cupcakesordeath

My Baby

2009-06-04T07:22:00.002+08:00

It's June 4th today....6 months and 4 days have passed since 2009. My, my time flies! We're gonna countdown to 2010 in no time. There's just so much left to do isn't it? I feel like I have this long list (mental list of course, knowing me) of to-do's but time slips away like water through my fingers. And in times of pressure, I tell myself that after I wrap up with whatever that I'm doing now, I'll take a chill pill and relax, go somewhere quiet for a vacation or just shop till my knees buckle. I suppose that thought is what keeps me going; it helps when you have something to look forward to. Be it admiring the fruits of your labour or spending some quality time with your loved ones. Alas, till that time comes, I am bundled up in my marshmallow jacket in my freezing office, trying to do as much as I can before going home to continue with my baking stuff. So far, it's been pretty crazy (as in good crazy) and I am thankful for it. I have said this many times and I will say it again, I am very lucky to have supportive friends who have been giving me the opportunity to contribute to their special occasion. And with the help of Facebook, I am able to share my passion with fellow cupcake enthusiasts. As I am still building my portfolio, most of my projects are my firsts. Every delivery (what a pun!) is like a birth...my baby, lol. (Sleep deprivation is making my write silly things)

And oh, speaking of babies, an old hometown friend has commissioned full moon sets for her 1st born, a cute baby boy by the name of Tristan (don't you just love that name?). Tristan's mummy and I have been firing off emails discussing about the order since he was still comfortably nestled in his mummy's womb. I gotta say, Tristan's mummy is one cool babe. Right after we finalised the quantity and packaging, she handed over the creative power to me. In fact I didn't hear from her until wee Tristan was born. Lol...

Here's a look see at the fullmoon set for Tristan. A total of 90 boxes, with 4 mini cuppies and 2 red eggs each. That translates to 360 cupcakes and 180 hard boiled eggs...*woot*!

the red eggs are optional these days but it's nice to mantain what we can of this lovely tradition (although the REAL traditional way is to dye the eggs with food colouring, not dolling them up in pretty crepe paper..heehee)

the adorable dino tag is made by my bff Sweet, she's into crafts and the likes

I should have taken a pic of the other side of the tag, it read, "Baby Tristan's One Month Old!"

My Awesomest Project To Date

2009-05-26T09:15:00.014+08:00

Aloha my friends, how was the weekend? I was on a baby making marathon, literally speaking! Lol...Sugarpaste babies, that is. I was busy moulding little babies under blankets, cute blue bibs and green booties. In short, all things ah-dorable for a bab boy :) More of that later yea.

Ok now, back to the topic of this post. Last month, my ex-colleague Nick chatted with me over gmail and he posed a rather serious question. I didn't know if I should say yes or no. Ok it wasn't a marriage proposal...*rolls eyes*...he asked if I was up to making an X-Men themed cupcakes. I've always got a soft spot for old-school comics and to have them on cupcakes are just...to quote Russell Peters; mind blasting! I hesitated. For one, I don't think fondant makes a good base for painting. And there's no erasing once you paint the colours on. What if I screw up? But somehow I did not turn down the challenge, as much as I have no clue on what to do. To make things a little bit easier for me, I committed to a total of 9 cuppies only.

As time is of the essence (the set was meant for a birthday). 3D figure modelling is out of the question. Not to mention how crazy it sounds! 3D Wolverine? I am kidding myself here. After much brainstorming I finally had an inspiration. 2D headshots are do-able....i think.

It took me 3 hours with just ONE topper. I started with the simplest among the bunch, which happened to be Wolverine. The most difficult part was the method of execution. The sugarpaste had to be the right texture; too wet and it tears easily, too dry and it becomes brittle and crumbles like a crispy egg roll. Painting the outlines was another challenge. Steady hands does the trick. And lack of breathing certainly helps :)

All and all, it took me 4 nights to finish this set. I suppose it could be done within a couple of days if I am doing this fulltime. Alas, I am still juggling my day job with this true love of mine. Am not complaining though, I am very grateful to have a permanent income to support what I'm doing. Hey...butter and eggs don't just fall off from the sky do they...lol...

And now my friends, let's marvel (oh goodness...pardon the pun will ya...lol) at these beauties....

from l-r: Dark Phoenix, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Cyclops, Wolverine & Storm

Pwin-chess and The Little Mutated Blue Cats

2009-05-11T10:28:00.014+08:00

Hello! Happy Mother's Day, hope it's not too late :) How did it go? We celebrated mom's birthday and Mother's day the week before, as all of us are in town. Went to a restaurant that is famous for it's yummy food but sad to say while the food still tastes alright, the ambience and quality of service have dropped. Business was doing so well that the owners decided to relocate to a brand new, more spacious building (3 storeys!) that looks splendid from the outside but the interior looked like a big hall with lots of tables and chairs. I think it's effective for a banquet but I find that the place lacks 'emotion'. I like to step into a restaurant that exudes a warm welcoming feeling....well, perhaps that's just me :) After dinner my brother & SIL took my parents to the river cruise. It was lovely! Unfortunately I had to take a rain check as I had cupcake project to work on. It was a pwin-chess theme for Su Yin's niece. A quick pic here, they're good old choc cake with cocoa buttercream;

notice how my figurines are always on the 'healthier' end of the scale? haha...

Ok moving on to my actual post (bet you noticed by now there are no cats whatsoever from the above pic), I was commissioned a Doraemon theme birthday cuppy by an ex-schoolmate, Sally. It's for her little son's birthday. He's only 2! How adorable :) Btw, my friend Nick & I have come to a conclusion that Doraemon must be mutated. Why else does it sound all funny (at least the dubbed Malay version is!) and has a small propeller on it's head? Heehee.....

It was surprisingly rather simple to construct the 3D figurines but it took me quite a while deciding on the shade of blue. You'd think it was trademarked...but no! There were so many variations on the web! I finally decided that I like my little blue cats to be somewhat 'tanned' :)

I did the 3D figurines 'factory assembly' style. It's proven to be more effective and the quality control is better, in terms of size. I managed to get all 6 of them within the same size. And the weather has been sooooooo hot and dry, it was great for working with fondant. All I did was to add some CMC (Tylose or gum tex is also fine) powder and the paste worked like a charm. Fuss free fondant figurines! If only all projects are like this!

As for the 2D ones, the trickiest part is drawing the black lines for the whiskers. My hands were shaking and one poor Doraemon ended up looking constipated. Heehee....ah well, trial and errror...trial and error. As for the rest of the designs, I could only think of rainbows....what else goes with Doraemon?? Other than Dorayaki of course. But I wanted something more cheerful looking...nothing beats rainbow when it comes to cheerful...agree?

As usual after a lengthy blabber, here's a couple of pics for your viewing pleasure :)

the dreamy effect is a result of smudged lens....i was in a hurry, not the best of pictures.

Design flaw - these little buggers really need something stuck up their a****

As you can see, I had to shove them down the buttercream mid way in order to make them stay.

With a little spaghetti strip sticking out of their butts, I could poke it through the cake instead, so better support!

Ok, just to show you the full figurine, they look much cuter with the tummy and little feet...if you could see pass the distracting twisted bra strap of course....lol..

Attack of the Boobies....and Bulges...and Buttocks

2009-04-28T22:30:00.000+08:00

Hello , it's been a while. Yes. So here's how I'm going to make it up to you. Less words, more pictures.

Guys, please feel free to drool over these juicy jugs and ladies, the 'boys' are reaaalll happy to see ya! (It seems that the T&A & BIP variety is going to haunt me for a while...lol)

this one's my personal favourite, lace inspired bikini

soooo sexayy!

Mark initially asked for dragons or Ben 10 but I suggested these :)

Thanks for letting me have all the creative power Mark!

look at those......Pamela Anderson would be proud

bulges, bulges everywhere!

is it me or it's getting hot in here?

for the animal in you!

this set is for a birthday girl, Happy Birthday Shikin!

It's great doing these, because I am so used to them already. And the weather have been soooo delightful....at least in terms of handling fondant. It's been blazing hot so the figurines dried off nicely on their own.

My coming projects won't involve body parts :) I got my 1st corporate order last week! Oh my....how exciting. The toughest part of doing a corporate order is to get the logo and colours right. The toppers are done and I am going to bake and decorate tonight. I really hope the end result will be fantastic. At this point of time, I'm looking at the toppers and double guessing myself.....

