PUBLISHER : Cake ! Magazine is published by the Australian Cake Decorating Network Pty Ltd . ACN : 91 164 927 584 . © All content copyright 2022 Australian Cake Decorating Network Pty Ltd . All rights reserved . Reproduction any part of the magazine without written permission is prohibited . All prices included in Cake ! Magazine are approximate and are in AUD unless otherwise stated . Prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing and may vary or be subject to change . The Australian Cake Decorating Network Pty Ltd accepts no responsibility for damage or loss as a result of material submitted for , published in or as a result of this publication . The Australian Cake Decorating Network does not have an affiliation with any other magazine . The views and opinions expressed within this publication are not necessarily the views of the publisher or it ' s affiliates . While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within Cake ! Magazine the publisher and Cake ! Magazine hold no responsibility for any errors , omissions , or consequences subsequent or otherwise , including loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication . Content is supplied for publication in Cake ! Magazine by parties external to the Australian Cake Decorating Network and it is the external party ' s responsibility to ensure content and credits are accurate . Cake ! Magazine contains advertising through individual arrangements , which may include paid affiliate arrangements . Cake ! Magazine may also contain affiliate links . The agreements are held between the advertiser or affiliate and the Australian Cake Decorating Network Ptd Ltd . To advertise in Cake ! magazine , contact : liz @ acdn . me

letter from the editor Welcome to final issue of Cake ! Magazine for 2021 ! It ' s no secret that the ACDN team LOVE Christmas , and of course this is our favourite issue of the year to publish ! We love seeing the new cakes , cookies and sweet treats our members have been creating , and to bring together an issue to inspire your own creativity this festive season . We feature tutorials for cookies , cupcakes , toppers and a Christmas cake in this issue , along with many inspirational images in our Member Gallery . On the 27th November 2021 , we celebrated our 5th Annual Cake Decorating & Baking Industry Awards Night ! It was a fun-filled night with over 80 decorators , bakers and industry professionals attending . This year we again held our Awards Night via Zoom . We are looking forward to holding our 2022 Awards Night in person , which will be held in Melbourne ( fingers crossed !). A big congratulations to all of our Awards winners , and thank you to our Category Sponsors for your ongoing support to help us continue to host this event each year . Winner announcements can be found from page 50 . We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season . Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year and I hope you enjoy this issue of Cake ! Magazine ! COVER IMAGE : Margarita Tan ButterSweet Sugar Art

Contents 39 32 25 9 18

December 2021 39 51 9 18 25 32 66 69 Features Interview with Cake For Days ACDN Awards Night Winner Announcements Tutorials Wrapped Berry Cake Geo Christmas Cookies Santa & Rudolph Cupcakes Gingerbread Man Topper Regulars Cake Chat with Amber Comadira-Smith ACDN Member Gallery

T U T O R I A L S T O B A K E T H I S CHRISTMAS

WRAPPED BERRY CAKE By Yvette Farrugia of Enchanted Cakes by Yvette

Foam dummy tier 6 inch high x 6 inch wide Small amount chocolate ganache or hot glue gun . 10 inch round white cake board . Water sprayer 800g Olive fondant 50g Burgundy fondant 50g Gold fondant Roller mat Rolling pin Cornflour dusting bag Cake smoother 10 x 22g wire ( 9cm long ) 24 x 24g wire with ends bent over ( 9cm long ) Sugar glue Star tool Scissors Pencil Wafer paper x 1 sheet Glue paint brush Paint brush Glaze brush Flower and Leaf Glaze 3 Raffaello Balls Ball tool 41 cocktail sticks White florist tape 7 Sprigs of rosemary Pearl White Lustre ( I use Faye Cahill ) Ivory Champagne ( I use Faye Cahill ) Steamer White sugar pearls ( I use Picnart ) YOU WILL NEED : Foam dummy tier 6 inch high x 6 inch wide Small amount chocolate ganache or hot glue gun . 10 inch round white cake board . Water sprayer 800g Olive fondant 50g Burgundy fondant 50g Gold fondant Roller mat Rolling pin Cornflour dusting bag Cake smoother 10 x 22g wire ( 9cm long ) 24 x 24g wire with ends bent over ( 9cm long ) Sugar glue Star tool Scissors Pencil Wafer paper x 1 sheet Glue paint brush Paint brush Glaze brush Flower and Leaf Glaze 3 Raffaello Balls Ball tool 41 cocktail sticks White florist tape 7 Sprigs of rosemary Pearl White Lustre ( I use Faye Cahill ) Ivory Champagne ( I use Faye Cahill ) Steamer White sugar pearls ( I use Picnart ) www . facebook . com / enchantedcakesbyyvette2 enchantedcakesbyyvette . com

