February 11, 2025 • 31 mins
Natalie talks about making cakes, what it takes, what it means and how you do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "It's pretty special for me, knowing that I'm actually making cakes for all sorts of different reasons. And for people that don't want to or can't make it for themselves. For all the different reasons that people want cake. 90th birthdays. 100 birthdays, just because. Just to say thanks. To say thank you for the cancer treatment, and I'm finished. All those lovely, lovely reasons. It fills my heart. Yep. It's really nice to be a part of somebody's celebration."
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
Welcome to Forrest.
Chat, where we talk about individualendeavor in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey,and today we're talking with
Natalie Cream about making cakes.
Natalie started with making cakesas a youngster, teaching her
(00:25):
grandmother just how to do it.
Actually, the other way around, I think.
And she's loved cooking ever since.
And it's one of those skills thatshe has honed and developed and now
she does some super amazing work.
Welcome to Forrest.
Chat, Natalie.
Thanks Paul.
(00:46):
Lovely to be here.
It's fantastic to haveyou on the show, Natalie.
Thank you.
Especially like the little demonstrationyou got before we doing our interview.
That was wonderful.
Well, you were lucky to do that becauseI don't normally do that in front of
anybody, but I thought I'll spoil you.
Thank you.
So Natalie, making cakes.
(01:08):
What is that?
it's putting together butter andsugar and flour and what else?
Flavoring, eggs, and creating somethingamazing that tastes really good.
Well, I think they taste really good.
So,
and you've got a bit of a following.
I think you've got more than just,you think that they're pretty good.
Yeah, I have.
(01:28):
I'm really lucky.
I get some amazing complimentsfrom people that still blow me
away every time because like I lovedoing it, but to get the compliments
actually makes it all worthwhile.
Tell us about the, about your storywith coming to be making cakes.
(01:52):
So when I was really little,maybe two or three, my mum
started teaching me to do cakes.
Now there's a story that I don't knowwhether it's my little sister or me, I
was told it was me, she thinks it washer, where mum burnt a cake and swore.
(02:13):
And one of us, whichever one itwas, actually walked around the
kitchen saying that swear word, andmy mum never swears ever really.
so yeah, that's been one of thereally lovely family stories
about the whole cooking thing.
But I've cooked with mygrandmother and my mum.
One of my best friends, weoften cook together, and not
(02:34):
cakes, but all sorts of things.
So it's, my dad says I comefrom a long line of great cooks.
A long line of great cooks.
that's a compliment.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what he says because he loves mymum's cooking and he loves my cooking
and my sister's cook, two sisterscooking and my grandmother's cooking.
(02:54):
So yeah, that's pretty cool I reckon.
it's in the family.
Yeah.
So our last question when we talk abouthow do you do it, that could be an
interesting response for that as well.
Yeah, could be too.
Yeah.
Natalie, what does ittake you to make cakes?
it takes me having a reallygreat recipe that I can change
(03:18):
the flavours of cakes with.
I have to be really well organised tomake sure that everything's, all the
ingredients are in my fridge, for example.
and I actually just get in anddo it and I don't know, it just
kind of miraculously happens.
But I am very pedantic aboutthe measurements of my cakes.
(03:43):
I'm not, I wing it, throw it in, exceptfor dinners and that sort of thing.
But my cakes are very regimented in, ifit says 10 grams, then it is 10 grams.
I don't kind of go whicheverway, over or under.
Yeah, and I have to planeverything so that I can get all
(04:06):
my orders done in a timely manner.
And I do lots of research on flowersand things, particularly for the
flowers, which is my absolute passion.
I mean, I love making all sortsof cakes, but the flowers Yeah,
they're my absolute passion.
(04:26):
When you said flowers, Imisunderstood you straight away.
I immediately thought about theflower that goes into the mix.
Oh, no, I didn't even think about that.
See, I was actually thinking about myflowers on my cupcakes or the flowers
that I pipe for real, what I call realcakes, which is the round cakes for
celebrations, not cupcakes, which is myflowers with a W go on the cupcakes, yeah.
(04:55):
But it's interesting, isn't it,because as a non cake maker, well
I'm assuming you're a non cake maker.
Oh true.
Flower is I'm a
cake eater.
Yeah, so there are two flowers,I never even thought about that.
Yeah, so that's quite interesting.
So you're, you're mainly making cupcakesand piping flowers onto them and you're So
(05:24):
it's my, my initial thing was that Iwas doing Baking cupcakes and piping
flowers, as you saw the rose, ontothe cupcakes and putting them in
bouquets or putting them in boxes.
and then people started askingme, do I, will I make cakes?
(05:44):
And so my business has kindof expanded doing all of it.
And that's why I'm saying thatflowers are still my absolute passion.
But I love doing the cakes as well.
Can you describe some of thesorts of cakes that you've made?
I've made so many.
(06:05):
I make slab cakes that Iprint edible images on.
People send me photos of theirloved ones and I can put them on.
Anything really that can be printed out.
celebration cakes.
50th birthdays, 90th birthdays,weddings, which I was never going to
get into, but I've started doing that.
(06:28):
So that's, that's really cool.
just about anything that you cancelebrate deserves cake, I think.
Absolutely.
And, in the scheme of design, soyou've done quite a lot in the floral
type of cakes?
