Hi - another hobby baker in Sydney (Inner West). But I grew up in Kiama - just down the road from Wendy!

There was an ongoing thread here for Aussie cakers years ago... I think most people ended up going to a local forum, not sure what one, nobody told me, they just left me here by myself (story of my life ).

Cris.

Hi everyone, interesting to see some new names pop up, especially of people who have been around for a while.

Good Morning Aussies, 

What are we all up to for the weekend ? . I am heading down to a mini Dem day at Tweed Heads. No cakes for me this week . I was going to make some lilies today but the weather is too icky . 

Have a great Day . 

A

I'm in inner west Sydney are you? I'm in Rozelle.

AThanks Bluehue! And no tears necessary, I promise!

Kegs302 - I'm in Annandale! Just the Inner West Distributor between us!

ABlimey small world! Where do you go for your supplies? I use Essential ingredient and iced affair. But if you know of any other places around here, please share!

@ Chellescakes -

Out for dinner tonight - then a bit of prepping for a Wedding cake for Sunday week.

Other than that, a relaxed w/end.

MIGHT attempt a new idea for a Bow I have..... if all goes pear shape then I MIGHT not - lolls

Oh ...and a few Quotes

@ princesschris - lollllllll

Glad to see you are still in our playground

@Kegs -

do you do much shopping on line?

Bluehue

Yep, Iced Affair and Essential Ingredient for me too!

AI am an Aussie too! I am a Mexican though, south of the border to all you Sydney-siders lol (only just, I live in a Vic/nsw border town.) I work from home, but my kitchen is inspected and registered. I have been doing cakes for less than a year, but couldn't imagine doing anything else

oh missed all the updates sorry ladies :)

hello to all and welcome to newbies :) xx

lovely cake Kegs.

not doing much this weekend. Dinner with friends tomorrow night but thats pretty much it. No cakes for a long while :( but I'm sure something will pop up after I have this baby and I'm healthy and moving again :)

If Australia wasn't so big it would be lovely to have a coffee and chat with everyone. I don't really get to talk cake with friends and family :)

Freckles , I couldn't survive without my cake friends at the Association to talk cake to. I love it when we get a new member and you see the look on their face when they realise they are in a room full of people that "GET " them . 

I seem to be the only Queenslander in here at the moment . 

Is anyone lucky enough to be going to the National Seminar in Adelaide this year ? The wheels are being put in motion for the one here in 2015.

Blue there always seem to be quotes to do, I should be doing prep work for my next couple of cakes but have decided to play hookie this weekend. I am looking forward to the Dem Day ,  I don't have to dem so can relax and have a good time.

AI've just started and I'm 'teaching myself'. Which is highly frustrating, I'd love to have the means to do a college course, but have a 6 month old and only my hubby is working at the moment. I have set up a FB page to advertise my cakes, got an ABN and registered my business name. Now need to get my cakes to the finish that I know with some more hard work and determination I'm capable off, and hopefully I can begin to make a steady income to prevent me having to go back into the corporate world full time.

I just completed an exercise where I advertised to make cakes at cost price to gain experience and help build a portfolio. It was a great exercise, pushed me to my limits but in a good way. I now know I have a flare, and I'm utterly dertermined to succeed. There is just SO much to learn and YouTube can only teach you so much.

I'm flying 'home' to the UK for 5 weeks early may (I'm from the north of England originally). And with having family on hand to baby sit I have found someone to give me a few days 'coaching' on my pressure points whilst I'm back there. I literally get lost in my cakes. I'm 36 and never considered myself to be an artistic type of person until I started doing this. Isn't it funny how you don't know what your good at till you fall upon it accidentally!

Blue I'm NOR :) and yes I'm pregnant but not due till late July - unfortunately I am kinda on bed rest and don't want my friend stuffed around if mid June comes and I can't do the cake for her so i cancelled. oh well :)

oh yeah I think we had a couple of QLDers on here - won't be long Chelle.

I didn't even know about the seminar but one day I will hopefully be able to attend one. :) I will have to look into the Association again too. When I first did the day didn't really suit but that was a few years back now :)

Oh well done......you sound like you know what you want and are heading in that direction...

How wonderful that you are heading *home*...your family must be thrilled.

And that you get to do some caking....coaching. 

How true, you don't know what your good at or what hidden talents you have until as you say...you fall into something.

