The journey of the French Macaron

So I thought I'd take the day off today {very rare} and have some fun making macarons. I decided I'd take the leap and try my hand at the true French macaron. {I've only made macarons using the Italian meringue method} It was very scary making them with the french method. 

This is how they turned out .... they didn't quite turn out right {the feet are to protruding and not enough height on them} I baked them on my silicone baking mat and have read on many blogs that these are the results if using the silicone mat. The great thing was they tasted better then the italian meringue method and I also didn't get the hollow shell.  I'm determined to perfect this!! So my next step is to try baking them on parchment paper, hopefully I will get nicer clean feet and more height in the macaron cookie without getting a hollow inside.


However it will have to wait for a couple of weeks as I'm super busy next week. 

To be continued ...






Happy Baking!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Aahhh I feel love is in the air today! I hope whatever all you lovelies are doing today, it's something that fills your heart with love and joy!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

For Denise & Danilo

I love wedding season and I especially love it when I get to create a tiered wedding cake!! I so wish I could do more of them!! 

Anyhow I am this for a wonderful couple who married over the weekend.  Denise and Danilo wanted a wedding cake that was elegant with clean lines.  They wanted each tier to have a special feel and really loved the lace embossing that I had done on my previous cakes.  

I just absolutely fell in love with this cake!! I loved everything about it.  I wish I could get married again {to my hubby of course} It would be so much fun making my own wedding cake!!

Introducing Mr & Mrs Salvador's 4 tier wedding cake.

Handcrafted large fondant roses in dusky pink &  ivory.

The wedding reception was held at the gorgeous Heritage grand tea room.  If you haven't been there, it really is beautiful!  I absolutely loved the ceiling!! Such amazing details.

I'm so happy that Denise & Danilo loved their wedding cake as much as me.  I had such a fantastic time making it for them!!

Congratulations D&D!! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together!

Isabella turns 4!

My little munchkin turned 4 years old over the holidays! We celebrated with a quiet dinner with my best friends who also are Isabella's godparents and Isabella's best friend Katherine and her mummy & daddy.  I  didn't get the chance to make her a "fancy" cake because of the hectic week of prepping for our friends wedding.  I felt so bad!! The best I could do was make her a super tasty cake and OMG it tasted so good!  The best thing was Isabella got to help me make it.  I always love spending time in the kitchen with her.  We get up to some pretty cool stuff.

I decided I would make her a vanilla sponge cake filled with jam, strawberries and cream! It went down a treat with everyone and Isabella thought it was the best cake ever!! I guest sometimes it's nice to keep it simple and if the smile on Isabella's face says anything ... I think she was pretty happy too.

Happy Birthday Isabella!

I'm so excited to see what this year holds for Miss B ... I sure there will be alot of fun adventures, a few tears and a whole lot of giggles!  It's going to be an awesome year for being FOUR!

Happy Baking!

Welcome to Isabella's Place!

For Christmas we decided that we would build Isabella her very own outdoor playhouse!  A very excited me just couldn't wait to get started!! My mind went into overdrive with all the ideas of what I could do on the inside, what colours I wanted to paint it, all the cute and pretty things I could get for the house.  I was just willing December to come around.  My next mission was to some how keep it a secret from my little munchkin! Hmmm .... Thanks to my lovely mother inlaw, the munchkin was ship to nan's for a extended sleep over.  We ended up having only 2 days to put the house up, paint the inside and out and also furbishing it.  Gosh, thinking back now I don't know how we managed to get everything done!!  Hubby and I was working like little crazy people!!

Anyhow, after months & months of waiting building day FINALLY arrived!! Yippee!! As I said we worked like crazy and got it all done and really for the munchkin to get the biggest surprise of her life on Christmas morning.  And what a fantastic Christmas morning it was!!  She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing and she was almost to scared to go inside, it was so super cute.

Welcome to Isabella's Place.

I decided that painting it a neutral gender colour would be best, just incase our next munchkin is a boy {I don't think he would too be impress with playing in a pink house!} So what other colours then my favourite teal and yellow.  On the inside we painted it white and gave it a rough paint as I wanted that shabby chic look.  It also really brightened up the inside.

I had lots of fun shopping for all the furniture and little pretty things.  The weekend markets and Trademe became my best friend!  My brother brought her a new mixer and cupcake set for her christmas present and fitted perfectly in her new house.

Isabella's kitchen with all her bits and pieces.

Upstairs I created a relaxing and pretty space where she can take time out and read her books or play with her toys.

The quilt I had brought for Isabella before she was born.  I was in an antique store when I saw it and I knew it was going to be prefect for my little munchkin.  I'm so happy that it has now found a place in her little house.

A pretty bunting hangs from the ceiling & a piece of vintage fabric framed hangs above the door way.

A cute little blackboard for her doodles and you can't have a playhouse without a sweet broom and dustpan set.  I also brought a cute little ironing board and give it a new lease of life by recovering it in some shabby chic fabric.

Isabella's aprons hanging waiting for her .... I wonder what she will be cooking? Maybe some cupcakes?

There are still a few things we need to finish like painting the support beams, but all in all it is the perfect little house for our munchkin.  I'm so looking forward to watching her play in her house with all her friends.  Using their imaginations and creating their own little world.

Happy Baking!

Sweet Princess!

I do love a girly girly cake and was very excited about creating this cake for a little cutie who turned the big FIVE!!  Her mummy wanted something very special, that was super pretty and fit for her little princess.  What better way then to create a princess cake for her princess.

I've never been big on the whole dolly varden cakes which have the barbies in them, but I really wanted to make one!! hehe So this is my take on a dolly varden cake and is as close to a 3D cake that I'm going to get. {If you know me ... 3D cakes scare me!! =)}

I adored creating this cake and just loved how it turned out.  I love the gorgeous pastel tones, which just made for an even more pretty cake.  So here she is a cake fit for a princess!

Sweet Princess

I also create some princess theme cupcakes.  Cute pillows with a sweet crown and ribbon roses.

Dusky pink roses with a sprinkle of magical sugar crystals.

I love how the whole tower came together.

Cakes and cupcakes like these just make me feel so happy on the inside and out!! I love that I can create these cakes for such special little cuties and know that somehow, I've been apart of their lives celebrating these big milestones!! Yippee!

Happy Baking!

Mr & Mrs Luong Vintage inspired dessert table

Wow! I can't believe it is 2012!! I firstly want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!! How did you lovelies celebrate? 

We had a huge party!! Well kind of .. {hehe} Some very good friends of ours got married on New Year Eves, so it was a fantastic way to celebrate their wedding and also bring in the new year.

I had the great honor of styling Mr & Mrs Luong's dessert table and also designing their wedding cake and cupcakes.  Oh and I almost forgot I also got to make macaron favors too.  As you can imagine it was a crazy busy week leading up to the wedding { with Christmas, hubby and I - 8 year wedding anniversary and our gorgeous lil munchkins 4th birthday} I don't think I got much sleep at all.  I have to say that it was all worth it tho.  The dessert table turned out amazing and Mr & Mrs Luong love what I came up with.

Mr & Mrs Luong's Dessert Table

The wedding had a vintage inspired theme with gorgeous bird cages and teacup and pearl center pieces.  For the dessert table we followed that theme with gorgeous shabby chic furniture, hanging bird cages, lots of gorgeous teacups & saucers, beautiful cake stands, vintage napkins and table clothes and the most amazing white hydrangeas and roses.

Their wedding colours were teal & pink, so we decided to have a teal fondant ruffle cake with a pretty dusky pink flower as the topper.  The flower was inspired by a fabric flower that I have in my studio.

I especially loved this dresser that I source, it was the perfect canvas for our the pretties to be displayed on.

