When an expo and an elephant meet in the one week ...

One of my friends Teresa turned to me on Thursday when we had a short lull in the cake expo and said ... so what made you get into cakes?

I have often thought about that because like most things in my life, cake decorating just sort of fell into my lap.

I was working at SBS Sport sitting in the pod and Lyddies, Zorby, Nico and I were having one of our many discussions on life. Was taking a breath and looked at one of our 57 tellys and saw a feature story on cake decorating. From that moment on I was quiet (well for at least 3.2 mins).

You gotta understand, everyone in my family has a talent and I have grown up wondering what mine was ... Mum and Auntie with their Shop were and still are very arty and crafty (they can sew, knit, paint, cook etc), our fathers were the financially ones, Matthew was the smart one, Ben was the practical one, Cousin Kylie was the all rounder and then there was me who I suppose was very good at making noise as I was always being told to be quiet from my jewellery jingling, to talking too loudly on the phone or most of all distracting people in the classroom.

So for me to discover cake decorating in 2007 was a blessing. I loved the look of the kneading of the fondant, the smoothing of the ganache, the painting of the colours, the bedazzles, ribbons etc etc.

Working on the 2007 Tour De France, I devoured hours of 'you tube' watching video after video of anything to do with cake decorating and then in Sept 2007 I booked into my first Planet Cake course and the rest as they say is history.

So last Thursday I did my annual cake expo on the Northern Beaches. We have just come off a (very successful) hugely majorly busy time in Telly World and I knew I was being too optimistic with the date of the expo and how much time I would be able to put into the cakes. I was aiming for at least 3 days prep but due to a few bumps in the road last week, I got 6.5 hours to prepare 4 cakes + cupcakes.

Suse, Darren and the whole Beyond Action Production team (you know who you all are) have just come back from 16.5 days (yes I was counting) in Adelaide for the Santos Tour Down Under cycling. What we achieved this year was incredible being LIVE for all Stages. There was alot of laughter, few tears, few dummy spits, but overall very AWESOME!! Some of the situations that Suse and I handled on a daily basis I think back now and wonder how the flip we did it but we did.

So I laugh when there is a cake I just can't get right. Seems like such a small dilemma compared to the last few weeks but I think it was my built up emotions ..... so one of the cakes didn't make it up to the bench and the whole 4 tiers went straight to the bin. Was a bit disappointed as this new design was going to be the cake of the year!!!

Anyway here are the cakes that made the selection ...

The following cake as been of my favourite to date. Kristen and Andrew asked me to make their wedding cake back in September 2011 and then their newphews bday cupcakes a few months later. Little re-cap for you below:

Now it was time for their new baby boy Boston's christening - so when Kristen asked me to design and bake a cake ... of course I was going to. I love the designing and planning aspect and took my time with this one. 

Kristen had the thought of an elephant so was going to plan with that in mind. 

Enjoy the pics ... just for something different this time .. like the Cold Play music video The Scientist when the clip goes from the finish to beginning ... so are these pics ....  

Just a side note: one of my favourite movie quotes from The Castle .... ''That'll go straight to the pool room''. This cake came very close as its final resting place was the pool table. Very proud!!

And so now its that time of year again for the planning of the 2013 Royal Easter Show cake. Have got my idea in mind ... its going to be brilliant and I cant wait to show you the progress and the end result!!!

Lets just hope the cake judge Mrs hyphen hyphen has a kinder heart with her critics this year. .....

And on the 13th Day of Xmas ....

And on the 13th Day of Xmas, my true love said to me ... take that bloody Xmas tree down .. they were the famous words of my Uncle Bruce .... always made Ben my brother laugh.

Happy New Year everyone!!!! Bit behind but it has been a touch busy of late.

We all know the song ... The Twelve Days of Xmas ... well as my family are unique, when the Cousins and I were little we made up different words to The Twelve Days of Xmas which ended like this ...
5 Nellie Dogs (sung really loudly so we got yelled at to be quiet)
4 Kylie Birds
3 Matthews
2 Silly Bens
And Fiona stuck up the gum tree (only cause I was the youngest I got tarnished) ....

Anyway for this Xmas we were introducing my 3 most gorgeous nieces, Abi, Eva and Thea to the song and we were trying for the new generation version, however, we all got bored and lego making took over.

I was one dessert duty so I made a trifle and my new little mini choc pav inventions (well Woolworths invented and I changed it around).

Abi and Eva loved the desserts and the photos below show Abi's hand launching in for a sneaky taster. The first photo was 3 years ago when I made a Little Mermaid cake for Abi and she was launching in for that too (don't worry, the knife was a blunt one).

Look same hand but 3 years on ....

The cupcakes below were for Mark and Natasha's engagement - or as I call them ... Team Tomo.

