KāKE

RAINBOW CUPCAKES

2012-01-27T14:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, my daughter's 3rd grade class decided to divvy up the task of throwing an in-class birthday party for a classmate. What a great idea and expression of love! Of course, my darling daughter volunteered to make cupcakes, and not just any cupcakes - rainbow cupcakes. My girls were so drawn to the kaleidoscope of colors that it was hard to keep their fingers off the batter. But all's well that ends well...right? :-) This morning's gray sky and soggy ride to school surely called for rainbow cupcakes - Happy 9th birthday!

LIZARD CHAMELEON CAKE

2011-12-18T08:57:00.002-05:00

HORNED YEMEN CHAMELEON. Meet Kami, a birthday cake for my daughter who especially loves Science this year and just had a test on Reptiles. She loved it and asked if we cut the tail, will it regenerate? After hearing my reply, she followed up with, "Can the tail at least move?!" Maybe next time. May God bless you and use your passions to show God's love and bring Him glory!!

PORSCHE Car Cake

2011-10-30T15:45:00.000-04:00

70's Porsche 911S in vintage blue.

For a childhood friend who is throwing a big 40th birthday bash for her boyfriend who likes cars and James Bond, is Dutch, was born during the years of disco and is approaching the hill. Can you find those details on this cake?

It was a challenge to make such a cake for a car aficionado, and even races for fun. I know the car's rear is too rounded -- but on the bright side, it just means more chocolate cake :-) Another hurdle was the record-breaking weather we had on this October day. Through rain, sleet and snow, this cake had to be delivered in a little mini cooper. Thankfully, it traveled safely back in time...to the retro 70's party, its final destination.

NYC SKYLINE & PEONIES Wedding Cake

2011-10-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

HIS and HERS Wedding Cake

With 400 guests, I couldn't follow through with a wedding cake and a groom's cake. So we created this cake as the next best thing.

HERS. She wanted white on white, texture, draping and peonies. So I gave her 3 round tiers, with scrolley vines and sugar peonies which tie back to their wedding verse and color, respectively. I also gave her autumn leaves to remember the season. These tiers were made of Green Tea Cakes to suit the taste buds of many of their guests.

HIS. He got two hexagonal tiers. The bottom tier shows the NYC skyline - the city that is dear to both of their hearts. On the smaller hexagon were six plaques that tell us something about him as well as both of them as a couple: bicycling, photography, Brooklyn Bridge, Football, Batman and a bust. These tiers were Red Velvet Cakes to suit the couple's sweeet tooth.

On the cake board is the vine logo they used on their wedding invitation and programs, with Jesus' words from John 15:5: "I am the Vine; You are the branches." They really embraced the wisdom imparted from Ecclesiastes 4:12 which states, "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Thank you to my many helpers.

PURSE Cakes

2011-09-24T14:49:00.000-04:00

A friend had asked me on a couple of occasions about having a class for decorating cakes. So when it was time to plan her bridal party, it was the perfect activity for a bunch of creative girls. Here are my bag samples for the class.

PINK AND SILVER Wedding Cake

2011-08-03T12:41:00.000-04:00

It turned out more romantic than I had thought with the lace, beadwork and sugar rose details. The cake was inspired by a napkin and the wedding ring cake topper. It was a nice change to incorporate this beautiful symbol of a lasting marriage, which is hardly given the spotlight on cakes anymore these days.

CLOTHESLINE IN THE GARDEN Baby Shower Cake

2011-07-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

The mommy-to-be, is wearing her red visor, which I saw her wear a few times through facebook albums. On the clothesline are actual clothes for the baby, as well as a replica of her rainbow bathingsuit when she was a little girl. A heart with "J + D" is carved on the tree, as well as the baby's name-to-be on the tree stump. Jeremy the mouse (one of mom's childhood stuffed animals which she still has today) made a cameo on the tree stump, next to a flower umbrella with rain drops to remind us of the baby shower. My favorite piece: the gum pole, to remember how her own mother added her own gum to the pole...for shame! On top were the words from James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above."

