At Lavonne, we make cakes for a variety of occasions, and our custom cake specialist, Chef Joonie Tan, creates multiple creative and unique cakes that span a various themes. In this section, she talks about her pick of the month and takes us through the creative process that goes into making them.
For the month of August, it’s her Minnie Mouse theme cake.
This cake was perhaps one of the most special ones I have worked on till date. That’s because it was the first ever ‘Gravity Defying Cake’ that came to us as an order. I was pleasantly surprised, because this style is fairly new in the Indian Baking scenario and not too many consumers are aware of its existence. Or that something of this nature can even be executed.
That’s why when I received an order for this cake, I was completely overjoyed and excited, and agreed to do it immediately. No second thoughts, whatsoever!
The Order
This particular order came from a city based event planner, for an event that was being held at the Oberoi Hotel. So, I didn’t actually get to meet the clients. But the event planner was crystal clear about the requirements, so I knew exactly what I needed to do.
The Process
This one took a lot of careful thinking and planning. I had to give quite a bit of thought to the internal structure of the cake. And it wasn’t just about making a standing Minnie Mouse. The height requirements mentioned by the client were also very specific—the taller the better, with two-feet-tall being the absolute minimum. One of the trickiest parts of making this cake was having Minne Mouse hold out a gift-box, which was also completely made of cake.
This one took a lot of careful thinking and planning. I had to give quite a bit of thought to the internal structure of the cake. And it wasn’t just about making a standing Minnie Mouse. The height requirements mentioned by the client were also very specific—the taller the better, with two-feet-tall being the absolute minimum. One of the trickiest parts of making this cake was having Minne Mouse hold out a gift-box, which was also completely made of cake.
Needless to say, the process was a long drawn-out one. It took us a whole day—starting from making and assembling, to giving the finishing touches the cake. What I especially loved about the process of creating one was that the whole staff- right from the housekeeping staff, the Pastry Chefs, the Head Chef, the Cake Artist, the Managing Director, Finance manager, in-house Architect to the Carpenter- all got involved and contributed to the success of this cake. It was truly a product of united ingenuity, labour and love!
The end result, with everyone pitching in, was a 3-feet-tall, standing Minnie Mouse cake. And the entire thing, every little bit of its 3-foot glory, was made to be fully edible.
The end result, with everyone pitching in, was a 3-feet-tall, standing Minnie Mouse cake. And the entire thing, every little bit of its 3-foot glory, was made to be fully edible.
The Journey
But creating the cake was only one half of the challenge. The other half, and according to me the more arduous challenge, was getting the cake to the venue. Transporting a 3-feet-tall cake, in a sedan, with the deplorable roads we have here, was a definite concern. And to top it off, a mini-thunderstorm began just when we were getting ready to start for the venue.
But creating the cake was only one half of the challenge. The other half, and according to me the more arduous challenge, was getting the cake to the venue. Transporting a 3-feet-tall cake, in a sedan, with the deplorable roads we have here, was a definite concern. And to top it off, a mini-thunderstorm began just when we were getting ready to start for the venue.
Nevertheless, we managed to pull-off what seemed like an impossible task, and delivered the cake to the venue on time, and in one piece.
And that wasn’t all. Along with this cake, the order also included macaron towers and an additional 3 kg – 2 tier cake.
I loved the experience of creating this cake for two reasons primarily. One, it was perhaps my most challenging order till date, and took a lot of planning and thinking to execute. Second, because of its challenging nature, the final outcome left me elated, with an unbeatable feeling of pride and fulfilment.