Team Tomo and I have been through some busy times together when we all worked on the Tour De France. Natasha and Mark are a really lovely couple and a few years ago I did Tash's 21st b'day cupcakes so it made my day when they asked me to make their engagement cupcakes.

For these ones there were 100 cupcakes .. pink, white, silver and sparkly. What more could anyone ask for hey???

This next gorgeous wedding cake was done last Friday. The Bride's name is Rebecca and we haven't met - all communications have been over email. Rebecca was a pure delight to deal with and very cool and calm.

As we are soo busy in the land of Television at the moment with prep for the Tour Down Under, the wedding cake was baked and decorated within 24 hours and which included icing at 11pm and 6am and then racing back to Mosman between meetings to pick up flowers and take the cake down to the venue.

Once again this show's none of us are super heroes as much as we think we are. Couldn't have done this cake without my mum and Coops who was head of Transport Co-ordination (and cake testing) ....

This was a whopping big 12 inch mississippi choc mud cake ... weighs a few tonnes and tastes awesome (if I can say so myself).

6 inch and 9 inch round foam cakes. As the Bride and Groom still wanted the look of a tiered wedding cake but not so much the actual cake ... very handy the foams ...

There is a few missing pics in between these steps ... what you are not seeing is the cake settling in my bedroom with a fan on it while I was work during the day .... and then Coops and I bolting back to my house, dressing the cake with ribbon and flowers and then bolting down to the venue ....

At the end of a week of a ferally hot Sydney Summer with no air con in our office (just dreadful) - I followed the sun at the end of the day and just sat by the water to take a moment ....

When vintage, pink 'n' pretty and a pirate meet ....

It's nearly Xmas .... can you tell???

The hint might have been back in November when they were playing christmas carols in Woolworths ..... I just don't get it ...

These sorts of songs should be saved for sitting round the telly on Xmas Eve with family and friends by watching either the National Lampoons Xmas Vacation for the 19th time or Ray Martin hosting the Carols by Candlelight from the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne with one of my Cousin Matthews potent vodka punch in hand .... just watch the fruit pieces at the end ... crucial.

Anyway, for everyone its an extremely busy time of year especially in the world of cakes and television.

The following 87 vintage cupcakes + top tier I had booked in for a while and was really looking forward to making them. The Bride and Groom were a very relaxed easy going couple and let me play away with colours and ideas ... especially for the top tier .... you'll see, its a Fiona special ....

The cupcakes were half white choccie mud and half banana .... really nice combination.

Am sure you will all pleased to know that the below rolling pin is my favourite. In my own mind, I have settled the debate from aliminium to silicone to marble and wood.  

This Pink 'n' Pretty cake is named after my favourite barbie doll from when I was little. Melissa and Jarred were lovely to work with and the cake toppers were 2nd choice as their original one didn't arrive in time. The colours, lace and bedazzles on the cake matched the room perfectly with all the decorations.

Once again this is when the world of cakes and television combine. Suse and I are beyond busy at the moment with prep for the Tour Down Under and anything else you would like to throw at us so while I was waiting for the ganache to set for each tier, was also sending emails and picturing us all in Adelaide in 45 degree heat.

Gave up on using a smoother and gone back to the old fashioned way of just smoothing down with my hands .... just pardon the jewellery .... takes forever taking everything off .... was a white choc mud with passionfruit for flavour.

Step 1, 2, 3 + 4 for covering a HUGE tier ... (choc mud with raspberry)

See the difference in the sizes ... was a 4 inch, 7 inch, 10 inch + 13 inch

Just please take a moment and look at the view. This is my favourite at Taronga Zoo ... you just can't stop looking .... and you can hear all the animals too.

Once constant stability I have had in my life is the McDowell family. My brother Ben and I have grown up with Nick, Mike and Shelley our whole lives.

We grew up 1 min away in our neighbourhood and formed the One Way Street gang where we would hang out generally in the street from sunrise to sunset (usually causing some sort of trouble).

Mike and I started at Wyong Road pre-school together. He was the rebel even at the age of 4yrs old, either climbing the fence and escaping down the street or just simply pulling the thread of my favourite pink ribbon until it was a pile of satin on the ground. Yes, I am a forgiver but not a forgetter!!! 

Shelley and I have shared our lives for as long as I can remember. From sitting at the one way street sign for many hours contemplating life, to phone and skype conversations from all locations around the globe, there have been many laughs, tears, thoughts and just listening and giving advice. 

Shelley is just about to embark on another big adventure this week which is another story in itself and as my mum said earlier this week ...'Life is what it is' .... 'It just is' ....  

So ... when Shelley asked me to make a pirate cake for Mike's son Robbie's 5th b'day ... of course ... add to the list of stuff to do this week. There is always time for a cake.

I wanted him to look like a menacing pirate but got the complete opposite ... he got the right reaction though with Robbie very much liking him ... well worth it....