Sugary Sweet Confections

Last night I spent a wonderful evening with my mom's group friends at the Sugar Factory making a beautiful Sugar Spring bracelet- you've gotta check out this amazing place! Gay Isber, the owner and hostess with the mostest, was so welcoming, and opened her shop and home to us to host our annual Mom's Group Christmas. She led us on a journey of artistic creations, and we all had such a blast creating our own bracelets to take home. She has the most unbelievable beads to choose from, and led us step by step in the creation of our bracelet. Her shop is a work of art, with gorgeous beaded confections everywhere to purchase, as well as chandeliers and artwork hand painted by her. I can't wait to take my girls there during the Christmas holidays to make a bracelet and have some girly time together! Thanks Gay, for a wonderful evening of food, wine and art. Here is a picture of the bracelet I made, as well as the wonderful little mini Snowflake Cakes I made for the party. They originally started out in my head as a petit four, which traditionally is a one-bite pastry, but ended up a "grand four", as they were about 3 inches in diameter and about 3 inches high! They were delicious little personal cakes filled with apricot preserves and milk chocolate ganache....yummy! I piped the snowflake design on the top, and embellished with a silver dragee in the centre. A sugary sweet confection to enjoy with our Sugary Sweet experience!

Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet Harriet!

Today is our youngest daughter Harriet's 3rd Birthday! We wish you the best birthday ever, sweetheart, and we are so proud of you and amazed by everything you do! We love your sweet little personality, and we can't wait to see what's in store for you for the future...we love you so much, darling. Happy Birthday.

Scent Association

I just pulled a lovely white cake out of the oven, and the fragrance OVERWHELMED me. Freshly baked cake has got to be one of my all-time favourite smells in the kitchen, right up there with chocolate chip cookies, freshly brewed espresso, or a loaf of homemade bread. It just evokes such wonderful childhood memories for me, ones in which I arrive home from school to find that my mom had been baking for someone's birthday, or maybe just because she craved something sweet (I think I inherited that gene-thanks, mom). Now, don't get me wrong, we didn't eat cake all the time, it was definitely a special treat to have a yummy cake once in a while, but I guess we tend to associate the smell of a delicious baked good with a happy memory or two. I think maybe my desire to bake has something to do with reliving happy memories...wow, I think I just had a Freudian moment!

History and Landscape

I know that this has nothing to do with CakeChic, however, I said I'd post some pictures of my trip for those of you who are interested. (for those who aren't, you can wait for some cake-related posts, alright?!?) We stayed just outside of a beautiful fortified town called Carcassonne, which has been recently restored to it's former glory. It was constructed in the 1200's, so I'm sure you can appreciate how amazing this structure really is. It was the home to the Trencavel family, a noble family and his entourage. We also visited many wineries and vineyards, including the Ligniere family winery, who welcomed us most graciously into their vineyard and wine-making facility to taste their most exquisite wines. I will certainly make a concerted effort to get some of their wine shipped here, as I have found a wine I truly enjoy while sampling their wines!

Joel and I travelled independently from the group we were with, and discovered so many amazing places I never knew existed in France. For me, this trip was entirely about the landscape and the history, and not about the shopping (for once in my life!). We scaled mountains, valleys, and gorges. We sampled the local goods. We enjoyed our surroundings to the fullest. What a great trip it was, indeed.

What time is it in France???

We're home, and we're tired...sooooo tired! What a difference 7 hours can make to a person's internal time clock! We had a WONDERFUL trip, and I will certainly post some pictures and blog a little about our trip very soon. I need to recoup first, though. Sleep is good...

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to France I go!

This time tomorrow I'll be leaving for the southwest region of France, known as the Languedoc-Roussillon region for a lovely holiday with my husband. I'm SO excited, I can hardly contain myself!! We have a lot on our agenda, and we look forward to seeing many beautiful places. Oh, did I mention the food?? I think I'm a little TOO excited about the food... I love French food... I'll be certain to post a picture or two when we return. Well, bon voyage, and a bientot! (I have to warm up my French, it's a little rusty!)