2 Randoms and some Pups

2009-04-09T21:20:00.003+08:00

I don't know how to start off this entry....lol. I want to share with you pics of my latest cupcake project but I just can't seem to write properly. The sentences are just not forming in my head, so I think apologies are in order. I am just going to write whatever that comes across my mind and hope that I get to the point.....eventually.

Random lament 1: Just finished watching the latest episodes of Dancing With the Stars. It makes me want to sign up for ballroom dancing right now! Oh to be in the hands of those hunka-hunka pro dancers...you can twirl and dip me anytime baby! I bet ya those dancers could eat a dozen cupcakes and still maintan those hot bods of theirs. No such luck with yours truly :) Anyways, it's a good thing I'm not able to vote from where I am, I would be absolutely torn. Melissa's such a doll and Tony is a wonderful man. Lil Kim got that bionic butt of hers and Derek is such an awesome choreographer. Shawn & Mark, they're simply too cute.

Random lament 2: Have not been posting recipes for ages! Oh my.....not impressive. The thing is, TW & I have been cooking BUT we've been having the same stuff that's been posted here! Lol.....we're actually simple creatures; a home cooked meal keeps us more than happy and it doesn't matter if it's the same old menu. Ok tell you what, I will experiment on cheese baked rice sometime soon and will post the results here (even if it sucks). Deal?

Ok randomness aside; I made cupcakes. No surprises there...lol. But this time I ventured out from my comfort zone of sculpting fondant and used piping technique to decorate the cuppies. I prefer fondant actually, because I feel that I have more control of what I'm doing and if I ever screw up, I could just start over with the same lump of fondant and not waste anything. Piping buttercream requires a steady pair of hands and certainty; no double guessing once the cream flows out from the tip or that exquisite rose swirl that you're attempting might just turn into a messy, squishy mush. But heck, I've gotta start sometime.

And what better timing too. I received a birthday order for a girl who loves dogs. At first I thought of sculpting some puppies but the weather's been a b**** lately. Playful puppy might just turn into sick puppy with all the humidity. So I did some research, got myself a book and I was on my way to puppydome. There wasn't much to prepare before hand, unlike fondant which takes up a lot of time sculpting. With this piping technique, all I gotta do is make sure there's an ample amount of buttercream.

It was a pleasant surprise when I found out that piping is a whole lot of fun (major thanks to the instructions from the book). On the downside it can be rather messy and greasy. I have what people call 'hot hands'; the buttercream tend to melt from the warmth of my hands so I had to work quickly. The hot afternoon weather was of no help either. If this ever happens to you, just pop the piping bag into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes. That should do the trick.

Time for some pictures. Here's my 1st puppy - a west highland terrier!

ears are made of marshmallow, eyes - mini M&M's, nose - chocolate candy, tounge - fondant

And then came some other adorable puppies that I have no idea what breed they are until now. Lol....Here's the cute bunch;

the pug looks kinda off....haha....

but I am in love with the sheepdog :)

And....I couldn't resist;

nom nom nom nom....

You can make them too, yes you can! Here's an online tutorial and video ;) Have fun my friends, I'm sure you're gonna have a blast. Let me know how it turns out? Cheers!

What Lies Beneath

2009-03-21T11:12:00.001+08:00

Remember the blushing bride I told you about in my previous post? She's a petite, gentle and soft spoken lass; wonderful in every sense of the word. Her husband is a very lucky man......or so he thinks! Haha....underneath that demure exterior lies a brilliantly naughty mind! I'll tell you why.....

I'm not sure how or when it started but it's a Chinese custom for girlfriends of the bride, (normally lead by the Maid of Honour or bridesmaids) to set up a series of tasks/door games for the groom and his entourage before they are allowed into the bride's home. The tasks are meant for the groom to prove his worth & love for his soon to be wife. But of course, his buddies are most welcomed to prove their chivalry as well. Some of the common tasks that I've heard of are declaration of love via poem recitals, acts of humiliation (wearing diapers and panties) and downing unpalatable concoctions and gross stuff like bugs (eeek!); but rest assured all are done in good fun...and of course some cash. After all, you gotta pay the 'toll' if you wanna use the highway :)

Now back to the bride's light bulb moment. She asked if it was possible for me to make some '4 seasons' cupcakes as part of the door games. Cupcakes with 4 flavours; sweet, spicy, bitter and sour representing the various stages in life that a couple would go through in life. The cakes should look harmless but what's inside....is for the unsuspecting men to find out.

harmless enough eh?

but you know what they say; looks can be deceiving.....

4 seasons cupcakes revealed

I enjoyed making these cuppies so much, there was hardly any guilt! It's pure evil...Muahahahahahahah...

p/s: I'll post up pics of the victims and their ordeal as soon as I can.

For the Blushing Bride

2009-03-18T11:12:00.003+08:00

Time flies. It really does. My hometown friend, Lilian, whom I've known since I was a preteen, got hitched last weekend. It was the most beautiful wedding I've ever had the privilege of attending. More on that in my next post. But for now, I shall write a little bit about her hen night.

Well, I wasn't there but I was given the task of creating a set of cuppies to spice up the night. The bride to be, maid of honour & I fired off emails to discuss about designs. We all had the same idea; 'NAUGHTY'. But the question was, how naughty is naughty? The bride to be is indeed a blushing one. I sent her some pictures of erm....naked male anatomy and she was close to being horrified. Lol...she was more horrified at the idea of having to gobble it down and knowing her girl friends, they'd probably get her to EAT it. Erm if you know what I mean......

But we still want to maintain that naughty element, so the best way to go about it is to get those bulges & mounds covered up. After all, less is more :D

After another round of consideration I figured sexy bikini bods is the best way to go about it. And hence.............

the first of the bikini series

(i realised that in real life, the design of this bikini top would lead to a wardrobe malfunction...lol)

pretty tight eh?

broad shoulders and a six pack to boot...yummyyyyy....

yes, I went a little overboard with the grey speedos

a closer look at my favourites

Now that you've seen em tight buns, killer cleavages and power bulges, let's take a look at the rejected ones. Try not to laugh okayyy...

my very first attempt and I failed miserably,

it looks like a peanut with g-string...lol

and i call this the reality buns, check out the cellulite!

From what I gather, the bride to be and her girlfriends were fascinated with the cuppies and they chowed it down with much gusto, bulge and all. I couldn't be happier :)

Of Trolls and Tank Engines

2009-03-02T22:43:00.042+08:00

Here's a story about a pudgy looking fairy mistaken as a troll and Thomas the tank engine and his friends.

It all started about 3 weeks back, when I got a message on Facebook from a lady by the name of Wan, who got my contact from Sling, who was one of the recipients of the Valentine cuppies ordered by Jasmine, an ex-schoolmate of mine. Still with me? Lol...anyways....she asked if I could bake some cuppies for her kids' birthday. I was excited! This order was solely based on word of mouth. This nice & trusting lady hasn't even tasted my cuppies, yet she is putting her faith in me. Oh did my skirt fly or what. And then came the biggest challenge of all; her initial idea was a princess theme for her daughter and Thomas the tank engine for her son. And the wind that blew my skirt ever so fiercely died abruptly. Whoa! But I was determined to take up the challenge and I agreed almost instantly.

And so the exhange of ideas began. At first, I suggested a knight/prince theme for the birthday boy, so that it would compliment the princess theme for the birthday girl. But Wan mentioned that her little boy absolutely adores Thomas; something that I truly understand because my toddler niece loves, loves, LOVES Mickey and Dibo the Gift Dragon. So Thomas it is and that's that.

So now for the birthday girl, (who's a preteen) Wan suggested Hannah Montana, Winx or Totally Spies. All I could think of was edible images of Miley Cyrus. Hmm, that's kinda ok. Then I explored the next theme; Winx, which are fairies. Now this I can work with. I mean I couldn't really construct the characters exactly but I can make some cutesy looking fairies in a garden; a fairy garden theme! I pitched the idea to Wan and she agreed. Now all there's to do is to get my hands dirty :)

I started with the fairies first. Thanks to wonderful people who shared their ideas on Flickr, I had a rough idea how I wanted my fairy to look like. Nothing incredible, but something that's still recognisable and adorably cute. So ladies and gentleman, this is my 1st born :)

Yea, she's.....pudgy (i know Nick....) Hence, the troll....

with wings! I still think she's cute.

