Sunday, August 21, 2011

More Orange Cakes

An old family friend asked if I could make the Orange Cake for him but he wants them in small 'trays' as Chinese New Year gifts to his suppliers instead of the normal hampers.  Oranges or Mandarins are the most common gift exchange during this time of the year as it signifies gold or 'kam' which means prosperity.  And what's better than cakes disguised as Mandarin Oranges?  No one will believe its cake insides especially if the 'skin' is made to look like one. So be it ~ 4 sets of Orange Cake in a Tray....with handmade sugar peony and sugar ang-pau (red packet) in a handmade sugar tray complete with sugar linen!  I was very pleased with the results.  My friend was more than happy when he came to collect it.  He wanted to pay me more too!!!

The next day he told me none of his suppliers believe  they were cakes and that everything is edible!!!  Each and everyone of them told him the Orange Cake is too beautiful to be eaten! Yay! Comments like this made my day.

orange cake

orange cake

orange cake

orange cake


These are the sugar ang-paus (red packets)

orange cake

Another customer requested for the 'orange cake' to be wrapped like a hamper.

orange cake

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Solitaire Ring Cake

A young lady called and asked if I can make her a birthday cake in the shape of a ring. I was wondering if its an engagement cake but she told me its for her sister who would love to have a solitaire diamond ring which she cannot afford to give but thought it would be funny to surprise her sister in the form of a Solitaire Ring Cake instead.

I love surprises. And was excited about the challenge of making a diamond balancing over a cake on a ring. I wanted to make sugar diamond with isomalt but I needed a mold which I have to make but there is no way I can coz first, I cannot get hold of the materials, second...too daunting.  So...I resorted to a glass diamond paper weight for my Solitaire Ring Cake instead.

I did not give customers sketches back then. They just trusted me.  This is like make it or break it when delivery comes.

The evening came for me to deliver the cake to Rasa Sayang Resort in Batu Ferringhi - Spice Market. When my customer came out to get the cake she was so happy that she was lost for words. She kept saying "I didn't expect it to be this elaborate" repeatedly. Then we arrange for a trolley to push the cake in ~ lighted. If my head could swell it would be as big as hot-air balloon at that moment in time when everyone in the restaurant turned around to look and there were flashes everywhere - taking pictures. The birthday girl stood up in awe. That was the climax!


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The complete set of the Solitaire Ring Cake - 22" x 10"


The cake is inside this 'ring-box' - Juliana is the birthday girl


The details on the ring



The 'cover' of the Ring-box


Just before we push the cake into the restaurant



Thursday, August 18, 2011

Apple Cake

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Decided something unique for my mum's birthday....apples!!! According to Chinese it has a good meaning to it. Only my apples are cakes wrapped in fondant. It was hard work shaping the apples and spraying them with edible color dye.

The tray and linen are sugar paste...including the carnations which fortunately are left-overs from my 'Lovely Lace' cake.

 Close up of the 'apples'.  Its sugee cake inside.


More Orange Basket Cake


This is round basket....ordered for CNY. The peonies are sugar. Again basket and linen are all edible.

Basket of Orange Cake

Close up of the oranges

The cut orange cake

My son's then girlfriend's mother was celebrating her 50th. Not knowing what to buy I decided to make something special. I searched on the net to see if there was anything similar....none...so I went ahead and made this 'basketful of mandarin oranges'.

Each orange is covered with orange favored and colored fondant...then sprayed for a more vibrant tone.

The basket and linen are edible as well.....but they are hardened before I put in the 'oranges'

The cherry blossoms are handmade with clay instead of sugar paste coz I remember her telling me once that if ever I made her any flowers for her cakes it has to be clay so that she can keep forever!

Well...when the guests at the party saw us push out the cake they were like "What? Basket of oranges? No cake?" Then after the birthday song...the birthday girl picked up an orange to cut her cake. Everyone's eyes opened in disbelieve....and I mean everyone! After that no one wants to eat their share but to take home theirs instead.

Nyonya Basket Cake






Made this cake for my mother-in-law who is a nyonya!

Everything is edible...including the handle. The peony is silk though as I do not have the time to make it after laboring over the 'weave' for the basket. You can see on the photo I have to punch the fondant bit by bit to get that effect.

This cake was made 2 years ago and to this day she is still raving over it! Effort worth it.

Antique Jewellery Box Cake






Created this cake for an 80 year old lady. Making the chrysanthemum with sugar paste is challenging but the end results is so fulfilling. The 'jade' and locks are all edible of course.

The lady refused to cut the cake after blowing out the candles!!!

Cartoon Ferrari Cake









I was given a Shell Ferrari miniature to copy.....but I have to make it cartoonic. I scaled everything and give it more height. Results? 18" sugee Cartoon Ferrari cake. Everything is edible except for the 'windscreen'. 




Cartoon Car Cake


My god-son loves cars.

Peony & Peaches Cake




This is my first ever fondant cake. It was my mum's 70th birthday. I went all over town trying to order a cake with sugar peonies and peaches....all turned me down. Desperate I went and bought myself a "Sugarcraft" book and result is this 2-tiered Peony and Peaches cake!!!

I do not have any petal cutters then...so I used cookie cutter for the bottom part of a petal and free hand cut the frill parts with scissor. For the frills I used toothpick....then used fine wires pasted on a flat surface to 'vein' my petals!!!

I managed to get silk leaves from a needlework shop.... if not I do not know what I have to resort to.

As for the peaches... looks juicy right? Its only tissue paper inside. Learned from Art Attack!

A new home for my cakes

Hmmm.....now that I have a blog...designed and put up the masthead already...what's next?

How do I post up photos? How do I tagged them as well?