Melanie Ferris Cakes News

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This is a really sweet birthday cake I made last week. The brief was 'don't cover the cake in sugarpaste' as the client felt it was rather artificial. An owl leant itself to chocolate cake and chocolate ganache, I felt, with some sugarpaste details added. It is a very simple but effective design.

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It can be difficult to think of a subject for a cake for a man. However, if they play sport or support a team, perhaps a logo or badge can be incorporated in the design. This is Havering Atte Bower Cricket Club.

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Having a wedding with a theme? I made this Doctor Who themed cake and delivered it to Hedingham Castle today. I should love to know what else the wedding planner dreamed up!

This is a really popular birthday cake idea at present, and looks luscious and tastes fabulous.

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I have received this nice note:

To Melanie

Just a short note to say a big thank you for the delicious cake you made for our wedding. Not only did it taste amazing but it looked fantastic too! Thank you once gain,

Charlotte and Karl xx

It is great to get feedback.

I have a very gratifying note from Lisa-Marie & Jon:

Dearest Melanie

We just wanted to send you a massive Thank You for 'saving our bacon' on our Wedding Day, 26th Sept.

Your dummy cake at the last minute was amazing - no one guessed any different and the day went without a hitch. We will recommend you 1000 times over?

Lisa-Marie & Jon

Cakes with love heart sweets on are very popular. I have made several different ones, some of which are pictured below.

Because love hearts are sherbet type sweets they must be stuck onto cakes at the last minute, otherwise they absorb the moisture from the royal icing used to stick them on the sides of the cake and go all blotchy. I attach them at the wedding venue, or on the morning of the wedding before the cake is delivered.

If love hearts are to decorate the tables in a marquee, where it may be damp overnight, they should, again, be placed at the last minute, and not the day before.


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Very delicate sugar flowers with some ivy, lily of the valley and beads on nylon filament make a really dainty decoration for an 80th birthday cake that can be treasured as a keepsake.

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Here is a large birthday cake with red sugar roses, and the blossoms I described how to make yesterday. This is a 12" square and will feed up to about 100 guests. I have been experimenting with making beaded decorations to go in sprays, for, although they can be bought, there is a limited range, and if I make my own I can match any colour scheme. Here I have just used large pearls and tiny red glass beads.

And instead of a sugar ribbon round the base I have put dark red blossoms all round to tie in with the white blossoms on the spray of flowers.

This is what Davina thought of her cake:

Hi Melanie

Just a quick note to say Thank You for making such a lovely cake. Everyone enjoyed it and me and my husband finished it last evening. It was delightful. I will not hesitate in recommending you to my friends should they require a cake for a special occasion. The evening was fantastic and everything ran smoothly.

Thank you again.

Best regards
Davina

During February, before the wedding cake season really gets busy, I have been amusing myself making pretty birthday cakes. This one has a spray of red roses, tiny calla lilies and some delicate blossoms.

The blossoms are made by taping 3 glass stamens together and then threading them through a sugar blossom. Then I tape 3 blossoms together to make a cluster. These make excellent fillers to balance out sprays of flowers with more dominant blooms, like roses, or calla lilies. However, they can be more time consuming than actually making a rose or calla lily.
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