Nice as this may look, the heat from the car and my driving caused for a caketastrophe, the worst I've experienced so far because I couldn't fix it even with my emergency kit. Another lesson learned: place the cake in the icebox as long as possible, and head over to home depot for some heavy duty support systems for these tall cakes. Regardless, grandma and mother seemed to have appreciated the details. I'm not sure if the cake made it for the duration of the party...not sure I want to know ><

Something funny - as we headed out to the venue, I told my daughter we were running a little late - to which she responded, "Oh no, does that mean the baby already came out?"

Congratulations and we can't wait to see photos of baby Adi. Blessings!

CAT -ASTROPHE Cupcakes

2011-06-06T11:12:00.000-04:00

Kitty cupcakes for Karis' "fake birthday." Her pre-K class celebrates summer birthdays in class, and the kids call it fake birthdays, as in opposite of real.

With the hullabaloo over dogs the past couple of weeks, I forgot all about her fake birthday until a friend reminded me sometime yesterday afternoon. Without any idea what to do, I asked Karis what she wanted for her fake birthday. Without hesitation, she said cat cupcakes. Not just any cat cupcake, but HER "Hello, Cupcake" Cat in blue, in the company of other cats. I scurried to fulfill the order, and added fish bones, fish bowls with goldfish, and balls of yarn. I was planning on having a mouse, but ran out of time. It was nice to get back to good ol' buttercream piping.

As I delivered her treats, everything was going well...that is, until I got to the school parking lot when one tray of cupcakes flipped sideways. Unfortunately, it was all buttercream, not at all stable like fondant. So there I was in the parking lot, performing major surgery.

In true professional fashion, I showed the pre-K'ers the cats, explained that there had been an accident, and that I was able to repair some. But any lopsided, one-eared, and funny-looking cats that couldn't be fixed need their love all the more. They didn't seem to mind the cake wreck as much as I did. Lesson learned: don't stack trays. Already knew that, but lesson remembered!

CIRCUS TRAIN, CARNIVAL TENT Cake

2011-05-21T23:25:00.000-04:00

For Lianna who turned one today. She celebrated with an all-out Carnival-themed party, and this cake with a Circus Train that's recessed into the hexagon cake.

At the party, there were a few kids who, I suppose, were Animal Rights Activists -- trying to free the animals from their cages! I was able to fend off a couple of persistent kids. But later on, a couple of fast hands managed to break through the cake. One child insisted it wasn't a cake -- I guess that's what makes for a great cake.

Truly loved this work of love. But as with any love, it's even better to share it. Lianna, may your life be marked with love, for you are indeed "A Gift From God!"

ECO-FRIENDLY-INSPIRED Square, Modern Anniversary Cake

2011-05-14T21:55:00.000-04:00

Inspiration: To the right are my inspirations for the cake. She used banana leaves to serve her Filipino-style merienda, and VerTerra plates which are made from fallen leaves. Her hubby loves white rose buds, of which I made 10 to represent their years of marriage.

On the cake are words from 1 John 4:19, "We love because He first loved us." And "Mahal Kita" (which means "I love you" in Tagalog) was impressed on the cakeboard.

I also made cakelets for her 2 lovely children. Who doesn't want their own fully decorated single-serving cake all to themselves?

It's always a pleasure to make a cake for a lovely couple, to honor their life marked with love. Best wishes and God bless!!

SOLAR SYSTEM Cake

2011-05-14T21:46:00.000-04:00

TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY. We thank God for all the wonderful pastors, teachers and staff at Gateway Academy. You really are THE BEST IN THE WORLD!! And we love you so much!

The making of the cake was closely supervised by the Solar System expert, my daughter, who made sure they were in correct order, size, color, big red spot on Jupiter, and that Pluto was included nonetheless.
My hubby contributed the verse: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1).

God bless!

MINNIE MOUSE Sculpted Cake

2011-04-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

For Mackenzie Eden's first birthday. Minnie's face and body are cake (most use rice krispies or styrofoam for obvious reasons), covered with modeling chocolate and fondant. It was my first real experiment with modeling chocolate, which I was hoping would set at room temperature and keep her face from falling off. I hope it did the trick!

Matching smash cake in purple for Mackenzie, to do with it as she pleases. And little mouseketeer ears for her siblings, who recently donned them on their latest trip to Disney World.

