Chocolate Moist Cake - Turning One Year Old

I've got an order from my best friend. It's for a little princess who's turning one year old today. That request, required skipping gym (hence I was not at Axis for BC last night). Hehe...

This is a very special order since it's my first number cake, and her first birthday cake.

Here's how:

The baked chocolate moist cake. This is by far my most perfect one as the cake has risen evenly. So I don't have to chop off the top to level out the cake - you do need it to be leveled.

Cut out the parts on a tracing paper first, this way you can plan where to cut and place it on the cake board to make sure all the parts fits nicely. Once cut (the cake I mean) there's no turning back!

You need 3 parts - a long bar and 2 shorter bars of equal length. Or whatever size so long as it looks like the number "1" when you assemble them.

First would be placing the longer bar of cake vertically on the cake board.

Then the base...

Cut a corner of the remaining bar. Make sure you cut the corner of the correct side. But... whoopss... of course I'd cut it wrong, that's how I'm able to warn you right? Haha...

Anyways, no worries if you do... just turn the cake around, I've the base of the cake facing up.



Glaze the cake and make sure the parts don't fall apart! Remedy any uneven surface. I think this cake will look really nice in coloured butter icing!

I think baby's cake should be colourful. So I piped some pink butter icing to trace the cake.

Daddy's request of course, how would baby manage to eat these? - chocolate coated strawberries.

Of course you can cover the whole cake with strawberries, but it's best not to overdo it. I've got other plans for the rest of the parts, so I've only covered the base of the cake with strawberries.

Happy birthday tag with some plastic balloons (supported by some butter icing because the chocolate cake is really soft). Doesn't this look more like a baby's cake now?

Since the cake is long but slim, there were loads of space on the cake board. So I'd arranged the cake offset from centre, so I can write the birthday greetings on the board, using butter icing. This way my cake won't be too crowded too. Like my writings? Heee...

I thought the board looked a bit bare, so added Garfield. It's a baby's cake after all right? What harm does it do with featuring some toys?

A different type of cake box, the normal ones will normally fit up to cake board of 12 or 13 inches only. Anyways, this cake box looks much nicer right?

And I found a really cool birthday card which I can't stop myself from buying. It's so customized. Sounds relaly like one from The Baker!



Happy birthday honey, may you be blessed with health, happiness and love forever!

Cupcakes for a Wedding lunch invitation

Was really thrilled to be invited to Santhi and Bernsy's wedding lunch. Thought of bringing a gift and hoping than a "DIY" present would be some how more special.

Asked the bride what was the theme and the reply was just wear anything I like... hmmm... finally I was told "pink canopy, red table cloths, red chairs; and bride wearing purple". Hence the purple flowers.

It's when two hearts join...

Congratulations SC and Bernsy, may you live happiliy ever after...

Oh... glam moment of the cupcakes...

Sticky Chocolate Blueberry Cheese Cupcake

This was an order from brother in law's boss for Christmas. 2 dozens of these with another 2 dozens of the vanilla cupcakes.

Sticky chocolate base

Top with cream cheese

Filled with blueberries

Baked cupcake

Adapted this recipe from a cake recipe and the outcome is actually good.

A Special Garden

I hope my "landscaping" skill is acceptable... Made some walnut chocolate chips cupcakes, covered with colourful butter icing. Transform them into a garden by adding piped icing flowers, added leaves (I love this nozzle) and my new found favorite - the "stones". Oh, managed to get the butterflies to give some "life" to the garden. Happy Birthday Farid!

See the "stones"? The ones in red, grey, green... They are actually chocolate. I think Diha was quite intrigued by them last night thinking they really look like real stones.

Mini Cupcakes for Baby Shower

Was planning for a lazy weekend with loads of Facebooking... while I was on that, my best gal friend called, late Saturday evening, about dinner time, to ask if I would like to take a cupcake order. Well, I said, yes but I only bake during weekend and please tell me latest Friday so I can get whatever ingredients and packaging material I need for the order. She then told me she needed 2oo pieces and it's for Monday. Wow, the quantity was great, very glad that I could get some pocket money for the month, but 200 pieces? Didn't sound like realistic - only after which she said it's the minis she wanted.

Well, that sounded more possible. 200 pieces Large cupcakes order on late Saturday evening, not possible. Because the cupcakes can only be baked in the middle rack of the oven, and I cannot bake a few racks in one go, this is TeaRoom Home, and not TeaRoom Commercial, yet. So, to bake large cupcakes, each batch takes only 12 numbers, 25 minutes baking time. 200 pieces requires 333.33 minutes of baking time. So, not enough time. But the mini ones are ok, since each batch bakes 3 dozens.

By the time I finished with the baking, it was 1.30am. Cupcakes left to cool overnight for the icing the next day.

Individually hand decorated cupcakes in making.

The theme was baby blue and pink for the party (just found out that it's more like for full moon) hence the requested icing colours. Decoration request was jelly beans (which I don't really like but MasterChef gladly "food tasted" a few) and marshmallows. I went out to this kiosk at Jaya Jusco Cheras Selatan to get the decorations - great shop with all kinds of candies, very suitable for cake deco. Got multi-coloured jelly beans, and two types of marshmallows.

Heart shape marshmallow

Flower shape marshmallow

Marshmallow decorated cupcakes

Jelly beans decorated cupcakes

My kitchen full of cupcakes - a very cheery sight

Packing of cupcakes

Done! Packed and labelled