Sharon creates the most delightful cakes at Sharon Wee Creations, and we couldn’t go past a Monday morning of delectable images of succulents and flowers, tantalising ruffled frosting and cute little figurines to make you smile. The painstaking work that Sharon puts into her cake creations is evident in every petal and leaf – almost too good to eat!
Please describe your journey to Sharon Wee Creatiions – how it all began and what the journey has taught you?
I have always liked sweet things, baking and art but I stumbled into cake decorating almost by accident. I had just started my first job out of university and was looking for a hobby because I didn’t enjoy it very much. I saw a cake decorating class in a local community college so I thought I would give it a try. I loved it! And this is how I pretty much started.
My friends and family then convinced me that I should start selling my cakes so I started my cake business while I was still working full time. Then driven by my passion for cakes and sugar art I decided to quit my job almost three years ago and I now work on my cake business full time.
The whole journey so far has had its fair shares of up and downs but I have learnt to be strong, brave, confident and from that you will experience the joys of doing what you love for a living.
Is the cupcake tower for the wedding cake now overdone and on its way ‘out’?
I think so! Brides have now moved on to dessert tables, macaron towers and much more.
You offer many gorgeous flavours of cake such as ‘Summer on the Beach’ lime and lemon cake covered with a white chocolate ganache. What are your most popular flavours?
My chocolate mud cake with milk chocolate earl grey tea and cookies ganache is my best seller (cookies and tea with the earl) in winter and during summer it’s definitely the ‘summer on the beach’ – a lemon and lime cake white white chocolate vanilla bean ganache. Aside from those, red velvet, coconut and orange and almond is also a crowd favourite.
Do couples tend to choose a different flavor for each tier?
Yes most do. I always encourage them to as well – if you can why not? It’s a nice way to please all your guests and give them all an option to choose from too.
Please describe the design process to finished cake when a couple comes to see you?
Before even meeting the couple in person, I always make sure we are on the same wavelength in terms of personality and design. After all, it’s like a relationship, we will most likely have to work together for months and sometimes even over a year so it’s important to ensure we are compatible.
After that, we discuss design ideas and I encourage them to tell me as much about their wedding as possible. Aside from the fact that I love to hear the details, I also find sometimes I gather inspiration from the smallest details. For example it could be the bride’s headpiece, the texture of the centre piece candle holders, or even the colours of the bridesmaid’s dresses.
Then we meet for a tasting and final design details where I provide them with a sketch to ensure that there was no miscommunication and that everything goes well together. This helps us both visualize that the tiers all match and how all the decorations are going to sit on the cake.
Do you have a signature sugar art/decorating style?
I think I always like to add a little bit of colour or cuteness in my creations. Through bright flowers, leaves or even figurines I hope to express a little of my client’s personality on each cake. If given free reign, I always try and encourage my clients to do something a little different on the cake. The wedding day is all about the couple, so why not have a cake that reflects that too? Like the groom who loves Lego, the couple who loves horses and go carting to the couple who just wanted something whimsy, colourful and fun.
What sorts of sugar art do you most love to create for a wedding cake?
I love making flowers and figurines. I think both immediately add a big wow factor and personality to the cakes.
Can you see any emerging trends in cakes?
The whole rustic messy icing look is very popular at the moment and I think it will continue to be very popular. Succulents as flowers are also emerging as well as bolder coloured flowers and an array of smaller cakes along a dessert table in addition to having just one large wedding cake. Traditional piped cakes are also starting to make a comeback as well.
If money were no object, what design would you like create for an Australian Spring/Summer wedding?
A really tall cake with lots and lots of sugar flowers on top and in bunches along the side, pastel coloured base icing and maybe some sugar birds nestled on the flowers. And I’d love to have matching smaller cakes displayed on a dessert table too – kind of like a design collection.
What do you like to cook, when not baking cakes? Do you like to get away from anything sweet?
My passion is mainly in desserts and anything sweet. I can cook savoury food, but I don’t think I am very good at it! Although anything using the oven is a safe bet for me – like roasts.
My favourite restaurant for a casual meal with friends is….
Miso or Miss Chu’s. Both are in the CBD and since moving out of the city last year I miss them both!
My other favourite pastime is……
Since moving into a house I’ve really started to enjoy random art type projects around the house like decorating the different rooms and painting glass jars…etc I also do enjoy other crafts like painting or even playing sports, but I don’t have any time for that since I started cake decorating!
Thank you Sharon for sharing your thoughts with us today. To see more of Sharon’s work visit her website at Sharon Wee Creations.
All images courtesy of Sharon Wee Creations
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