Shona got married...............

.... and it was a toss up between a traditional cake or the rugby jerseys. Looks like the jerseys won!
The wallabies jersey is white chocolate mud cake with white chocolate ganache and the all blacks is dark chocolate mud cake with dark chocolate ganache.

Time for a giveaway!

Well I've been a bit slack with updating my blog so I'm trying to keep on top of things.

Exciting news that the Facebook Page has reached 2,000 likers. I'd like to do something special but I'm not sure what, I've received some suggestions in the past. I'm thinking a day of caking with me where you'll receive a baked cake to ganache and decorate under my tutorial.

What are the thoughts on this? Good idea? bad? does everyone just want the free cupcakes? I don't know!

Let me know. I'll get something in the works xo

Cupcake Giveaway 6 March 2011

the winner is .................................

kelly-marie ogden

Congrats Kelly-Marie. Please contact me at enquiries@vanillalily.com.au to claim your prize.

You need to be available to collect your cuppies from Mt Gravatt at 9am on Sunday or delivery may be available pending where you are!

To enter: please respond below with your first name AND surname to be in the draw to win. Entries close Saturday 5 March 2011 at 12pm. Winner announced on Saturday 5 March 2011 at 5pm. Please check your Facebook feed as we will notify you the winner has been drawn and link you to our blog so you can check who the winner is (we can't announce it on Facebook due to their promotion guidelines).

These are going to be the fabulous figurine cupcakes that will be taught in the Figurine Cupcake Workshops.

UNFORTUNATELY I CANNOT OFFER GIFT VOUCHERS ANY MORE FOR GIVEAWAYS. THIS IS DUE TO CURRENT HIGH DEMAND FOR CAKES.

WE WILL FROM TIME TO TIME HAVE GIVEAWAYS WHERE THE PRIZE IS A GIFT VOUCHER SO MOST OF YOU WON'T MISS OUT ON A CHANCE TO WIN.

Details:

Every month, Vanilla Lily Cake Design gives away FREE cupcakes. Yay! You’ll receive ½ dozen beautifully decorated cupcakes, all gift boxed, just for you!

Only Facebook likers of Vanilla Lily Cake Design may enter the draw as it is intended as a big thank you for your support of our Facebook page and a chance for you to taste how delicious our cakes are!

I may also be able to offer free delivery to the south side area of Brisbane. In other circumstances, we can work together on how you can best receive your free cupcakes.

To enter the draw, all you have to do is see the words ‘Cupcake Draw’ and the draw date in your facebook feed and comment to this blog post only with your first name and surname to enter.
Only one entry per person will be counted.

Sad news at Vanilla Lily HQ

Well the time has come to make the announcement that the beautiful Belinda (my partner in crime at VL headquarters) has recently made the decision to hang up her apron and focus full time on her new beautiful little daughter Holly. It certainly hasn't been an easy decision for Belinda to make and we still remain close friends.


Some of you may know Belinda, some won't, but she has been on maternity leave from VL since March 2010. So whilst I've always made the comments on blogs and Facebook about 'we' and 'us' since she has been on leave it's more just a habit then anything else as it has been just me running the show for a little while.


I would like to assure everyone that it is still business here as usual and there is no intention on my part to depart the cakie world. All booked in orders are proceeding as normal :-)


Belinda, I wish you every success in your future ventures. I will miss you very much in the cakie business.


On a happier note, is anyone looking for a part time cakie job? Perhaps I will be needing some help down the track ;-)

Win a Cupcake Courier!!!!

We're are on a quest and we need YOUR help!

We want to find the best gluten and dairy free cupcake recipe in the world (well why not - if we just say Australia then it could mean there are better ones out there right????)
Right now we figure that the flourless orange and almond cake on our menu (gluten and dairy free) is pretty damn hot stuff. But guess what, we hear it's all you ever get when you live with these intolerances or lifestyle choices and we think that bites the big one..... So, we don't want to be like everyone else with the same old same old. We'll keep our gorgeous orange and almond cake on the menu, but we want MORE (of course - doesn't everyone?).

So here is the deal:
Email us your amazingly wonderful dairy and gluten free cupcake recipe (if it's a cake recipe it still has to work well as cupcakes ie rise well and not pull away from the papers after cooked). If we trial your recipe and love it so much we decide to add your recipe to our menu, you will win a cupcake courier. Does that sound like a good deal to you? hmmmmm what was that? you want cupcakes to go in it? Why the heck not! hehe... While we are at it, we'll throw in a half dozen decorated cupcakes for you to enjoy as well. Total Value $95.00.

So get to emailing us. We'll be most appreciative of your help and it will save our hair as we're sure we've lost a bunch of strands everytime we pull a batch of trial cuppies out of the oven to find they have sunk beyond oblivion....

Please have your recipes to us at enquiries@vanillalily.com.au by 12 February 2011. We will announce the winners name by 28 February 2011.
We do ask that you don't just send us links to gluten free websites or recipes as believe us, we have googled and baked and googled and baked and read books and baked and we have been there. We want something you have made and KNOW is a real winner :-)

Cakes in wet weather

We use fondant to make cake decorations and to cover our cakes. This type of icing usually firms up in normal weather. However in these miserable wet conditions in Brisbane, it is causing many dramas for cake decorators.

With so much moisture in the air, figurine creations and smooth fondant on cakes becomes soft and sticky and loses shape. It can sometimes lead to last minute design changes to accomodate for the moisture which can be frustrating.

If you're struggling with your own cake in this weather - you are not alone! The best way to help combat the moisture is to keep your decorations/cake in a ventilated box with a moisture absorber or two and keep the box in a dry air conditioned room.

Are you buying a custom designed cake? Be aware to not put your cake in the fridge or get it wet. Moisture is the enemy!