Yeah, I have.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah,
that's actually my as I keep sayingyou're gonna have to cut all of that out
(06:52):
because I keep saying it's my passion Ithink I'm more renowned for my flowers
because nobody does it really downhere Some people do a little bit of it
I'm really the one that does all thedifferent flowers and I'm always looking
for new tutorials for Different flowers.
(07:13):
So yeah, but a lot of peoplesend me designs You And I try
not to copy too much stuff.
I try and put my own spin onthings but when people send me
a photo they are pretty muchwanting almost that exact thing.
it's really great when somebody actuallysays, you know, I want this colour and
(07:37):
those flowers and then just leaves it.
And it just happens so.
Leaves the artistic decision to you.
Yeah, yeah.
Like our wedding cake that I justdid a couple of weekends ago.
They wanted marble, blue forthe ocean, and pallet knife
green leaves for the seaweed.
(07:59):
So I just did that andit turned out amazing.
They were super happy with it and that'skind of the way I like to roll, you know.
So you like to have A bit offreedom in the artistic side
of what you're dealing with.
Yes, yeah, I do.
Where do you put yourselfon the artistic y scale?
(08:22):
About, on a scale ofzero to ten, about two.
So super artistic?
No, no, no, super nonartistic, but you know what?
People are always at me like, oh mygod, you are so talented at this, and
you're so artistic, and I never actuallythink That's the way I am, but then
(08:49):
when I look at stuff, I'm like, yeah,okay, I can see people are thinking
that, but I never thought I had anartistic bone in my body, and I think
it's just because I love doing that.
So how do you think aboutyourself and doing that?
If you're, if you're notthinking you're artistic,
Following instructions.
(09:12):
but in saying that I doactually kind of just
like I follow something but thenI do put my own slant on it so I
guess that's the artistic thing.
I just don't think aboutit like as an artist.
Something I need to getmy head around I think.
(09:32):
Yeah so it's more of more of aninterpretation than it is about a label.
Yeah I think so.
Yeah, because yes, I'mdefinitely not artistic.
And I guess artistic to me is beingable to paint something beautiful.
(09:53):
But then art is in the eyeof the beholder too, so yeah.
And people appreciate what you dodo, even if you don't feel that is an
artistic expression of what you're doing.
It's your ability to recreate that.
something consistentlyby the sound of things?
(10:14):
I think so.
I think so.
And do you know, I get, I had a guythe other day send me a text message,
his partner had organized a 50thbirthday cake, and he actually sent
me a message saying, if I had knownhow good the cake was going to taste,
I wouldn't have shared it at all.
Wow.
(10:34):
So that was a massive, massive compliment.
And yeah, I had a ball doing that one.
And that was a little bit like painting.
It was a bit abstract y and whatnot.
Yeah, it was cool.
We talked about followingvery closely, the recipes.
Do you experiment with recipes?
(10:56):
Only with flavours really.
I've got, my recipe is actually a reallygood recipe that I know works really well,
but I can adjust the flavours so, like,
A lady asked for a strawberry cake,and I didn't normally do strawberry
cake, but adding strawberry powderto the cake actually made it taste
(11:22):
amazing and she was super happy.
So those sorts of things and messingaround with, I don't know, all sorts
of different flavours and things, butI like to stick to the basic recipe.
So that I, because thatI know works really well.
That's your repeatable thing.
Yeah, absolutely.
(11:43):
And it's like, you know, the same baserecipe I can do vanilla and chocolate
and red velvet, Mexican chocolate,which is cinnamon and chocolate,
which is a really cool flavor.
yeah, there's so many other thingsthat I'd like to try though.
One day.
Something to look forward to.
As in one day trying recipe,different flavour recipes, not
(12:06):
many, not other artistic things.
You know, like paintingand that kind of thing.
We're talking aboutexperimenting with recipes.
Yeah, definitely.
Keeping it within that.
Yeah.
We've had a look at what it takes.
we'll have a break now.
And after the break, we'llhave a look at what it means.
(12:34):
We've had a look at what ittakes, Natalie, to make cakes.
Now, we'll have a look at what it means.
Natalie, what does it mean toyou, your family, or the community
that you are able to make cakes?
It's pretty special for me, knowingthat I'm actually making cakes for
(12:56):
all sorts of different reasons.
And for people that don't want toor can't make it for themselves.
For all the different reasonsthat people want cake.
90th birthdays.
100 birthdays.
Just because.
Just to say thanks.
To say thank you for the cancertreatment, and I'm finished.
(13:21):
All those lovely, lovely reasons.
It fills my heart.
Yep.
It's really nice to be a partof somebody's celebration.
There are lots of things tocelebrate in the world, and you
get involved in lots of them.
So many, there's so many reasons.
(13:42):
Gender reveals and engagements andweddings and you name it, there's
so much out there and, as I saidbefore, cakes for any reason.
Anything that brings people together.
Yes, definitely.
And cake is a great one forbringing people together.
It sure is, yeah.
It sure is.
Everybody loves cake.
Well, 99.
(14:03):
9 percent of people like cake.
Not everybody.
People like what it represents though.
They do.
They absolutely do, yeah.
Yeah.
It's, I guess, it's the joy.
Eating cake is a joy and havinga cake that tastes as good
(14:26):
as it looks is also a joy.
And your cakes look fantastic.
Thank you.
I hope everybody thinks that.
I'm sure, they do.
Why would they think anything else?
Well, you never know.
They
just look amazing.
You never know.
That's the lack of self confidence, see.
So it's fantastic that you're able to makecakes for so many different celebrations.
