Not a Cake Post

...which means this post is not about cake.

               SACRILEGIOUS!!

hahhaha..

However, it is a cake-related post.

I finally got my rubber stamps for my so-called cake business.  Though unofficial, but I feel that I justifiably need to at least provide my cake venture some form of formal recognition.  A roof over a home.  Teeth to fill the gum.  Icing on top of the cake.   I think you roughly get the point now...

It was fairly to decide on these rubber stamps.  I just emailed to a few people and they decided that a splat is the way to go.   It all but says LOOK AT ME!  and I AM EXCITING! and THIS IS SO HAPPENING! 

You can't help but to notice the irregular shape of the splat!  I take it to mean that we always go with the flow and that we are not stagnant or unconformable.  I think this pretty much fits my philoshy of my unplanned baking venture really well.   Everything just HAPPEN!   We will cross border!!  We will push boundaries!!  No holding back!!  No hard and fast rules!!  Let creativity flows...ideas flows...icing abound!!

WOOHOOO!  BRING IT ON BABY!!

Permettez-moi de présenter mon entreprise gâteau formellement... 

(Allow me to formally present my cake business..)

Big splat and small splat...

Red splat and green splat..

I am the big red splat and I demand you to look at me and admire me!

I am the small green splat, I am subtle but potent!

Thank You!

Happy Full Moon Baby Xin Yv!!!

My dear friend Cho, whom first encouraged / TRICKED me into making cupcake in large scale (oh, didn't I tell you that months nearing her wedding, I thought I was supposed to make cupcakes for her wedding ceremony but it turned out she wanted them for her wedding dinner... all 300 of them, to be served at the dinner for the distinguish wedding guests... **I sweated for months just thinking about it**). 

Well, now Cho is a proud mom to Xin Yv (pronounce as Xin Ee as in Yvonne) who just turned 7 weeks!   I was given the honour to make the cupcakes to celebrate her new baby's arrival.  This time round, I was already comfortable making them on large and even larger scale!  BRING IT ON BABY!!

She was very nice to allow me ample time to complete the project.  Uh...3 weeks! 

The star of the cupcake is of course, the topper.  Since it was going to be baby theme, we researched and decided on 3 designs.   A pacifier, a sleeping baby and a bib.   I slaved over these topper till the very last second.  The on and off wet weather didn't help me.  Sighs.  Remember what I told you before: rain and sugarpaste = archenemy.  Nemesis till the end of ages.  Full on blood and gore.   I hope you get a clearer picture now.

But in spite of the hard labour and many hours into the late nights, I thoroughly enjoyed making all these with my hands.  Bare hands.  No other foreign hands may touch my little babies!  I realise now that .. is this what you call passion?!    haaaaa.... je comprends maintenant! 

Preparation...

Preparation....

Then you bake the cupcake! 

Then you hold each cupcake in your hand ..

... and chop off the head.  HAHHAHA!  brutal, no?

Don't you worry, the 'heads' are safely tucked in my kids' stomachs.  Nothing goes to waste in my house!!

Now the cake topper.  A Bib.

A pacifier.  See that pram embossing.  I got nifty tools from UK! 

 A sleeping babe.  With a snuggly blanket with a bear embossing.  Also, another nifty tool from the UK!

I only made one of this.  Special for the first time mom.  Welcome to motherhood, dear!!

The mom specially designed this.  Her kulis did the rest!  Good, hardworking kulis are hard to find. 

Good hardworking kulis deserve good lunch and dinner.  Enuff said.

The complete package.

All packed and sealed..

ready to fly!

Actually.  I am a little sad to see my babies go.  

Fly babies fly....go delight someone's life..as I know you are apt to do...

Happy Birthday Andrea!

My next cake project was very interesting to make!  Akw introduced me to his friend, Lisa to create an Elmo cake for her little Andrea's two year old birthday.   Yea, I have been through that stage where my little ones have their fair share of Elmo craze.  We had not one, not two but 3 Elmo dolls and not forgetting slew of Elmo paraphenalias like Elmo pyjamas, Elmo toothbrushes, Elmo bedsheets, Elmo cups, etc.   Till this day I am still at lost trying to figure out what to call this 'red phenomenon"?.  Whenever my kids ask me, I am toss between ...dog?  a bear?  an alien?  a mutated human?  a creature?  a friendly creature? 

So I did what normal human being would do, I googled.   And I trust Google.  Google never fails.

This is what Uncle Google says "Elmo is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is a furry red monster with large white eyes and an orange nose. He currently hosts the last full 15 minute segment on Sesame Street, Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. ..."

...which makes Elmo - A MONSTER!! 

and since when a monster makes a good role model for kids? 

hmmmph...time to break out that yummy buttery shortbread of Mark and Spencer's to ponder this point.

Anyway.