And this is troll/fairy version 1.1. Much leaner, but still rather 'meaty'.

check out that cute dimple :)

I was quite happy with my fairy, she has wings & a flower like dress. Yeah....she fits the bill. I made another 3 before realising that they were actually melting! The weather was very very humid and my poor fairies didn't stand a chance. I left them to dry on a tray lined wth parchment paper and their bum got stuck, I couldn't remove them without leaving my finger prints behind (ack!) or risking tearing the skirt. There was no way I could have saved them. I had to admit defeat. What a nightmare! Not only that, the toadstools that I made earlier were also unusable, there were about 20 of them. I felt like cr*p. Things were not going my way; I decided to call it a night and start afresh the next day.

Thankfully the next day was a whole lot better. I was on a toadstool marathon followed by fairies. The weather was still pretty humid, so I had to confine the figurines in my bedroom, with windows and door closed and left the fan running the whole time. Such was my predicament....Luckily I managed to finish the fairy garden figurines without too much drama after that.

But that didn't mean I could breathe easier. Dear Thomas was up next and at that point I started to second guess myself. What on earth did I get myself into? But this was of course, panic talking; given that I only had a couple of days left before the party. My idea was to make a few miniature trains and the rest are just 2D toppers with different facial expressions of the characters. And again, thanks to the world wide web, my task was made easier. The next hurdle was of course, to draw the faces onto the sugar paste. I had a few options; edible marker pen, paint brush or Wilton's ready to use icing tube. Either ways, they're not easy. I tried using the marker pen 1st but it was not practical as the pen tend to sink into the sugar paste, leaving behind unsightly dents. Maybe I applied too much pressure while drawing. So method one was out the door. I hesitated with the 2nd method but I had to try anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when it worked! Of course the first few lines were visibly crooked and they got thicker as I tried to cover the imperfections but I got the hang of it after a while. Method 3 was left unexplored, thank goodness!

Thomas and his expressive friends...I dunno their names...lol

and here's Thomas, the simplified version

I felt such a huge relief when figurines for both themes were completed. I was constantly checking if they dried properly and thank goodness they did. I shudder at the thought of the stress I'd have to go through should things go awry.

Everything went well on baking day, or so I thought. There I was getting all my tools ready for decorating when I realised that I didn't have the tip (Wilton's no. 233) for piping grass! Fortunately Ryan (my then colleague and now colleague cum housemate) was out and he was able to get it for me. Phew.....I am happy to report that everything was smooth sailing after that.

I think this post is getting longer and looongeeerrrr....lol. So here are some pics to wrap it up :)

Oh hai!

Wan commented that her little boy loves these Thomas cuppies so much that he kept asking them back from the guests....lol!

my little fairies

in a fairy garden

I am happy to report that Wan was very happy with the cuppies,

and that the birthday party was a blast.

Mission accomplished!

Carefree Cupcakes

2009-02-24T12:36:00.017+08:00

Hello there! Thank you for visiting my blog, if you've been following this little blog of mine, you'd probably notice that there are more posts on cupcakes of late. It's not that I've not been cooking dinner at home but a few cupcakes orders have taken up most of my evenings. And lately, the requests for the designs have been more and more challenging. From dragons to Ben 10 to Totally Spies. Oh my! I am very excited yet the little voice inside of me seem to snigger, "Dragons?! Better not let it turn out to be a flying worm or something!" But those orders are for a much later date, sometime in April. So I'll have time to do my research.

Just a fortnight ago I did a simple and no-frills cupcakes for a couple of hometown friends. One's for Albert & Jacq's lunch party and the other a belated full moon treat for Fabian & Felicia's colleagues. There were no particular theme requested, all Jacq asked was for some flowery designs. So I cut out a few types of flowers & butterflies in soft pastel colours, in an attempt to create a garden like feel. As for Felicia's I decided to go with a soft swirl sprinkled with orange sugar crystals, which would compliment the yellowish tinge of the zesty buttercream (her cake of choice was orange poppyseed).

5 simple designs for Albert & Jacq

i used 2 different tips for the swirl, the one in the middle is Wilton's no. 2D which creates a soft fold swirl and another huge numberless one (kinda like Wilton's 1M), which I got from a local baking store that produces a sharper sundae like swirl

a combo of vanilla & orange poppyseed cakes

Orange poppyseed cake with zesty buttercream for Felicia & Fabian

And since I had extra batter, I decided to bake it in smaller souffle cups.

And since I had extra buttercream, I tried my hands on the rose swirl too.

After a few tries, I almost got it! Yippee!

And those were the last simple and carefree orders I made before the most challenging one came up. I mean, it was really a good experience but the drama that unfolds with it! I shall let you in on that one in my next post. Until then, take care and again, thank you for visiting my blog :)

Udang Asam Belimbing

2009-02-21T11:36:00.007+08:00

Well! It's been a while since I shared a recipe with you. So here's one of my old time favourite. A very simple Peranakan dish that requires minimal ingredients but produces a whole lot of flavour. You'll find this dish a winner if you dig the 3 S's; sweet, sour and spicy :)

Ingredients:

200g fresh prawns, off with the head! or leave the tail on if you fancy
1 tbsp tauchiu (preserved soy bean paste)
2-3 fresh green chillies, halved lengthwise (try to retain most of the seeds for that extra zing)
3-4 belimbing asam/buluh, quartered lengthwise (for best description of this starfruit like plant, please check out this fantastic link)
sugar to taste
1/4 cup water
1-2 tbsp oil for frying

Method

Heat oil in a wok.
Add in tauchiu paste, green chillies and belimbing asam, stir fry till fragrant. Careful, the pungent smell of the fried chillies might just make you sneeze :)
When tauchiu paste starts to 'clump' (that's when the vegetables start to wilt too), add in prawns and give it a good stir, followed by some water and sugar.
How sweet you want the dish to be depends on you. For me, I like a good balance of sweet and sour. So I normally add in about 1 tablespoon. But then again, it depends on how sour the belimbings are. So do the taste test before adding more sugar.
Fry for another few minutes and you're done!
Serve hot with white rice.

Fresh green chillies are normally not overly spicy but they add that nice pungent flavour,
a few bird's eye chilly would definitely turn the heat up

We had this dish with herbal corn soup and stir fried spinach, wholesome goodness I tell ya. Do try it soon!

Project V-Day 2009

2009-02-15T12:37:00.013+08:00

Happy Valentine's! So how did it go? Got cramped up in over-crowded restaurants, paid big bucks for flowers or got all hyped up for the much anticipared Rihanna concert but finally told that it's been cancelled? Yea, I know. It's disappointing....but hey, I heard that the organisers are trying to get it re-scheduled so look on the bright side. And oh, btw...I did none of the above :)

I've been diligently stuck at home, working on some orders for Valentine's cupcakes (as mentioned in my previous post). Went over board with all things lovey dovey, my teeth ache by just looking at them.

Toppers were made with fondant and gumpaste while the cake came in a choice of 2 flavours; vanilla with vanilla buttercream or orange poppyseed with zesty buttercream. All and all, it took about a week to put everything together; from designing to shopping for materials, to moulding, baking and decorating. Of course, the baking and decorating bit was completed on the eve of Valentine's. Wanna make sure that the cakes are as fresh as possible.

Let's take a look at some pictures shall we;

this is Wilfred, he's the centre piece

he's also the delivery teddy, see the box of candy and bouquet of roses in his chubby arms?

and here's Wilfred again, taking his rightful place

the cuppies comes in a box of 6,

or 9,

this set comes with an embroidered gift tag, a lovely little cupid lollipop holder

my sis made it, you can check out more of her creations at

http://www.thread-n-needles.blogspot.com/

The first 2 boxes went out on the eve of Valentine's eve (that makes sense?..lol) and the rest were delivered the following day. A big thank you to all, especially to those who placed their orders. I really hope you guys like them and that it'll add a little sparkle to your special day.

And oh if you're wondering what I did for Valentine's, nothing out of the ordinary really :) Although JL's around, we did not go out to celebrate. Hmm let's see; breakfast was supposed to be pan mee at SS19 but the queue was too long so we had mixed rice instead, delivered a box of cuppies to Sweet after that, then we headed to a workshop (my car decided that she too wants a Valentine gift, so I got her a new battery), went home and found out that the toilet is stuck, got that sorted, went out again to the supermarket to stock up on baking supplies, got home and cooked a simple dinner of teochew porridge and then called it a night. Ordinary, but pretty eventful nevertheless :)

V Day project - WIP

2009-02-12T12:33:00.011+08:00

Hello folks! Yes.....I'm still alive and kicking :) Although, I still feel unwell at times, must be from my recent bout of food poisoning during Chinese New Year. Damn those peanuts, shandy and sunflower seeds...

Anyways, here are some pictures of my Valentine's Day project. *drum roll* Presenting V-Day ......blueprint!

I can just imagine you guys saying 'What?!!" Lol...Sorry people, I got to wait till after V day to put up the finished cuppies. Let's not spoil the surprise for the recipients, shall we? :)

I am making boxes of 6s and 9s, with different designs in each box. Took me a while to put the final designs together. And yes, even with sketches to follow, I made some changes along the way. I stuck to 3 colours, pink, red and white. And a fat, cuddly teddy bear will make its way as the centre piece. I can't wait to put them all together!

Chinese New Year 2009

2009-01-31T19:42:00.001+08:00

Kong Hey Fatt Choy! Time flies, it's already the 6th day of Chinese New Year (not to mention the last day of the first month of the year!), I hope you had a fantastic one! This year, my family & I gathered at my sister's place up north; 8 grown ups and 1 super energetic toddler all cramped up in her cozy little apartment. And truth to be told, this is by far the best Chinese New Year that I have ever had. All we did was eat, snack on peanuts and sunflower seeds, drank Kickapoo and shandy, played poker and took turns entertaining the little princess. My goodness, she sure has LOTS of energy than all of us combined....on second thoughts, I think we are the ones who are getting old. I used to be the baby of the family and I'm hitting 30....go figure how old the rest are....lol!

It's been a very refreshing CNY this time around; no temple hopping (back home, my parents & I would go to about half a dozen temples in and around the city on the 1st day of CNY), no visitors (we've got no guests to entertain here at my sister's place) and no home made traditional cookies (pineapple tarts are my mom's specialty).

However there are traditions can't be missed. We had an energetic, tummy stretching reunion dinner (steamboat this year) and mellowed down to a more relaxed session in front of the telly while waiting for the clock to strike midnight. And oh boy, when the clock struck twelve, the firecrackers madness began! My fellow Chinese here sure are festive! On and on distant bangs were heard followed by occasional mini explosions that made us jump in our seats. We also managed to catch a short display of fireworks beyond the many high rise buildings. No pictures taken though; too engrossed to grab our cameras.

I also managed to whip up some cupcakes upon request by my sister. She started buying cakes for CNY two years back, check out the pics.

the one on the left is from year 2007 and the right 2008

Truth to be told, I just can't stand having non-edible stuff on cakes.

Look at the plastic cherry blossoms! tsk tsk....*shakes head disapprovingly*

It's my mission this year to keep up with this new tradition of hers. I couldn't bring along too many of my decorating tools with me as I'll be taking the bus back to KL. So I managed to come up with 6 very simple designs; a goldfish, a moo cow, firecrackers, mandarin oranges, pomelos and cherry blossoms. (I still think they're not festive enough....perhaps better designs next year)

the auspicious 6

green juice pomelos

happy (punk?) goldfish

succulent mandarin oranges

fiery firecrackers

This Chinese New Year was certainly different but in no way less enjoyable. After all, it's the company that counts :)

Miniature Cakes

2009-01-20T13:35:00.014+08:00

I went for this very interesting miniature cakes class about a month ago (yeap...this post is long overdue) at Cake Connection. I was a little unsure and very, very excited. I didn't know if I could pull it off. Because they're so small, and I have large, sometimes clumsy hands. Really.

But our friendly instructor, Lynette made it so much easier with her clear instructions and demonstrations. As usual, print out of recipes were provided, as well as materials like cake, fondant, sugar paste flowers and decorating tools. We were taught 2 types of miniatures, a single tier square cake and a 2 tier round cake. And then the time came when we had to spread our wings and fly.......Lynette went round asking which miniature we'd like to start off with; almost all of us picked the square cake. Lol....but it was inevitable. Like Lynette said, sooner or later we had to finish both of them.

The cake provided was madeira and let me tell ya, it was really really good. That's because Lynette used pure vanilla extract and it made a world of difference. No sickly sweet artificial smell, just pure floral vanilla. The buttercream was equally good, light and fluffy. We were in good hands :)

It took us about 2 hours to assemble miniature cakes of our own. Everyone was beaming with pride by the end of the class. It was so satisfying to see something so delicate made possible with our bare hands. We all swore not to eat the cakes...haha, well how could you? Take a look at the pics and you'll see why.

this is the first cake, looks pretty simple eh? it's about the size of my palm

and can u see the half way done 2 tier cake in the background?

pardon my very un-manicured thumb, just wanted to show you the size of the cake in relative to my hand

2 tier mini cake, looks like a wedding cake eh?

these are done by the master herself, Lynette

the stripey green cake on the left was a demo only, not included in our class

very tedious work as the green lines were piped alternately with royal icing

cross section of the cake....

just in case 'some' people don't believe that it's edible, rite Darryl? :p

I would say that I'd love to make miniatures again but probably not for sale. They are very tedious and time consuming. But having said that, they are such a joy! It's like producing a work of art. This is definitely one of the best classes that I signed up for.

Easy Peasy Steamed Egg Recipe

2009-01-09T09:59:00.007+08:00

This dish is a request from my old school mate, Ben who sms-ed me the other day and said that she's been craving for steamed eggs and were looking for a simple recipe. Well look no further Ben, this recipe is as simple as Simon!

Incidentally, this is my first time making this dish too. And it turned out gorgeously! No unsightly bumps and the texture was as smooth as tofu. The secrets; medium fire, a sieve and a plate ;)

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 egg, 1 salted egg (you can add century egg too if you like)
water
a few drops of liquid chicken stock
garnish: chopped spring onions, pepper and sesame oil

Steps

Heat enough water for steaming in a wok.
Break eggs into a bowl, set aside the salted egg yolk.
Cut salted egg yolk into small pieces.
Add a few drops of liquid chicken stock to eggs and beat using a pair of chopsticks or fork. Do not get too excited, gently does it :) We don't want too much of those pesky bubbles on the surface.
Add equal amount of water to egg mixture (if your egg mixture measures half a bowl, then add half a bowl of water too), stir well.
Sieve into a shallow metal dish then add the egg yolk pieces.
Remember step 1? The water should come to a boil by now. Reduce heat to medium. Put the metal dish (covered completely with a plate - important if you want that smooth surface) on the steaming rack, put on the lid for the wok and steam for 15-20 minutes.
When it's done; add a dash of pepper, a few drops of sesame oil and some chopped spring onions.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. Was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday. But anyway since this recipe is a huge success, I'll be making it again in the near future (especially when supplies are running low in the kitchen....). I'll be sure to take some pics then.

Happy trying!

A Black & Pink Affair

2009-01-04T15:19:00.024+08:00

Happy New Year to you! Got your new year resolutions all sorted? Moi, haven't found time to really list them down, just a few mental notes here and there which would inevitable lead to forgetting them over time. On a plus note though, I've gotten myself a nice organizer from Starbucks. Let's just hope I'll use it regularly! God knows how many fancy looking notebooks and journals I got, all lying forgotten after a few months. Sigh...are you like me? Please do not be me! :)

Moving on from resolutions to celebrations; how did yours go? Nothing much for me, just hung out and had a late night snack plus drinks with a couple of friends. They just got back from May's wedding, whom is a mutual friend of ours. I got my working schedule all mixed up so I couldn't attend. I totally overlooked the fact until a couple of days before. There I was, day dreaming how I should wear my hair for the dinner and the light bulb went *ding!*

But anyhow, I still had the opportunity to be a teeny tiny part of May's happy occasion. She gave me the opportunity to make her bridal cakes, all 78 boxes of it. I did quite a lot of research on designs and colour scheme when it suddenly hit me; why.....black & pink of course, that's the theme for her wedding dinner! Duh....

So off I went on a mini shopping spree; boxes, craft papers, fondant, gumpaste, flour, eggs, butter, pink gel colouring....all checked! Except for black gel colouring. They were nowhere to be found, not even a single tub. Seriously......I really gotta thank my lucky stars when Nancy & Shyamala from Cake Connection lent me theirs. HUGE sigh of relief!

I started on the boxes a few weeks in advance, as there were a lot of work cutting the craft paper into strips to form ribbons. The holders inside the box were also cut manually. Yes, you might think that I was crazy. I almost went ballistic! I had my bf; JL to thank. He helped out a lot on that part.

After I finished with the boxes, I moved on to the cake toppings. A little wiser this time around, I used 50/50 to make my toppers. I cut out butterflies, heart shapes and lots of tiny flowers of different sizes. And truth to be told, I wasn't too sure how the final layout would be. My vision of the final product keeps changing. So, I decided to let my inner voice guide me when the time comes. Lol....

I learned loads throughout this project. It's tough, especially when I am reminded all the time that I am on my own. No mom or sis to come to my rescue like when it was my brother's wedding. The radio was my constant companion, the toothpick my best friend and the rain my number one enemy. Well, you get the idea with the radio but toohpicks I hear you ask? Yea, nifty little stuff they are. I use them to dip into different tubs of colourings, add details to the toppers and a myriad of other uses that solves most of my headaches. As for the rain........I had my butterflies all nicely dried like they were in flight but the humidity wreaked havoc on them! In no time, my poor butterflies wings fell flat on the tray. Plop.......ok, so that called for plan B. (Check out the photos below and I'll explain more).

Right, I think it's time for some pictures;

the original plan was for the butterfly to take the place of the heart,

but since the wings went plop, i had to switch to plan B

specially for May & Kevin, congratulations guys!

Finally, a huge thank you to;

May - for trusting me with this important task
JL - you kept me sane & calm during those hair raising moments
Ryan - for getting cardboards for the holders and exploring ideas with me
Nancy & Shyamala - you guys whipped out that precious little tub of black gel at just the right moment. I was at my wit's end :)

p/s: oh yes, I have decided to name my small cupcake enterprise BunsInTheOven, thanks to Wee for the brilliant idea!

Merry Xmas & A Happy New Year 2009

2008-12-23T21:01:00.007+08:00

Helloooooo! I've been MIA for 3 weeks. That's a loooong time in blogging years :) Apologies but I've been busy of late. My colleague Nads ordered some cuppies for her engagement last week and Nicko for Xmas. Kind, kind people they are :) It's been a whirlwind adventure so far, thanks to supportive friends and Facebook! Posted some pictures on it and next thing I know, I'm making cupcakes for sale.

I'd love to stay and go on a barrage of stories, so many things to share with you (like BunsInTheOven :))! But alas, I can't be too long here, gotta prepare some toppings for May's order. Her wedding is on the 31st and her 'guo dai lai' or delivery of bethrothal gifts is this Saturday. Instead of the usual cakes, she's opted for cupcakes. Btw, she's having a black and pink wedding how cool is that?

Ok, here are some pictures of Nad's cuppies and a sneak peek at Nicko's. The Xmas cupcakes are basically what you saw on one of my earlier posts. But this time I made sure that I used a mixture of gumpaste and fondant. And oh, to add HANDS for the snowmen!

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year my virtual friends, may 2009 be everything you ever wish for and more!

Lap Cheong Fried Rice

2008-12-10T22:39:00.015+08:00

Do you like lap cheong (chinese dried sausage)? TW & I lurveeee them. It's one of those dry food stuff that we stock up, because it's real handy when you run out of ideas on what to cook. You can add them to omelette, stir fry leek, fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) or just steam them with white rice if you're just too lazy. But my personal favourite is to add them to fried rice. The sweet and savoury taste of the lap cheong gives an additional kick to the dish and you won't really to add a lot of other ingredients, just some eggs and vegetables. And if you're really really lazy or don't have much time to spare, use Adabi Chinese Fried Rice powder. It tastes reaalllyy good!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

2 cups of rice, best to use leftover
a handful of french beans, chopped
2-3 bird's eye chilly, sliced
3 sticks lap cheong, soaked in water for a few minutes, cut the top off a little, remove the casing and sliced diagonally
2 eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned with a dash of white pepper
1 packet of Adabi Chinese Fried Rice powder
some oil

Method

Heat enough oil in a wok and fry eggs, scramble style. Dish out and set aside.
No need to clean the wok, add in lap cheong and fry till desired state of crispness. Drain and dish out. And oh, please do not throw away the melted lard that remains in the wok, no matter how much your conscience tells you that it's not good for you. That's the BEST part.
Add french beans and chilly, fry for a couple of minutes till vegetables start to wilt.
Put in rice, followed by lap cheong and eggs; add some oil if you find it too dry.
Sprinkle chinese fried rice powder over rice and toss till everything is mixed evenly. Add a dash or two of dark soy sauce if you like.
Tuck in!

chinese fried rice and a bowl of watercress soup

simple and satisfying

It's The Time of The Season

2008-12-10T17:03:00.013+08:00

Christmas is just around the corner! Even though I don't observe the religious aspect of it, I embrace every other bit of this wonderful celebration. It's yet another season for food, gifts and lots of love. I took the opportunity to channel all of them into something that I could think of; cupcakes!

I started baking early in the morning and left the vanilla and choc cupcakes to cool while I prepared the decorations. All the figurines were made with 100% fondant, which was sooooo unwise. I totally forgot about the humid weather and as a result, lopsided snowmen! And by evening, a couple of them were already on their backs staring up innocently at me. Oh well, I should have known better. Lesson learnt there.

The candy cane was totally unplanned. I had leftover fondant and the next thing you know...tadaa! The holiday sprinkles were courtesy of Aunt Evelyn & Uncle Weng Kay. They actualy spent about 2 hours strolling through the aisles of Phoon Huat to get me my baking stuff, bless them. And what a haul it was! A 3 tier cake stand, a 56 piece master tip set, tip covers, savers and brushes, decorating bags, spatulas, icing colours, a cupcake cookbook, heart shape plunger cutters...the list goes on. I am so blessed!

christmas tree no.1

christmas tree no.2

candy cane anyone?

armless snowmen! *smack on the head* i forgot about those too

made possible with the help of my mom

we made 3 sets; for Maggie, Jan & Aunt Evelyn

Season's greetings!

Merry Christmas everyone!

p/s: my newly wed brother forgot to get me the green ribbons i asked for, red's kinda nice too eh?

Steamed Tofu & Cauliflower with Crispy Garlic

2008-12-03T11:30:00.001+08:00

What's with the weather lately? It's been crazy! Bright and sunny one minute and thunderstorm the next. Funny how it never rains whenever I carry an umbrella though.

Anyways......TW & I had these for dinner a couple of days back. We didn't have rice as both us were quite stuffed from a late lunch.

cauliflower, corn and button mushrooms drizzled with crispy garlic oil

Recipe is based on an estimate as I didn't take measurements that day. It's just one of those days :)

A small bouquet of cauliflower, cut to bite sized florets
4-5 shoots of fresh young corn, sliced diagonally
3-4 button mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
a dash of osyter sauce

Boil cauliflower and corn for a few minutes or till just done, drain and run over cold water. (Do not overboil or they'll lose their crunchiness)
Heat oil in a wok. Fry garlic till golden brown and dish out, leaving some oil behind.
Do a quick stir fry of the mushrooms, cauliflower, corn and oyster sauce.
Dish out and serve with crispy garlic.

steamed tofu with minced pork, shitake mushrooms, spring onion

and TW's favourite; bird's eye chilly

1 block of soft tofu
about 100g of lean pork, minced and seasoned with white pepper, sesame oil and salt
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 stalks of spring onion, cut to 1.5" length
2-3 shitake mushrooms, soaked to soften and sliced thinly, discard stem
2-3 bird's eye chilly, roughly chopped

Drain water from tofu and steam over high heat for about 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a wok, stir fry mushrooms followed by minced pork for a few minutes.
Add in oyster sauce, mix well.
Add in spring onion and chillies and fry for another few minutes.
Dish out and pour over steamed tofu.
Best eaten while hot :)

Now isn't that simple? Enjoy my dears!

Chewy (or not) Rum Raisins Chop Chip Cookies

2008-11-26T10:59:00.015+08:00

Hello there! It's me again....the proud owner of a brand new oven! :) Finally, TW and I won't have to make garlic fried rice everytime we have some left over. Now we could make cheese baked rice and perhaps some twice baked potatoes as starters then creme brulee for dessert. Oooo my tummy's rumbling :)

The oven is huge for a bench top type (I had a bit of a problem looking for a place to fit it in my small and already packed kitchen) and it comes with 5 functions; stew, fan oven, bake, rotisserie and grill. My my, the stuff that I could churn out of this baby...let's just hope that my old friend, procrastination, won't get the better of me.

