Delivery Truck

I was so excited when I got a request to make a delivery truck cake. Finally, I get to see if I can even compare to all those amazing cake decorators I see on tv all the time (ie: Ace of Cakes). This was way more challenging than I thought it would be mostly due to the fact that I forgot that the wheels of the truck are actually supposed to be in line with the rest of the vehicle and not sticking off of it. I was very happy with the result though and know I can definitely improve on the next truck I make.


I have so much more respect now (not that I didn't have a lot to begin with) for cake decorators making amazing replicas of all sorts of objects. Looking forward to the next challenge though!

Longevity Cake

My Grandmother's 80th birthday was a few weekends ago and I made her this cake. Inside was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and fresh pitted cherries.

She's fairly traditional so went with a cake covered with longevity symbols. The symbol itself, the longevity peaches, and the God of Longevity himself, sitting atop the cake. I ran into trouble with the painting of the fondant covering the cake though.

I had wanted to do a nice shimmering gold color but when it came to brushing it on, it came out in patches. I ended up using some water and using the brush strokes to create the textured effect instead which actually turned out quite well.

Modestly Pink Wedding Cake

I had a request to make a wedding cake last weekend that was simple yet elegant. The bride-to-be loved pink but wanted the cake a little toned down to suit the groom and all the other guests.

I chose the very palest of pink for the background and piped some curlicues with white, pale pink, and a slightly darker pink for some highlights.

They hadn't chosen a cake topper so I made them a cute couple of lovebirds nuzzling each other. Very adorable!

Blackberry Pistachio

Green Tea Opera Cake

Super tall opera cake layered with ganache and matcha buttercream:

Hazelnut Macarons

French macarons are probably one of the most finicky cookies to make and I've had my share of ones that didn't turn out. The ideal ones have tall "feet", a round, smooth top and have that addictive chewy texture.

Here's the recipe I used:

Macarons:

250g almond powder

225g egg whites

500g icing sugar

Method:

Sift together the almond powder and 400g icing sugar. Whip the whites with the remaining sugar till stiff peaks. Fold in the almond mixture in thirds and continue to fold till the batter sinks into itself when it is lifted up with the spatula.

Pipe small rounds with a round piping tip (the tip is very important to get them perfectly round) and sprinkle chopped hazelnuts if desired.

Let them dry for 30 mins until they aredry to the touch. Bake in a 325 degree oven with the door slightly ajar (I put a wooden spoon there) for about 20 mins till starting to get golden brown.

Cool and carefully lift off. Fill with buttercream.

Cheese and Wine

Cheese and wine are a traditional pairing after dinner so it's only fitting that they're combined in a dessert. This is a goat cheese mousse with ice wine gelee on top of a hazelnut cookie base.

The ice wine has a lot of pear notes which go very well with the mild goat cheese. The different textures you get when you eat this one-bite dessert is also very interesting. You have the crumble and sandy cookie, the soft mousse, the crunch from the sugar decor on top, and the gelee. The sugar decor is something that is super easy to make and yet looks very interesting and different. I just took isomalt, which is a sugar substitute (you can find it at gourmet food stores or pastry suppliers), and mixed it with some food colouring. I got a more speckled look by not mixing the colour very thoroughly. Sprinkle the isomalt between two sheets lined with silpat and baked it at 350 degrees for 30 mins. Cool down without removing the sheet on top. When it's all cool, just peel of the silpat and break the large, bubbly sugar piece into shards and use as decor.

Pavlova

Here's a large pavlova filled with delicious whipped cream and fresh berries. The pink baby is made out of fondant and unfortunately, the sign cracked as it was being put on the cake but I think the overall cake looks adorable and oh-so-pretty!

Bzz....

Scrapbooking

Lemon buttermilk cake filled with lemon curd and covered in vanilla buttercream and fondant. The party was a scrapbooking party for a ten year old who enjoyed ballet, musical theatre, swimming, and bunches of other activities though I couldn't fit it on the cake.