Kiwi Cake Decorator - Sarah Clark

Todays Kiwi Cake Decorator - is a profile on Sarah Clark, if you'd like to be featured as a Kiwi Cake Decorator email me!.

Sarah Clark - The Cake Tin

www.caketin.co.nz From June 1st 2012 until then it is

www.thecaketin.biz

http://www.facebook.com/TheCakeTin Facebook page 

Sarah is also about to start a blog which is currently being designed

 How long have you been decorating?

About 5 years, just as a hobby for ages then late last year I turned it into a small business. I am self taught, although over the last couple of years I have bought some amazing books which act as my courses.

What is you favourite thing to bake & decorate – why?

Cakes. There is such great satisfaction in baking then decorating a cake.

I particularly love the decorating when (depending on the client) I can create the image I have in my mind. A well decorated cake can tell a story and seeing that come together is a fulfilling feeling.

There is no greater compliment when somebody collects a cake to have them speechless, or to hear that the birthday girl or boy did not want to cut the cake as they would ruin the decoration. While visual appreciation is lovely it is also nice to know they loved the actual cake inside too. 

What got you started in baking/decorating?

I used to bake when I was a little girl. I still remember standing on my yellow stool at the bench mixing cakes and biscuits with Mum. (and like all kids licking the beater)

My decorating started about 5 years ago when I made and decorated Christmas cakes for the café I was working in. I found it really fun and loved seeing what I could do. Then I began making cakes for friends and family and things grew from there.  

What are your top 5 decorating tools you cannot live without?

My turntable, smoothers, non-stick rolling pin, modelling tools,  set of 5 small circle cutters.

(Oh I so wish you had asked for 10++++) So not fair to restrict this to 5! 

What do you do when you’re not decorating? 

I transform into a Mum.

Sometimes a bit of sewing if time allows but that is certainly not recently. 

What are some of your favourite creations you’ve created and why?

Oh Boy, this is such a hard question. I have to limit this to 5 or you will be here all day,  so here goes.

 #1 My Mum’s 65^th Birthday cake

I had just recently purchased a copy of Confetti Cakes by Eliza Strauss which opened up my eyes to what you could achieve if you have the right ingredients, (Being self taught I had not even heard of so many of them). And so I made Mums cake which changed my world and made me realise that in the words of Walt Disney “sometime’s it’s fun to achieve the impossible”

#2      My Second Handbag Cake

This cake was made for a client, my next door neighbour, and was life like in size (somewhere there is a photo of her with her hand under the handle like she is going to pick it up)

Everything came together from the patent leather to the crocodile skin to the glittery initial on the chain. The scarf just finished the look.

#3      My Sari cake.

This is not my design but was provided by the bride for an Australian couple’s wedding celebration.

I love the bright colours of this cake. The gold has all been hand painted and the sari was brushed with lustre dust to achieve the right shade before piping and gold brushing the detail.

#4 My Porsche Car

This was created for my husband’s 40^th Birthday

It was the first car I had made and I was so proud of all the attention to detail I had managed to capture. By the way, an avid Porsche fan, he loved it.

#5 My Mad Hatters Tea Party cake.

Inspired by Collette Peters this was for an Alice in Wonderland themed  40^th Birthday. With it’s bright colours and quirky shapes it was so much fun to make and the cupcakes which accompanied it just finished it. 

What is you favourite Cake, cookie, or cupcake flavour? and why?

Ginger, it is such an intense and under-rated flavour, it also reminds me of  my Grandmother who used to make Gingerbread while I was a wee girl (sadly I do not have her recipe) and my Dad.

If you could have someone make a cake for you, what would it be like?

I try not to eat cake (yep I know crazy) but I suppose it would be anything but chocolate in flavour, a fun bright design, bit of zebra print, purple somewhere because that is my favourite colour and perhaps some feathers Certainly not too girly because I like fun and funky, 2 tier but small tiers 8” and 6” maybe. OR

A woman in a kitchen surrounded by all things baking and decorating.