Engagement cake for Charlie

Baby Carriage Cake for Bec

Jane got hitched .....

Alisha + Matt = Married

Giveaway further announcement

What is that saying - no good deed goes unpunished? It was an attempt to show my appreciation for your Facebook support however I feel hurt and disappointed that many of you are up in arms about the competition. This prize is a total value of $300 and is certainly not cheap. I am gifting time away from my children and valuable knowledge that I spent years, hard work and money learning myself. I hope you all appreciate that.

HOWEVER, in saying all of the above, I can see everyones point and I will admit in all my dithering to make a decision (because I wanted everyone to win), that particular rule was forgotten and I offer my sincerest apologies as you are correct in stating that it has not been made fair on those who strictly played by the rules. Thank you Mel for putting your names to your comments - I appreciate it and I do look forward to making more cakes in the future for such a lovely person who is not afraid to speak her mind!

Now, in order to rectify this situation, I have decided to change this gift to a two person tutorial. Having already announced Andrea as a winner, I feel I cannot go back on my decision, what is done is done so to speak.
Now to make this fair, you will all get a chance to re-post your comments below, however I will remove 25 words or less restriction so you have all had the same chance as Andrea to let me know about your love of cake. However, please try and keep from writing mini novels if you can!

I apologise that this means you have to go through the process again, however if you are serious enough in learning about cake then I would believe it worth your efforts.

This gift which was $300 is now valued at $600 worth of my time so I hope that you are all understanding and appreciative of the attempts I have made to rectify this wrong.

Thanks everyone. I'll give a week to get your comments in below before I announce the second winner. Remember the same rules apply as previous, apart from the 25 words or less.

Winner of the one on one tutorial.....

Firstly a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated. It's so nice to hear your lovely compliments and by no means do I consider myself a master of the cake, but I'm all to aware myself how much it costs to learn the craft so it's nice to be able to give this gift.

For those who all missed out, please bear in mind that I do offer private lessons. Payment plans are accepted, however it does need to be paid in full before the tutorial.

Okay, firstly the runners up are:

• Annie Palfrey (I'm sorry but I could not stop laughing at your post!)
• Natasha Crouch (because I'm a cakeoholic too)
• Annette Ibrahim (I'm sorry Annette because you have just been through so much)

Because I had so much trouble deciding. As runner-ups, you are eligible for a 15% discount voucher towards private tutorials should you wish to take any. Please email me kate@vanillalily.com.au if you wish to claim this voucher.

FINALLY, the winner is................... Andrea Browne!

Congrats Andrea! You mentioned about all the love you put into your cakes and that it is 100% why my cakes are what they are, because putting love into the work/cakes that you do = time, care, attention to detail and striving for the absolute best (and tastiest). Please be sure to email me Andrea so we can arrange your tutorial schedule.

Thank you again ladies for your entries and I apologise for anyone who has been disappointed. I'll be sure to offer another tutorial giveaway in the future :-)

Giveaway

Vanilla Lily Cake Design has reached 3,000 likers. It's a lovely milestone and very exciting to have so many lovely people who like my page simply to enjoy the work that I love to do.

In honour of your support I'm offering a very special giveaway:

1. A personalised cake art tutorial  for 4 - 5 hours. You are welcome to learn the cake art of your choice in a one on one setting on a Saturday or Sunday or the time can be split over the both days if you wish to learn particular flowers that may require overnight drying time.
2. For those who live interstate, you will win either a gift certificate in your name for a private cake art tutorial OR the latest Debbie Brown Babycakes cake art book. It can be your choice if travel is not an option to Brisbane, Qld for you.

To enter the giveaway you must comment below on this blog post with the following information:

1. Your first name and surname.
2. Answer the following question in 25 words or less: why do you wish to win a private cake art tutorial? Your answer does not have to be a poem or particularly eloquent. It is simply a chance for me to learn what the art of cake means to you.
3. Entries close 31 August 2011. Winner will be announced on my blog on 3 September 2011. I will post the announcement on my Facebook page also.

Terms & conditions of the giveaway:

1. If you choose to take the tutorial, the date must be mutually beneficial to both of us to fit around my cake schedules.
2. What you choose to learn must be something I can do!
3. If any specific materials are required that I do not have, you will be required to purchase these before the date of the tutorial.
4. The giveaway covers the tutorial only. If you wish to learn the art of ganaching and covering a cake, you will be required to contribute to the cost of ingredients & cake boards. All other items such as fondant, floral paste, colours, dusts, ribbon, cake boxes etc I am happy to provide free of charge.