Step 3 Step 1 Glue your 6 inch round foam cake tier to a 10 inch diameter white cake board with either ganache or hot glue . Alternatively , you could use a real cake . Step 2 Spray your cake or foam tier lightly with water so the fondant will adhere . Dust your work surface with cornflour so the fondant won ’ t stick . Roll your olive green coloured fondant to approx . 3mm thick in a large rectangle approx . 22 inches x 12 inches . The extra allows for the draping . Step 4 Wrap the fondant around the cake loosely to allow for draping folds . Partially fold the bottom edge under and gather the top together allowing a gap at the front . Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Secure the fondant to the cake by rubbing with your hands and using your cake smoother for the larger flatter areas . Trim off the excess at the top with scissors . Roll out two more pieces of olive green fondant approx . 6 x 8 inches each . Pleat together and stick onto the front of the cake to cover the gap , folding and layering as necessary with the existing fondant drape .

Step 8 cont ... Do the same to the second piece and stick with sugar glue from the top draping downwards . Step 9 Enlarge the holly leaf pattern so that the smaller leaf is 5cm long and the larger leaf is 8cm long . Trace the holly leaf template onto your wafer paper and cut 5 of each size . Step 10 Step 11 Dust half with Pearl White lustre dust and the other half with Ivory Champagne lustre dust for some slight colour and shimmer . Attach the 22 gauge wires with a small amount of sugar glue and press onto the back of wafer holly leaves ( rough side ).

Step 15 Step 12 Hand paint the edges and centre vein with Signature Gold lustre mixed with decorators alcohol . Step 13 Place holly leaves over steamer to add some shape . Step 14 Secure one large and one small holly leaf together using white florist tape . Stretch the tape as you wrap it around the wire . Trim the wire and secure a small cocktail stick to the wire . Roll 12 pea size balls using your burgundy fondant and secure them with sugar glue to your 24 gauge wires with the ends bent over . Make sure to use a tiny amount of glue or else the fondant will become sticky . Step 16 Step 17 Step 18 Step 19 Using your star tool , indent the top for decoration . Roll 12 pea size balls from your gold coloured fondant and secure using sugar glue to the remaining 12 24 gauge wires with the ends turned over . Paint the gold buds with Signature Gold lustre dust mixed with decorators alcohol . Allow to dry . Place into a foam base and paint all buds with Flower and Leaf Glaze for a shiny finish and allow to dry .

Step 20 Group 3 burgundy buds and tape together using white florists wire , trim the wires and attach the small cocktail stick . Do the same for the gold buds . Step 21 Using sugar glue , glue the 3 Raffaello balls into place . You may need to use your ball tool to make an indent in the fondant first . Arrange the holly leaves around the outside . Step 22 Add in the red and gold buds . Step 23 Step 24 Secure small cocktail sticks to the rosemary sprigs with florist tape and place into your cake . Scatter white sugar pearls for final decoration .

GEO CHRISTMAS COOKIES By Christy Musco of Bikkie Smalls

Step 1 Start with a good nospread sugar cookie recipe ( check out the recipes by CutterCraft , Miss Biscuit or Adelaide Bakes if you need to find a no-spread recipe ). Chill your dough before rolling out to desired thickness on a piece of baking paper or onto a baking silicone mat . Press down firmly all over the cutter to ensure you get a clean cut . Step 2 Remove the excess cookie dough from around the cutter , before gently lifting the cutter away from the dough . Geo Cutters available at : www . customcookiecutters . com . au Step 3 Without moving the cut pieces , use the baking paper or silicone mat you have cut the dough on to transfer the cookie dough onto a tray and freeze for 15 minutes . Step 4 Once the pieces are firm , you can spread them out on your baking tray and place in the oven . Even if your cookie recipe doesn ’ t normally require freezing before baking , this step is recommended to make sure none of the shapes are distorted prior to baking . Step 5 Step 6 Once your cookies are baked and cooled , the real fun starts . Assemble your decorating tools and get creative ! These cutters are so versatile , and the design options are endless . The cutters will suit those that decorate with either Royal Icing or Fondant , and I love using various cookie stamps , edible images , and sprinkles to decorate my Geo sets with .

