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| All of our macarons are individually hand-made with Australian grown almonds & are 100% gluten free |
A week before Christmas Mr Petite & I made a trip to Melbourne to attend a very special birthday. It was a big gathering of family members from different parts of Australia brought together in celebration of Mr Petite's grandmother's 87th birthday.
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| Wishing grandmother a very Happy Birthday! |
It was a joyous evening of delicious food, children playing & familiar faces to once again be acquainted with. And like the invisible forces which attracts children to one another, on this night I found myself drawn unknowingly to other family members who had also developed the love of baking!
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| Japanese Souffle Cheesecake topped with strawberries baked by the very talented Jessica (the cake was so soft, light & moist) |
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| Another creation by Jessica: Chocolate mini cupcakes with green mint frosting piped to resemble Christmas trees, beautifully decorated with edible glitter, sugar pearls & sugar paste stars (the frosting was so smooth & combined with the chocolate cake was full of flavour!) |
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| An assortment of Christmas Cookies by Sister-In-Law Petite: Butter cookies decorated with royal icing (these were such a hit with the children they went like hotcakes!) |
Whilst in Melbourne a "must" on my To-Do list was to visit a cupcake shop where the journey of it's owner from selling her cupcakes at the markets to now having her own shop front for me is simply inspiration.
So with GPS in hand Mr Petite & I ventured out firstly for lunch & a walk, through the busy streets & alley ways lined with eateries in the city of Melbourne. Unaware we were amongst the frenzy of Oprah's Melbourne appearance, the city was adorned with flags welcoming the arrival of this special visitor with many flocking to Federation Square & by mid afternoon a sea of people had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Queen of Talk.
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| This was as close as we got to Federation Square with people packed to the brim waiting for Oprah to appear |
As time was getting away, we made our way to the cupcake shop located in Hawthorn. We followed the GPS into a little arcade lined with various retail & food shops & entrance to Glenferrie station.
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| Can you spot the cupcake shop? |
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| Yes...it's Cupcake Central! |
I first came across Sheryl's blog mid last year & found her posts documenting her baking journey very positive, encouraging & inspiring.
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| Unfortunately by mid afternoon only a few cupcakes were left to choose from |
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| Guess which cupcake flavour this was! |
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| Cherry Pistachio cupcakes |
We ordered their signature Black Velvet, I couldn't go pass Latte being a lover of coffee & the surprise cupcake of the day to my delight was Orange Chocolate.
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| The shop has three levels: lower ground level is where the baking takes place a very clean & open kitchen, then the shop front level & a top level where customers can sit & relax |
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| We made our way to the top level where we sat down & waited for our cupcakes & coffees |
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| And then I spotted "the eggs" |
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| The eggs represents their story & symbolic of Sheryl's belief & encouragement of "hatching" one's dream |
Our order was brought to us by a friendly staff as we took a little time out for an afternoon sugar & caffeine pick-me up!
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| Time for cake & coffee! |
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| Which cupcake should I have first? |
My favourite on the day was the baby cupcakes.
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| One of my much loved flavour combinations orange & chocolate |
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| The Latte frosting was very aromatic & flavoursome |
Having recently completed a small business course I have been made more aware of the obstacles & challenges faced by small business owners. Wishing Sheryl the very best with "living the dream"!
So that wraps up our trip to Melbourne: Family, Celebrity & a shop called Cupcake Central.
Tell me Dear Readers what inspires you?
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