Here at Cake Occasions we like to stay ahead of trends rather than “on trend”.  With each cake we try to push the boundaries of design, construction and colour, we want each client’s cake to be unique, to be personally designed and constructed for them.

So it was with great pleasure that we identified some emerging trends in cake design in this months Cosmo Bride

When designing a cake think about using colour, different textures, oversized sugar flowers or sugar paste love birds as toppers.

Play around with flavours, try peppermint ganache with dark chocolate mud cake or orange mocha.

You are only limited by your imagination.

Late last year Chris and I were asked by Bride To Be to be the subject of a mood board in the March issue.

Of course we were thrilled to oblige, it was a really interesting experience for us as we had to think about our inspirations for our work and find objects that epitomise us and Cake Occasions. Inspiration for creating a cake can come from anywhere, patterns on bed linen, china plates and cups, wall paper, beautiful dresses the list is endless.

It was also a great opportunity to take stock of how far our business has come since we started in late 2006 and where we want to go in the next few years.

Thank you to Amelia and Ros for a fantastic feature.

A few weeks ago The Real Weddings Style magazine hit the news stands and we were thrilled to see one of our favourite cakes on the front cover.

This is a really beautiful annual that also features real life weddings and beautiful products. It is well worth picking up if you are planning a wedding or a special event. The styling tips and features always make me want to have a beautiful party.

Also this week a cake we made for Mandi over at Babyology was reviewed on her website. You can read the review here

We have been asked to create many wonderful and varied cakes since we started our business.

This week we were commissioned to make a cake for a surgeon celebrating a milestone operation, his 10,000th ACL (Knee operation)

We also made a cute yellow critter for Mandi at Babyology for her daughter’s 2nd birthday. Mandi told us that her little girl loves yellow and provided some cute Japanese character’s to inspire Chris in the design of the cake. Look out for the review of the cake on Babyology at the end of September.

We held our first piping class last Sunday, which was fabulous. Chris had such a great time teaching the girls he forgot to get some action snaps.

Our spring classes kick off this weekend with a half day piping class.

There are still two places available in this session and you get to take home a Wilton Tip set and a piping kit.

I have one space available in our level 2 beginners Tiffany box class running on Sunday 13th September and 3 spots available in our intermediate two tier round class on Sunday 20th September.

Click here to view class details or email me enquiries@cakeoccasions.com.au to book into a class

We were also lucky enough to have one of our cakes featured on the Real Weddings Blog last week with the cake also appearing in their soon to be released style issue.

We created this cake last year for the wedding of Stacey and Shane Kouros who used birds and yellow as a motif through out their wedding.

This beautiful photo was taken by Blumenthal Photography

Here is an article I wrote for The Wedding Establishment’s From The Experts page

Having a show stopping cake at your wedding does not mean you have to go over the top.
Using bold colours, unusual plants or flowers to adorn your cake or different textures and patterns can help make a bold statement.

Some of our favourite cakes are simple, modern and bold. They are designed around a theme, be it a colour, a motif, a plant or a cultural representation.

Here are some stories of our favourite cakes.
Shimmered Succulent

We created this cake for a bride who had a green theme for her wedding. She used cale, succulents and lots of foliage and greenery in the floral arrangements and bouquets.  We played with the heights of each tier to give the cake a different look and shimmered the white icing to give the colour some depth.

We also think it is important to decorate the back of the cake, it adds to the beauty but it also gives the bridal party something to look at.

Dragon and Phoenix

A Chinese fan with Dragons was the inspiration for this cake. The couple originally wanted two dragons on the cake but an Aunt from Hong Kong that Dragons were male. She told them the Phoenix was female and in Chinese tradition these two creatures together represent matrimonial harmony and happiness. Chris drew up the design of the dragon and phoenix and then painstakingly hand cut each piece of the blue icing and then attached the pattern to the cake.

Concentric Blossoms

The inspiration for this cake came from the blossom motif that was used through out this wedding. The invitations, wall hangings and vases all carried this stunning motif.
The blossom pattern was hand cut and Chris used tiny hatpins that the bride had provided to create the stamen in the blossoms. The cake had all these amazing textures, which brought it to life.

Autumn Leaves

Autumn is a beautiful time to have a wedding, the not too cold days and the warm autumn colours are very romantic.
These two cakes were both adorned with autumn leaves, one painted on and the other hand painted sugar paste Bodhi leaves.

Creating a bold, show stopping wedding cake does not mean you have to go out on a limb and create something really mind boggling. Using different techniques, textures, colours and plants will make your cake distinct from the next person, but it will also be modern and sophisticated.

An article I wrote for The Wedding Establishment was published in their newletter.

I tried to provide as many tips for things to think about when planning and designing your cake.

Here is a copy of the article.

We held our first intermediate 2 tier class and were very impressed with the efforts of the girls who attended.

It was a long and hard day, but both women created fantastic cakes.

Hi Chris & Alisa,

Just wanted to thank you for the wonderful cake class on Sunday!

It was an awesome day, I truly enjoyed myself and learned a lot.   The cake was loved by all, and I’ve had so many comments on my photos - now I just have to find the time to eat it.

Thanks again,

Rgds,
Jane

We now have a permanent classes page, where you can see our scheduled classes and class descriptions.

We have only scheduled a few over spring, but if you would like to have a class with a few friends or a private lesson we are happy to organise this on a date that suits you.

Chris and I received a wonderful surprise when we opened the Sunday Life Magazine last Sunday.

There was a small piece on the Art of cake decorating and our classes. We were delighted.

Also this week an article I wrote about the challenges and the delights of running a small business while wrangling toddlers and preschoolers was posted on Babyology . Click here to read the article.

There are some photos of my beautiful boys Kai and Spencer “helping” their dad Chris work

A few months ago we were lucky enough to be asked by Real Weddings Magazine to create some cakes for a Red themed photo shoot. This resulted in a feature titled “The Colour Of Love” in the just released winter issue. A great big thank you to the girls at Real Weddings for asking us to participate and taking such beautiful shots.