Now I was feeling rather 'up to it' yesterday. Why not bake some cookies? I still had some raisins in the fridge and plenty of brown sugar and rum from my previous ice cream recipe. All I need was flour, butter and eggs.

Here's the full recipe;

1 cup dark raisins, soaked overnight with 1/4 cup of rum (I used Captain Morgan)
1 cup (about 1 block) of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, no sifting required
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups semi sweet choc chips (I used Hershey's)

Follow the steps below and you're well on your way to gorgeousness :)

Preheat oven to 175C.
Line baking tray with parchment paper.
Cream sugar (brown & castor) and butter till fluffy and light in colour. (I used a hand mixer)
Add eggs, one at a time followed by vanilla extract and beat till well mixed.
Add flour, salt and baking soda and beat till just moistened.
Fold in choc chips and raisins (tip in the rest of the rum too) and let mixture rest for about 10 minutes.
Place tablespoonfuls of mixture onto the prepared baking tray, spacing about 2 inches apart. (or else you'll end up with one HUGE cookie)
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are brown but centre is still soft.
Remove from oven and leave them on the baking tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

These cookies turned out chewy. If you want them to be crispy, just pop them back into the oven for a few minutes. Either ways, they're absolutely addicitive.

I found a great article that explains and teaches you on how, with a little bit of tweaking, you can achieve crispy or soft chewy cookies. Read it here.

these are dangerously close

i think i'll use shortening instead of butter next time,

maybe they'll turn out harder and spread less

store them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks....

but I doubt they'll be around that long!

Egg Tarts (of the Portuguese kind) Revisited

2008-11-21T09:51:00.009+08:00

I LOVE egg tarts. I had the opportunity to visit Macau earlier this year and considered my trip there complete only after I had a taste of their infamous egg tarts. Such was my LOVE for this delightful pastry.

I've tried egg tarts from many different cafes and bakeries and came to a conclusion that there are basically 2 types of crusts; shortcrust pastry that crumbles with each delectable bite or puff pastry which is light and flaky. I LOVE them both. Anything goes for me as long as they're egg tarts.

I am not too happy with the results of the egg tarts I made the last time. So I decided to give it another try but I have a confession to make. I took a shortcut. Didn't make the pastry from scratch this time. Instead, I got frozen puff pastry from Cold Storage. Ok ok, so I was a teensy bit lazy and took the easy way out. Maybe you should too ;)

Right, here's what you'll need;

1 packet frozen puff pastry (I didn't use all of them though)
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup castor sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup milk (I used low fat)
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

And here's what you do;

Thaw puff pastry according to instructions on packaging.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Beat yolks, sugar, whipping cream, milk and vanilla extract for a few minutes. Strain the mixture if you must. I was in lazy mode so I didn't.
Grease muffin moulds or ramekins with melted butter.
Dust working surface with some flour and roll out pastry to desired thickness.
Cut rolled pastry using an upside down glass or bowl (whatever that's handy) and line into moulds by pressing gently on bottom and side.
Pour egg mixture into lined moulds about 80% (90% for me as I was feeling rather mischevious).
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until crust turns golden brown and the filling has set. Oh yes, those brown spots on the filling would be lovely.

i made the first 2 using ramekins. And I took them out of the oven before the filling could caramelised with lovely brown spots.

But the custard filling looked great though.

And it tasted good too, neither too sweet nor milky.

The rest were mini ones as I didn't have my regular muffin pan with me.

This time I left them in the oven for a little longer. It was kind of exhilirating to watch the filling bulged and ballooned to the verge of bursting but it never did. Don't know if they would but I figured that it would be a rather messy affair if it did.

They're sort of cute aren't they :)

A Simple Meal for Two

2008-11-17T17:29:00.011+08:00

Well, the title says it all. Really, there's nothing fanciful about our dinner today (when has it ever? lol!). But it's still yummy and nutritious, goes well with rice and most importantly, darn easy to put together. So here are my recipes for Steamed Fish With Ginger Paste and Stir Fried Kangkung (Water Spinach).

Steamed Fish With Ginger Paste

2 fish fillets (honestly I don't know what type of fish I used. Take a look at the picture and let me know will you :) But I think dory fillet would be great for this recipe)
salt & pepper
3-4 inches young ginger, skinned and sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
a stalk of spring onions and a sprig of coriander, chopped (for garnishing)

Boil water in a wok or rice cooker (mine comes with a plastic perforated steamer tray that fits into the top).
Rub some salt and pepper on both sides of the fish. Put fish on a metal or heatproof dish.
Blend ginger and olive oil to a smooth paste. Pour paste over fish.
Steam fish over rapidly boiling water for about 20-30 minutes.
Combine sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce and pour over cooked fish.
Garnish with spring onions and coriander.

My photography 'skills' (if you can even call it that) is extremely basic so it doesn't look quite appetising here but it's really nice....really!

Gives you that warm feeling after eating (probably not because it was so lovingly prepared but the ginger)

Stir Fried Kangkung

300g kangkung, soak in water, washed and drained (I do this at least 3 times as I find that kangkung may have lots of foreign stuff lodged between the stalks...don't wanna risk biting into a snail or something...acckk!) Roughly chop your squeaky clean kangkung, about 1-2 inch in length.
4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed and discard skin
4-5 cili padi (bird's eye chilly), sliced diagonally
1 tsp concentrated liquid chicken stock
1-2 tbsp oil

Heat oil in wok and fry crushed garlic till fragrant, but not crisp.
Add in cili padi and give it a quick stir.
On high heat, toss in kangkung and stir fry till the leaves start to wilt.
Add chicken stock and stir for another 30 seconds or so.
Dish up and you're all set.

A different take from the usual kangkung belacan (water spinach with prawn paste).

Those bird's eye chillies sure were hot, as good as chilly paste I tell ya.

TW loved it!

Maybe next time we'll have this with plain rice porridge :)

More Fun With Fondant

2008-11-14T15:21:00.020+08:00

Hello my lovelies! This past week has been a flurry of activities, not to mention some really fantastic news. I attended a fondant cupcakes class, went shoe shopping (yes, this particular activity is rather strenuous :)) and one of my former schoolmates May, who's getting hitched in December is asking me to bake her bridal gift cakes! My heart skips a beats, lol! My goodness. I am excited, happy, nervous, concerned, anxious and delirious all at once.

It was good timing too that I signed up for a fondant cupcake class. Before this, the only experience I had with fondant was making some simple flowers. I was so looking forward to see what I could learn from the class. And hopefully use it wisely to create some nice looking toppers for May's cupcakes.

And so there I was on a Saturday morning, sitting in the cosy kitchen of Cake Connection, bubbling with excitement. Yasmin Sanusi, our instructor, introduced us to gum paste and fondant, letting us feel (literally) the difference between the two. They both look exactly alike but gum paste feels tougher while fondant much more pliable. Gum paste is preferred over fondant in flower making because the dough is very elastic, making it possible to be rolled out thinner. But gum paste hardens rather quickly, so it's best to work with nimble fingers. Fondant on the other hand, remains softer much longer and is suitable for covering cakes. It will harden over time but never bone hard.

Yasmin taught us 6 designs; a snowman, a teddy bear, sea shells, butterflies, a tea set and a scarf for fabric effect. We used pure fondant to cover the cupcakes and a dough mixture of 50% fondant & 50% gum paste to make most of the figurines, except for the butterlies where pure gum paste is needed in order for the wings hold its shape.

To assemble parts of the figurines together, piping gel was used as glue. For bigger objects like the butterfly, we used fondant glue, which is a small amount of fondant mixed with water to form a paste.

Now let's leave it to the pictures to do to the talking :)

*The term dough here refers to a mixture of 50% gum paste, 50% fondant

Meet Poppet my snowgal.

This was the 1st figurine that we made and I'm very happy how it turned out.

Tips: 1. use a strip of spaghetti to attach the head to the body.

2. using a small sifter, dust icing sugar to create snow.

And this is Robert the teddy bear.

Robert seems to have a bit of a problem with his left arm and he's got cracks all over his body.

Tips: 1. mix brown, yellow and orange gel colour to achieve the 'teddy bear shade'.

