Foodie Profile #14 – Mad About Cakes
by Decisive CravingsMadie Gostin of Mad About Cakes – Image Credit, Profile Pub
Note: Mad About Cakes now has a bricks and mortar store at 5/467C Hawthorn Road, Caulfield South in Melbourne.
1. Madie, how did your business start?
I have always loved to bake but pretty much fell into Cake Decorating. I remember seeing Paris Cutler’s ‘Planet Cake’ Cake Decorating book at a store and my boyfriend bought it for me as a gift and I decorated some of my very first cakes and cupcakes from those amazing pages. I began to decorate cakes for friends and family and then people started to pay me for it!
2. You cater for many different dietary requirements – how do you maintain the flavour quality across the range of allergy free cakes?
Mad About Cakes caters for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free and even vegans. Believe me, we have tried many different allergen friendly recipes that came out like concrete rocks, but that is part of the learning curve. From the recipes that are successful, and the Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge being our most popular flavour, you learn what types of gluten free flours works best in cakes. High quality ingredients, such as couverture chocolate and fresh produce ensure all our cakes and desserts taste delicious.
3. Where did you learn to bake?
I grew up with my mum and grand-mère making my brother and I extraordinary novelty cakes from the Women’s Weekly Cookbooks for our birthday parties and my mum always making homemade treats. They both have great knowledge about baking and cooking in general and have shared it all with me. However, practise makes perfect and there are always so many new, weird and exciting techniques and desserts to try!
4. You had some success with your entry at this year’s Royal Melbourne Show. Can you tell us about this experience?
I used to go to the Royal Melbourne Show every year with my family and my mum and I would always ogle the amazing cakes in the arts and crafts section. So this year, I thought it would be fun to enter a cake and also use it as a chance to challenge myself and my decorating skills. I created a 3D standing Sponge Bob Square Pants cake that had a hand built internal structure and every other detail was edible and hand crafted. It was a great experience and test on what I can do as a cake decorator and paid off with a second place in my category.
5. Where do you get your inspiration?
Inspiration is everywhere! Fashion is a great inspiration for textures and colours, and the landscape and gardens are a great source for flower arrangements and combinations. Art is one of my favorite forms of inspiration as cake decorating is a form of art, just on a different medium, so there is so much to learn and translate into cakes. The internet is also excellent as websites like Pinterest make it so easy to collate inspiration.
6. Can you take us through the process of cake development from idea to delivery?
The first step is the client consultation and we get all the information from the date of the event to what flavours they like and whether they have a design in mind. Sketches are then done to finalise the cake design. All our cakes are made fresh, so orders can only be started within a few days to 24 hours prior to delivery. We may be able to make some decorations in advance, but the majority of the order (baking, ganaching, covering and decorating) is done within days of delivery. We then photograph the cake, drive it ever so slowly to its destination, then speed back to the kitchen to start/continue the next order!
7. What would be a dream cake project for you?
A tough question! Some of my favourite orders have been novelty cakes and dessert tables where there is just an overload of detail and fun to be had. I think a dream cake project would be doing some sort of world record cake or life size cake where Mad About Cakes is commissioned to create something huge and spectacular, like a statue or even a giant monster completely out of cake!
8. What are your plans for the future?
Hopefully, Mad About Cakes will just keep growing in every aspect! Our dessert range, flavours, abilities and skills will just keep getting bigger and better. One day, you will be stopping by the Mad About Cakes shop where you can buy scrumptious cupcakes and desserts and peak into the kitchen to see amazing cakes being made.
Notes: If you are looking for a gift idea for family, friends, corporate clients, co-workers, etc, Mad About Cakes have gorgeous Christmas Cupcake Boxes of 6 or 12 with flavours like Gingerbread, Gluten Free Choc Mint and Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Frosting. For orders contact madie@madaboutcakes.com.au or call+61 415 929 608.
Store: 5/467C Hawthorn Road, Caulfield South
Website: www.madaboutcakes.com.au
Facebook: Mad About Cakes Australia
Instagram: @madaboutcakesaustralia
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