Tools I can't live without #6

Following on, from the last "tools I can't live without" post #6 is the heating core. This tool was one of things I'd heard alot of raving about. I was sceptical about how well it could work. Once I tried it, I became one of it's biggest fans. It really REALLY works.

A heating core is used heat to bake large cakes evenly. Releases easily from cake. Recommended for 10 in. diameter or larger pans. Simply grease inside & out - fill core with batter, once baked, remove core from cake and replace cake plug in hole. Heating cores are $18 each. Click here to buy.

One of our own on Cake Wrecks

I got word today that Lisa from the Whole Cake & Caboodle (based here in Whangarei) had made it to the Cake Wrecks site (When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong). But rest assured it is not because Lisa's cake is a wreck, quite the opposite. Lisas stunning Sesame Street cake made it on, in celebration of 40 years of Sesame Street. BECAUSE IT WAS SO GOOD. Now we all grew up watching Sesame Street. I had great delight introducing my children to Sesame Street and even now I enjoy the Sesame Street DVDS. Particulalrly the 25th anniversary edition, which has some clips, I remember. Hopefully they'll bring out a 40th anniversary DVD. I'll be first in line to get it.

I hope this has made you think about your favourite Sesame Street moment. Click here to see the full Cake Wrecks Sesame Street post.

New plunger cutters WOWEE!

Today I've had so many new & exciting products I am like a pig in mud - I just want to play with them all. Today Sleigh, Snowmen & holly leaves joing the already fantastic range of plunger cutters.
Click here to view our range of plunger cutters.

Custard Squares from Denheath Desserts

For those fo you that are fans of Denheath custards squares you have to watch this video. For those of you that haven't heard of them, you have to watch this video After doing so you can order them from the oh-so-lovely Lisa at http://www.denheath.co.nz/

Baking for Hospice

I was made aware about Baking for Hospice from the Delish Cupcakes blog. If there's anyone near the North Shore (Auckland) who would like to help with baking for Hospice - then check out the Baking for Hospice blog I've just emailed some of the bakers and the orgnaisers to offer cupcake papers etc, for use in the endeavour - as geographically I am too far away to deliver baking.

Today I sampled the taste of YELLOW chocolate

I had word from Telecom & Josh that the YELLOW taste testers would be in Bank st Whangarei from 11am-2pm today. I couldn't wait to race down and try out the TASTE OF YELLOW. I met with the two lovely girls here in my photo who explained to me, the 4 tasting samples all needed to be tasted YAY! 4 whole chocolates just for me. Then I had to nominate NOT which chocolate I liked the most, but which chocolate tasted the most like YELLOW.

This is what the 4 chocolates looked like.

The testers marked off on a sheet, which colour wrapped chocolate most tasted like YELLOW in each testers opinion.

The testers were well positioned outside one large bank, across the road from another and next to the rubbish bin (for all those wrappers) and a pedestrian crossing to catch new taste testers. As I was chatting to the girls, the bank staff were revolving in and out in rotations, word had got around the banks via email.

The girls told me what each flavour was, and it's likely I didn't taste test them in the correct order, to get the best from them - but then I wasn't thinking straight, I just wanted to taste them.

Thankfully the lovely girls allowed me to bring home 1 of each, so I could share the story with you here.

Kowhai Cream

Now I wanted this one to most taste like YELLOW who wouldn't being Kiwicakes and all - but sadly it did not. This was the third chocolate I tasted on the street and couldn't taste much of anything at all. When I came home to take this photo for you, I made a point of tasting it first - I shared half of each chocolate with Kiwicakes Grandma (aka Mum) and she said it tasted of pollen. I thought it very subtle and couldn't describe what it tasted of. Not YELLOW in my opinion.

Lemon Yoghurt

I tasted this on the street first, I love lemon and was surprised to find it was subtle, there was an absence of tang. Not YELLOW in my opinion. Kiwicakes Grandma also gave it the thumbs down.

Pineapple Custard

I tasted this on the street second. I immediately thought this tastes of YELLOW I am neither a great fan of pineapple, nor do I dislike it. To me it tasted much like the flavour of a pineapple lump. Kiwicakes Grandma said "too artifical!".

French Toast

I tasted this last, I was very intrigued by the idea of french toast chocolate. It was a wonderful flavour. It got my thumbs up for the taste of YELLOW Kiwicakes Grandma also gave this the thumbs up (no we do not always agree).

I stayed and chatted with the Yellow girls for a short time, in the time they were handing out samples, I heard only "that tastes like YELLOW" for the french toast and pineapple flavours.

