I made this! Pt. 5
Debbie Brown was enthralling us with the details of her itinerary for the next two weeks which sounded extremely jam-packed, not to mention her trip to Las Vegas after leaving Sydney, to conduct a class at Cake Camp (I want to go to Cake Camp!). Do you ever take a break, someone asked? Debbie smiled and replied, Well, no, I guess I’m pretty lucky, because I love what I do.
To the uninitiated, Debbie Brown is the legendary UK cake decorator and also the author of a whopping 14 books on cake decorating (my favourite is her whimsical and delightful Enchanted Cake book). When I heard she was going to be a guest instructor at Planet Cake, I excitedly signed up for her Bewitching Mermaids class.
To think, this was the cake that almost never was. I’d been trying to sell my place at this cake class, a few months after signing up for it, due to work commitments. As I couldn’t find any takers, I ended up attending the class. How glad I was, that I did.
Last Saturday morning, I walked into the Mermaids class feeling a little bleary eyed and weary from work. My mood immediately lifted upon being greeted by Paris herself, and then by the wonderfully effervescent Handi, who was acting as assistant for that class. It’s the reason why I keep coming back to Planet Cake to attend their courses. These classes are like a sanctuary of calm and sugary delight. A group of strangers come together, talk cake, enthuse over each other’s creations and at the end of the day, learn a new skill and walk away with their very own amazingly decorated cake that makes the whole experience worth every single cent.
This has been by far the easiest Planet Cake class I’ve participated in. Once the cakes were covered with fondant (which didn’t take long at all, since they were meant to represent an irregularly shaped pile of rocks), the fun began, decorating the cakes with mermaids and sea creatures. In my opinion, the beauty about this cake is that it’s potential to be taken into different directions, is limitless. The simple pile of rocks can be transformed into almost any location whatsoever – a jungle, a garden scene, ski slopes.. Or if you wanted to stick to the water theme, there are a myriad other oceanic creatures that could inhabit your cake (seahorses and mini nemos, come to mind).
So thank you once again to everyone at Planet Cake for holding these great classes and a special thank you to Debbie Brown for coming to Sydney!
(My Mermaids cake went to Erin, who celebrated her 10th birthday on Sunday. Happy Birthday Erin!)
Planet Cake
106 Beattie Street
Balmain 2041.
pea and pear said,
July 2, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
And you do cake decorating….. honestly do you never rest 🙂
The cake looks gorgeous I bet the lucky birthday girl loved it!!!
Ali
Y said,
July 2, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
Thanks Ali! 🙂
Christy said,
July 2, 2008 @ 11:00 pm
Oh you are so lucky to be able to meet Debbie Brown!! I own her “50 Easy Party Cakes”, and am thinking of buying the complied edition of “Enchanted Magical Cakes”, which I saw st Borders a few weeks ago..Problem is..I’ve never gotten round to making any of them , gorgeous and tempting as they look, mostly because they take up quite a bit of time and I most probably wouldn’t eat them.. I just can’t imagine cutting into something so pretty!! Your cake looks absolutely gorgeous!
Y said,
July 2, 2008 @ 11:06 pm
Christy, I can’t imagine cutting into them either, that’s why I’m happy to give them away!
Patricia Scarpin said,
July 3, 2008 @ 12:00 am
I have some of her books and love her work!
That is an amazing cake.
Sophie said,
July 3, 2008 @ 12:35 am
Oh wow!!! This is an adorable cake! How fun that you got to take that cake class!!!! 😀
This is really great, I’m so amazed!
Mom Quixote said,
July 3, 2008 @ 6:00 am
Love it, love it, love it. I just saw the 50 Easy Party Cakes book at my local bookstore and how I covet it. But I just don’t think I could ever pull them off!
linda said,
July 3, 2008 @ 6:04 am
Cool cake and decoration!
Natalie said,
July 3, 2008 @ 8:32 am
All I can say is WOW.
Big Boys Oven said,
July 3, 2008 @ 8:39 am
WoW this is so awesome, so lovely and so beautiful. I like the choice of colours, very matching, excellent choice!
grace said,
July 3, 2008 @ 8:46 am
what a magnificent work of art–i’m super impressed! this is a hobby i think i could easily get hooked on!
My Sweet & Saucy said,
July 3, 2008 @ 9:01 am
What a great opportunity that was! The cake looks fantastic!
courtney said,
July 3, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
Incredible. Lucky girl who got that cake.
Christie @ fig&cherry said,
July 3, 2008 @ 3:41 pm
OMG, I’m totally in awe of you right now. That cake is AMAZING!!
Lorraine E said,
July 3, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
Now that is an AWESOME cake! In fact I saw something like it in a Wedding cake magazine but I think this one looks better. Bravo!
Y said,
July 3, 2008 @ 6:36 pm
Wait, someone’s actually had a mermaid cake as their wedding cake? Craaazy! Not as crazy as this though :
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/01/07/cake.irpt/index.html
Cakelaw said,
July 3, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
I love it! It is ultra cute.
Lorinda said,
July 3, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
I’m glad that you enjoyed it, despite having being so busy with work. Debbie Brown has the best job evaaaaa!
JennDZ_The LeftoverQueen said,
July 4, 2008 @ 2:05 am
That is a freaking awesome cake! I love octopi and that is adorable! Mermaids rock too!
Vera said,
July 4, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
Just perfect!
Tartelette said,
July 9, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
Yeehaaw! Look at that cake! Gorgeous! Love it love it love it…and love it!
Paris Cutler said,
July 9, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
What a truly talented sugar artist and pastry chef you are.
There are so many people in our industry that can bake and slap a cake together but there are very few who approach their craft with the eyes and sensbility of an Artist. I think the best of your talents are yet to come and I very much look forward to watching them unfold until then I will feast on your fabulous blog – Congratulations!!
Amy Makim said,
September 10, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
I absolutely love this cake….well done! My daughter’s 5th bday is coming up next week and I was wondering what cake book is this from so I can try and have a crack at it..:) Thanks
Y said,
September 10, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
Hi Amy! The cake is from Debbie Brown’s Enchanted Cakes, which looks like this :
http://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Cakes-Children-Merehurst-Decorating/dp/1853918490/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221023141&sr=8-1
Good luck with making the cake! I’m sure you’ll have as much fun constructing it as I did 🙂
Stephen said,
November 16, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
Came across this site and am impressed with the site.
Stephen said,
November 16, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
Hello
Alli said,
March 26, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
Lovely cake! Debbie Brown’s books are great I have 3 of them and have also made this mermaid cake, I would to go on one of her courses and mix with other cake mad people. I am often in Sydney for work so I will keep my eyes open for future courses and I will also note some of your suggested places to eat while there. Thanks.
Y said,
March 28, 2009 @ 6:12 pm
Alli : Planet Cake holds lots of courses throughout the year. You can find the complete list on their webpage :
http://www.planetcake.com.au/courses/classes.php
Also, they recently published a book! If you ever need recommendations for specific types of restaurants in Sydney, I’d be happy to help you out 🙂