If you haven't seen the delights of Sydney high-school teacher, home baker and cake master (where have you been) let's get you up to speed. Here's what you may have missed...
If you've dropped your ice-cream cone, it's not all bad news
Mushrooms on cake are totally acceptable
Layering your way to the top - how many can you do?
Self-taught lover of 100s and 1000s and all things colorful and cake, was blasted into the dessert galaxy through her Instagram profile. What started as social sharing and baking fun has now excited her hundreds of thousands of followers, prompting baking enthusiasts to get creative.
Now Katherine is on a dessert mission, combining her dual loves of art and baking in her brand-new pop-up cookbook - yep, you heard it right, pop-up! For kids big and small, this book is currently being funded on the crowd-funding site .
All this social success meant Katherine has moved away from talking high-school history to talking all things cake, check out her website ! And we grab a slice of the action as we talk to Katherine about her exciting new project.
Baking is such a delicious, relaxing and very rewarding way to share in the world of food and creativity.
How did it all start?
I've been enamoured with sweets and the creative possibilities of the dessert world since a very young age. As soon as I experienced the simple joy of creating something home-baked for a friend or a loved one and then seeing the excitement on their face when I gifted this to them, I was totally hooked! Baking is such a delicious, relaxing and very rewarding way to share in the world of food and creativity.
Did your family and friends play any part in your baking repertoire?
Yes, definitely! My late German grandmother has played a huge role in my appreciation for only the best quality ingredients and BUTTER - lots of butter! Whenever we would visit her on the weekend as kids, she would have a freshly baked cake or a (my favourite) ready to share with us. One of my most loved cakes is a layered Black Forest cake, which I baked for my grandmother last Christmas (which unfortunately was the last Christmas we spent together as she passed away 6 months later at 93). She was originally from Black Forest in Germany when she came to Australia in 1954 and so these wonderful, generous baking memories I have of her I'll cherish forever.
Why a pop-up cookbook?
Paper engineering is such an astounding and beautiful craft but the art of pop-up books traditionally has been very simple. As soon as I came across the work of paper engineer, Benja Harney (), 5 years ago, I knew I had to be a part of his world. A pop-up cookbook filled with exceptional paper engineering and vibrant cakes was a vision too good to forget!
So what do you want people to take away from this book?
The pop-up element of this cookbook is immersive and interactive, so the aim is for fellow home bakers to see these creations come to life with the turn of each page! The full set of 'kitchen-proof' removable recipe cards lend a more practical element to the book, a nifty feature most other cookbooks do not offer. Every creation also comes with its own mini story, explaining its origins. I hope this inspires home bakers to create in new, unique and more personalised ways.
In 3 words, describe the book.
Innovative, joyous, inspiring.
What are some recipes people can expect to see?
My Upside Down Ice Cream Cake and Unicorn Cheesecake are two of the more iconic creations and my personal favourites!
What does your ultimate birthday cake look like?
Cone or corn - how to decide? Source: Instagram
It would taste like overload, studded with tart raspberries and filled with a crunchy, smoked caramel mousse. YUM! I'm not sure what this would look like but I'll let the flavours do all of the talking! My food philosophy is always flavour over finish.
For those who are new to decorating, what is one hot tip you have?
Invest in the right tools! A good quality cake turntable, a sharp cake scraper and a medium-sized off-set spatula. These three tools will work wonders in helping you to layer cakes, fill and frost. I owe all of the smooth finishes on my cakes to these guys.
And if you are feeling cake-inspired check out our right here.