2. to achieve equal sizes for the limbs, roll dough into a ball and cut it into half. Obviously I didn't, hence the oversized left arm.

3. warm dough between palm of hands and knead it to reduce cracks, if there's any. Apply shortening on hands, just a little.

Forget me nots and butterly, a design suitable for weddings.

The flowers were provided by Cake Connection while the butterfly was made using a cookie cutter. The designs on the base were achieved using crimpers.

Tips: 1) dry butterfly cut out downside up on an egg carton (layered with tissue paper for hygiene purposes).

2) use piping tips to create designs on the butterfly wings. Press gently while gum paste is still soft.

3) paint butterfly using pearl/shimmer dust mixed with fresh lemon juice.

Another wedding design, with a scarf draped across and ready made sugar paste rosebud and leaf. I love the fabric effect, don't you? :)

Tips: 1) roll out dough thinnest possible to have a more realistic effect.

2) use a toothpick to gently roll along the edges of the scarf to create waves.

Seashells (a clam and a true tulip) on an ocean bed.

Tips: 1. to get streaks in your dough, tint with a darker shade of gel colour. Press fondant together and then pull and stretch to form marbling.

Ahh...the tea set. This was rather meticulous as they were very small.

Tips: 1) to make cups, roll dough into tiny balls and use a stick to gently poke a hole in the middle, wiggle it a little to create depth.

2) use a tiny paint brush to apply pearl/shimmer powder mixed with fresh lemon juice onto the cup rim and handle.

The whole line up. Look how tiny my Poppet was compared to her snowy friends :)

Fondant Fun ~ The First Time Around

2008-11-10T20:39:00.025+08:00

Hello my friends! This entry is supposed to be of vanilla cupcakes & buttercream recipes. But before I do that, let me share the following with you.

I have always admired other blogger's creations, especially tiny fondant figurines that I thought were impossible to construct (well, for me at least). I especially love, love, love the handyworks of Bakerella & Su Yin. These ladies are absolute geniuses at what they do and it seems that they NEVER run out of ideas. I seriously think that they should come up with a book. I'll be first in line to buy!

Now....as for yours truly, my first experience with fondant was for my brother's wedding cupcakes. I thought it would be nice to have some flowers as toppers so I bought a pack of fondant, a set of basic flower making tools, a few bottles of colour gels and started to experiment on my own. The first thing I did was to pinch a small portion of the fondant and tasted it. I heard that they don't taste too good. But hey, it wasn't bad at all. But then again nothing beats buttercream. Well what can I say, other than the heavenly taste of whipped butter and icing sugar, I don't mind getting my hands dirty while eating a cake. Fondant is just too......tidy, don't you think so?

Here are some pics I managed to take;

the essentials: a flat working surface (i used the back of a glass chopping board), icing/powdered sugar (to dust the work area & hands), toothpick (use them to apply colours), fondant (but of course), a rolling pin, flower making tools, cutters, gel colours, shrink wrap (to wrap unused fondant which will dry out quickly otherwise), water (to stick fondant together)

dust, roll and cut out

as you can see, the thickness of the first cut outs were inconsistent. I rested them on a piece of foam dusted with icing sugar. Started off with pink and purple colours. Then I brought the flower making tools into play; I pried and I pressed and I poked till I was happy with the shapes.

And as the day progressed, I became a little bit more adventurous and experimented with more colours and layering. Then I topped some pretty metallic dragees on them. Heck, I even threw in a ducky while I was at it :) Cute little fellow eh?

spot the ducky!

* It's been 2 weeks since the wedding and the extra flowers that I kept are still good. It didn't turn rock hard, the colours didn't fade and the taste is fine.

What Do You Do With 320 Cupcakes

2008-11-06T10:57:00.014+08:00

Why, you give them away of course! Hello there, I'm back! And how have you been? :)

The past 2 weeks have been hectic but loads of fun. Had my hands full with cupcakes, cupcakes and more CUPCAKES. Goodness, I even dreamt about them in my sleep. And when I woke up, the smell of vanilla and buttercream still lingered on my hands. All for my brother's wedding which was, awesome! I hereby would like acknowledge the 2 fantastic sous chefs i.e. mom & sis who came to my aid. You guys are champions!

The first batch of 120 cupcakes were delivered to the lovely bride in Singapore, as part of the bridal gifts (along side some other auspicious items) from the groom. The 20 boxes of cupcakes survived the journey, although I freaked out a little when I found out that the boxes were growing warm, tucked away for 4 hours in the car boot. But thank goodness for the fantastic buttercream recipe; none of the cuppies suffered the effects of gobal warming. Phew!

The fondant flowers were made 3 days in advance while the baking was accomplished the next day (2 types of cake, the basic chocolate and vanilla). Finally all decorating works were done the following day; there were a total of 6 designs. Everything was kept simple as I didn't want to be too ambitious the 1st time around.

from the back: chocolate cake with cocoa buttercream, chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and the rest are vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.

these are all vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream

Wanna take a closer look? Here we go :)

lovely metallic dragees

nothing says it like to 2 hearts united on a cupcake!

swirly swirly

I kinda like the orange one in the background, it reminds me of sea corals. No Nemo though :)

6 in a box

And they were packed in these (brace yourself Wee, lol!)

Mom flat out disapproved of white boxes (she didn't think it was auspicious) & i couldn't find silver ones that could fit 6 regular sized cuppies. I drove from Puchong to Section 14 to Kota Damansara to Kepong, alas, the search was futile. These are SCREAMING auspicious, don't you think?

the rest of the bridal gifts

spot the not! :)

Well, that's the first 120. I'll write about the rest of the 200 in another entry. Till then, take care!

And oh yes, I'll post the recipes too ;)

The Picture of the Black Bean Soup

2008-10-19T20:08:00.006+08:00

Hello! I'll make this short and sweet. I have forgotten to attach a picture of the black bean soup for my previous entry, so here it is. Boiled a pot of soup and I had it all to myself, what with TW being away.

But it was great, after having bowlful after bowful of soup, I feel that I am fully recharged for another hectic week at work. Though admittedly, I'll only be in the office for 2 days then I'm on leave! Words cannot describe how I feel....seriously...after doing the exhausting split shift for almost 2 weeks, I can't wait to go for this break.

A break from office work, yes. But work in general, no. I'll be making cupcakes for my brother's wedding; bridal gifts in fact. Not many, about a dozen boxes but it will be my first mass cupcake making project, complete with frosting and all. Excited!...yet I have my concerns. Hmm....

Anyway, I shall tell and show you more when I get back. That's a promise!

Look Ma, cupcakes!

2008-10-15T21:28:00.019+08:00

I signed up for a cupcake decorating class with Cake Connection and boy, was it fun! Nancy, the lovely instructor demonstrated the making of the cupcakes and frosting and then she showed us the correct way to handle the decorating tools. Then the real fun began when she taught us how to ice the cakes and pipe some basic designs like the star, rosette, rose, balloon & leaves. We were then given 6 cupcakes each, bowlfuls of pastel coloured frosting & a few decorating tools to start designing on our own.

It was rather interesting to see everyone's faces as they went about their task, some were smiling and some with wrinkled foreheads. Mine was a combination of both, I was rather wrinkly at first but soon got the hang of it and I was grinning from ear to ear.

At the end of the 2 hour session, this is what I've done.

took this shot right after the class ended..tsk tsk....

In detail, this is what I've learned in terms of piping techniques. Clockwise from top left;

Peachy pink sundae swirl cupcake with silver dragees - using an open star decorating tip 1M. I would love to explain it to you but these guys do it better, Wilton ;)
Lemony yellow cupcake with rosette - using an open star decorating tip 22. Those red flecks are edible glitter.
Pretty purple cupcake with flower and leaves - this one's simple. I just plopped a ready made sugarpaste flower in the centre and piped some leaves around it, using tip 67. And some purple glitter to fill up the space around it....
Yellow cupcakes with a trio of balloons - balloons were created using tip 12, while the string and ribbon using tip 2. And oh...some yellow glitter all around it. Sheesh...I am really loving those sparkly things.
Pink cupcake with purple flowers - using the same 1M tip for the sundae swirl, different technique. And i just HAD get my hands on the sprinkles. This time I used pink sugar crystals.
Baby blue cupcake with stars to form the letter 'L' (don't know why I chose that aphabet though....I must have been feeling the LOVE there...) - using the same tip 22 for the rosette, different technique. And of course, some pink, blue and purple glitter. Gawd, someone call the glitter police!!!

