Tuesday 27 November 2012

Follow that Caker: Lana Joubert of Couture Cupcakes


Hello everyone! Welcome to the very first 'Follow that Caker' interview!
Today we are taking a peek into the life of creative caker, Lana Joubert of Couture Cupcakes, KwaZulu-Natal.

Mini Chocolate Coffee and Vanilla Cakelet Tower by Couture Cupcakes.
Lana Joubert's favourite 'cake' to date.

To begin her cake journey, Lana did a basic “Decorating Cake with fondant” class and got hooked from there. She absolutely loves being creative and creating gorgeous things so this was the perfect opportunity to keep her corporate job while still being able to do something fun and true to herself.
Like many of us cakers, Lana enjoys asking Uncle Google for inspiration. She loves to find cakes that really stand out and then she changes the design to add her own little twist.
Every different cake picture that Lana comes across adds to her inspiration in one way or another.
Lana's very first cake was a cake she lovingly made for her mother's birthday.
This cake was made the same day that her first class was held.


Lana's very first client order was for a Barney the dinosaur birthday cake.
When she took the order, she had no experience making figurines. Needless to say, Lana was extremely nervous but still confident that if she put her mind to it, she could make it happen.


Lana says: "Suddenly everything becomes a hundred times more important when you have someone paying for a cake – it has to be perfect!"

Lana got the hang of covering cakes quite quickly, but for her, making 3D decorations was another thing altogether! With the weather being at odds against her, the figurines got very sweaty and started to collapse with the heat and humidity.
Absolutely hysterical, Lana kept moving them around to get the right spot for the figurines to set. She put them in the oven with the fan on, and even put them in her car with the air con on. Not much helped! Lana says: "I was wonderfully stressed!"
Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the evening came and everything got cooler and less humid. Tucked away in a cupboard, Lana's little dino’s hardened up and stopped sweating. Lana now believes firmly in owning a home Air conditioner in Durban!
The one thing that she learnt whilst creating this cake was to butter cream the cake the day before covering it with fondant – that way the butter cream will dry/ harden and will prevent the fondant from sagging – which is never very pretty.

A cake Lana made for her Dad's 50th.
Lana enjoys putting a lot of love into cakes made for her own family, but she uses these occasions to test new techniques and designs. Although the cakes are always lovely, the end result is not always as it was planned.

This cake was made for the Heritage Cake Boss Competition for Ingane Yami Children's village
When asked "how long is the longest time you’ve spent on a cake?", Lana's husband answers "Too long!"
Lana spent every evening for 2 weeks working on the Ingane Yami cake. She decided to do a replica of the actual children's village, using schematics of the land and buildings. This cake was a real product of perseverance and love.
Lana always gives her best when making cakes for clients – at the end of the day they are paying a lot of money to have something different and amazing and that’s what she aims to give them.

For a special family cupcake recipe from Lana, please visit Fudge's Favourite Foods.

Details for Cupcake Couture:
Website: www.couturecupcakes.co.za
Facebook: Cupcake Couture
Telephone: 071 997 1266
Cupcake Couture supplies to any area in Durban and surrounding areas, including North, South and Highway Area's (KZN).

Friday 2 November 2012

Quick video tutorial: How to make a Christmas tree.


I hope everyone enjoys this short little video tutorial! I've used "Rockin' around the Christmas tree" by Brenda Lee as background music.

Getting ready for Christmas!!