(14:51):
Are there any particularones that stand out?
That really, what you made reallyaligned with what was going on?
There's so many.
There's too many to even really namebecause, you know, I just had one that
was just before Australia Day and itwas to celebrate a farmer's birthday.
(15:14):
And his favourite coloursare green and gold.
So it was perfect and, yeah,that one was really cool.
I don't know, they're allThey're all just so special.
I'll say it's lovely to be able tochat to people and my husband calls
me have a chat so it's nice to discusstheir cakes and the reasons why they
(15:40):
are ordering a cake or wanting a cake.
there's all sorts of so manywonderful reasons for that and as
you know I love to have a chat.
That's fantastic thatyou're able to do that.
It really is, yeah.
It's Because I'm at home most of thetime doing all of this, it's nice to
(16:04):
actually talk to people about cakesor about other things that they might
want to talk to me about because theydon't always just talk to me about cake.
It's lovely.
There's so many interesting people.
I find that doing this podcast as well,that Even though I talk to people about
(16:26):
specific topics, there are people I couldinterview three, four, or seven times.
Because they have so manyinteresting things about them
that we could talk about.
Yeah, we're such complex characters,all of us, that until you actually
stop and have a conversation withsomebody, you don't know what to say.
(16:48):
is in their mind, or what theirinterests are, or why they
do what they do, you know.
It's really, it's fascinating.
I love it.
And you get to hear aboutwhen they have a celebration.
Absolutely.
It sure is.
Yeah, it's the best reason.
There's lots of positive meaningin making cakes, which we've
(17:11):
heard about from Natalie just now.
We'll have a break.
And after the break, we'llhave a look at how you do it.
We've had a look at whatit means to make cakes.
Now, let's have a look at how you do it.
(17:31):
Natalie, how does someone goabout becoming a cake maker.
the first thing you have to do is actuallygo to your shire and get registered,
go through all the procedures withfood safe things, get registered as a
home kitchen because that's completelydifferent to commercial kitchen.
(17:55):
Home kitchens, you're not allowed to usea lot of things like cream, cream cheese.
That kind of thing.
That's more for commercialbecause they have to keep
proper records and everything.
then you have to find some really coolrecipes that taste good and test them
and test them and test them so thatyou know they're always going to work.
(18:19):
Well actually, probably thatcomes before going to the Shire
because otherwise there's no point.
You want to know you're able to doit before you get your approval.
Absolutely,
yep.
Absolutely.
Get lots of taste testers.
They'll love it.
Or they might hate it ifyou taste, if you're testing
something and it's really awful.
That's happened before.
But you'll know pretty soon.
(18:40):
Oh yeah, you will know pretty soon.
Yes, there'll be lots of,eww, that's revolting.
And then there'll be lots of,oh my god, that is amazing.
You have to keep that one.
Sorry.
There's good and bad, but you have to havethe bad before you can get to the good.
(19:01):
And
You've also, personally,you've had a lot of practice.
I've had years of practice, yearsand years and years, like from when I
was, as I said before, two until now.
I've been cooking for aslong as I can remember.
So yes, I've had lots of practice.
(19:21):
So if you came Find somebody who lovescooking, and that would be really
happy to teach you some of theirthings, if you've never done it before.
That's a really good way oflearning how to do stuff.
And
building a relationship while you're goingthrough that process, I would imagine.
Absolutely, yeah, it's fun.
(19:43):
My, a girlfriend and I, not somuch now because I'm really busy
making cakes, but a girlfriendand I would often spend a weekend.
Cooking, a whole batch of sausagerolls and anything really that
you can batch make for the twoof us for phrases and things.
(20:04):
And it's a good way of catching upwith somebody and learning about
them if you don't already know them.
Cause I know my girlfriend really well.
yeah, and it's fun.
It's fun.
Um, it's a good connection with someone.
Absolutely.
And a joint goal to get to the end.
(20:25):
Well, the goal is actuallynot to get to the end, is it?
Well, the goal is to get a cake cooked.
So that's the end, really, apartfrom the decorating side of it.
So yeah, the end is right.
I'll allow you to have that one.
Thank you.
I thought you'd like that.
(20:46):
So that's fantastic that you'reable to share that experience.
And you've had the experience with yourfamily, but also with your friends.
So that's like sharing a hobby.
It's exactly sharing a hobby.
And that's where this whole businessactually started as a hobby.
(21:09):
So if you can do, turnyour hobby into something.
That helps, or is a business,then that's pretty cool.
Because then it's, it's doingsomething that you love.
and you also put in theextra care and attention.
Yes, yes, definitely.
(21:31):
Absolutely.
And, um, I think you have to godown the reg well you do have to go
down the registered kitchen path.
Because that's important, atleast a registered kitchen knows
the food safe rules, knows thecorrect way of treating things.
(21:52):
I think you have to be careful with that.
So that's food safety, you don't wantanyone Coming down ill afterwards, so.
No way.
No, that would be the worst thing ever.
So I'm really pedantic aboutthe whole feed safe rules and
yeah, it's, it's super important.
then the product you're putting out there,it, it shows from many angles that it's a
(22:18):
very valuable thing for society as well.
Yeah.
Yes, you're right.
It absolutely is very valuable, I think.
I never thought aboutit like that, really.
That's a by the by too, by the by.
Yeah, it is valuable because cakes area sign of love and Celebration, we keep
(22:45):
using that celebration word but, I don'tknow, it's a celebration of life really.