These cutters are designed to allow your cookies to be served as a platter , or as a set to be gifted . If you are packaging your cookies , you can use a heat sealer to seal all the cookie pieces together in one large bag ; this will keep them fresh for longer . Some recommended packaging options are linked below : Bags - Rectangle , Tree , Skull , Square , Circle or Heart Bags – Swirl Boxes – Rectangle , Tree or Skull Boxes – Square , Circle or Heart If you are worried about your cookies shifting out of shape in the packaging , you can secure the pieces to a cake board or piece of food-safe cardboard cut to shape with a little bit of Royal Icing before sealing in the bag . www . facebook . com / bikkiesmalls Geo Cutters available at : www . customcookiecutters . com . au

www . facebook . com / SavvyCakesSydney www . facebook . com / SavvyCakesSydney

An interview with Tigga founder of An interview with Tigga founder of Cake For Days

TELL US THE STORY OF HOW CAKE FOR DAYS BECAME WHAT IT IS TODAY ? Cake for Days started over a coffee between two best friends . I was working at a cake shop for min wage and didn ’ t have many opportunities to climb or grow any further . I had been there for 6 years and was starting to get restless . My friend Katie , who I ’ ve known since I was eight years old approached me with the idea to start our own cake business . She even suggested building a commercial cake kitchen in an empty room in her home . I was so KEEN . And so the spark was lit ! But , we knew it wasn ’ t going to be a simple thing . We didn ’ t have any money and had no idea where to start ! Plus quitting my job of 6 years with no guarantee of any income for who knows how long … scary ! So we teetered on the edge , afraid to take the leap . Until one day , I walked into work only to be told the shop was closing and I no longer had a job ! It was the push we needed . We quickly mobilised and with the help of friends and family , the room in Katie ’ s house was converted into a council approved commercial kitchen and Cake for Days was born ! Thanks to social media and word of mouth , we had customers our very first week ! DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST EVER CAKE THAT YOU MADE AS PART OF YOUR BUSINESS ? The first cake we ever made was actually a 3 tier wedding cake !! We were equal parts terrified and so excited . We actually framed the order slip and kept it as a constant reminder of how it all started and how far we have come !

WHAT DO YOU FEEL HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES SO FAR WITH RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS ? I would say the biggest challenges in running our own business has been trusting ourselves and knowing our worth . Especially as young women it can be hard to know your worth and charge for it ! Also , to speak up and not be afraid to ask for advice on the business side of things ! You don ’ t have to know everything , you can learn as you go ! Hiving yourself the time to switch off is also a must !. Running your own business is a 24 / 7 job and it ’ s important to attempt to have breaks to avoid burnout !! Another challenge is staying on top trends and making sure you continue to grow and learn and stay relevant . We find our minds are always churning , trying to come up with fresh new ideas . It ’ s exciting and exhausting at the same time .

OUTSIDE OF CAKE DECORATING / BAKING , WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES ? Outside of decorating I enjoy being with family and friends , which is something I appreciate even more now since covid . I have a beautiful fur baby called Basil who pops up on my Tiktok page every now and then . He ’ s a very spoilt doggo ! I ’ m also a bit of a Star Wars nerd , I love watching movies , playing a bit of PlayStation and reading . In the summer , when I ’ m not at work I ’ ll be at the beach . I ’ ve also been known to dabble in art , drawing and diy projects . WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR DESIGNS ? Inspiration for designs can come from everywhere ! Architecture , fashion , artworks , food , nature , honestly everywhere ! We continually keep lists of things that strike our imagination or concepts we would love to experiment with ! DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO SHARE WITH CAKE DECORATORS / BAKERS THAT ARE JUST STARTING OUT ? I would say just to try and find your own style ! It ’ s great to draw inspiration from other cake decorators but it can also hold you back from really finding your own style or niche . This obviously comes with experience and using other cakes for inspo is a great place to start ! Something else that I have found to be beneficial in this industry , is to work to a set of rules and stick by them . Back in the beginning , we started off by taking every single order that came our way , doing every type of cake under the sun . I did anything the customer wanted . This kept us in a bit of a limbo or no man ’ s land , where we had no style and no identity . Our online growth was slooooow . But the moment we started to set some rules and really take back control of the work coming in , did we really noticed a difference in our work . Our business started to really grow ! Also , never stop working on your skills . Be patient and practice ! Repetition is key !!