After making Minnie, I'm ready to go to the next carving challenge with help of proper structural pieces from Home Depot...with Lee's help!

Thanks, Alicia and Margaret, for keeping me company during sculpting day. I hope you can use what you've "learned." (cake cruise!)

VOLKSWAGON BEETLE Car Cake

2011-04-01T09:27:00.000-04:00

For my nephew A.J.'s 3rd Birthday. VW Beetles have been a sentimental favorite for my family since my dad started "collecting" them back in the 70's and 80's. Because A.J. loves cars, I gave him an updated beetle - that he can enjoy today!

Celebrate with a sweet VW Buggy, A.J.'s three!

CAKE IN PROGRESS

1. Special cake board to support the cake and suspend the wheels
2. Pre-made gumpaste wheels
3. Stacked cake ready for carving
4. Dirty-iced cake with spackling and modeling chocolate
5. Fondant body and parts - colored, shaped and tooled for details
6. Finished car cake

SCRABBLE GAME BOARD Cake

2011-03-19T23:02:00.000-04:00

ScROBble cake for Rob's MBA graduation surprise party and mock ceremony.

His family chose words that describe him: integrity, genuine, and passionate. Lee got to choose a word, "Oh snap" for his BFF. If you look closely at the scROBble board, you...'ll find the official dictionary, a timer, a bag of tiles, score card, and a Rob No. 1 pencil. Lee specially hand-crafted the rack that's on top of the cake, which Rob saved for keeps. A friend of ours at the party thought it was a vintage scrabble board and was about to open the side drawer, only to be surprised it was a cake. Very funny. And since this is a family business of sorts, Shing sliced and served the cake to guests.

'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' MT 25:23

TINKERBELL'S TREE HOUSE Cake

2011-02-14T10:31:00.000-05:00

For a couple who we got to know through a shared passion for Youth ministry...as a special treat for their daughter Gracelyn's first birthday.

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The bottom tier was made out of vanilla and chocolate cake. The middle tier was rice krispies, as proud mommy wanted something different. The treehouse was vanilla cake on top and rice krispies for bottom support. Of all the gumpaste decorations, my favorite were the stones.

DOG Sculpted Cake

2010-12-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

A doggie cake for my daughter's birthday.

She had been asking for a dog, so here she is! She learned a lesson, to be specific when asking. She now says she wants a "real live chihuahua." My first try with sculpting and airbrushing.

HEARTS AND STARS Cupcakes

2010-12-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

Brownies topped dark mint chocolate ganache and sprinkles for my daughter's class.

CHINESE LONGEVITY Birthday Cake

2010-10-17T09:15:00.000-04:00

Very simple modern cake with varying tier heights for added pop. The Chinese character for longevity (the most esteemed of the "five good fortunes") was made out of fondant and gumpaste to look like a ribbon.

For Willy's uncle in celebration of his 85th birthday. The cake was designed by the honoree's daughter, Anna, and her husband, Jeff.

This was the first cake that I didn't personally deliver and set up on site. I hope it made it there in tact!

BEAUTY & THE BEAST: BELLE'S STORY BOOK Sculpted Cake

2010-10-12T13:51:00.000-04:00

BE OUR GUEST. A storybook cake for my niece's 1st birthday. My first carved cake...no special pans, just a good old-fashioned knife.

My two sugar buddies came over to help make Mrs. Potts, and took 6 man-hours to complete her, which is probably the total hours it took for me to decorate the page spread.

I used an old Bible as my book model, and painted scenes from Beauty and the Beast on raised fondant appliques. I made sure the book was true to life, with sewn seams, leather cover, and gilded gold edging. The best compliment came from my daughter, who scolded me for painting on the Bible! :-)

At the party, I finally convinced my sister to cut the cake and enjoy it. I think she just wanted to stare at it. So we took plenty of photos and ate the Red Velvet Cake.

The Belle of ball...

SUGAR WORK Class

2010-10-04T10:41:00.000-04:00

SUGAR WORK. I took a class at I.C.E. NY with my sugar buddies, Alicia and Margaret, on the rainiest days last week.