Now you might be wondering what I think YELLOW tastes like. To me YELLOW had to be big, bold and bright, not subtle - French toast fitted the bill, as it ticked all the boxes of tasting great as well as big & bold.

Edible silver star glitter shapes in stock now

These edible silver stars are this weeks favourite thing (they join the existing gold stars & pink hearts). They just landed in NZ today. Priced at $18.00, there are 1000's in one vial. Click here to buy.

Kiwicakes is the sole NZ distributor for Rainbow Dust at wholesale. Rainbow Dust is Kosher & Halal approved. It is also suitable for vegetarians.

Recipe for Tylose Gumpaste

I was just shown this recipe for Tylose Gumpaste from - Sharing and Caring - Cake decorating and sugarart tutorials. Whilst I haven't tried it, it is reportedly very good. There are also some great cake photos on this site. Click her for - Sharing and Caring -

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a great Halloween, I couldn't resist sharing with you this great eyeball food from Simply Stated check out their post for "how to"

Butter flavour Crisco shortening in stock now

Today I've added to our product range, butter flavour vegetable shortening by Crisco. This is great for those who've in the past had to add butter flavouring, no need, it's already there.

Click here to buy $12.50

A cake pan to make any letter or any number

This awesome new cake pan can make any letter or any number - what more do you need?. I have been so excited ever since I knew these pans were on the way. Today they have FINALLY arrived. They are very heavy and a nice quality.This wonderful cake pan can be used to create any letter from A to Z or any number from 0-9.
Simply follow the guide included to move the squares to create the outline of the shape required.
Spell out words for events, or a childs name. Can even be used to create no#s such as 2 & 1 to place on top of a large sheet cake for large celebrations.
Can be used with cake, brownie or Jelly. Measures 4x7x1'' deep.

Chocolate 3d Christmas bauble cheescakes

Anyone that knows me knows that I ADORE Christmas. Here at Kiwicakes, the planning starts for Christmas around July/August. I've been thinking about having a play with this 3d Christmas bauble chocolate mould for a while now (it can be used to make completely spherical chocolates). Then it hit me - Christmas cheescakes were begging to be made! And it was so easy.

Here's how: I took my favourite cheescake recipe and mixed in some red and green 100s and 1000s I was worried the colours would bleed excessively. But even after a very good stir, they were still looking great (you can use store bought cheescake also)

I melted milk chocolate moulding melts in a double boiler. I spooned it in to the 3d Christmas bauble mould and left it to set in the freezer for aprx 5minutes. When you take the mould from the freezer. hold it up to the light, if you see any thin spots, cover these with a little more chocolate.

I then spooned in to the cavities aprx 1tbsp of cheescake mixture. I covered this with a biscuit base, I used Malt biscuits, as I felt they were less sweet than many alternatives, given all that extra chocolate (and I had them in the cupboard). I allow 1.5 malt biscuits per mini cheescake. For 9 biscuits, I used 3 tbsp of melted butter. Simply pulse biscuits in food processor until they are crumbs, or place in a bag and smash with a rolling pin. Stir in melted butter. Press biscuit mixture in to cavities. Place entire mould in fridge for an hour or so. The baubles released from the mould very easily and the biscuit stayed right where it was supposed to.
I coloured them using just two colours, from the Rainbow Dust range of edible silk lustres (suitable for vegetarains Rainbow dust is Halal and Kosher certified). The red is Metallic Moroccan Velvet and the gold is Metallic Golden Sands. I was really thrilled with how they turned out.

Tools I can't live without! #5

This tool, is one of those things, once you have it, you never knew how you managed without it. Once you've iced a cake, it seals it, so you don't drag crumbs through your icing, as you're smoothing.

Tips 789 is Wiltons 2'' wide cake icing tip Here is instructions on how to use it, from Wiltons site. They have a wealth of information check it out at http://www.wilton.com/ (photographs copyright Wilton Industries Inc 2004)

Preparing a perfectly smooth iced cake, while keeping crumbs out of the icing can seem like a tricky thing–but over the years we've developed some methods to make it easier. Start by positioning the cake on its serving board on the turntable. Remember to thin the icing with 3-4 Tablespoons of corn syrup so it spreads easier. The trick to keeping crumbs out of your icing is to glide your spatula over the icing, never allowing the spatula to touch the cake surface or to pull already spread icing from the cake surface.

Step 1
Trim a 16 in. Featherweight bag to fit tip 789. Fill bag half full with icing. Hold bag at 45° angle and lightly press tip against cake. Squeeze a ribbon of icing in a continuous spiral motion to cover cake top, with last ribbon forcing icing over edge of cake top.

Step 2
To ice the sides, squeeze icing as you turn the cake slowly. Repeat the process until the entire cake side is covered.

Step 3
Rotate the cake slightly and repeat the procedure, starting from a new point on the rim until you have covered the entire top surface. Smooth the center of the cake by leveling the icing with the edge of your spatula. For easier smoothing, it may help to dip the spatula into hot water, wipe dry and glide it across the entire surface. Set the cake aside and allow the icing to crust over for at least 15 minutes before decorating. At that point you may also lay Non-Stick Parchment Paper on the iced cake top and gently smooth with the palm of your hand.

Tools I can't live without! #4

Following on, from the last "tools I can't live without" post is #4 the offset spatula, it makes life so much easier. Smoothing cupcake tops, smoothing cake sides, spreading chocolate on transfers sheets or lifting up fondant cut outs from the bench, you name it - it just makes life easier!

More on Polystyrene cake dummies

Great news everyone, the polystyrene cake dummies have landed!. Thanks for all the great feedback you've given me, on finally being able to bring these to you at a reasonable price.

Some great ideas have been shared with us, on the uses of cake dummies. One in particular that interested me, was using round or square dummies, with matching shaped cake boards to create cupcake stands, at a fraction of the cost of buying a large one. The polystyrene dummy can be dressed with a fabric sleeve, to match the party decor, or even the bridesmaids dress material. I've been so inspired, I think I might try my hand at one.

We'll have more great cake dummy shapes coming soon.

Kiwicakes is proud to be a trend setter for new products and prices, whilst we strive to lead - we find others often follow with price matching, so we're happy to be bringing you these great new prices. Whether you choose to buy from us, or those that have chosen to match us in price. We are proud to be cutting the price of your large cake dummies in half.

Polystyrene cake dummies at the best price in NZ

I always endeavour to seek out the best price, first time for my customers here at Kiwicakes. In the past, I have been horrified, with the cost of polystyrene cake dummies, and have ordered them in, on an as required basis. However this week, I am thrilled to announce, Kiwicakes now offers the best price on the web, within NZ for cake dummies, we have round & square shapes, due in to stock next week, and if other shapes prove popular, we'll add them in to stock too.

Dummies are 3''/75mm deep and priced from 5''/125mm diameter @$5 to 14''/350mm diameter @$12. Compare our prices. In most cases, I've found them to be 50% cheaper. Click here to buy

More of my little cakes from this weekend

I found these groovy blackberry & raspberry lollies, from the trademe seller tozzies, and couldn't resist piping the top of a small cake, in round balls, using pink buttercream. I baked a big batch of red velvet small cakes, using the straight sided cupcake papers. I just love these, as no cupcake pan is required.

Then I piped using a no#12 wilton nozzle, blobs of icing and one blackberry and one raspberry atop each, and they were done.

I think the raspberries, could easily represent a strawberry, these would be nice for a Strawberry Shortcake party. Oh dear, you'd have to eat all the blackberries yourself. Unless of course, there is a character named after blackberries.

I've been having a play with little cakes over the weekend.

Last weekend, when I visited the food show, I bought an awesome roll of licorice from Rosalie at New Generation Licorice (where was this when I had train tracks to make. This stunning huge long roll, is wrapped with plastic film between, so when unrolled it doesn't stick to itself. I could tell you how long it was, but you might not fathom just how big, so I've taken a photo for you. NGL has sellers around the country - this huge roll only cost $10.

I had fun making these sushi mini cakes using the licorice.

Firstly I baked a batch of red velvet shallow cakes in straight sided cupcake papers. I removed the papers and cut them all to a matching height.

Then I crumb coated them all with white buttercream. I cut licorice strips to fit around the circumference. I turned the iced side face down in to a plate of coconut, and placed random pieces of cut lolly on top. I thought they looked pretty cool in a container, that just fitted them perfectly.

You can now keep up with Kiwicakes on facebook

Well I've joined the ranks of facebook. You can now keep up with us there too by clicking here I've only just signed up today, so don't expect to find too much there today. However if you're a facebook user join me as a fan. Go on be the first!

Do you bake from scratch?

Do you have a baking blog, website or published literature and bake from scratch? You might be interested to join the "Baked from Scratch" movement. Started by Jess from Sugadeaux Cupcakes out of sheer disbelief that professional high end bakeries would use packet mix as the basis for their goods. As a consumer, you can be sure those who are listed here are baking your treats from scratch. There are several members from New Zealand already.

