Cupcake Class

The first quarter of 2o12 came and gone before I know it! February was a busy month with a major event at work. March was all about feasting and celebrating my birthday though I don't really wish to "celebrate" yet another year added to my age! Pictures for that saved for another post.


End of March I attended a Buttercream Bootcamp conducted by A from Sugar Pie Gourmet Cakes and Classes. A is awesome with teaching us how to frost the cupcakes (baked by her) using just 2 frosting tips and how to create 2 tones buttercream. It was a lot of fun learning the different techniques and buttercream we can make. I shall let the pictures do the talking. :)

Celebrated the boss' birthday at Parco Caffe at 10 Raeburn Park, near the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. A beautiful place with affordable food prices. A rare find!

Parco Seafood Laksa (Spaghetti in Laksa Sauce) at $13++ and Pizza Frutti di Mare (Tomato, mozzarella, mix seafood and oregano) at $12++

That's all for now! Have a great week ahead. A few more sleeps to UK! :)

You know that you need a break...

when your body breaks down...it has been a super tiring past few weeks so far. Sleeping at 4-5am and waking up at 8ish with 3-4 hours of sleep a couple of times and working 7 days a week is not doing it for me...I am most of time physically tired but mentally active trying to remember the outstanding things to do. Sleeping late and not having sufficient rest has given me a sore throat, cough, running nose and backache. Most of all, I have lost my sense of taste. :( I love to eat and losing my sense of taste...Hmm... :( Haa I think I am getting old...I used to be able to do a million things and still be fine. Trying to turn in earlier today so that I can get back to work tomorrow so shall keep this post as short as possible. Let the pictures do the talking. :)

Some 2 weeks ago, Thea messaged me and asked if I can do the same cupcakes I made for Lena for her colleague's birthday. I was super excited and smiling from ear to ear!! I have cake orders this month and in Jan next year but this was THE first order. Seriously, I have never sold cakes in my life, I have always baked for family and friends...though it has always been my dream to one day sell my bakes. I had to manage her expectations and kept telling her this is the first order and I really hope it taste ok. Decorations aside, I was really concerned about how the cupcakes taste and the texture and everything. I have done this recipe many times but putting buttercream on it was the first.

I waited all day for Thea to message me on how it turned out and I am happy to hear that everyone likes the cuppies. Comments were "nice and spongy" and "nice and yummy" and I am glad that the first order was successful. :) Thanks Thea for being my first customer and making this little faraway dream of mine comes true.

If you would like to order these, leave a message and I will get back to you. :)

On the way out on Saturday evening, we saw these on the bright blue sky...kites! There is a huge kite flying community here...look at the number of kites!

Anyway we decided to hit town on Saturday since it has been months from when we last went. Orchard Road if you haven't been there in recent months has changed so much, so much more colourful with new buildings, new shops and new facade everywhere. The latest addition is Knightsbridge.

Went to the wholesaler recently and stocked up on my Pocky supply!! :)

Have a good week...I hope I get well enough tomorrow to go to work.

You know you are addicted to baking when...

Yesterday I attended the weddings of 2 uni friends who coincidentally got married on the same day and in the same hotel, one was a lunch or the other a dinner. I baked a wedding cake for W (xx) and M (nini). The line on the cake came from their wedding invite. :) A and I remembered the time when we went on a holiday together with xx before he got together with nini and he was looking around for sea shells at the beach to make a gift for nini. That was 8 years ago. xx has always been and will always remain as a wonderful friend of ours. Being the only one with a car during our uni days, xx has brought us to many places, shared many fun (and scary) moments together. xx and nini will be leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow, xx has found a job there and will be relocated there for a few years. Congrats xx and nini and see you soon in HK. :)

Continuation from my title... You know you are addicted to baking when you feel moody without baking for a week! Last weekend I felt the urge to bake something and I adapted the basic butter cupcakes and added chocolate chips to it and got chocolate chip cupcakes for brekkie. :)

And I have gone on a cook book spreeee...bought magazines and books. :)

Before I go, here's my new mug! A Canon lens mug. :)

Have a great week ahead!

The 100th Post

As I was about to click on start a new post, I noticed that the last post was no. 99 which means this is my 100th post, not many by blogging standards. I recalled the time when I first started this blog with my first post about 2.5 years ago. How time flies! I hope my baking has improved over time from basic butter and chiffon cakes to chocolate and fondant cakes today. Nowhere near retail standards but I do hope one day I can sell my baking and bring smiles, joy and little surprises to people who receive or eat them. :)

Anyway last Thu I baked a small batch of butter cupcakes for my colleague's birthday. If time permits, I prefer handmade gifts for birthdays, be it cards, cakes, etc. I love receiving handmade gifts too. I am glad Lena likes them and was very touched when she saw them. That priceless look makes all the work worth it. :)

Here's my 4th lesson's creation. The cake wasn't very well covered because the aircon was turned on at home when I was covering it. New thing learned! Never cover your cakes in an aircon environment. =|

This coming week will the last and final lesson at BIY as well as the test day! We are required to do a 3-tier cake before we will be awarded our PME diploma module 1 - sugar paste technique. I am looking forward to it, seeing everyone's creation especially Salimah's! :)

Thanks for dropping by! Have a good week!

Softball Cupcakes

4 February 2008

Cranberries Cupcakes

20 December 2007

Banana Cupcake w Raisins & Walnuts

4 November 2007

Chocolate Mud Cupcakes

25 October 2007




Ingredients:
300 g plain chocolate chips
300 g unsalted butter
5 eggs
115 g caster sugar
115 g self-raising flour
2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degC. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring well. Leave to cool a little.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick. Fold the flour into the egg mixture and then stir in the melted chocolate and butter until well blended.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes will be soft and gooey in texture and appeareance. Remove tin from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and serve swiftly, dusted with cocoa powder.

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes 1 dozen.