We learned the art of casting , pulling and blowing sugar. We cast the base, standing "O" for "OUCH" and orange lace; pulled the ribbon, rose and leaf; and blew the bubble/ball. You can see my hodge-podge of a showpiece - no unifying theme or color scheme, just a miscellany of different techniques tried out in class.

After the first day, I came home with a blister and very raw hands as a result of pulling hot sugar, regardless of the gloves and band aids I donned. It was harder than I thought, yet overall, it was good to add another medium to my repertoire of cake art.

Would I seriously pursue sugar work? Hmmm...the jury is still out. After we gather all the necessary sugar equipment, we plan on practicing, and I will decide if I plan on reviving this dying art, at least in my kitchen.

LILY Cake Demo

2010-09-17T21:37:00.000-04:00

A double mocha cake for Joanna's birthday. The middle tier is petal shaped to give it a girly vibe.

Joanna was quite involved in making this cake: design, decoration, and delivery. We decided on a soft color pallette: pale juniper green accented with metallics (silver and gold). We prepared the stargazer lily gumpaste on Sunday, with the help of Courtney, Florence and Jenny.

Thank you, Joanna, for the countless times you have spent taking care of Teagan, Karis and June. They love being with you. Thank you especially for all the dates that Lee and I had been able to have with your help!

TIERED CAKES Demo

2010-09-17T21:12:00.000-04:00

It was a very rainy Sunday afternoon, so a few "post-grad" gals came over for a crash course on the art of cake.

Joanna was great with icing with buttercream, Courtney with fondant, Jenny with decoration detail, and Florence with all of it ;-)

Although the cake looks like an NYU cake, its inspiration was actually someone's lovely hosiery. We were going for a whimsical look, but ended up with something that looks like Target branding. It was late, and we were all tired. We were just happy to finish the cake before Courtney's curfew!

ITALIAN GARDEN STICK FIGURES Wedding Cake

2010-08-31T16:29:00.000-04:00

A traditional and elegant wedding cake for Doris and Jason Schooling. The cakes were alternating layers of Red and White Velvet Cakes, filled with alternating raspberry and chocolate buttercreams. It was covered with an off-white fondant and decorated with pure white Royal Icing.

The Cymbidium orchids and roses were handcrafted from sugarpaste. Several friends came over for a tutorial/refresher course on sugar roses, which made the daunting task a lot more fun. All in all, there were 20 orchids and 75 roses of varying sizes.

The topper was especially meaningful, as the groom proposed to his bride using blue and red pipe cleaner figures in a stop animation short. The same characters donning wedding attires now topped their wedding cake.

Thank you for all those who helped me with this cake (Jen, Alicia, Maragaret, Mrs. Tam, Christine, and Lee)!

RAINBOW Cupcakes

2010-08-15T05:06:00.000-04:00

During breakfast, my 2nd daughter requested rainbow cupcakes to share with her Sunday School, which was an hour away.

She likes rainbows and unicorns, so I'm glad she went with rainbow. I don't think I can whip up unicorn cupcakes in one hour :-) Happy FOURTH birthday!

DOL - BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY Cake and Cupcakes

2010-04-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

We celebrated our friends' son's first birthday in traditional korean fashion, complete with a bountiful table of korean food and a ritual game of doljabi. In the background you can see one of the 3 traditional pillars (dol go im) that was painstakingly made with various beans. And since the baby is half Chinese and born in the Year of the Ox, you'll see the Ox throughout the party.

The cake topper was a model of the birthday boy in his hanbok (traditonal korean dressing), which was outsourced to a wonderfully talented friend of ours. He made the figure out of crayola model magic, and so it was not edible. We made sure to place a divider between the model and the cake.

I made a 6" Mocha Kasutera Cake that sat on top of a diy cupcake stand, filled with "tall mini" chiffon cupcakes in 3 flavors: red bean, green tea and mocha, each with matching buttercream frosting. When you serve different flavors, guests tend to want a tasting of all the flavor offerings -- and so we went with minis. And since these were chiffon cupcakes (light and airy), I fashioned tall cupcake liners from parchment paper.

I look forward to more DOL's thrown by the couple. Now they just need to have more babies!