Best of luck and if you have any questions or require further clarification in relation to the giveaway, please email enquiries@vanillalily.com.au

Current Workshop Schedule

2011

22/10/11 (full) BW024 Beginners Designer Cupcake Workshop $220

19/11/11 (2 places available) SW003 Beginners Sugar Flower Workshop $460

03/12/11 (full) SM001 Shoe Masterclass $150

2012
14/01/12 (full) BW025 Beginners Designer Cupcake Workshop $220
25/02/12 (full) BW026 Beginners Designer Cupcake Workshop $220
14/04/12 (3 places available) IW001 Intermediate Cupcake Workshop $260
Date TBA (1 places available) SM002 Shoe Masterclass $150
15/09/12 (5 places available) FW002 Figurine Workshop $260

If you wish to book your place, please email enquiries@vanillalily.com.au with your course code (e.g. BW024). A $50 deposit is required upfront to secure your place.

In the meantime, you can keep tabs on course availability by regularly checking the workshops tab on my blog.

Shoe Masterclass

You will learn how to create a shoe made of icing in a perfect finish and can choose your own colour and shoe design label. Shoe kits are currently being put together and will be available for purchase. They should include a heel mold, former and cutters. You can either pay for these kits upfront with your booking (purchase cost yet to be advised) or you can choose to purchase a kit on the day. However, only cash payments will be accepted if you wish to purchase on the day.

Sugar flowers
Will cover basic blossoms and filler flowers through to wiring, veining and putting a sugar flower together with floral tape.

Intermediate Cupcake Workshop
You must show some level of knowledge in covering cupcakes with buttercream and fondant or have completed the Beginners Fondant Cupcake Workshop to attend.
This workshop will include more advanced techniques including airbrushing & painting on fondant, working with the clay gun and some piping techniques.

Newsletter Edition 1

Coming soon to your inbox, my very first edition of the cake newsletter!


Edition 1 features:


Introduction to my newsletter.
Interview with Fran McGregor of The Cake School and Cakes by Francesca (http://www.thecakeschool.com.au/)
Column by Caroline of Carolines Cakes (https://www.facebook.com/#!/carolinecakes) on her personal experience in getting started in the cake industry.
Feature Article: 6 Steps in the Cake Making Process - Step 1: Designing your cake.
Handy tips, news and more......


coming up in future editions:
Feature articles in the Cake Making Process series.
Interviews with Faye Cahill, Maggie Austin, Jacqueline Butler and much much more!

Newsletter

I am starting up a newsletter for all things cake. This newsletter will be available via email only.

If you wish to subscribe, please email enquiries@vanillalily.com.au with 'subscribe' in the subject line.

Cupcake Giveaway 7 May 2011

The winner is.... Kim Morgan!
Congrats! please email enquiries@vanillalily.com.au in regards to claiming your prize.

Read below to find out how to enter and win 6 lovely decorated cupcakes - JUST IN TIME FOR MOTHERS DAY!:

So I stuffed the girls around a bit with dates for the January/February workshop this year. What does this have to do with your cupcake giveaway? Well I promised I would give the lady who made the best cupcakes on the day of this workshop, a coveted Jessie Steele Designer Apron valued at $40. Annnnnyway, rather than just giving your name to enter this cupcake giveaway, I'm going to get you to VOTE on the cupcakes you think were the best of the day to go in the draw to win.
So what you have to do is comment on this post below with your first name AND surname and the corresponding letter (A, B, C, D, E or F) of the cupcakes (pictured below) which you like best.
Your cupcakes will be available for collection only (sorry no delivery available this time!) on 7 May 2011 (Saturday - the day before Mothers Day) at 4pm. Please only enter if you are available to collect them at this time on this day. They will be a delicious banana cake with white chocolate ganache. The banana cake recipe includes rich cream which makes the cake deliciously moist and out of all my recipes, this is my familys favourite one!
You must be a liker of the Facebook page to enter (of course!).
Thanks everyone so much for your participation. All the workshop attendees were so lovely, I can't wait to give the winner her prize :-) and yes the ladies who attended this workshop and made the lovely creations below are also allowed to enter!

YOU HAVE UNTIL 7PM THURSDAY 5 MAY 2011 TO ENTER

Here is a picture of the gorgeous Jessie Steele Apron that one lucky lady will win.

Here is a photo of the latest cupcakes made for our cupcake giveaway winner!

Melinda and James are married.............

..... congratulations to a gorgeous couple and wow, what a dress!!!!

Made in November 2010, I was told by Melinda and James that the wedding cake was AMAHHHZING. Thanks!

Two tier square cake topped with white peonies. The bottom tier is dark chocolate mud cake with dark chocolate ganache. The top tier is hazelnut mud cake layered with milk chocolate ganache and syruped with frangelico mmmmm......

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!