Will you  be able to still chat and keep us updated whilst in the UK?

Blue

Oh Kegs thats great :) have fun back home! Will be great to have a one on one and another view on caking too. Enjoy the extra helpers/babysitters :)

The 2015 National Seminar will be here in Queensland , held in my hometown the Gold Coast.I know the venue but I am not sure if I am allowed to talk about it. 

 I am not going to Adelaide this year as I can't stay in the Venue , it is not being held in a hotel but the Civic Centre. I have to have a sleep every afternoon so I usually miss one dem , staying where the dems are held I don't miss as much.  

If you grab a cup of coffee and get on here we can pretend that we are having coffee together.

Chelle, looks like I am heading your way toward the end of the year and mum wants to rent a place on the gold coast for a couple of days so when I know what is happening I will PM you and hopefully we can get together in real life.

I have just stuck a coconut and lime cake in the oven.  The recipe looks a bit like a pound cake.  It is layered with a lime and coconut cream cheese icing and then I will probably smother the whole thing in lime buttercream so I can practice getting the butter cream smooth.  I have just got myself an Agbay from America and hence the cake that I can slice into many bits and then sandwhich.  Very exciting.

Kegs , I was your age when I started 'serious' decorating.  I wish I had started sooner . I am sitting here at the moment surrounded by rose cones and tylose , petal dust and cake boards and I couldn't be happier. 

Yayyyy Cazza , We can play icing together 

Chelle, I am looking forward to it and you did promise to teach me your little rose peoples.  Do you know what month the 2015 seminar is in?  Now that I am tripping over your way this year I will be back again in 2015 and hence will be able to time my trip to correspond with the seminar.  Had not wanted to come over this year but now it looks like things are all working out well.  We usually have a couple of ladies from our group in Geraldton attend most of the seminars. 
 

Kegs you may be able to find an association group on a day or night when your hubby can babysit.  You can learn an awful lot this way.  I started dabbling about 24 years ago when my oldest was 4 and my youngest 10 months, but only made half a dozen cakes a year at the most.  There was no internet back then and I could not afford to buy many books, not that there were that many around.  Then I had a 10 year hiatus where we got a Christmas cake and not much else.  Now I am back with a vengence and absolutely fanatical. Now that I am old I seem to have a confidence that I didn't have when I was younger and I don't stress about my cakes any more.  If they don't look like what I had in mind when I first started the cake the   I think "Who cares and let the cake evolve as I proceed.  Realistically this probably means that I am not very good at copying but as I don't do it for a business it doesn't matter.

ASince it is Friday night here in Oz, what is everyone working on for the weekend?

I sent out a Dolly Varden this morning, that had to be pink, egg and dairy free and red food colour free, and I have just pulled a mud cake out of the oven for a christening cake for Sunday.

The 2015 National is going to be in August , I can't find the exact date though . I did search through about 5 months worth of minutes and still couldn't find it. 

Ashlea , I am having a weekend off and going to a dem day. This time last week I was frantically trying to get all my prep work done for my dem , but tonight I am relaxing.  I may clean the table up , but that is if I can be bothered. 

Blue this is my second and had preeclampsia with my first too who is now 3 :). WOW you poor thing - Blergh that would have been horrible and scary!

Yes Cazza I might have a coffee and a chat many times on this thread now :) YAY

Ashlea - I'm not doing much tonight. watching a movie and going to bed - oh wait - I have stirred Jelly and made jelly cups for the kids tomorrow (going to a friends house for dinner) haha. WOW how did you do the cake?! beetroot or strawberries or the like? I haven't ever baked a cake without egg - I guess if I ever make cakes for others I will have to learn all the egg free, gluten free, dairy free etc...

I have been reading about bake even strips and homemade type ones.  When I made my cake tonight I rapped a wet piece of towel around my cake pan.  It did not rise in the middle.  Am not sure if this was because of the wet towel or because of the recipe that I have never made before b's a bit ut it was still fun trying something new.  It's a bit hard for me to judge these things as apart from my fruit cake recipe I very rarely make the same recipe twice.  There are toooooooooooooo many new ones out there for me to try.

Freckles, sorry to here you are tied down.  It must make for very long pregnancies.  I hope you like reading.  And dreaming.  Are you busy planning a life time's worth of cakes in your head while you take it easy?