MODERN SPRING Wedding Cake

2010-04-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

Wedding cake (12", 10", 8", 6") with spring flowers.

Lemon cake filled with raspberry preserves and lemon curd.

My first wedding cake...*sigh of relief*

The bride wanted the colors royal blue and yellow, with spring flowers (tulips, roses and daffodils). She was also drawn towards square cakes, lemon-flavored to be specific. Initially she saw a photo of a cake in theknot with a vertical ribbon across the front and back of the cake. The flowers would then flow down this runner. It looked great in the photo, but I was concerned that the sides would look barren in person.

So after some tweaking with dummy cakes, I suggested the more traditional approach of placing the ribbons horizontally along the bottom of the cakes, and space out the flowers throughout the cake. I wanted to stick with yellow tulips in various stages of bloom. I even took photos at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to help me with the process. The finished product: well, let's just say that I think they look beautiful but not very tulip-y. So I call them spring flowers...of a very rare variety!

Additionally, I added a lacy fondant applique just underneath the ribbon edging. When I saw the bride on her wedding day, I was surprised to see her in a lace wedding gown. I couldn't have planned it better!

Although it took me the whole week to prepare for it, overall I enjoyed making this cake and learned a lot through the process.

Special thanks goes out to:

-My hubby, Lee, who helped with drilling holes on the masonite cake boards

-Joanna Liu who took care of the girls while I prepped and delivered

-Jen Tam, a licensed architect, who helped me to build a sound and level structure...see her professionalism below ;-)

STACK OF MONEY Cake

2010-04-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

A 2-in-1 Party:
The Niles wanted to celebrate God's faithfulness in their lives. First, a Freedom Party to celebrate being debt-free, an answered prayer. Second, as if that wasn't enough, God further graced them with the provision of a new home; thus a Housewarming Party. Kara said it best, "You can't outgive God." Amen!

The Opera Cake:
A 6" x 13" 8-layered cake dressed up as a stack of hundred dollar bills.

Alternating cake layers of Vanilla Genoise and Green Tea Jaconde, filled with Buttercream, White chocolate ganache mousse, and hazelnut spread.

Special notes:
Recently I've been turning down most, if not all, of the cake requests that have come my way. I need some time to rest and reorder my priorities - you know, setting aside time for the important rather than the urgent. However you will see 3 cake projects in April, all of which I had promised/contracted since before the new year. I look forward to doing more cakes later in the year.

Finally, a special thanks to Simon, who helped with Photoshop!

OREO OWL & SUNFLOWER Cupcakes

2010-01-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

OREO OWLS from "Hello, Cupcake" for my daughter's bakesale, raising funds for Haiti. It was organized by the student council at her school. All proceeds went to World Relief.

OREO SUNFLOWER from "Hello, Cupcake" - a 2nd variety for the bakesale.

BROWNIE Cupcake in Ice Cream Cones

2009-12-19T18:45:00.000-05:00

Brownie cones for Teagan, who didn't want a cake for her birthday; instead she requested brownies in ice cream cones with pink frosting and sprinkles. And she got just that.

I encountered many setbacks for this project. And so my great ideas never made it to fruition. We'll have to save those for the next time.

When I made these for KK's birthday back in August, I baked the cake right in the cones, which made for soggy cones. This time, I filled the cones with m&m's and skittles, then stuffed them with mini and standard sized cupcakes.

The frosting was catered for kids - sweet and creamy, unlike my preference for not-so-sweet and fluffy.

The stand was the hardest part of it all, as the cutouts for the cones weakened the stand. Next time I need an ice cream cone stand, Lee would have to build it out of wood. I was just glad this made it to the school in one piece, and without MAJOR catastrophe, according to Mrs. Niles.

It helped that my six-year old client and her first grade class are easy to please.

Happy birthday, Teagan!

POLKA DOT Cake and Cupcakes

2009-12-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

My friend, Stephanie, wanted to give the gift of cake for her friend who was planning a double celebration: a meet and greet for her one-month old, and a birthday party for her two-year old.

The cake was a Red Velvet Cake (yes, once again) with cream cheese filling. The cupcakes were Double Chocolate in unbleached parchment papers, which is earth-friendly -- something Stephanie is all about. And so her gift reflects something she is passionate about.

