Thursday, October 27, 2011

Wedding Cake Pops

The bride who order the Cupcake Bouquet wanted a unique cake for her wedding....instead of the normal tiered type and cake pop as wedding favors to her 250 wedding guests.

Hehehe...I don't know if I am actually living on this earth or outer space coz AGAIN...I have not heard of cake pop!!!! (My earlier post...I don't know cupcake bouquet exists). Ya...ya....I googled for it again.  Then I called the bride's partner in crime...Winnie.  Did I mention the bride has one?  Yes...both of them can come up with the most creative and challenging requests.

Since I have 2 days before my next order i googled for recipes and chose one which gave me the feel of 'i-think-this-is-it' and went out to get ingredients to make them.  I was deceived.  It looked so simple on texts!  The chocolate crack when the cake pop is too cold (out from the fridge).  If I leave the cake pop out longer so that it won't crack....then the lollipop stick will become detached when I twirl the pop into the melted chocolate!  Urghhh!  I managed to make a few dozens and passed them to Winnie though.

She literally melted when she tasted them and insisted they have the pops for the wedding.

I was like thinking to myself: if I don't take up this order I am not Lim Lee Sin.  I should not be scared of those little cake balls.  If it cracks so what?  Just make more.  If the pop drops out from the stick...just push it back.

So began the journey....


The Bride & Groom Cake Pop
Packing the cake pop carefully - making sure the lollipop
sticks stays intact

The Bride pops all ready in the plastic bags

The Groom pops

Tagged and tied

In boxes ready to be delivered

On the dining table


Cupcake Bouquet

As a rule I do not take cupcake orders.  Never like to eat one too.  Maybe I grew up eating too many of them.  But when this bride proposed hers I took the bait.  She wants cupcakes in the form of a bouquet!  Not too many...maybe 12 cupcakes...and bundled them up like a hand bouquet.  The bride even drew a design and sent it to me.

Actually I have never seen a cupcake bouquet..... so I googled for it.  Hmmm so many out there....but nearly all the same design....butter cream rosettes.  I like challenges and I also like mine different...as always!  So I proposed life-like flowers with fillers instead - like a real bouquet since it's going to be the center piece for the table with her wedding cake.  Oh yes...for wedding cake the bride chose something like my Solitaire Ring Cake but she wants it to be in Tiffany color since the theme color for the dinner is aqua and red.  Now we are not talking about a normal bride who keeps to the classic conservative line.  I like it!  Or should I say I LOVE HER!!

Since red is the theme color I decided on anemone - the bright red type.  Then I made lots of red Hypericum berries as fillers together with rose leaves.  I like rose leaves...with a hint of reddish-brownish edges.

I also bought turquoise color sheer to wrap the cupcakes instead of the florist plastic sheets.

Anyway it was raining cats and dogs during the week of the wedding...and I was praying hard that my petals stays up!  Thank God...it survived the humidity.


I made 16 cupcakes - covered with sugar anemones

Side view of the anemone on the cupcakes

How I stick the cupcakes to the styrofoam


I was too tired (staying up for 3 nights straight - sleeping around 8am for 3 - 4 hours only) I forgot I wanted to cover the styrofoam before putting up the cupcakes!!!  Yikes!!!!   I only remembered when I put up the bouquet on the table in Rasa Sayang Resort *sigh*  Luckily there are so many bunches of berries and leaves to cover the white foam.

Completed - Cupcake Bouquet

One cupcake is suppose to be seen as a CUPCAKE
...after all its a CUPCAKE BOUQUET

Closer view of the cupcakes

Close up of the Anemone

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Noodle Cake/Lam Mee/Birthday Noodle Cake

After 3 nights of cake marathon I have to come out with a birthday cake for my son's mother-in-law....who has become a dear friend.  I know many people has made all kinds of noodle cakes but I want mine to be special....a local delicacy for birthday.  In fact it is a must-have for a traditional birthday - to signify long life.  Nyonya Lam Mee or Birthday Mee....or Noodle Cake.


Complete sugar creation of a Birthday Noodle Cake

The idea seems simple enough but the actual making is tedious.  If eyeballs can be taken out to wash I would have done that many times throughout the night till morning.  Yeap...not a blink of sleep from midnight to 7.30am.

I baked the cake in the evening and quickly put in under the fan for 2 hrs then pop it into the fridge to hasten cooling process before I can cover it with fondant.  Had wanted to start early but received an email to change concept for another cake on drawing board!  Eeeeeks!!!

So quickly cover the cake so that at least I can have a drier and harder surface to paint on before I hit on my pc again.  By midnight the painting and molding starts.

The bowl was handpainted without so much as a visual in front of me and my super fine brush, Wilton Royal blue gel color and Volka. Since my China made bowl is not that accurate in their painting....I did mine quite randomly too.  Hmm...I like the effect.  Very original....very arty.  Hehehe.