We discussed about this Elmo cake and Lisa asked how we should do this and I excitedly "hey, how about Elmo popping out of the cake like 'SURPRISE!!!???' ?? 

Which turns out to be quite a daring thing to say.

Little did I know this turns out to be singularly the most challenging thing I ever did in my short life of baking.    It took me two attempts to shape the Elmo head.  As usual, I turned to my faithful friend of all the earth, Mr. Google for inspiration and little did I know that Elmo's head, in fact, was not round but slightly elongated.  I even dug out the Elmo toy at home to have a good look at it.   My first attempt at Elmo was a really, really round head and he look..weird.   I had to crush him and start all over again.  

My next problem is this.  Have you not notice that this red guy is disproportionate all over?  He has a very large head, bulging eyes, humongous nose, too wide a grin, lanky limbs, skinny body and knobbly joints?  Not exactly a picture of health if you ask me.  Due to the largeness of the eyes and nose, I had no choice but to attach them to his large head using toothpicks.   And 3 more toothpicks into his head to prop it up on his small body.   Poor Elmo, I don't think he need to suffer more than this....

And now, the best part....his massive heavy head rolled off the next day.

I had to start all over again.

But experience is a good teacher.

Here's the head.  Firmly attached to the body.  Defying gravity.   I did it :)!

Look, I can stare up to you!

My head stands proud!

I got hands too!

Such sweet name.  Daisies are for sweet girl with a sweet name!

In the middle of popping up!

SURPRISE!!!???

All done in strips of pink ribbon sugarpaste. 

After tons of sweatsss....PHEW! with a smile!

Happy to report that Akw reported that the cake is nice.  

Double PHEW!!

Happy Birthday Esmond!

This batch of cupcakes was for Esmond who turns 6 who celebrated his birthday at his kindergarten.   Cat, his mom specified no cream on the cupcakes as his kindergarten is very strict about cleanliness.  Icing on the cake basically means mess which means all that cleaning chores which means schedule disruption which means the poor children is left behind the school syllabus! 

Unthinkable!   HOW dare you make my kid fall behind his studies?  Do you know what that means to his future?   HIS FUTURE?

Opps.

So.  No icing on the cake.   Poor kids.  Everyone craves icing on the cake.  You know that!   It is the best part of eating a cake.  That saying which goes...bla bla icing on the cake which means the best part of all??!!   Now, how do one enjoy a cake deprived of the best part?!  Huh?

Ok.  Back to topic.

Now.  Icing-bare cupcake means boring cupcakes.   And, I know for sure kids do not like boring cupcakes.  

Now I am under duress.  

Then I've got an idea.

Then I am out of duress. 

I dressed up the cupcake.    I used boys' theme embossers and imprinted patterns on the sugarpaste.   The cupcakes were naked no more. 

PHEW!

Then I made one special cupcake with Ultraman on it - Esmond's fav hero!   Now, this is hard work.  the oval shape head is the hardest part to shape.  First few tries, the head is too fat, then it was too thin, then it was too puffy, then it was too gaunt.   Practise make perfect... true.  TA-DAA!!

Then, I made a little toadstool cupcake for Esmond's little sister Marissa.  Being a mom with a set of kids, wise ol'Cat knows better than to deprive the other kid of a cupcake!  This is a special request.   I'd say - a blardy good call! 

Esmond is happy to report that he likes the cupcakes, his friends like the cupcake, his sister likes the cupcake and his teacher likes the cupcake.  Hopefully, the kids walloped every single bits including crumbs.  I won't want to create a mess nor do any harm to their bright future.  Would I?

Sailing! Sailing! Happy Birthday Joshua!

Mic ordered this orange buttercake for her sunday school charge, Joshua.   Other than Joshua is a boy, Mic did not offer further clue.  Boy!  I had fun!

I decided to go a' sailing this time.  I came to conclusion that boats are more a boy's thing.  I came to that conclusion on my own.   Smart, no?  

Hahhhahha!

Anyway, let's move on to another under-appreciated topic : flat tops.

As, Mic does not like icing on her cake.  She said it's messy for her sunday school kids.   And I thank God for the lovely golden crust that this buttercake had yielded.  I would give this an A+ for its golden top.  Look at flatness and eveness of the top.  It was not domed or cracked or dimpled.  It allowed me plenty of latitude to put flat designs on it.   Should it dome or crack or dimple right there in the middle of this cake, like any other innovative bakers out there, I would have to cover and disguise the faults with fruits or creams etc.   See, now I do not have to do that.  In all its glory, an original golden even & flat top.   *Let's pause for effect*

....PAUSE...

Now you have something new to appreciate when you attempt to bake next time.  Food for thought, huh?!

Happy to report that Mic love it and so did the kids.  Except for Joshua, Mic was told that he does not eat cake. 

hmm.