It is all the good things about lifebecause that's why you're celebrating.
Yeah, yep.
Crazy.
Crazy, I never thought I'd beso involved in cake making.
(23:05):
You know, I never expected it to take off.
Like it has.
Yeah, it's very special.
is there anything more thatyou might want to say about the
process of becoming a cake maker?
the register kitchenone is really important.
(23:26):
Because there's that many peopleout there that aren't registered.
So they don't have insurance, theydon't have anything like that, and
people really need to know if they'regoing to buy food that's not from a
commercial place, they should be licensedbecause anything can happen, can't it?
You did mention earlier briefly aboutexploring recipes and techniques.
(23:52):
So you do need to practice yourtechniques as well, don't you?
Absolutely, yes.
Yes, you sure do.
You need to know
how to cream butter and sugarand when it's actually ready
to add the next bit to it.
And you need to know Well, for example,like today when it's really hot,
(24:13):
that temperature plays a big part inbuttercream and how it reacts and,
and even, actually this is reallyinteresting because if it's really hot
and I have the doors open,my cake's cooked differently.
(24:35):
So, I never have the doors open.
when I cook cakes anymore becausethey are so different it's not funny
and I never realized that until Ithought about it a bit and it was
like that's why they're doing whatthey're doing but that's bizarre
because I don't know the reason why.
(24:56):
I need to research that don't I?
you imagine that theseSomething going on, but
yeah, I don't know whether it's thehu, not that we always have humidity,
but I don't know whether it's that andthe air in the house or the air coming
from outside into the house affects it.
(25:17):
And I've got two ovens, so I onlyuse one for cakes, but if I want
to be cooking, say I want to cookbecause I make sourdough bread, so
say I want to be cooking sourdoughin one, And my cake's in another.
That makes a difference too.
And it shouldn't, becausethey're completely separate.
I mean, they're thesame, in the same oven.
(25:41):
But there's a proper,Divider between them.
But it makes a difference.
So all these things
can change the way things actually work.
And that's been a massive eyeopener for me because I had no
idea until I started doing that.
(26:04):
There's a lot to learn.
Yeah, there is a lot to learn andI never actually really stopped to
think about it before because most ofit I've grown up with but there's a
lot of people out there that aren'tlike me and didn't have grandmothers
who cooked and mothers who cooked sothey need to know all sorts of things.
Nitty gritty things thatyou just don't think about.
(26:27):
Yeah, to know the types of things thatcan actually influence what's going on.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's weird.
Never actually thought about itbefore until I started experimenting
with different sorts of ingredientsand where you get them from.
(26:48):
So the source of the
ingredients is critical to ensuringyou have a consistent product.
Absolutely, yep.
So I only ever buy the same flour, thesame sugar, the same egg, Which sounds
weird because it's the same brand of eggs.
That sounds weird, but yeah, it'sthe same brand of eggs all the time
(27:08):
because it makes a big difference.
Same butter.
Same everything.
Consistency.
Across the board.
I wonder how our grandparentswith wooden stoves
made some very amazing spongecakes, sponge with jam and cream.
(27:29):
So clever,
so clever, because how do you regulatea temperature on a wood fired oven?
You're right, how did they do it?
Yeah, regulates up anddown with the amount that's
burning and where it's placed.
And
you're right, they used to make theirbest sponges with jam and cream ever.
(27:53):
My husband Gary, he's got fond memoriesof his grandmother making sponge cakes
and he thinks, he remembers them asbeing like, I don't know, what's that, 15
centimetres high or something, one spongecake, and she used a wood fired oven.
I just can't even get that in my head.
(28:14):
They knew their gear.
They absolutely knew their gear.
And I guess they had to because,what else did they have?
Exactly.
They had, they had to know their gear.
Yeah, yeah.
Do you know what else blows me away too?
Is like, who actually decidedto put butter and sugar
(28:35):
together and cream it all up?
And it would have been a handbeater or a hand whisk or something.
And then add eggs and flour,and put it in the oven.
Like, who would have thought?
How does, how doesanybody think like that?
Like, I've got no idea.
I just find a recipe, follow it, makesure it works, and then keep using
(29:01):
A lot of things come from experimentation.
There's been a long time forpeople to experiment, but
Definitely.
That's a lot of out theredoing stuff, isn't it?
It really is.
And I often think about it and I'm like,Man, there were some clever people.
I mean, there's still clever peoplehere now and today, but there were some
really clever people back in the day.
(29:23):
Really, really.
Yeah.
All sorts of things, you know.
Yeah.
How do they work out that you canpound a horseshoe out of something?
Like I'm, I like to know thenitty gritty of stuff, right?
Which is kind of the mathematics side ofmy brain, which is why I think I'm not
really artistic, because I was more whenI was growing up mathematically minded.
(29:47):
but I'm like, how thehell does that happen?
How do you do that?
Crazy.
Absolutely.
thank you very much, Natalie,for being on Forrest.
Chat, and from all Forrest.
Chat listeners, I wish you all thebest in your future endeavours.
Thank you very much, Paul.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
It certainly has.
(30:09):
You've been listening to Forrest.
Chat, where we talk about individualendeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, Andin today's episode we've been talking
with Natalie Cream about making cakes.
Remember there are four waysto get involved with Forrest.
(30:30):
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(30:52):
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I'm looking forward to seeingyou with our next guest.