WHAT ' S NEXT FOR CAKE FOR DAYS ? CAN WE GET THE INSIDE SCOOP FOR ANYTHING YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR 2022 ? We are so excited for all the things coming up in 2022 . I feel like I ’ m really starting to carve out my own little space on TikTok and I think we have something so fun and unique . Covid really hit the events industry hard but it also gave us an opportunity to really pivot and harness the power of social media ! We are working with some great brands to turn their products into edible art , which is right up our alley ! We are also planning on releasing our own merchandise and collaborate with other amazing Aussie brands ! Content creation and social media has really changed the game for cake decorators and we are thrilled to be a part of it ! MORE INFORMATION cakefordays . com . au tiktok . com /@ tigga _ mac

What is automatically covered ? Typical Cake Industry Association Policy Home based cake & cookie baking & decorating activities ( including macarons & brownies ) Making handmade chocolates , desserts and confectionery Teaching cake baking / decorating for up to 12 adults ( 18 years & over ) Cooking Classes involving use of ovens , gas burners or the like Up to 12 adults Up to 5 adults Hiring of hall or commercial premises to teach classes Selling at local markets , fetes , fundraisers Automatic $ 20million cover Turnover of up to $ 100,000 ( Income before deducting expenses ) Certificate of currency in the individual sole trader name Use of fresh , artificial & preserved flowers for decorative purposes Up to 12 adults Unlimited Limited number / year Limited / tiered turnover levels Hiring of a commercial kitchen Selling to shops , cafes & restaurants Attending Wedding Expo ' s & Bridal Fairs Setting up at a wedding or event venue Making & selling sprinkle mixes and dry cake mixes Manufacturing cookie cutters Making and selling craft items at markets ( excludes baby items ) Preserves / jams & honey Limited Decorating classes uploaded to YouTube * Food Certificate required www . acdn . me / insurance

Amber shares her design & cake expertise so that you can become the master cake decorator you ’ ve always wanted to be . Don ’ t be a dummy ! Here are 4 major benefits for using dummy cakes Display cake , fake cake or dummy cake – whatever you want to call em ’– are our unlikely ( and often underestimated ) cake buddy . Styrofoam cake substitutes don ’ t seem quite inviting ... but let me tell ya , they can help to increase your confidence with new cake techniques , plus save you heaps of time and cake wastage . If you haven ’ t utilised Styrofoam cake dummies in your decorating , then I encourage you to reconsider ! Here ’ s my top four reasons why you need to start using dummy cakes : 1 . You can build your portfolio Don ’ t wait around for the right cake order to show off your preferred cake style or talents . Instead , why not take some initiative ? Build your cake decorating portfolio utlising cake dummies to showcase your cake style and the type of orders ( and consequently clientele ) you want to attract into your business . 2 . Freedom to practice new techniques Dummy cakes are the perfect practice tool for trialing new decorating techniques ! It gives you the freedom to experiment , make mistakes and build your confidence . This is a major plus when you go to decorate your actual cake-you ’ ll easily troubleshoot any issues that may arise and you ’ ll be able to work the new technique to your advantage for better design placement and details ( for instance ). I shudder to think of my early cakemaking days , when the first time I would try a complex new cake technique was on the ACTUAL cake I was giving to the customer . There was always that instant stress and panic of ‘ What if it goes wrong ?’, mostly followed by , ‘ Oh no , I stuffed up , how do I fix this ?!’ If you want to go in with confidence when decorating your customer cakes , then I would highly recommend giving ‘ dummy decorating ’ a go !

3 . They ’ re reusable Cake dummies can be reused again and again , meaning you can use them for multiple projects . Need I say more ? 4 . A great alternative for real cake You ’ ll have some customers who want to order an extravagant , large , multitiered cake but only have a small guest list . This is where dummy cakes are a great alternative – simply replace real cake tiers with their dummy counterparts . This means there ’ s less food wastage and the customer can still have the cake design they envisioned for their event . It ’ s a win-win situation ! ---- I ' d love to hear your thoughts on dummy cakes ! Have I convinced you to give it a go ? Feel free to hit me up on my socials , I ’ d love to chat and hear your thoughts