DISCO BALL Sculpted Cake

2009-11-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

The birthday girl, Stephanie, has so many stories that it was hard to pick one for a cake. I finally settled on doing a disco ball for two reasons: she is definitely the life of a party, and she once went clubbing while VERY pregnant!

This cake is a knock-off of Paula Deen's disco ball cake. I rolled out gray fondant using guides to ensure even thickness, and cut out squares, which I dusted with silver cake sparkles. I didn't have metallic dust or airbrush (which was used for Paula's); although it didn't compare in the sleekness department, it was safer to eat than metal. Then I rolled out pink fondant and hand-cut Stepanie's name. I let it harden a little bit before peeling off the mat so that the fondant wouldn't stretch and distort as much.

To keep the ball from rolling, I leveled the bottom of the cake so it will sit flat, hammered a dowel through the cake and board, and finally glued it on with a combination of fondant and royal icing.

This cake took me longer to make than the last 2 cakes. The simpler the cake, the harder to make. Plus it didn't help that I made it late the night before the party.

The disco ball was made of Gingerbread Cake with cream cheese filling. The bottom half of the sphere was made with rice krispies to make sure the cake will hold up. The ginger and spice was a strong taste, and so I made brownie cupcakes on the side.

Stephanie and 2 of her 3 little boys. Dylan helped mommy blow out the candles in case she ran out of breath in her old age. :-)

Here's how the ball looked when we cut into it.

POPPY ANEMONE PINK AND BLACK Cake

2009-11-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

Jen (tambokpress.blogspot.com) is one of the most thoughtful friends anyone can have. In fact, she has come with me on every delivery, helping me with all aspects of cakery as needed. When she turned 30, I wanted to make her a cake. The only problem was - what kind of a cake would suit this special occassion?

So on the date of her actual birthday, my husband asked her over for lunch and had this conversation with her:

-Lee: "You're a woman now!"

-Jen: "What was I before?"

I laughed.

And decided to make her a cake that reflects how as she turned 30, she has blossomed into a beautiful woman, hence the poppy anemone flower. She has always liked the color pink, and so I paired it with black lacey dropstrings, going for a Victoria's Secret look.

Her brother, Sam, took the photos that night. He did a great job, very artistic and detailed. We're talking about doing a couple of cake projects together, so look out for them in 2010.

Here's an inside look at the Red Velvet Cake.

Jen, thank you for being a good friend. We're finally in the same decade...at least for 2 years!

Happy, happy Birthday!

MASQUERADE WITH MASK Cake

2009-11-17T00:36:00.000-05:00

My daughter's teacher asked me to make a surprise cake

for her husband's masquerade birthday party.

I was definitely inspired when I saw the mask,

which I replicated in a much smaller version so it can sit atop this cake.

The mask was hand molded out of gumpaste and painted with food coloring.

The cake was a Red Velvet Cake (8", 6" and 5" tiers) with cream cheese filling.

It was decorated with fondant appliques and further details were done using royal icing.

Since the celebrant loves music, I personalized the cake base with sheet music from

Phantom of the Opera's Masquerade, and the well known hymn Amazing Grace.

Here's a photo of my daughter who delivered the cake with me,

donning her own mask which she made at school with her teacher.

FLAMBOYAN AND FERN Cake

2009-11-12T00:50:00.000-05:00

When my friend, Rebecca, approached me about making a cake for her father's 80th and mother's 75th birthdays, I was excited to hear she wanted tropical flowers remiscent of Puerto Rico. I looked into a couple of different flowers, and I fell in love with the fiery flowers and fern-like leaves that graces the flamboyan tree.

I made the flowers and buds out of gumpaste, which proved to be tricky because of its delicately thin petals, while the leaves were piped directly onto the cake using royal icing.

The three cake tiers symbolized the couple's 3 lovely daughters. And to make it even more special, there were nine cupcakes to represent their 9 grandchildren, each of whom blew a candle in their honor.

12", 10", 8" tiered cakes iced with Swiss Meringue Buttercream,

Layers of Orange-zested Sour Cream Cake & Mocha Blackout Cake,

with Hazelnut Cream Filling.