Until then, enjoy making it happen.
Welcome to Forrest.
Chat, where we talk about individualendeavor in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey,and today we're talking with
Natalie Cream about making cakes.
Natalie started with making cakesas a youngster, teaching her
(00:25):
grandmother just how to do it.
Actually, the other way around, I think.
And she's loved cooking ever since.
And it's one of those skills thatshe has honed and developed and now
she does some super amazing work.
Welcome to Forrest.
Chat, Natalie.
Thanks Paul.
(00:46):
Lovely to be here.
It's fantastic to haveyou on the show, Natalie.
Thank you.
Especially like the little demonstrationyou got before we doing our interview.
That was wonderful.
Well, you were lucky to do that becauseI don't normally do that in front of
anybody, but I thought I'll spoil you.
Thank you.
So Natalie, making cakes.
(01:08):
What is that?
it's putting together butter andsugar and flour and what else?
Flavoring, eggs, and creating somethingamazing that tastes really good.
Well, I think they taste really good.
So,
and you've got a bit of a following.
I think you've got more than just,you think that they're pretty good.
Yeah, I have.
(01:28):
I'm really lucky.
I get some amazing complimentsfrom people that still blow me
away every time because like I lovedoing it, but to get the compliments
actually makes it all worthwhile.
Tell us about the, about your storywith coming to be making cakes.
(01:52):
So when I was really little,maybe two or three, my mum
started teaching me to do cakes.
Now there's a story that I don't knowwhether it's my little sister or me, I
was told it was me, she thinks it washer, where mum burnt a cake and swore.
(02:13):
And one of us, whichever one itwas, actually walked around the
kitchen saying that swear word, andmy mum never swears ever really.
so yeah, that's been one of thereally lovely family stories
about the whole cooking thing.
But I've cooked with mygrandmother and my mum.
One of my best friends, weoften cook together, and not
(02:34):
cakes, but all sorts of things.
So it's, my dad says I comefrom a long line of great cooks.
A long line of great cooks.
that's a compliment.
Yeah, yeah.
That's what he says because he loves mymum's cooking and he loves my cooking
and my sister's cook, two sisterscooking and my grandmother's cooking.
(02:54):
So yeah, that's pretty cool I reckon.
it's in the family.
Yeah.
So our last question when we talk abouthow do you do it, that could be an
interesting response for that as well.
Yeah, could be too.
Yeah.
Natalie, what does ittake you to make cakes?
it takes me having a reallygreat recipe that I can change
(03:18):
the flavours of cakes with.
I have to be really well organised tomake sure that everything's, all the
ingredients are in my fridge, for example.
and I actually just get in anddo it and I don't know, it just
kind of miraculously happens.
But I am very pedantic aboutthe measurements of my cakes.
(03:43):
I'm not, I wing it, throw it in, exceptfor dinners and that sort of thing.
But my cakes are very regimented in, ifit says 10 grams, then it is 10 grams.
I don't kind of go whicheverway, over or under.
Yeah, and I have to planeverything so that I can get all
(04:06):
my orders done in a timely manner.
And I do lots of research on flowersand things, particularly for the
flowers, which is my absolute passion.
I mean, I love making all sortsof cakes, but the flowers Yeah,
they're my absolute passion.
(04:26):
When you said flowers, Imisunderstood you straight away.
I immediately thought about theflower that goes into the mix.
Oh, no, I didn't even think about that.
See, I was actually thinking about myflowers on my cupcakes or the flowers
that I pipe for real, what I call realcakes, which is the round cakes for
celebrations, not cupcakes, which is myflowers with a W go on the cupcakes, yeah.
(04:55):
But it's interesting, isn't it,because as a non cake maker, well
I'm assuming you're a non cake maker.
Oh true.
Flower is I'm a
cake eater.
Yeah, so there are two flowers,I never even thought about that.
Yeah, so that's quite interesting.
So you're, you're mainly making cupcakesand piping flowers onto them and you're So
(05:24):
it's my, my initial thing was that Iwas doing Baking cupcakes and piping
flowers, as you saw the rose, ontothe cupcakes and putting them in
bouquets or putting them in boxes.
and then people started askingme, do I, will I make cakes?
(05:44):
And so my business has kindof expanded doing all of it.
And that's why I'm saying thatflowers are still my absolute passion.
But I love doing the cakes as well.
Can you describe some of thesorts of cakes that you've made?
I've made so many.
(06:05):
I make slab cakes that Iprint edible images on.
People send me photos of theirloved ones and I can put them on.
Anything really that can be printed out.
celebration cakes.
50th birthdays, 90th birthdays,weddings, which I was never going to
get into, but I've started doing that.
(06:28):
So that's, that's really cool.
just about anything that you cancelebrate deserves cake, I think.
Absolutely.
And, in the scheme of design, soyou've done quite a lot in the floral
type of cakes?
Yeah, I have.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah,
that's actually my as I keep sayingyou're gonna have to cut all of that out
(06:52):
because I keep saying it's my passion Ithink I'm more renowned for my flowers
because nobody does it really downhere Some people do a little bit of it
I'm really the one that does all thedifferent flowers and I'm always looking
for new tutorials for Different flowers.
(07:13):
So yeah, but a lot of peoplesend me designs You And I try
not to copy too much stuff.
I try and put my own spin onthings but when people send me
a photo they are pretty muchwanting almost that exact thing.
it's really great when somebody actuallysays, you know, I want this colour and
(07:37):
those flowers and then just leaves it.
