PROFILE
ON THE RISE WORDS LINDA READ PHOTOS LISA PEARL
A SLICE OF cake may be one of life’s simplest pleasures, yet it’s also one of its most powerful symbols. It can take you back to a precious childhood moment in a grandmother’s kitchen; sometimes it marks a milestone. Almost always, the sharing of a cake symbolises a celebration – a wedding, a graduation, or a friendship over a simple afternoon tea. Nothing says ‘happy birthday’, ‘congratulations’ or ‘I love you’ like this universally enjoyed sweet treat. Thankfully, despite the growing shift towards healthconscious dietary trends, our love of cake is showing no sign of dwindling, according to Sunshine Coast pastry chef Fiona Williams. In fact, Fiona says, we can’t get enough of it. As the owner of Fiona’s Fancies Homemade Cakes & Pastries at Noosa Junction, she’s well placed to make such a judgment. According to Fiona, whose thriving business was established eight years ago (beginning in Eumundi and moving 60
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to Noosa four years ago), cakes remain a firm favourite among young, old, and everyone in between. “Birthday cakes are the main thing we make here,” she says. “A lot of people come to Noosa for a holiday to celebrate their birthday, and they need a beautiful cake. “But also, people just like coming into the shop to eat cake.” Although our love of eating cake seems to be as strong as ever, there are, however, some interesting variations in the types of cakes we’re favouring. Dessert-style creations, like chocolate mousse and layered cakes, are more in demand now than the plainer, more traditional spongestyle versions that once graced our tables, according to Fiona. The biggest crowd pleaser, she says, is “anything with chocolate”, made all the more appealing by her use of the iconic Lindt brand in all the chocolate products she makes. Cake-eaters are also eager to try new and different types. One recent creation of Fiona’s that has proved to be a big hit is her Mango Colada cake, with layers of mango, coconut, sponge, white chocolate mousse and mango jelly. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients – another factor that’s proved a big hit with the customers. “We don’t buy packaged or processed fruit, or any pre-mixes,” she says. “We buy the fruit and make everything ourselves. “People are a lot more aware of what they’re eating now. There are a lot of dietary changes too.” Those changes include the rapid rise of veganism, and a large contingent of people with gluten-free dietary
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