Monday, May 31, 2010

Website is LIVE!

Check out the website now at www.iris-and-olives.com

YEAAHAA!

New Website!

OK! So after lots of labouring and figuring and whatnot, I have a new website! No more blogger website, alas, but this new one is pretty darn fancy! Click here to see it!

The address will be changed later to www.iris-and-oilves.com for future reference. The website can also be accessed through the "website" section of this blog, by clicking the picture of the Moroccan Themed Wedding cake.

Of course I'll still blog here, because hey, blogging is the bomb diggety. Yes, bomb... diggety.

Hope you like the new site!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Cupcakes, for Cupcake's Sake.

Rosewater cupcake with Grenadine Icing, wildflowers on top.

Red Velvet cupcake with Cream Cheese Icing, cinnamon hearts on top.     

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Coco Chanel Purse

Here's an order I had for this week, pretty snazzy stuff! If only I could afford the real thing.... WELL with about a gazillion more orders, owning my own Chanel bag might actually be realistic! KEEP THE ORDERS COMING! Ha, I kid I kid! (But seriously, who wouldnt want this bag?)

I had another order in the "Erotic" theme this week for a bachelorette party. If interested, please contact me for details and pictures of that order. :D Very fun order anyway, thanks Lisa!

AHhhhhh, time for a long weekend sleep. A very long...long...sleep. WHAT A WEEK!

Next week: NO CLUE!!!! Yeah! Check back later for more snazzy stuff!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Under Water Birthday Cake

Just a little birthday cake for a young man named Ewan! He loves creatures and whales, so I thought HEY! Under water creatures! This was an exceptionally fun cake to make, because I haven't actually made a kid's cake before. I tried to make the eyes all googly, because as far as I can remember, googly eyes were probably my most favourite thing EVER when I was two. Lots of bright colours, neat shapes, kids cakes are the bomb!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Something a Little Crazy

A pal of mine, Sarah, asked me many months ago if I could do a Christopher Walken face cake for her. So I thought, why not involve her in the process? SOOOO today, Sarah and I made a Christopher Walken cake! She did all the sculpting, and I helped her out with the fondant and finishing touches. Pretty snazzy for my first face cake I do think, and Sarah did an excellent job!

Pretty terrifying, I know!

(Note: I should point out, that I was an extra in Hairspray a few years ago, and I got to stand RIGHT BEHIND HIM as he danced some crazy dance. AAAAAAAAAAAND I got to wear the wig he wore in another scene. CAN YOU BELIEVE MY GREAT FORTUNE?? GREAT!)

We also made our friend Will a cake. He's just graduated from Chef School at George Brown (same as me! yay!) (except I was in pastry.) So we attempted one of those floppy chef's hats with a slew of delicious veggies and grilled chicken, all modeled out of modeling chocolate! The had of course, was the cake part. The floppyness is a little bit lost, because there's no head in it, alas! BUT there's a lot of delicious cake inside!

 What's next? WHO KNOWS!

Order a cake to be featured on my blog!

Tommy's Hypothetical Moroccan Wedding Cake


 SO! Here it is, Tommy's Hypothetical Moroccan Wedding Cake! Using colours that Tommy chose, and influence from Moroccan Tajines, I painted the design on the cake using food colouring. The cake wouldn't be complete without a lovely flower, so I created one using gumpaste, modelling it after a flower that I Googled. Good ole' Google, so easy to travel around the world to see nature!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Teaser

You'll never guess who's face I must attempt to sculpt out of cake tomorrow...... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We shall see how well it turns out. Until then, feel free to guess at it! Muahahaha!

I nearly finished a Moroccan themed wedding cake today, inspired by tagine cookware. I've always loved the intricate designes on tagines, and the beautiful colours! Since there were so many colours, I had to ask my pal Tommy to choose a few colours he'd like to have at his hypothetical June 2010 wedding. Tommy's hypothetical cake will be posted tomorrow!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Birthday Roses

I had a request this week for a birthday cake for a girl named Rose. Her mom LOVED the idea of having roses all over the cake in pink and purple. Rose also loves cats, SO it was only fitting to have a kitty sitting at the top of the cake.
Lemon with Lemon Curd and Coconut Buttercream

At work, as usual, I created some different cupcakes for the week. I went along with the rose theme, just cause! Roses are a heck of a lot of fun to pipe! I also taught my boss's daughter to pipe roses, it was overall a pretty fun day FULL TO THE BRIM of roses.



Next week: Painted Cakes

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Yummy Chocolate Cake

I was asked to create a delicious dark chocolate cake for a retirement party. Of course, I went straight for my Barry Callebaut supply which is sorely depleated... alas! Must find more!

I created a scrumptious dark chocolate cake, with a dark chocolate ganache for the filling. It was masked with a lightly flavoured cocoa buttercream, and then topped once again with the dark chocolate ganache. I decorated it with a simple design using white chocolate. Frankly, I'm a little jealous of my client for ordering such a delicious cake!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Cakes I Made with Me In Mind

Originally, I wanted to create 3 signature cakes that I could sell to local grocery stores. After slaving away on my design (as I have perfected the recipies over the years) I decided that they were really not going to fit into a Pusateri's or local market since they had "me" in mind.

In the future, they'd sell well in my own boutique, but for now, here are some pictures of my White Chocolate Cake with Lavender Buttercream, Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream and Classic Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream.

They were decorated with chocolate birds, and buttercream iris flowers.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Pink and Green Cupcakes

Long day of rain and blah at work today, luckily I had some bright and cheery cupcakes to keep me company!

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with a delicious italian meringue buttercream. Classic and a favourite of mine.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Daisy Cupcakes and Pink Shortbread


Just a couple different things from work today, vanilla daisy cupcakes and shortbread hearts dipped in rose tinted white chocolate with a little milk chocolate design on them! Deelish!

Soon, I'd like to invest in a new camera. If there is anyone that's looking to sell a professional grade camera or would like to trade a camera for some delicious food, drop me a line!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Lion King Cake

Here is a Lion King cake that I made for my boss. She was an absolute STAR in a production of the Lion King which ran this past week in Toronto. I sculpted the trees, animals and sun out of modelling chocolate, and then painted on the colour dry. I've discovered a new love of modelling chocolate to sculpt with! It really turns out so much nicer than fondant and gumpaste, and it tastes SOOOOO much better!


This week I'll be focusing on Mother's Day, as well as an event downtown toronto that I'll be making mini cupcakes for. Should be a fun week, new recipies to try and new techniques to test!