A close-up of the flamboyan flower.

CHESS GAME BOARD Cake

2009-10-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

My brother-in-law (my husband's twin) had been bugging me about a cake. So to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, I made a cake for the twins on their birthday. And since it's been over 10 years since they last played chess, I thought it would be a great idea to set the stage with a chess match...where you can play with your food and eat it, too!

It was a 16"x16" White Velvet and German Chocolate Cake, filled with pastry cream, covered with fondant colored to mimic marble for the ever-stylish twins.

"I'm always White," calls out Shing and so the chess match between brothers began. Dinner proceeded with many Shanghainese specialties like Jellyfish appetizers, Peking Duck and Xiaolongbao dumplings. And in a moment of distraction (my husband was feeding one of the girls...or maybe the succulent ribs that was just served), Shing checked Lee's king. Lee called for a re-match, but Shing was content to end the night as such.

The cake was cut and served, garnering some attention from other diners as well as the workers.

And the girls finally got to eat the chocolate chess pieces!

Happy Birthday!

生日快乐 (Shēng rì kuài lè)!

FDNY FIRE HOUSE AND ENGINE Cake and Cupcakes

2009-10-03T01:34:00.000-04:00

Through the Luau party, I was connected to Karen who ordered a special cake for her husband's retirement party. She wanted an FDNY themed cake and cupcakes enough to feed 100. Thank goodness for the internet and my next door neighbor, an FDNY retiree who explained the difference between engines and ladders, etc. This inspired me to recreate the actual engine and firehouse of Brooklyn's Engine 282.

The cake was a White Almond Sour Cream Cake covered with fondant, and stood 7" tall. The firehouse facade was a royal icing runout veneer. The brickwork was fashioned with fondant cutouts laid down piece by piece on top of royal icing mortar. I made it so that the firehouse would functionally house the engine. The back of the cake was inspired by the yellow lines on the side of the engine. I wanted to keep it simple -- I included a photo in case you were wondering how it looked in the back.

The engine was made with gumpaste and fondant. My friends Margaret and Alicia helped me with some of the details. It took Margaret one hour to make the lamp outside the firehouse and bump guards. Alicia made the engine lights, yellow stripes, caution sign outside the firehouse, and helped me cover the engine with fondant.

The cupcakes were Vanilla and Brooklyn Blackout cupcakes, since Engine 282 is based in Brooklyn. The royal icing toppers were FDNY and Irish themed. I especially loved the Guinness and Harp bottle caps. Karen took note of the Claddaghs. The 3 firehouses for which the Captain has served were represented in the red badges (Enignes 224, 318 and 282). I also recreated various fire engines and trucks from different periods - my favorite was the jeep-style fire truck.

Margaret came back to help me ice the cupcakes on Friday. Once again, Jen came through to help me get ready, take photos, and setup. And thanks, Lee, for making tea and staying out of the way :-)

I was going to make a special cupcake shaped like a dalmatian, but the royal icing ears never hardened in time, and it broke as I tried to move it onto the cupcake. Poor doggie.

I had so much with this project.

Congratulations, Captain Kielty, on 20 years of brave service..."It Aint Easy."

RED VELVET Cupcake Tasting

2009-09-07T00:17:00.000-04:00

After finding willing test subjects, I set out to find my perfect Red Velvet Cupcake recipe. I experimented with 3 different cake recipes. All recipes had these in common: cake flour, baking soda, vinegar and buttermilk. The variations were as follows...

Cupcake A (top right) was made using cocoa powder, oil, 2 oz. red gel paste, an additional egg.

Cupcake B (bottom left) used unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed), butter, 1.5 oz. red gel paste, an additional leavener baking powder.

Cupcake C (bottom right) used Dutch-processed cocoa powder, oil and 1 oz. red gel paste.
My testers judged the cakes according to taste, texture and color. And the overall winner was Cake B, for taste and texture. Honorable mention goes to Cake A for color and Cake C for chocolate-ness.