And it just happens so.
Leaves the artistic decision to you.
Yeah, yeah.
Like our wedding cake that I justdid a couple of weekends ago.
They wanted marble, blue forthe ocean, and pallet knife
green leaves for the seaweed.
(07:59):
So I just did that andit turned out amazing.
They were super happy with it and that'skind of the way I like to roll, you know.
So you like to have A bit offreedom in the artistic side
of what you're dealing with.
Yes, yeah, I do.
Where do you put yourselfon the artistic y scale?
(08:22):
About, on a scale ofzero to ten, about two.
So super artistic?
No, no, no, super nonartistic, but you know what?
People are always at me like, oh mygod, you are so talented at this, and
you're so artistic, and I never actuallythink That's the way I am, but then
(08:49):
when I look at stuff, I'm like, yeah,okay, I can see people are thinking
that, but I never thought I had anartistic bone in my body, and I think
it's just because I love doing that.
So how do you think aboutyourself and doing that?
If you're, if you're notthinking you're artistic,
Following instructions.
(09:12):
but in saying that I doactually kind of just
like I follow something but thenI do put my own slant on it so I
guess that's the artistic thing.
I just don't think aboutit like as an artist.
Something I need to getmy head around I think.
(09:32):
Yeah so it's more of more of aninterpretation than it is about a label.
Yeah I think so.
Yeah, because yes, I'mdefinitely not artistic.
And I guess artistic to me is beingable to paint something beautiful.
(09:53):
But then art is in the eyeof the beholder too, so yeah.
And people appreciate what you dodo, even if you don't feel that is an
artistic expression of what you're doing.
It's your ability to recreate that.
something consistentlyby the sound of things?
(10:14):
I think so.
I think so.
And do you know, I get, I had a guythe other day send me a text message,
his partner had organized a 50thbirthday cake, and he actually sent
me a message saying, if I had knownhow good the cake was going to taste,
I wouldn't have shared it at all.
Wow.
(10:34):
So that was a massive, massive compliment.
And yeah, I had a ball doing that one.
And that was a little bit like painting.
It was a bit abstract y and whatnot.
Yeah, it was cool.
We talked about followingvery closely, the recipes.
Do you experiment with recipes?
(10:56):
Only with flavours really.
I've got, my recipe is actually a reallygood recipe that I know works really well,
but I can adjust the flavours so, like,
A lady asked for a strawberry cake,and I didn't normally do strawberry
cake, but adding strawberry powderto the cake actually made it taste
(11:22):
amazing and she was super happy.
So those sorts of things and messingaround with, I don't know, all sorts
of different flavours and things, butI like to stick to the basic recipe.
So that I, because thatI know works really well.
That's your repeatable thing.
Yeah, absolutely.
(11:43):
And it's like, you know, the same baserecipe I can do vanilla and chocolate
and red velvet, Mexican chocolate,which is cinnamon and chocolate,
which is a really cool flavor.
yeah, there's so many other thingsthat I'd like to try though.
One day.
Something to look forward to.
As in one day trying recipe,different flavour recipes, not
(12:06):
many, not other artistic things.
You know, like paintingand that kind of thing.
We're talking aboutexperimenting with recipes.
Yeah, definitely.
Keeping it within that.
Yeah.
We've had a look at what it takes.
we'll have a break now.
And after the break, we'llhave a look at what it means.
(12:34):
We've had a look at what ittakes, Natalie, to make cakes.
Now, we'll have a look at what it means.
Natalie, what does it mean toyou, your family, or the community
that you are able to make cakes?
It's pretty special for me, knowingthat I'm actually making cakes for
(12:56):
all sorts of different reasons.
And for people that don't want toor can't make it for themselves.
For all the different reasonsthat people want cake.
90th birthdays.
100 birthdays.
Just because.
Just to say thanks.
To say thank you for the cancertreatment, and I'm finished.
(13:21):
All those lovely, lovely reasons.
It fills my heart.
Yep.
It's really nice to be a partof somebody's celebration.
There are lots of things tocelebrate in the world, and you
get involved in lots of them.
So many, there's so many reasons.
(13:42):
Gender reveals and engagements andweddings and you name it, there's
so much out there and, as I saidbefore, cakes for any reason.
Anything that brings people together.
Yes, definitely.
And cake is a great one forbringing people together.
It sure is, yeah.
It sure is.
Everybody loves cake.
Well, 99.
(14:03):
9 percent of people like cake.
Not everybody.
People like what it represents though.
They do.
They absolutely do, yeah.
Yeah.
It's, I guess, it's the joy.
Eating cake is a joy and havinga cake that tastes as good
(14:26):
as it looks is also a joy.
And your cakes look fantastic.
Thank you.
I hope everybody thinks that.
I'm sure, they do.
Why would they think anything else?
Well, you never know.
They
just look amazing.
You never know.
That's the lack of self confidence, see.
So it's fantastic that you're able to makecakes for so many different celebrations.
(14:51):
Are there any particularones that stand out?
That really, what you made reallyaligned with what was going on?
There's so many.
There's too many to even really namebecause, you know, I just had one that
was just before Australia Day and itwas to celebrate a farmer's birthday.
(15:14):
And his favourite coloursare green and gold.
So it was perfect and, yeah,that one was really cool.
I don't know, they're allThey're all just so special.
