Christmas Cake Workshop

The Christmas Cake Workshop turned out a great success last Sunday, with participants learning the in's and out's of how to decorate and ice a traditional fruit cake. They used Pettinice icing and were given the choice to decorate their cake with either the classic holly wreath or holly with candles which were made during class.

Two Brisbane food bloggers came along to enjoy the experience also.

Read about Gastronomy Gal's, Eliza Gallen's experience on her blog.

I Ate Brisbane's, Sarah Clemence's recreated the step-by-step process for making a Judy C traditional christmas cake on her official blog.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread men (& women)!

Hi everyone,

We have gingerbread men and women for sale as we start to enter the holiday season. For more information on prices and designs please contact the store on (07) 3366 9111.

Christmas Catalogue Out Now!

Hi everyone!

Our Christmas Catalogue for 2010 has just been released and can be viewed in the official photo album on our Facebook page. Click on the individual images to view a description and price list.

Last orders will close on Friday 17th December 2010.

Happy viewing!

Sweet Treats, a sweet success!

The Sweet Treats 101 workshop was held last Sunday and was sold out to an eager and excited group. Participants learnt the basics of making a standard cake mix for not only cakes but also cupcakes, biscuit mix, icing variations and also learnt decorating techniques.

Below are some photos from the Sweet Treats 101 workshop.

The Chocolate Decadence workshop was also a sold out success! Participants learnt to dress a mud cake, how to make and manage ganache and also created and utilised chocolate panels.

Book quickly for the Christmas Cake workshop for 14 November as this course is only held once a year! For more information on the Christmas Cake workshop visit the official event page.

If you missed out on the Sweet Treats 101 and Chocolate Decadence workshop this time, no need to worry, because of such high demand we are taking names for the next round of courses with dates yet to be announced.

Happy baking!

Cakes by Judy C Baking & Decorating Workshops

2010 Course dates and information

Sweet Treats 101

Basics Cake & Icing 101 is the starting point for anyone wanting to make beautiful cakes from scratch and decorate them with flair. The one day workshop will cover the basics of making a standard cake mix for cakes and cup cakes, biscuit mix, icing variations and decorating techniques.

For more information visit the offical event page.

Chocolate Decadence - Chocolate Decorating Workshop

Learn to make your own decadent chocolate decorations and dress a chocolate mud cake like a pro! Participants will learn how to make and manage ganache and create and utilise chocolate panels. The mud cakes will be provided for you practice the professional techniques demonstrated in the class. Your cake creation is for you to keep and take home. Judy C will also demonstrate how to manage and use professional chocolate pettinice icing.

For more information visit the official event page.

Christmas Cake

This is the perfect class for those who want to make a cake that tastes as good as your grandmother’s and looks a professional as one bought from a shop.

The Christmas cake decorating class is a hands-on experience in the kitchen as Judy C guides you though decorating and icing a traditional fruit cake. The cake will be iced with Pettinice icing and you will be given the choice to either decorate your cake with the classic holly wreath, holly with candles or Christmas stars, which will all be hand made during the class. During the break you will taste Judy C’s popular Fruit Mince Tarts and also take home the recipe.

For more information visit the offical event page.

Look forward to seeing you all in class!

Process of putting together a 5-tier wedding cake

On the weekend our team at Cakes by Judy C put together a 5-tier cake for a wedding held at Moda Events Portside (formally known as Gianni Events at Portside).

Have a look at our process below;

All 5 tiers loaded for delivery - it took two hours in total to deliver and set up.

Bottom tier.

Second tier.

Third tier.

Fourth tier.

Fifth and final tier.

Adding final touches to the cake, including ribbon.

A close-up look at all the detail. It took a total of 14 hours to do all the ruffled roses.

Completed cake. The cake topper was provided by the brides mother.

Prelude to Winter Warming Desserts

Now that I have provided some ideas for winter desserts ( previous blog) , I thought I  had better  share some suggestions of what to make for dinner before serving warm desserts like our Apple Cake with Butterscotch Brandy Sauce,  Apple & Custard Teacakes or Bread & Butter Puddings.

Here are some links to nice easy recipes.
Easy Chicken Pies

Luke Mangan's Herb Roasted Leg Of Lamb

Berkshire Gold Pork Loin Roast

Recipes courtesy of www.ninemsn.com.au Recipe Finder section for Comfort Food
Enjoy!

Winter Warmers & Comfort Food

Time to pull out the woollies and warm up Brisbane! By the looks of the upcoming weather forecast it is going to be CHILLY. Brisbanites ( people from Brisbane,Queensland) don't usually do cold well, as most of the time it is warm. hot or sweltering in our city. When it does cool down, locals either curse the temperature drop or embrace the short time we have to snuggle up and eat comfort food.
Personally, I am  hoping more of the later is done because here at Cakes By Judy C - we have a cabinet full of Winter Warming treats!

We have Bread & Butter Puddings, Sticky Date Puddings ( in cabinet above) , Warm Apple Cakes with Butterscotch Brandy Sauce ( Below) & Mini Apple & Custard Teacakes (bottom pic) selling in store now.

So what does  Wikipedia say about Comfort Food??

" The term "comfort food" refers to simple, familiar food that is usually home-cooked or eaten at informal restaurants. More generally, comfort food can be defined as food that brings some form or measure of comfort, sense of well-being, or easy satisfaction, usually from being warm and filling such as a dish made with a staple food, or basically pleasing such as sweets or desserts. Comfort foods may also involve foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture."

See you instore soon!

Wedding Cake Serving Sizes

There are a few options when choosing a wedding cake size, it all depends on the number of guests, how you would prefer to serve it on the day and if you need some for guests to take home with them as wedding favours.

The most popular options we offer are; serving the cake as Dessert (as part of your menu) or serving it after dessert with Tea & Coffee as ‘Petit fours’.

Cakes are cut the same way regardless of their shape, ie Round Cakes or Square & Rectangle cakes. The size required depends on your number of guests.

As a dessert, you will get fewer slices per cake (opposed to tea & coffee serves) as the serves are bigger and are designed to be the dessert. Suggested accompaniments need to be discussed with your caterer like cream, ice-cream etc.

You will need to cater for one slice of cake per guest plus the accompaniments.

Each dessert serve will need to be plated and served – similar to our example below.

As Petit fours – or ‘Tea & Coffee' serves the cake will usually be placed on a platter next to the tea & coffee station and guests are encouraged to help themselves.

Slices are smaller than the dessert serve option and you will get more out of your cake however, with this option some guests may have more than one piece and some none. You will need to take this into consideration, it is recommended to still cater for one slice per guest.

Sweet Treats

If you're feeling like a sweet treat but avoiding all things chocolate after a big Easter weekend, then we have the perfect little treats for any sugar fix.

Our range of treats this month;

• Raspberry Crumbles, which are made from the recipe by the famous Magnolia's Bakery in New York, each crumble is sold for $2.50 each from the Cakes by Judy C store in Ashgrove.
• Classic Melting Moments with lemon icing centres, Passionfruit Kisses, Chocolate Rum Kisses, Chocolate Raspberry Kisses and Coffee Walnut Creams are all $2.50 each or $22.00 per dozen available at Cakes by Judy C.
• Parisian Macaroons in vintage colours of pink, green and latte - perfect for wedding favours, Mothers Day or other special occasions. They are priced at $2.20 each however are only available by made-to-order so please contact the store on +61 7 3366 9111 to order.