My own personal Cheerleader

I have to say that my biggest supporter in this new endeavour has been my wonderful friend, Christine. Not only has she gone out of her way on several occasions to photograph my cakes (did I mention she's an amazing photographer with her own business? Check out www.clickphotography.ca) but she's published my cake photos on her own blog. How awesome is that?? I feel like she's been my own personal cheerleader for about a year now, encouraging me right from the get-go when I had the hair-brained idea that I wanted to design cakes. She's always had an encouraging word for me, and has allowed me to use her as a guinea pig for several of her special occasions-brave girl! I wanted to acknowledge Christine, because I don't think I could have accomplished what I have without her amazing support. You're inspiring to me, Chris. I thank-you for all you've done.

I am thankful for my friends

I would like to send out a HUGE thank-you to my friend Holly, who created my beautiful banner for my blog, and also helped me set up my blog. For those who know me well, you know that I'm not all that computer-savvy. Apparently, she makes up for my lack of computer skills in spades, because my blog is looking REALLY amazing, thanks to her! Thank-you, my friend, for the beautiful job you've done. I appreciate it SO much, and I am in your debt. By the way, the cake featured in the banner was the cake I made for Holly's sweet little daughter, Sam, for her first birthday. It is my all-time favourite cake, and I'm glad she gave me the opportunity to create it for her special day. I should also mention that Holly is a great artistic collaborator, as she helped me with the design for it. She has been very supportive of my new endeavour, and has, more than once, given me a "plug" on her own blog. So, I owe her a big thank-you.

THANK-YOU, HOLLY!

Channelling Martha Stewart

My dear friend Cheryl is expecting her first baby at the end of this month, and when I heard she based her nursery design on a layout in a Martha Stewart Baby magazine it got me thinking about a cake design I could make her for her shower. I prompted her for pics of her nursery, and when she sent them to me, I realized that I had that issue in my own archive and whipped it out. It really inspired me to create something classic and pretty, without being "babyish" or typical for a baby shower theme. Her nursery colour scheme was a very sophisticated palette of pale turquoisey-green and off-white, so I incorporated that into the base colours of the cake. The upper portion of her walls were stencilled with tree branches and leaves in white, which is where my piped design came from. She painted all the trim and chair rail white, and I used white royal icing to pipe a bead border around the base of each cake. I think it's classic, and very Martha! Check out the finished product, along with a pic of Cheryl looking gorgeous cutting the cake at the shower. Best wishes, Cheryl!

Inspirations

I certainly enjoy a new challenge, and coming up with a new design or theme is especially exciting to me. I love the brainstorming involved in creating a cake for a special occasion, be it a birthday, a homecoming or a wedding. It gets my creative juices flowing when I see a beautiful piece of wrapping or scrapbooking paper, a party invitation or a cute fabric pattern. Needless to say, this blog is intended to help bring in new business, and I relish the idea of making you or someone you love the perfect cake. So if you need some inspiration for your next special occasion, you now know who to contact!

My Addiction

My name is Amberlea. I'm a wife and mother of 3 beautiful girls, and I have a passion for cake. I admit that I have an addiction. But, as a result, I think I've finally found my calling in life. I love everything about cake. I love to eat cake, I love to make cake, and I love to design cake. I have a background in Interior Design, which I attribute my love of colour, form and composition to. I've always loved to bake and try new recipes, so when I was looking for a fun hobby I happened upon a cake decorating class at my local Michael's craft store. Ding, Ding! The bell went off and I signed up. Now, I get to combine my love of baking with my passion for design and create some fun and exciting things that I think people enjoy as much as I do. There's nothing better in life than sinking your teeth into a yummy, moist piece of cake, is there?? I think not. Especially when it looks as good as it tastes!