I'll say it's lovely to be able tochat to people and my husband calls
me have a chat so it's nice to discusstheir cakes and the reasons why they
(15:40):
are ordering a cake or wanting a cake.
there's all sorts of so manywonderful reasons for that and as
you know I love to have a chat.
That's fantastic thatyou're able to do that.
It really is, yeah.
It's Because I'm at home most of thetime doing all of this, it's nice to
(16:04):
actually talk to people about cakesor about other things that they might
want to talk to me about because theydon't always just talk to me about cake.
It's lovely.
There's so many interesting people.
I find that doing this podcast as well,that Even though I talk to people about
(16:26):
specific topics, there are people I couldinterview three, four, or seven times.
Because they have so manyinteresting things about them
that we could talk about.
Yeah, we're such complex characters,all of us, that until you actually
stop and have a conversation withsomebody, you don't know what to say.
(16:48):
is in their mind, or what theirinterests are, or why they
do what they do, you know.
It's really, it's fascinating.
I love it.
And you get to hear aboutwhen they have a celebration.
Absolutely.
It sure is.
Yeah, it's the best reason.
There's lots of positive meaningin making cakes, which we've
(17:11):
heard about from Natalie just now.
We'll have a break.
And after the break, we'llhave a look at how you do it.
We've had a look at whatit means to make cakes.
Now, let's have a look at how you do it.
(17:31):
Natalie, how does someone goabout becoming a cake maker.
the first thing you have to do is actuallygo to your shire and get registered,
go through all the procedures withfood safe things, get registered as a
home kitchen because that's completelydifferent to commercial kitchen.
(17:55):
Home kitchens, you're not allowed to usea lot of things like cream, cream cheese.
That kind of thing.
That's more for commercialbecause they have to keep
proper records and everything.
then you have to find some really coolrecipes that taste good and test them
and test them and test them so thatyou know they're always going to work.
(18:19):
Well actually, probably thatcomes before going to the Shire
because otherwise there's no point.
You want to know you're able to doit before you get your approval.
Absolutely,
yep.
Absolutely.
Get lots of taste testers.
They'll love it.
Or they might hate it ifyou taste, if you're testing
something and it's really awful.
That's happened before.
But you'll know pretty soon.
(18:40):
Oh yeah, you will know pretty soon.
Yes, there'll be lots of,eww, that's revolting.
And then there'll be lots of,oh my god, that is amazing.
You have to keep that one.
Sorry.
There's good and bad, but you have to havethe bad before you can get to the good.
(19:01):
And
You've also, personally,you've had a lot of practice.
I've had years of practice, yearsand years and years, like from when I
was, as I said before, two until now.
I've been cooking for aslong as I can remember.
So yes, I've had lots of practice.
(19:21):
So if you came Find somebody who lovescooking, and that would be really
happy to teach you some of theirthings, if you've never done it before.
That's a really good way oflearning how to do stuff.
And
building a relationship while you're goingthrough that process, I would imagine.
Absolutely, yeah, it's fun.
(19:43):
My, a girlfriend and I, not somuch now because I'm really busy
making cakes, but a girlfriendand I would often spend a weekend.
Cooking, a whole batch of sausagerolls and anything really that
you can batch make for the twoof us for phrases and things.
(20:04):
And it's a good way of catching upwith somebody and learning about
them if you don't already know them.
Cause I know my girlfriend really well.
yeah, and it's fun.
It's fun.
Um, it's a good connection with someone.
Absolutely.
And a joint goal to get to the end.
(20:25):
Well, the goal is actuallynot to get to the end, is it?
Well, the goal is to get a cake cooked.
So that's the end, really, apartfrom the decorating side of it.
So yeah, the end is right.
I'll allow you to have that one.
Thank you.
I thought you'd like that.
(20:46):
So that's fantastic that you'reable to share that experience.
And you've had the experience with yourfamily, but also with your friends.
So that's like sharing a hobby.
It's exactly sharing a hobby.
And that's where this whole businessactually started as a hobby.
(21:09):
So if you can do, turnyour hobby into something.
That helps, or is a business,then that's pretty cool.
Because then it's, it's doingsomething that you love.
and you also put in theextra care and attention.
Yes, yes, definitely.
(21:31):
Absolutely.
And, um, I think you have to godown the reg well you do have to go
down the registered kitchen path.
Because that's important, atleast a registered kitchen knows
the food safe rules, knows thecorrect way of treating things.
(21:52):
I think you have to be careful with that.
So that's food safety, you don't wantanyone Coming down ill afterwards, so.
No way.
No, that would be the worst thing ever.
So I'm really pedantic aboutthe whole feed safe rules and
yeah, it's, it's super important.
then the product you're putting out there,it, it shows from many angles that it's a
(22:18):
very valuable thing for society as well.
Yeah.
Yes, you're right.
It absolutely is very valuable, I think.
I never thought aboutit like that, really.
That's a by the by too, by the by.
Yeah, it is valuable because cakes area sign of love and Celebration, we keep
(22:45):
using that celebration word but, I don'tknow, it's a celebration of life really.
It is all the good things about lifebecause that's why you're celebrating.
Yeah, yep.
Crazy.
Crazy, I never thought I'd beso involved in cake making.
(23:05):
You know, I never expected it to take off.
Like it has.
Yeah, it's very special.
is there anything more thatyou might want to say about the
process of becoming a cake maker?
the register kitchenone is really important.
