Happy Birthday to Chi!

Happy Birthday!  Happy Happy Birthday to you!

3> 100% Homemade from PinkCat's Bakery! <3

Lessons learned from this cake baking experience:  

A.  TRY to sketch out a plan for what the cake will look like.  Don't try to come up with the design last minute as you are assembling the cake together, because the mind will just go blank.  (Like mine did! And I tried to think and think and think....)

B.  If you want to do some handmade chocolate design, then it's best to do it ahead of time.  You need time for the chocolate to harden up again.  

C.  Don't know if anyone tasted the difference, but I whipped my frosting with sweetened condensed milk instead of powdered sugar.  I think it's actually better, because sugar is kind if flat tasting.  I'll try that again next time.

D.  To make fruits shiny, just brush them with a simple fruit glaze.  That is a ratio of one part raspberry or strawberry jam to one part water (or half water and half liqueur).  See recipe here.  These are just minor details, but it does make a cake more attractive, even if you make it hours ahead.  The fruits are not going to look dried up from being in the fridge.

My only disappointment with this cake was that it was not very orangey.  I think I got a bad orange!  I used the zest of one orange just like the last time I made it, but it wasn't as fragrant...  

Sponge cakes can sometimes be plain, which is why I thought of making a different kind of cake for this birthday.  I happened to do a test run of this other cake (Cake X) when my nephews and nieces came over.   They liked it, but I didn't so much.  Maybe I'll give Cake X another chance, since I still have left over creams and fruits in my fridge right now.

I'll tell you more about it in the upcoming post!

Happy Happy Cake!

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday!  Someone got a Hana-made cake recently!

However, too bad this time, my whipped cream melted after being refrigerated for a few hours.  I still don't understand why.  That's why the frosting is bad looking. :(    Oh well, it looks like a pillowy cloud of cakey goodness!

Cake: scented with the zest of an orange.

Filling: strawberries, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate.

What I did differently this time:  This is a 3-layer cake!  The cake to filling ratio is much better; and hence, yummier!  Really!  :D  Also, the chocolate icing is mixed with coconut milk instead of regular milk or cream.  I tasted the icing, and just wanted to drizzle that all over an ice cream sundae.  

Maybe my next cake will be a coconut cake with chocolate coconut icing.  Mmm... I'm gonna dream of that tonight.

My Very Fiiiirrrsst Cake!

This was my first cake that I ever baked! Done last June '08. It is kind of a badly decorated because this was done without any decorating tools. But I put a lot of hours in to researching how to make the cake and lots more hours into making one. However, I remember it tasting very good because of the sweet strawberries during the summer.

I can make a cake faster and easier now than before when just starting out. What I'd like to do is expand my cake baking away from just strawberry sponge cakes, even though they're my most favorite kind. That is my cake plan for 2009!

I'm thinking... coffee flavored cake, caramel cake, mocha cake, pandan cake, opera cake, blueberry cake, checkerboard cake, etc. ^-^

Hurrying = Bad Cake Decorating

This was a birthday cake for my sister back in November. I was busy the whole day and didn't have much time to decorate the cake- no writing name, no candles, no pretty decorations... The peaches were also laid out half-thought through.

Overall, everyone loved it because the inside had a thick layer of durian. I used twice the amount of durian I'd normally use. Yum yum. Well, almost everyone. One of my nephews ran up afterward to put in a request for the next cake: NO durian. ^_^

My only disappointment was that the kiwis I bought did not ripe in time. They were still sour. I wish I had some sweet strawberries like in the summer. Le sigh...

Happy Birthday equals...

...Happy Cake Day! (According to my niece's thinking.)

I'm gonna sound old, but kids grow up so fast, don't they? I remember when she was just a newborn, and now she's starting school next year!

My niece told me the cake was so so yummy, and asked me to make her a happy birthday cake again tomorrow night. ^_^

I like making kids happy with cakes since I only got one cake ever for my birthday growing up. Cake cake cake! I'm the sweet cake auntie for the kids now.

One birthday, One cake- a strawberry sponge cake

Yes... another birthday cake. In fact, I'll be making yet another one next weekend too. ^_^

This cake came out so much better than the previous ones I've made! I think it's because I altered the ingredients slightly.

The recipe is still the same, except I used 110g of cake flour instead of 150g. The cake was softer. This time, I also whipped the eggs (both whites and yolks) longer, to incorporate more air into it. Whipping it on medium speed, rather than being extremely fast, will stabilize the air bubbles more... creating a more airy cake.

If you think making a whole cake one day is too labor intensive, then you can bake the sponge cake part the night before and wrap it in plastic wrap. All you gotta do the next day is whip up some whipped cream and decorate the cake. Happy cake eating!

Happy Birthday to Me!

There is nothing wrong with baking my own cake, and eating it too, darling!*

Filling: Fresh Champagne mangoes, and whipped cream.

Outside: Berries all around!

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Sadly, I didn't have any small candles to put on the cake. (But maybe the cake is better without melted wax on it.) I also didn't have time to make icing to write my name on it. :(

Durian Cake!!!!

Looks like a good strawberry cake, right?? But this is a durian cake!

Two layers of light sponge cake, sandwiching together a layer of durian mousse.

I filled it with durian, but you can use any seasonal fruits you like. Sweet strawberries would be awesome, or mangoes and kiwis too! Frost the cake with fresh whipped cream!


Chiffon Cake Base:
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A) 4 egg yolks, 1/4 tsp salt, 50g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 150g cake flour, 3/4 tsp baking powder,

75ml (0.3 Cup) corn oil, 110ml (0.4 Cup) water

B) 4 egg whites, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, 50g sugar (equaling 100g sugar total, about 1/2 cup)

Method:

1. Sieve cake flour, baking powder together.
2. Mix egg yolks, salt, 40g sugar, vanilla extract well with a hand mixer. Mix well until pale in color, and egg yolks leave a ribbon.
3. Add into egg mixture corn oil and water.
4. Clean the beaters of the hand mixer. Whip egg whites in a clean mixing bowl until big bubbles are formed. Add in the cream of tartar and whip until white in color. Add in sugar over 3 times and whip until egg whites are stiff.
5. Stir the sieved flour into yolk mixture. Then pour 1/2 whipped egg white into yolk mixture and blend well.
6. Pour yolk mixture into the remaining egg white mixture and blend well. But be careful, not to deflate the batter.
7. Pour batter into a baking pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with oil. Bake at (375F) for 45 minutes or until cooked.
8. Invert cake on a cooling rack and leave to cool. Then cut cooled cake into 2 or 3 layers.

Note: One cake pan- you bake 45 mins. However, if you divide the batter in 2 pans, then bake for around 22-23 mins. Careful not to dry out the cake.

Also, if you leave the inverted cake to cool on rack, then the domed top will level out. You will have an even flat top for decorating.

Chocolate Cake!

Lesson learned: not to explore career as a CAKE DECORATOR.

I don't have any decorating tools, so I used the back of a knife to spread on the butter cream and wax paper to make a cone to pipe the chocolate bead border.

The Smarties candy on the cake- 2 on the top line, 4 on the bottom line = 24 yrs old!
It is a two-layer chocolate cake, made of semi sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and tiny bits of chopped milk chocolate mixed in.

The chocolate frosting is also of semi-sweet chocolate, preferably a good one like Callebaut. Adding about a tablespoon of instant coffee powder really adds depth to the frosting and contrasts with the chocolatey cake.