Here's a close up on one of the cuppies;

check out my stars, they remind me of xiao long bao :)

Black Bean Soup

2008-10-12T12:46:00.016+08:00

I love soup! A bowl of steaming soup makes me feel at home, well taken care of. This is because when I was a kid, grandma would feed my siblings and I a simple meal of white rice with soup. I remember how she would prepare a huge bowl of rice and mix it with soup of the day (most often on the menu was lotus root or peanut), added a dash of soy sauce and lots and lots of crispy shallots. If it was lotus root, she would dice them into small cubes and shred the pork as well. We would run around the living room and she would patiently feed us spoonful by spoonful, until every single grain of rice was finished. Love you grandma!

Here's one of my all time favourite soup. A simple nourishing concoction yet very easy to put together. Here's what I used.

Well we all know that chinese herbs are good for us but how so? Here's how;

Red dates -Nourishes blood, calms the mind, fights insomnia and restlessness, delays aging; it also prolongs, enhances and harmonizes the effect of other ingredients
Yoke Chok - nourishes stomach and lungs, fights impotence
Dong Sum -benefits spleen and lungs, boost immunity, nourishes blood, lowers blood pressure, restores appetite, promotes digestion
Kei Chi - benefits eyes, liver & kidney, lowers blood pressure, sugar & cholesterol level

My, I feel enlightened! :)

Now here's what you need;

Chinese herbs, as shown above. A little bit of each will do. Rinse before you dump them into the pot.
A few pieces of pork (ribs, lean meat or bones)
1 cup of black beans (more if you love beans), pan fried without oil.
2 litres of water
Salt to taste (or not, up to you)

fresh pork & pan fried black beans

And here's what you should do;

Boil water in a large pot, let it come to a boil then add pork, pan fried black beans and herbs. Simmer for a few hours, till beans are tender. That's it baby!

boil away!

Simple no? Believe it or not, it could be even simpler. Use a pressure cooker to save time. The result is just as good.

And.....I forgot to take pictures of the end result! I think I'll need to add some other herb that aids memory in the future ;)

A Bon Voyage Cake

2008-10-08T21:07:00.038+08:00

"All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go"........this song is true to TW only about an hour before she boards the Kimono Express. Tsk tsk, that woman. She's not the only one from the office who's leaving for a holiday. PP is going to some exotic destination too! Cow!

Anyway I thought it would be nice to fatten them up before they left. This is especially crucial for TW, because she doesn't fancy the oriental cuisine there. Gotta store some fat to burn over there eh woman :) This calls for cheesecake!

I bookmarked a wonderful no bake cheesecake recipe from bakingbites quite some time ago and it has been out of sight until yesterday. The great thing about this recipe is, it only requires 8 ingredients. Fantastic!

Here's what you'll need;

the cast of characters

32 pcs of Keebler's Choc Mint Cookies (there are 36 cookies in a pack, just eat the extra 4! Btw, I found the cookies in Cold Storage, Summit)
2 tbsp (about 30g) softened butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
2 packs of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup of castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup whipping cream
2 1/2 tsp of gelatine
2 tbsp hot water

You can check out how Nicole of bakingbites makes it here. This is how I went about it;

Brush some butter on the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. (I suppose you could just use a normal baking tin & layer it with foil.)
Prepare cookie base. Use a blender to crush cookies in 2 batches. If you are using a food processor, whiz them all at once. (Or you can just put them in a durable zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Work those arms baby!)
Mix softened butter and crushed cookies with a fork.

delicious pile of minty chocolate soil

Pour mixture into the spring form pan and press firmly. (I used the back of a glass but it didn't work very well so I just got down and dirrrty....with my fingers of course.) Leave it in the fridge till you're done with the filling.
Cut up creamcheese into cubes and put them in a mixing bowl. Add in sugar and vanilla essence, beat on low till creamy. Scrape sides of the mixing bowl to ensure everything's well combined.

i used a hand mixer

In a small heat proof bowl, whisk together hot water & gelatine. If you still find lumps, put the bowl over a pot of boiling water and keep whisking till it's dissolved. Poor man's double boiler! (If you have a microwave, nuke it in 30-45 seconds intervals. But make sure that your bowl is microwave-safe.) Leave to cool for a bit.
Switch on hand mixer and pour gelatine into the creamcheese mixture, followed by whipping cream. Beat on low till mixture is light and smooth.
Remove cookie base from the fridge and pour in creamcheese filling.

plop it in baby!

Rap gently on the counter to distribute filling evenly around the pan. This will help to eliminate large air bubbles too. Mine had quite a few.
You're almost there! Leave cheesecake to set in the fridge overnight.

take care TW & PP!

( I tried to arrange choc chips to form the words at first but there wasn't enough space so I switched to chocolate syrup. I snipped off a tiny portion at the corner of a zip lock bag to pipe the words)

the cheesecake was rather soft, you might want to leave it in the freezer for a bit before cutting

I simply love the taste. The mint crust compliments the light and creamy filling perfectly. You should try it soon!

And Then There Was Fudge

2008-09-29T08:51:00.007+08:00

Did anyone mention fudge brownies? Wait a minute, it was me! I made them the night before the egg tarts. Yea, I was on a rampage :) The brownies turned out really well, I couldn't be happier. It has a slight crust with a fudgy center, pure sinful bliss!

Here's the recipe by Matt Jones, (from BBC Olive Magazine June 2006);

400g dark chocolate

325g butter, unsalted

6 whole eggs + 2 yolks

300g sugar

50g cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

80g all purpose flour

1. Before you do anything else, heat the oven to 180C.

2. Grease a 8x8 baking tin with butter.

3. Melt dark chocolate and butter in bowl over hot water. Leave to cool for a bit.

4. Whisk (by hand) eggs and sugar till pale, then fold in the melted chocolate.

5. Sieve cocoa powder & all purpose flour or just stir vigorously with a balloon whisk.

6. Fold into the chocolate mixture until evenly mixed.

7. Pour into the baking tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out almost clean.

8. Warm brownies are easier cut with a plastic knife. Be brave and indulge. Fuss over the calories later!

i think i got about 20 delectable bites

upon closer inspection

Egg Tarts (Version 1.0)

2008-09-28T22:37:00.021+08:00

Hello! It's been a while since my last entry. Work in the past week has been crazy. I've done the morning shift, the afternoon shift and also the SPLIT shift. Yes, this is where I spend the 1st 4 hours of the morning shift (0630-1030), go home (to supposedly get some rest) and then get back in the office again for the final 4 hours of the afternoon shift (1600-2000). It's awful yes, but I am thankful it's just for a fortnight.

Anyways, I went back to my hometown on Friday night and recuperated by making some fudge brownies and egg tarts. The brownies were fudge-tastic but the egg tarts, unfortunately were not so. But it's alright, this is where I learn and improve the next time.

You can get the recipe from these 2 fabulous sources, Nicole of bakingbites or Kuali. Mine was from Nicole's. I need to assure you that the recipe is perfectly fine but I think my method of execution wasn't.

Ok, let's do a post mortem on my tarts. Haha...sounds wrong.

Blunder no.1: Something's not right with the butter. Now I'm not putting the blame on the cow but the butter did taste rather different. Sure it wasn't expired but it wasn't fresh either. I suppose it's been sitting in the sundry shop's cooler display cabinet for some time before dad picked it up. Oh and I am pretty sure the butter's been keeping some sausages and vegetables company for a while too. Lesson learnt. Get good quality butter from a store that separates their dairies, meats and greens in proper sections.

Blunder no.2: Tart crust was too thick. I admit I wasn't patient enough when moulding the dough into the muffin pan. (Hey gimme a break, I woke up at 7am to make these babies and it was my first attempt at pastry dough). Lesson learnt. Have enough sleep OR use a rolling pin to flatten the dough and cut out using an upside down cup before fitting it in the muffin pan.

crusty craters....cringe!

Blunder no.3: Foam ain't pretty. You'd want a golden, glossy finish. Lesson learnt. Skim off the white frothy stuff from the egg yolk mixture.

mass bubbles of un-prettiness

However all is not lost. Lady luck was kind to me, there was ONE tart that turned out quite alright. And here it is, tadaa!

better results next time......watch out for version 1.1!