Monkeying Around

Vanilla sponge, chocolate wafer, ganache, vanilla mousse (tastes like vanilla ice cream, so good!), chocolate mousse. Covered in buttercream with a semi-island theme. The monkey was the star though:)

Lemon and Vanilla

This is a cake done for a function for tonight. Lemon and Vanilla layered cake. Vanilla sponge, tart lemon curd, topped with a vanilla mascarpone cream. Served with a vanilla crumble and strawberry salad.

A Hawaiian Dessert Buffet

Last night, I went to a fabulous Luau themed birthday party that included, shell leis, hula dancers, fire throwers, and a whole roasted suckling pig! I provided the desserts in a buffet style along with some beautiful fruit platters done by my friend. The birthday cake had a coconut sponge cake, coconut mousse, pineapple lime compote, and coconut cream cheese frosting on the outside and coated with shredded coconut.

These chocolate shells were filled with chocolate mousse and decorated with crunchy chocolate sticks.
I had some strawberry guava sorbet sandwiches and mini banana splits that had a cherry compote, homemade vanilla ice cream, and caramelized bananas. Pineapple macarons filled with a roasted pineapple jam. Coconut marshmallows atop the cake platter.
Mini pavlova shells filled with whipped cream, fresh fruit and passionfruit pulp.

Angry Birds Part Two

Another take on the Angry Birds Cake I did before, this time with more pigs and obstacles. The interior is a fluffy red velvet cake with lots of cream cheese frosting.

Crab and Salmon Cakes

Crab meat, salmon, mayo, green onion, finely diced red onion, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Panko crusted and pan fried.

Japanese Cheesecake with Sauteed Cherries

Making the most of the B.C. cherries right now, I sauteed them with some butter, sugar, and a splash of cassis. Served over a slice of soft Japanese cheesecake.

Steamship Cake

Every year, Theatre Under the Stars puts on amazing shows. This year was "Anything Goes" and takes place on a ship. This was a huge cake I might add, and probably weighed close to 40lbs! The base "waves" were made from royal icing and the cake was a hazelnut cake with chocolate mint frosting. I really wanted to add the rails so I made them out of isomalt. The steam columns were rice krispies squares ( I had fun eating the trim).

My First Car!.....Cake

This cake was for my friend who loves his car very much. So much so, that he hesitated when cutting into it. This was definitely a good practice at shaping cakes and I admit I struggled a bit with the inset wheels ( I made the wheels the day before out of rice krispies but ended up making them bigger, then smaller, to get the right size) though I think the car being a sports car that is lower on the ground is easier to make than a regular car that would have to be lifted up somehow in the centre.

Inside is chocolate cake with ganache and peanut butter icing. I'm happy with the result and hope that I can improve on more of my decorating skills soon.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in food heaven. Inside this cake are layers of peanut dacquoise, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and peanut butter ganache. I went a little chocolate curl overload here but I wanted something really showy and this is definitely it. Milk chocolate curls of different sizes with peanut butter truffles scattered on top add texture and interest to the design.

Strawberry Season

Right now, it's the perfect time for B.C. strawberries. When I was at the market yesterday, I could smell the strawberries as soon as I arrived so I knew I had to get them. Not only are they adorably cute, they are bright red, juicy, and sweet, not at all like the watery large ones one would get from the grocery store. I put these on some chiffon cakes with whipped cream. Super simple yet delicious.