Opening up another session of the FNCC! Who's up? Whatcha' workin on?

Cat

This is the second of my 2 weeks off. Next week I have to start working on the many demo cakes that need to get done before the end of the month. This week my only caking project was an M&M Valentine's Cake for my family just for fun. What is everyone else up to?

Cat

Hi Cat, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 

I have been MIA for the last few weeks as I have had my Mum home from Hospital after breaking her leg, she has taken a lot of my time and attention and also this is my quiet time for cakes as I usually take a little time off after Christmas before the wedding season starts to kick in.

 Also caking in January in Queensland is always a bit of a nightmare, this year we are having a record breaking heatwave  , with highest recorded temps ever. 

Much of the Eastern seaboard is under bush fire threat as well . Some of my family in Tasmania came very close to losing there homes , thank the Lord for the Country Fire Service , most of them are volunteers and have done a marvelous job at saving lives and homes. 

Well back to work this week for me , I have had four tastings this week and two more next week. At least I only had to bake once for all of them . As most of my flavours are based on either a white chocolate mud or a dark mud. It is just flavourings and other additives that make them different. 

My biggest event was having floor to ceiling storage installed in my cake room ,  they take up two walls and have lovely doors to hide all the mess , as well as the shelving I have twenty seven drawers , including six just for ribbon.  I now just need to get everything in there . It is very exciting though having the space to put everything away . 

We had a similar summer season here last July/August. We are deep in rainy season here and you know that the humidity that comes with rain doesn't make fondant work easy.  My client work life doesn't start till the first week in February, just the demo cakes till then. Once the client work starts up I only have a brief break here or there off. I get to go to Sicily this May so I'm very excited about that break! 

Your drawer/storage system sounds heavenly! I so wish I had that sort of room here! For now I make due with what cabinet space I have as well as storage totes stacked everywhere.  I vow someday to have a storefront where this is no longer a problem! LOL!

I do hope your mom is doing SO much better! Sounds like a long road back.

Cat

Glad to  hear that your family are all safe from the fires.  We are escaping the bush fires for the moment, over in the West, but it is probably only a matter of time before some moron with a match destroys that peace.  Time they started handing out decent sentences for arsonists. 

It is very humid here too, as even though the cyclone doesn't look like it will cross the coast and we are on the very bottom edge of the cloud band from it we are getting some of the moisture without any of the rain unfortunately. 

I am going to bake some bickies today and play with them tomorrow, rather than dealing with fondant.

Have a good weekend.
 

I got a last minute order for a Captain America shield cake. My real focus is on creating a red velvet cake for Valentine's day. This is so hard, I hate red velvet cake. The food coloring taste is so pronounced to me, but I keep getting asked for the flavor.  To date, I don't offer it because regardless how I make it, it does not taste good to me unless it doesn't have food coloring.

I've tested a few batches with friends and family and they love everything, and they are no help. They say they don't taste the bitterness of the food coloring, but I taste it and can't get over it. I've tried beets, cranberry juice, pomegranate, red wine, red wine vinegar. I've been successful getting the color but these food coloring alternatives are just yuck!

We go thru the arsonist disasters each summer here in California too...still can't understand how that makes people happy to do something like that. It has to be some form of madness!

And I have to ask...what are bickies?

Cat

Cazza I hope that Cyclone doesn't come too near , she looks like a beauty on the charts , we could do with the rain from her over here in the east . 

Cat , Bickies are what we Aussies call cookies.  It is short for Biscuits. 

I would like to string up the arsonists ( over a good sized bonfire of course ) Also these idiots that don't understand what a complete fire ban means . It means don't light a campfire DUH> 

Oh, ok!  I knew that our "cookies" were your "biscuits" just didn't know that there was a further nickname! LOL! 

Thanks for clearing that up...I love hearing the slang from your part of the world! <G>

Cat

I'm in Geraldton Chellescakes so we are pretty safe down here.  We could do with some of the rain too but it doesn't look like happening.  Have had a couple of sprinkles and that is it.  Just enough to create humidity, not enough to even wet the paths.
 

I still so new to fondant and I am working on a fairy cupcake topper, I don't charge for anything and its purely a hobby. I am leaving Ireland soon so I am just messing around with fondant right now and not baking many cakes:-( I am doing the fairy because a friends little girl will turn 1 soon and I wont be here so I want to give it to her to 'give' to her daughter on the day. I don't know what she is doing for a party if anything or what theme she is having so I thought this is less intrusive. 

I am moving to the middle east in a about 2 months and my God Daughter loves decorating cupcakes so I promised her mom I would make some butterflies and flowers for the cupcakes and bring them with me. Like a stash for her:-) 

I grew up calling them bickies for short too. My Dad was British but we lived in South Africa so I am not sure where it came from.

I am going to make brownies today I think for the boys.... and Lemon drizzle for myself:-) I wonder does anyone know if you can freeze the cake batter? I have only ever baked in the past for the family and although it is the only true way I relax, it is just a hobby. But like today I am doing lemon drizzle and would like to just bake one or two mini cakes and freeze the left over batter:-)  I know you can freeze cakes but I know that if I bake them and cool them .... they may not ever see the inside of the freezer and I am on a diet of sorts:-)

Cazza I live five hundred metres from the beach so I know all about humidity. 

Milkmonkey, I freeze cake batter all the time , I have even mixed fresh with frozen ( just bring it up to room temp first ) I find I get lovely level cakes from frozen batter. 

I think the bickies comes from the Brits.  Cat us Aussies have a nickname or slang for just about everything, 

dovewings , I have the same objection to red velvet cake . I won't make it as I haven't found one that I like the taste of. 

In South Africa we have a lot of slang too:-)

Thanks I will give it a go:-)

I have only ever done red velvet once and it was a box mix because it was in a friends house and didnt have all the ingredients to make from scratch.... I did it as a parting gift as she and her hubby love it:-) BUT I am wondering if a wicky wacky cake recipe using red wine vinegar would be any good, you have probably tried it but I thought I would ask anyway:-) 

I can beat that Chellescakes.  I live straight across the road from the beach.  Wonderful spot. Unless there is a tidal wave, of course.