Go to http://bakedfromscratch.blogspot.com/ to join and you too can use the "baked from scratch logo"

We are drowning in 3 pallets of stock!

Last week I had three pallets - yes THREE pallet loads of stock arrive, as a special clearance offer from one of my suppliers. Much of it I agreed to without even knowing what I was getting. Needless to say I have stock coming out my ears. Those of you that have been with me for years, know as I operate online only, our base in Whangarei is Mums house. POOR Mum! - before we could get it packed off to the storage areas and stockroom, it had to be sorted. For 48 hours, her house has looked like a warehouse.

It took three full loads in Mums van to clear most of it up to our storage unit. And we're not finished yet!

Well I know you're all dying to know what I received. There is more candles than I'll ever need in a lifetime, party ware, bride & grooms, balloons and licensed character items.

There's good news for all the KiwicakesNZ blog readers, to help me make some room, I've decided what better way to clear it quickly than to GIVE IT AWAY TO YOU. Simply place any order at http://www.kiwicakes.co.nz/ mention this blog post in the comments section at time of ordering and we'll include a free gift with your order. Where possible, we will theme your free gift to match your order.

I can't decide what sort of Christmas cake to make this year

I cannot decide what sort of Christmas cake to make this year. For those of you that have been with me, for the past few years, you'll already know I'm hugely passionate about all things Christmas. Here at Kiwicakes, the planning for Christmas items for stock starts in August.

I'm lucky, I get to decorate three Christmas cakes every year. My lovely mother in law Margaret drops off three uniced fruit cakes, of which, I return two for distribution within the family, and I get to keep one. I usually come up with a theme relatively easily. Many years ago, my choice of decoration was based upon what I was capable of doing. Now that decorating comes a bit easier to me AND I'm spoilt for choice with all of the tools lining the shelves of http://www.kiwicakes.co.nz/ I simply cannot decide what to do this year. I've usually tended towards more modern or contempory Christmas themes - with a twist on the traditional.

Lasy year was snowflakes (pale blue for me, black & silver for my sister inlaw & traditional golds & reds for my mother inlaw). Which I can't seem to locate a photo for, I'll update that when I find it.

The year before was holly ALL OVER for everyone.

I also like to make Christmas ornament cupcakes - these are always a hit. I get oohs and aahs and "I can't eat that - it llooks so real". The ornament cupcakes have now become a family tradition, I make one for everyone int he family on Xmas day.

Take the poll at right, to let me know what you're thinking of making

Stunning new cupcake wrappers

I am so thrilled with the new cupcake wrappers that have just arrived - definitely a new favourite thing. Brand new couture cupcake designs Meisha (bird & blossom) & Dorothy (dotty), with new colourways for Lulu (gold) and Olivia (silver) Click here to view the full range.

A birthday cake for my mother in law Margaret

I have often bragged I have the best mother inlaw in the world. She is very good to me, I definitely struck it lucky when I married her son!. Today is Margarets birthday, we are going out to dinner here in Whangarei to celebrate. I made her this cake, which I'll be dropping down to the restaraunt shortly, so it can be brought out as a surprise for her.

Click here for Wilton's instructions for making ribbon roses. (I just made them using my hands)


I used a gold flourish chocolate transfer on the free form slabs. Then I added some golden ivory cachous And I topped it off with some Bronze sand sparkle dust glitter

Cowboy cookies a la Bakerella

One of my all time favourite blogs EVER! is http://www.bakerella.com/ she has the most exciting array of baked goods, with exquisite photography. She is so generous, often including print templates, so you can complete her designs, right down to the label.

I was compelled to make her "cowboy" cookies in a jar, for gift giving - don't you just love the name?. When I saw the finished product on Bakerellas blog, I thought to myself "we never see special addition M&Ms in NZ!" (as per the pink Breast Cancer awareness M&Ms in Bakerellas Cowgirl cookies). Then lo and behold not two days later, I saw "orange flavoured white/orange" special addition M&Ms in the Moerewa 4 square, on a day trip through to Kerikeri in Northland on Sunday. As my mother in laws birthday is coming up on Thursday this week, I thought I'd make a jar for her.

Unfortunately, we do not have the wide array of empty jars available in the craft stores, that Bakerella has in America, but I did the best I could, with what Spotlight Whangarei had to offer. This resulted in thinner layers than Bakerellas, and I had to double the recipe to fill the jar- 50 cookies anyone?. Nevertheless, I was happy with the result. It's something I am going to try again, and hopefully come up with a better looking filled jar.

Want to read Bakerellas full post - click here.