Handpainted bowl

Realized that I need the spoon dried before I can paint and add in my 'sambal belacan' I quickly molded one before I start on my other 'ingredients'.  Time management is so important when time is so crucial.  Anyway in all haste I crack the spoon slightly when I painted on it.  Normally I would have made a new one...but no time to be so anal this time round coz birthday party is a few hours away.

Handpainted spoon

Below are all the other 'ingredients' to make that bowl of mee!!!

Handmade bean sprout - dusted with petal dust

Drying out the sugar 'chives'

Handmolded  'cooked' prawns - painted with a
mixture of yellow, orange and white dyes

Sugar 'Fried Onions' - painted and drying out

Ahh...the must-have 'sambal belacan' (pounded chillies
with prawn paste) in the sugar spoon

Instead or normal pork - birthday girl loves roasted pork
- so made shredded sugar roasted pork

Shredded sugar 'omelette'

Sugar spring onions




By the time I made all the 'ingredients' the sun was up already.  My eye lids seem to have lost their fight against gravity...I NEED sleep and yet there are still so much to do.  Quickly took a shower and before my head touched the pillow I was asleep.  Slept for less than 3 hours....but it did a world of good ~ enough to see me through until after the party.  Anyway I was all excited to see my Noodle Cake coming into shape....so I guess that 3 hours is enough literally.


Adding in the 'noodles' after I have painted the
inside of my sugar bowl




Assembled! My completed Birthday Noodle Cake!!!

Close up of the sugar molded bean sprout, chives, fried onions

Sugar sliced chillies

Close up of shredded omelette

Sliced 'chicken' and 'prawns'

Sliced 'roasted pork'

Close up of the sugar prawns

Close up of the 'sambal belacan' in the 'spoon'




Want to see how happy the birthday girl is?
Happy birthday girl.

Cut Noodle Cake - sugee cake inside


The chefs in the hotel were so impressed with the cake. One even gave me his card so that I can email him  the links to see all my cakes.  Again...I am happy.  Effort appreciated.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Sugar Cymbidium

It has been raining for the past few days but yesterday was dry so quickly took the opportunity to make my sugar paste cymbidum for the coming wedding.

Today the petals are dry as bone...might as well dust them up and assemble. 

Also made a sugarpaste box which looks like a cake for a hantaran in KL.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it in all haste!

Depending on the weather again I might have to make peonies tomorrow.  Actually I am so tired of making the same flowers but when customers want that....I have to make.  Cannot convince the bride another type coz she said she fell in love with my sugar peonies.

Painted the throats

Dusted petals

Dusted buds

My cymbidiums - assembled and taped together

The completed stalk ready for the wedding cake.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Damask Wedding Cake

I just realized that I am suppose to have a blog about wedding cakes yet I have not posted up any wedding cakes.  Maybe I will post the latest first then move back.

This is my first Damask cake.  Funny....I just told Weenee 2 weeks ago that I have bought a few stencils from US but never use them before.  Then there is this Indian lady who called me up for an appointment to make a wedding cake for her son.  Yes...very rare these days to have children 'trusting' their parents to choose something for them especially one on  their big day.

We met a few days just before the family flies to India for the wedding and they will be back 5 days before the wedding in Penang.  I did submit a few original designs thro email to her....but in the end when she came back she decided a simple damask cake...a safer option.   What I understood from her daughter is that they have not seen any of my cakes on FB or anywhere.  I suppose its best to choose Damask then.

I have always wanted to try making sharp edges....and I guess I succeed with this cake. 

As for the stenciling it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  I did not do a test run eventho I know that dark brown on pastel green is not that forgiving if I have to remove them if anything goes wrong.  I just pray.  Pray hard.  Maybe God was biting his fingers when I picked up my spatula and spread my first icing over the stencil....without tape or string to hold the stencil in place!!!!  Guess ignorance is bliss...or am I more of a gambler?

Ya....maybe the first spread bleeds slightly under the cuts but it was acceptable.  After that it was smooth sailing.  Next time I will choose something finer so that the icing would not be scrapped out that easily.  One time....2 times....done.  For those with a bigger space area maybe the curve of the cake makes the icing easier to be picked up by the spatula again and again....thinning it out eventually.

*drums rolling* ....my first Damask Wedding Cake!!!!


Damask Wedding Cake for Razeen & Shifa

At the wedding reception

After adding the rose topper - the rose were too dark

The beautiful couple cutting their cake

Monday, September 19, 2011

Baskin Robbins Cake / Ice Cream Cake

Made this for my daughter-in-law.  She loves ice-cream and I thought a 'tub' of ice-cream cake would make a cute birthday cake for her.  I baked 3 types of cake actually!  Strawberry, chocolate and mint flavored...shaped into 3" balls and covered with flavored fondant as well.  The tub 'contained' more chocolate cake.  The sprinkled 'nuts', 'maraschino cherries', 'whipped cream', ' BR pink spoons', ice-cream 'tub' and 'cloth' are all made from icing....including 'chocolate sauce'.


Baskin Robbins Ice-cream Cake

The 3 flavored ice-cream with toppings

The edible fondant spoons

Hand=painted graphics on the tub

Another view of the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake