This weekend past, Grandma Kiwicakes & I went on a bit of a road trip. We were due in Rotorua on Saturday for the Rotorua cake guild's demonstration day. On Friday we left Kiwicakes and I couldn't wait to stop at Westfield Shore City in Auckland, to check out the Art of Cake Awards Some of my good friends had made cakes for this competition which I couldn't wait to see up close.
Apologies I only had my Iphone with me for photos - this cake of a life size model is from Chocolate Earth.
This cake was made by Vanessa From Bella Cupcakes. Taking a photo of this one, I was cursing having left my camera at home, I had to lean a fair way over the barrier to get the bottom tier to show up in my photo (I'll admit to checking over my shoulder to ensure no security guards were watching me)
This cake was made by Sondra from Sweet Bites Cakes and had lots of little satellite cakes & cupcakes
This cake was made by Miss Melicious
This Cake was made by Thea at Cake Couture
With so many awesome cakes - and knowing some of the cakers, it was impossible for me to vote, so I gave my voting token to my daughter and asked her to vote for her favourite.
The cakes have been getting a lot of press, Tracie from Chocolate Earth was on Breakfast TV - watch it here (advance through to 1.08 hours)
This free exhibition showcases the ultimate in creativity and artistic cake decorating excellence, with cakes up to 1.4 metres tall, inspired by the theme Haute Couture.
The 5 finalists are: Bella Cupcakes, Miss Melicious, Cake Couture, Chocolate Earth and Sweet Bites Cakes.
The cake designers revealed their grand designs on Thursday 20th June. The winning cake will be decided by public vote ending July 10th, with the winning caker announced on July 11th.
If you want to visit the cakes, why not go at a time when there's cake craft sessions running. Whether you're a serious sugar crafter or a first-timer, this is your chance to learn the art of cake decorating from the experts at the Shore City Cake Craft sessions.
Miss Melicious - 1pm, Sunday 23rd June: Master the Cupcake Bouquet (sorry folks this one has been)
Cake Couture - Midday, Thursday 4th July: The Art of Rose Making
Sweet Bites Cakes - 2pm, Saturday 6th July: Frosting & Figurine ModellingChocolate Earth - Midday, Sunday 7th July: Top Tips on Modelling Chocolate
To view more photos from Shore City of the cakes - check out their facebook page
Jo has many wonderful tutorials on her facebook page - including her shoes & peonies. She actively promotes cake decorating and is very giving of her time to beginners. On her website she even gives out recipes here Go and check it out, especially if you need a carrot cake recipe for carving 3d cakes. (which is also on her facebook page under notes)
Possibly the best part of the morning is when Jo said "let's have some cake". We took home the two slices in the containers, which are sticky toffee date cake and coffee streusel (as I was told they would travel well), the toffee cake had a huge square of fudge on the end. The remaining three cakes all had mousse layers between them. According to Jo we had to try the apple spice cake, because it was her favourite, the tiramisu cake because it was new. And the carrot cake just because!. What you can't tell from the photo is just how enormous these cake are. Jo bakes her cakes in 14'' pans, so the slices are HUGE. I am sorry to say, not all of the cake we tested on Sunday morning was eaten, which was no reflection on how incredibly yummy it was.
I highly recommend a visit to Ciccio - The Italian Restaurant if you are ever in Rotorua. I'm told they do awesome dinners too.
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