it tastes sooo good !!!

hi girls,

just got back from having that awful cortisone injection into my palm. OMFG... OUCH!!!!!!!!! it hurt like I dont know what!!!!!!!

cant do anything for a few days, i'm not supposed to lift things... hello?? two babies in the house

Anyway... I'm free Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays to catch up with any other Melbourne girls. Hope everyone is fine and healthy and gearing up for a great weekend!!!!

Gee LiliS, I'm cringing in sympathy, I had the dreaded cortisone injected into the top of my foot, and that was bad enough. Have a heel spur now and the podiatrist said not to have cortisone. Der, as if I wanted to.
Hope the hand feels better soon

My friend has carpal tunnel she got it during her first pregnancy, she finally had the cortisone injection and it helped but then fell pregnant again. I tell you she has a fantastic husband who picks up alot of the housework that she can't do!

Phew the groom just picked up the cake, he just about gave me a heart attack when he said there's just one problem, and I said what? and he says it's too pretty to cut..... awwwwweeeee, the bride's a lucky gal there! Thank god! Now my nephews power ranger cake and I can breath for a bit and spend time making pretty icons for the Aussie forum hehehehehehe!

Nicolevoorhuat:

If you dont like the taste of marzipan just use two layers of fondant, that will stop the cake leaking to the top.

Cheryl

Sorry girls am off to bed, the BF is over and tired of looking at cake stuff!!!!

Hi girls, as you can see I am still up. I remembered that I had to get a design drawn up for a cake due tomorrow morning.

Was sitting there drawing on graph paper when along comes the DBF who decided that it had to be perfect!!

So he was sitting there with an excel spreadsheet, graph paper and pencil, getting it all PERFECT.

Then once he had the outline done he remembered that he has to play cricket tomorrow, so the outline had to be PERFECT but the inside can be less then perfect

If anyone needs an cake designer who can do it on excel just PM me and you can email me your design and he can sit there with his darling speadsheets instead of being in bed with me!!!!

Seriously I do love him though.

OK girls... I have had a little whinge on the 'other' forum that no one has looked at my HELLO KITTY cake,..... and if they did... I have not had ONE comment... and its been there for a while now.... well it's laready on page 3 of latest uploads...... so can you please look at it
little voice now says.... "thank you".

Toni,

which other forum are you at. The only HELLO KITTY I could find was in your avtar, and if that is it, it is absolutely beautiful. Very well done.

Could you post a link to it for me.

Cheryl

Oh Toni,

I just found your cake, it is so beautiful...................... oh for my babies to grow up so I can experiment more.