Fondant 101 by Glorious Treats

I haven't used fondant yet and yes I am scared of it and don't really love the taste, but boy does it make a biscuit/cookie look good! Glory from Glorious treats has done a great post on using fondant.



These photos are courtesy of Sweetapolita who also has some gorgeous recipes and advice on baking yummy treats! I would like to try some for my sister in law's baby shower in a couple of months. Have you tackled fondant? Let me know your tips if you have.

Riley and the Curious Koala Book Launch

Yesterday we attended Tania McCartney's book launch for Riley and the Curious Koala. We went as a family and had a lovely morning out. Tania put together a gorgeous dessert bar and Liz from pARTy cakes made the most amazing cupcakes (as usual). Almost too cute to eat but we just had to and guess what they were scrumptious (as usual). See more of Tania's photos here.



The rest are a few of my happy snaps of the morning...

Donna Hay Online store

Donna Hay has a new online store! Some lovely goodies there for those of us that have never made it to the bricks and mortar shop. The waxy straws above are hard to find or buy at a decent price in Australia, just like those darn stripey paper straws! I think $10 for 40 is pretty good considering one local online store charges $12 for shipping paper straws!





I had to show a few photos of the actual shop in Woollahra it looks divine - just the kind of place I would like to visit after brunch out. I'd love to know your experience there if you have been lucky enough to visit the Woollahra store?







All photos courtesy of Donna Hay.

Edible Icing Sheets

Aren't these wonderful? I had to leave these images with you for the weekend - they are edible icing sheets from Ticings as seen on Amy Atlas blog! Unfortunately the postage to Australia costs almost as much as the sheets if not more... so you might have to use Cakes Around Town - an aussie company that actually make custom printables - which is perfect for tying a theme together if you are clever at the design part. Have a great weekend.

Friday Favourites - Ruffled cake and cushions

I loved this guest dessert feature on Amy Atlas today - I particularly LOVE the cushions! so cute - that cake is amazing!!!!!!!



Love this shade of green



I had green bridesmaids in a similar shade almost 8 years ago and they had pink flowers - still a favourite combination! Beautiful photography by Jeanna Hayes.

Editors note: You can get that cake recipe here! Thanks Tania :-)

Cookie Cutters with a difference...

Aren't these fabulous... they would look fantastic on a winter dessert bar on the side of a warm hot chocolate shot glass. Once again from Cox and Cox.



You could get in early for Christmas and start practicing your snowflake cookies! Even though we don't have a white Christmas here in Oz - there is something lovely about snowflakes at Christmas... maybe it is the thought of being cooler that we all love :-)

My Creative Space - Dessert Bar

I was actually VERY busy creating this last Thursday (bar the pom pom's & circle garlands) but couldn't share it in 'my creative space' as I didn't want to spoil the surprise.... you can read all about it and see more photos here.



I didn't make these delightful cookies or cupcakes either - Elizabeth of pARTy cakes did but I just had to show you the close up photos of them.





I did make these simple food signs that reflected the shop branding and helped tie the theme together (with a little help from clever hubby).



I also made some Almond Crescent biscuits which I am glad I didn't taste before I took them as they were way more chewy than they usually are - typical when you want them to be just right! Being a bit of a perfectionist, had I tasted them I probably would have left them at home... a silly pride thing really.



Lastly I made myself these hair pins to wear on the night!



1 week to go.... I am hoping to not be creative spacing with you next week in the nicest possible way but holding a new bub instead! We'll see!! See what everyone else is up to here.

Shop Handmade Launch - White Dessert Bar

With some inspiration from Amy Atlas I created my very first dessert bar for the Shop Handmade VIP launch! The white dessert bar (with a touch of 'Shop Handmade' blue) was laden with delicious goodies for our guests to enjoy with a glass of bubbly!



The super talented Elizabeth of pARTy cakes created our delightful 'Shop Handmade' gingerbread biscuits, adorable vanilla cupcakes and the 'cappuccino' mud cakes which could be mistaken for a real coffee! The details were exquisite, thank you Elizabeth - they were a huge hit. The to-die-for New York Cheesecake was from Flute bakery.




Unfortunately I could not find white macaroons in Canberra so had to settle for meringues! Guests enjoyed some old favourites like milk-bottles and marshmallows and some divine organic vanilla bean flecked chocolates from Lindsay and Edmunds along with home-baked almond crescent biscuits! Even our drinks got dressed up for the night with cute 'shop girl' tags made by fellow dessert-bar-enthusiast, Tania who assisted me with the lovely details.




Last but not least, the simply beautiful letter-pressed invitations from Poppy Letterpress which set the tone for the whole evening... in one word....delicious! I made the cute little food signs from Business card sheets, printed at home, using a tent fold to allow them to stand with ease.


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I thoroughly enjoyed planning and executing my first dessert bar even while almost 9 months pregnant!!! Now the launch is over I have been secretly dreaming up lovely birthday themes for my daughters party in October. I know - 6 months away... but with the birth of our second child any day now it gives me something creative to look forward to on those long nights that I know are coming! You can enjoy more photos here and here.

Bulk Confectionary Vendors - Australia

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With the 'dessert bar' trend on the rise in Australia, I saw this post on The Inspired Bride and thought - oh I need to find one of those guides for Oz! Of course I couldn't find one... so I made my own list. It's not as comprehensive as the USA guide, however it may still help in some way! If anyone knows of any other suppliers they are happy to share... then please leave a comment.

• Confectionery warehouse
  
• Goody Goody Gumdrops
• Lollyworld
• Wallies Lollies
• Lollies to go
• Campbells Cash & Carry

Of this list I have only personally used the Confectionery warehouse and Campbells.



The cute lolly scoops can be purchased from Goody Goody Gumdrops with any confectionery purchase or try catering/hospitality supply stores in your area.



Spotlight also have some great cupcake wrappers just like the ones from Robert Gordon along with plain coloured metal tins (white and red) perfect for little bottles of drinks on ice or trays with sides for the same purpose!

If you want more information on baking & cake decorating suppliers see here.

Dessert Bar - Baking and Cake Decorating Suppliers

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After waking from yesterday's sugar coma, I still had sugary goodness on the brain and felt inclined to share a couple of great Australian suppliers I have found on-line. One is Little Betsy Baker who I have blogged about previously and recently I discovered another called Baking Pleasures. They cross-over a little in supplies but do have different things.

Some supplies you can pick up from Baking Pleasures to make your dessert bar shine for any special occasion:



Cupcake wrappers


Stencils




Cookie texture sets


Cupcake toppers - If you want to just ice your cupcake and pop something ready made on top these perfect!

Get inspired for your next birthday party, kitchen tea or baby shower! The boys don't miss out there are all sorts of goodies for them too!