(23:26):
Because there's that many peopleout there that aren't registered.
So they don't have insurance, theydon't have anything like that, and
people really need to know if they'regoing to buy food that's not from a
commercial place, they should be licensedbecause anything can happen, can't it?
You did mention earlier briefly aboutexploring recipes and techniques.
(23:52):
So you do need to practice yourtechniques as well, don't you?
Absolutely, yes.
Yes, you sure do.
You need to know
how to cream butter and sugarand when it's actually ready
to add the next bit to it.
And you need to know Well, for example,like today when it's really hot,
(24:13):
that temperature plays a big part inbuttercream and how it reacts and,
and even, actually this is reallyinteresting because if it's really hot
and I have the doors open,my cake's cooked differently.
(24:35):
So, I never have the doors open.
when I cook cakes anymore becausethey are so different it's not funny
and I never realized that until Ithought about it a bit and it was
like that's why they're doing whatthey're doing but that's bizarre
because I don't know the reason why.
(24:56):
I need to research that don't I?
you imagine that theseSomething going on, but
yeah, I don't know whether it's thehu, not that we always have humidity,
but I don't know whether it's that andthe air in the house or the air coming
from outside into the house affects it.
(25:17):
And I've got two ovens, so I onlyuse one for cakes, but if I want
to be cooking, say I want to cookbecause I make sourdough bread, so
say I want to be cooking sourdoughin one, And my cake's in another.
That makes a difference too.
And it shouldn't, becausethey're completely separate.
I mean, they're thesame, in the same oven.
(25:41):
But there's a proper,Divider between them.
But it makes a difference.
So all these things
can change the way things actually work.
And that's been a massive eyeopener for me because I had no
idea until I started doing that.
(26:04):
There's a lot to learn.
Yeah, there is a lot to learn andI never actually really stopped to
think about it before because most ofit I've grown up with but there's a
lot of people out there that aren'tlike me and didn't have grandmothers
who cooked and mothers who cooked sothey need to know all sorts of things.
Nitty gritty things thatyou just don't think about.
(26:27):
Yeah, to know the types of things thatcan actually influence what's going on.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's weird.
Never actually thought about itbefore until I started experimenting
with different sorts of ingredientsand where you get them from.
(26:48):
So the source of the
ingredients is critical to ensuringyou have a consistent product.
Absolutely, yep.
So I only ever buy the same flour, thesame sugar, the same egg, Which sounds
weird because it's the same brand of eggs.
That sounds weird, but yeah, it'sthe same brand of eggs all the time
(27:08):
because it makes a big difference.
Same butter.
Same everything.
Consistency.
Across the board.
I wonder how our grandparentswith wooden stoves
made some very amazing spongecakes, sponge with jam and cream.
(27:29):
So clever,
so clever, because how do you regulatea temperature on a wood fired oven?
You're right, how did they do it?
Yeah, regulates up anddown with the amount that's
burning and where it's placed.
And
you're right, they used to make theirbest sponges with jam and cream ever.
(27:53):
My husband Gary, he's got fond memoriesof his grandmother making sponge cakes
and he thinks, he remembers them asbeing like, I don't know, what's that, 15
centimetres high or something, one spongecake, and she used a wood fired oven.
I just can't even get that in my head.
(28:14):
They knew their gear.
They absolutely knew their gear.
And I guess they had to because,what else did they have?
Exactly.
They had, they had to know their gear.
Yeah, yeah.
Do you know what else blows me away too?
Is like, who actually decidedto put butter and sugar
(28:35):
together and cream it all up?
And it would have been a handbeater or a hand whisk or something.
And then add eggs and flour,and put it in the oven.
Like, who would have thought?
How does, how doesanybody think like that?
Like, I've got no idea.
I just find a recipe, follow it, makesure it works, and then keep using
(29:01):
A lot of things come from experimentation.
There's been a long time forpeople to experiment, but
Definitely.
That's a lot of out theredoing stuff, isn't it?
It really is.
And I often think about it and I'm like,Man, there were some clever people.
I mean, there's still clever peoplehere now and today, but there were some
really clever people back in the day.
(29:23):
Really, really.
Yeah.
All sorts of things, you know.
Yeah.
How do they work out that you canpound a horseshoe out of something?
Like I'm, I like to know thenitty gritty of stuff, right?
Which is kind of the mathematics side ofmy brain, which is why I think I'm not
really artistic, because I was more whenI was growing up mathematically minded.
(29:47):
but I'm like, how thehell does that happen?
How do you do that?
Crazy.
Absolutely.
thank you very much, Natalie,for being on Forrest.
Chat, and from all Forrest.
Chat listeners, I wish you all thebest in your future endeavours.
Thank you very much, Paul.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
It certainly has.
(30:09):
You've been listening to Forrest.
Chat, where we talk about individualendeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, Andin today's episode we've been talking
with Natalie Cream about making cakes.
Remember there are four waysto get involved with Forrest.
(30:30):
Chat.
Share the domain Forrest.
Chat with your friends andfamily and people you meet.
When you subscribe to the emailsyou get advance notice of episodes.
Listen to the episodes at Forrest.
Chat slash episodes.
If you do something interesting, or ifyou know somebody who does something
interesting, book an interview at Forrest.
Chat slash interview.
(30:52):
If you'd like to support a localbusiness, book an advert at Forrest.
Chat slash advert.
I'm looking forward to seeingyou with our next guest.
Until then, enjoy making it happen.
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