These were absolutely delicious!! Mini trifles in a shot glass and on the cut glass cake stand yummy opera cake and of course our mini cupcakes in white chocolate raspberry and tangy lemon poppy.

Also on the menu mini fruit tarts, macarons, the most delish chocolate mousse!!

Lace embossed fondant covered cupcakes with ruffle inspired fondant flowers

I loved the hanging bird cages with the back drop of fairy lights.

Oh and how can anyone resist the mini creme brulee? They were just to dye for!

Out of all the tables this would have to be my favourite!!! I just loved everything about it!! 

Beautiful teacups & sauces and gorgeous hydrangeas in vintage glass jars {LOVE}

The wedding was just amazing and we all had a fabulous time!!!  An amazing new years eve!!

Congratulations to my very good friend Viv & Mike!! May you have many years of joy and happiness together!!

Happy New Years Lovelies!

Cake & Cupcakes by Bella Cupcakes

Dessert by SKYCITY Grand

Vintage china hire by Vintage Simiplicity

Bird Cages & jars by Centrepieces

Styling & Photography by Bella Cupcakes

Miss Li's French chic inspired bridal shower

I had the great honor of styling this bridal shower for a very good friend of mine.  Miss Li will be getting married in December.  It was quite a funny journey coming up with the concept for her bridal shower.  She really thought that I was going to throw her a hen's night with strippers etc... and well let's just say that she didn't get much sleep for the last 5 weeks!!  I know all along what I wanted to do but hey there's no harm in teasing her with ideas of what we might do!!

Anyhow back to Miss Li's bridal shower.  I decided on a french chic inspired theme with gorgeous teal and pink tones. {which Miss Li will also be using for her wedding day}

I was so super excited to meet up with my florist and ask if he could get me peonies { I had all my fingers and toes crossed} you should have seen my face when he said YES!!! I was like a little kid in a candy store!! Yay! Yay! Yay!! The peonies would be the perfect touch to the bridal shower.

We served up some delicious sweet and savory treats to the guest.  On the menu were:

Chocolate & Raspberry macarons

Lemon meringue tartlets 

Chocolate raspberry tartlets

Chocolate orange & white chocolate raspberry cupcakes

Caramel cake pops

Cannelloni bean & salmon canapes

Prawn & cucumber canapes

Chicken & avocado canapes

Homemade pink lemonade

Pink bubbles

The sweets table

The beverages table

Love!

French chic inspired cake

There is nothing more gorgeous then a cup of roses

It's all in the details

Peony love!

Miss Li knew that we were throwing her a "hen's party" but she had not idea what she was in for.  She was gobsmacked when she saw everything - her words "I'm so excited I'm hyperventilating!!"  We all had a wonderful afternoon, drinking, eating and being merry.  We played the toliet bridal dress game amongst others.  Alot of laughing through out the day. 

So looking forward to New Year's Eve!! What a way to bring in 2012 - Miss Li's wedding day.

Styling & catering by Bella Cupcakes

Photography by Vanessa Iti

Happy baking!

Snow White & her forest friends

This special little project for a gorgeous little girl who celebrating turning 3 years old.  I've had the pleasure of creating Jecholeah's birthday cakes for the last 2 years, so was very excited to create this for her.

Jecholeah's mummy wanted to go with a Snow White theme party and left the design of the cupcake tower up to me!! Yippee!  I thought Snow white, meadow and cute little animal friends.

And this is the finished tower.  I just loved the colours and had alot of fun hand painting the details on the cake and cupcakes.

Jecholeah's Snow White Cupcake tower

Close up of Snow White

Cute bunny rabbit

Snow White's basket of flowers

Birdie friends

Cute little squirrel {tho I didn't think he really likes a squirrel!! hehe}

I had a wonderful time creating the cupcakes and cake for little Jecholeah!! I hope she had a wonderful birthday!!

Happy Birthday Miss J!

Happy Baking