the creation of alice nivens

What started as a childhood obsession with rabbits & tea parties, quickly became a nickname into my adult years. "Alice Nivens" was created by the title character of my favourite tea party story, and the name of the white rabbit - Nivens McTwispy in Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland. It's manifested into an alter ego over the years, and here's the long story short of my journey to becoming Alice! xo

Dreaming of cake

As a child, I was fascinated with the delicious combination of flour, sugar & butter. Perhaps it was because we didn’t eat much cake at home (baking was not a strong point in the household), that the magical world of cake and cake baking seemed so alluring.

It wasn’t until I was fourteen that I baked my first cake. It was in home economics class in high school, and it left me with my fondest memories of my schooling years. But life (the serious kind) got in the way and it would be almost a decade later before I would revisit dreams of cakes, fluffy frostings & smiles of blissful, sugary happiness.

dream on a back burner

After university and a short stint in Hong Kong as a chemical engineer, I returned to Melbourne determined to make my childhood cake shop dream a reality. I completed a year at William Angliss Institute, honing some patisserie basics. 

Over the years, I’d spent (my non-desk job) hours creating baked treats for a friend’s cafe, birthday cakes and macaron towers. After many late nights, I decided to take my engineering skills in another direction - creating glorious, multi-tiered cake creations.

sweet happiness

In 2012, I finally lifted the curtain on my café & cake studio Alice Nivens. Named after Alice and the rabbit (Nivens) in Alice in Wonderland, it was a little haven for those seeking sugary, buttery solace. Here, I created and baked to my whim & the seasons - cake pops adorned with tiny hearts and stars, scrumptious brownies, muffins brimming with juicy fruit, and my crowning glory: multi-tiered cakes adorned with hand-painted icing, tiny meringues and flecks of gold and silver.

crowning glory

My childhood dream did not go unnoticed. I was crowned one of Melbourne’s Best New Cafes, featured on Channel 9’s Postcards (demonstrating how to make a cake), and recently, embarked on an ongoing collaboration with my dream partner in crime, William Sonoma!

I’ve baked many a cake for a bride and groom’s special day, baby reveal and birthdays, and nothing makes me happier than creating a bespoke cake for each of these happy occasions.

new beginnings

Unfortunately, the café studio was forced to close due to the Melbourne Metro Rail Project in late June 2017.

Which brings me to this: Alice Nivens, the continuation of what the café studio started. A place where I create magical bakes for special occasions, share recipes & other passions, and my life after the cafe with all of you.