Banana Cupcake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

To be precise, this is a banana, dates, chocolate chips with walnut topping cupcake with Lindt dark chocolate butter ganache. The name is so long, so used short form for title.


The original cake was a tea-time loaf cake, my sis baked this a few months before and I thought it's a good banana cake recipe. So, instead of using my usual butter cake and making them into banana cake, I used this banana cake recipe.

The baked cupcakes

The icing is a dark chocolate butter ganache.

Cupcakes with icing

The decoration for the cupcake, I made some "banana disk", inspired by this blog. It's called the caramelized banana disk, which I might call them "fried" bananas.

The caramelized banana

The decorated cupcakes

Mixed Fruit White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Base

Made another birthday cake. So many birthdays coming up soon!

The celebration was at office. I suppose they do like the cake since two of them had second helping. I was asked "don't you want to open a shop?". Of course I do! But that means I will be resigning from my job ya.

The baked cheesecake - 1 and half hour of baking and overnight chilling.

I've bought about 2 spring form baking tins. Normally we use spring form baking tins so it's easier to turn the cake out. Okay, okay, you don't really "turn" out the cake if it's say cheesecake, just saying. But I've got bad experience with the quality of those spring form tins and have given up. I normally just use a normal baking tin, lined with aluminium foil before pressing in the crust and pouring in the mixture for baking. What I do is to lift the whole cake out by lifting the foil. Then peel the foil off. This case, I normally get a cake with wrinkly sides.

So need to "repair" that. Use a warm knife (by dipping it into hot water AND wipe dry)

Run the back of the warmed knife over the side of the cake, the cheese will be slightly melted when come in contact with the hot metal. The cake can be smoothed this way.

Not perfectly smooth, but at least better than before, right? Haha...

Then the decoration. If you are decorating with fruits, don't forget to glaze them, otherwise they will look dried up and discoloured after a while.

Final touch - cake lining, ribbon and birthday tag. And it's done. Omitted the cream for health reasons. Haha...

Cupcake Special

... to SSB aka Lynnx, the very original Cupcake Queen.

These were what I've been doing during the weekend (but cannot post them until now because it's supposed to be a surprise ya) - a box of extra big size birthday theme cupcakes.

TD, well done for keeping it as a surprise, according to SSB, she didn't expect it, so she's not "perasan" hehe... BUT, do you really think I'm not gonna make you any cupcake for your short trip back from Indon, where there's shortage of extreme-icing-cupcake supply?

So if anyone saw me at TC just now and wonder which class I was at, I was at none, was there for the party only. Had a glimpse of combat class, saw some of you enjoying yourselves so much in there. A very happy looking Carebear on stage whom I would definitely not have the heart to fight with lah, looking so sweet with her smiling face hehe... :p

Happy birthday SSB, may all your dreams come true!

Another special box of birthday special for SSB. Hope you like it!

Specially for the RPM fanatics! TD represents most of them (rated according to the number of cupcakes ate over total number of cupcakes in the box) hehe...

The birthday cupcakes at the crime scene.

"curly" colourful candles, which had almost burnt down by the time birthday gal arrived at crime scene.

And there you go SSB, extra icing in the form of flowers and leaves, with loads of chocolate stones.

Cake for Chinese New Year

I think these cakes are the closest version of the "giant muffins/ cupcakes" as mentioned by the Cupcake Queen Jr. - Butter cake with butter icing.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

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...