As the oven warms up for the new television series The Great Australian Bake Off, Sarah Harris ponders the serious science of cake
With a masters degree majoring in psychology Sharyn Frantz can speak with some academic authority about the human condition and cake.
But as they say, the proof really is in the pudding: in Frantz’s case, the Nigella Lawson chocolate raspberry pudding cake that has become her dinner party signature dish.
“People just go gaga over it. It sends everybody insane and it really is the most easy, simple recipe you can ever make,” Frantz says.
The cakes Frantz makes professionally as proprietor of Woodend’s Blackbird Cakes tend to be rather more elaborate affairs.
The Weekly meets her as she’s putting the finishing touches to a Tardis cake for an avid Dr Who fan.
In the window of the shop stands a “Renaissance Wonder Woman” cake – a testament of sorts to the strength she found within herself after reading a book called The Passion Test which gave her the impetus to give psychological research the flick and start her own business.
“I still use my training a bit because you have to really listen to people and pick up on things they are saying to create something magical,” Frantz says.
The reaction of clients is sometimes extraordinary.
“It is very primal. It’s amazing how you can make a basic cake, make it look fabulous and pretty, put a little bit of somebody’s personality in it and people are overjoyed.
“People walk in here and sometimes burst into tears when they see their cakes. Cakes just make people happy – it’s the batter that binds memories.”
At every significant occasion in the life cycle there is one constant – the cake, a global ceremonial food.
“When you think about it, it’s the centrepiece of all major milestones – the cake and the cutting of the cake is such a focal point,” says Deb Tadday, owner of Melton’s Wooden Spoon Cakes.
In the 18 years since Tadday began working as a pastry chef the cake has remained a constant party favourite, although tastes have changed, especially when it comes to the most traditional of occasion cakes.
“The last time I did a fruit cake for a wedding was about 12 years ago,” Tadday reveals.
“These days we do more red velvet, lemon and poppy seed, orange or vanilla and white chocolate.
‘‘A lot of wedding cakes now have real bling factor with brides incorporating their colours and very individual themes.”
There is also strong demand to cater for people with food allergies, including gluten-free cakes which require a good understanding of the science of baking.
“I was taught very old-school and make from scratch” Tadday says. “I use butter, no margarine. I use real ingredients. I don’t like anything artificial and I bake the way things are supposed to be baked.
“It’s the best thing when you bring a cake out. You will get people tear up and others who will be jumping up and down with the excitement of your craft.
“I did a Betty Boop cake that weighed about 40 kilos. She had her hand underneath her chin and her legs kicking in the air. There was a lot of structure. It took 36 hours to make and cost around $1500. Then … she was eaten.
‘‘But most of the time I don’t have to witness that, so I’m OK.” Then there are times when, unwittingly, a chef makes his own cake and eats it too.
When Nigel Braithwaite – co-owner of Werribee-based Mondells Patisserie – recently turned 50 he instantly recognised cake.
“I knew everyone would be expecting a good cake so I ordered under a false name and he made his own birthday cake,” wife Katherine Braithwaite, also a laughs.
Though with Braithwaite’s CV chances are no one else would dare. His five-star hotel background includes a three-year stint as executive pastry chef at the Savoy in London where he made cakes for the likes of former French president Jacques Chirac, Elton John, the Queen and the late Queen Mum.
Eventually his Australian-born wife convinced him to try warmer climes and the couple moved to Sydney where he worked with Serge Dansereau at the Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant, before moving to Melbourne to Windsor Hotel to elevate their famed afternoon teas.
Now the Braithwaites – who have three young children – work for themselves and wholesale to some of Melbourne’s top hotels and restaurants.
In June they will open their first retail outlet in Watton Street, Werribee, allowing locals a chance to experience the Mondells’ “sexy, joyful and festive” cakes first-hand.