As for the Cream Cheese Frosting (I wouldn't forget about the best part!), I also tested 3 recipes. Cupcake A was topped with cream cheese frosting that used more butter than the other 2. Cupcake B's frosting incorporated melted marshmallows, and C was your good ol' traditional Cream Cheese frosting. The winner was clearly Frosting C.

And making it a day of celebration, it was the birthday of a lovely young lady, Jenny, who adores RVC and Cream Cheese frosting.

Thank you to all my willing testers, especially those who ate 3 or more cupcakes in sacrifice of finding my perfect RVC recipe!

Business Cards

2009-08-31T10:11:00.000-04:00

Take a look at my business cards made by Tambok Press.

1.5" x 3.5", a little smaller than your regular business cards.
On 220# paper, a little thicker than the usual cards.
Letterpress, giving it that special punch.
Brown edging, no details left undone.

My business cards definitely stand out. Thanks, Jen!

Check out her blog and call her for your letterpress needs (business cards, calendars, invitations, announcements, anything letterpressed) http://www.tambokpress.blogspot.com/.

RICE KRISPIES Stacked Cake

2009-08-23T00:37:00.000-04:00

I know this is not a cake in the sense that it is not baked. Hey, but neither are pancakes :-)

This is just plain old rice krispies treats dressed up as a tiered cake 8", 6" and 4". I decorated it with multi-grain cheerios (because that's the only cereal that I had this afternoon), craisins, chocolate chips and royal icing.

The marshmallows were leftover from the youth retreat campfire which was cancelled. So I used the 3 bags of marshmallows to make this fun cake alternative for the Senior Send-Off party tonight. I did pipe out a "2009" royal icing cake topper, but the photos from tonight were not very good.

We left the party earlier than most because the baby and I were tired. I hope they had the chance to eat it. Congratulations to our high school grads: Liz, Victor and Wilson!

ICE CREAM CONE Cupcakes

2009-08-16T00:04:00.000-04:00

My second daughter turned 3 today. So we had her cousins over for a small and intimate birthday party. Since all the little ones kept asking to decorate their own cakes, I decided to make cupcakes baked directly into ice cream cones.

Each cone was propped inside a shallow bowl covered with foil to keep the cones steady while the kids decorated them.

I prepared different colored icings in piping bags fitted with different tips for special effects. With a little bit of guidance, each child piped their own icing.

Next, they rolled out fondant and made different cut-outs, just as they would with play doh, and topped their ice cream cones with it.

Food is so much better when you make it yourself!

Some of the adults were sad that they didn't get to make their own cupcake. Hmmm, maybe next time, I'll throw a cake decorating party for the grown-ups.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Karis! You're a BIG girl now :-)

Heart Flan

2009-08-15T23:53:00.000-04:00

I'm on a mission to make desserts that are sugar-free or low sugar.

This heart-shaped flan was low sugar, made using half granulated sugar and half sugar alternative.

Though the sugar-free version had a softer consistency, the taste factor was still pretty good that the recipe was requested.

HAWAIIAN LUAU Cake and Cupcakes

2009-08-08T22:51:00.000-04:00

Through the Pinkalicious party, a referral was made to make a cake for a Luau-themed birthday party. I had so much fun making this, and it turned out to be my favorite cake so far.

I made the gumpaste flowers a week and a half before the party, to give them time to dry and to apply the proper coloring and finishing touches.

The Hibiscus flowers were my favorite to make. I'll have to write up a tutorial on it one of these days. The Orchids were nice, too, but broke so many times (note to self: make lots of extras just in case!).

The Bamboo were shaped from Fondant the day before the party, to keep it soft enough for cutting. I painted it using pure vanilla extract and a little bit of brown food coloring for added depth.

The cake was a 6" Sour Cream Brownie Cake with fudge filling and covered with fondant. I also wrapped the cake board with fondant leaves, in keeping with the theme.

The decorations on the cupcakes were so much fun to make. I took various luau-themed images (tiki, turtles, pinapples, hula girl, gecko with a hawaiian shirt, palm trees, fish, drinks, roast pig, guitar, surf board, etc.) and made edible sugar embellishments using Royal Icing Runouts.

The cupcakes were baked fresh the day of the party. I used two cake flavors: Chocolate and Orange-zest Vanilla. I also made 2 different sizes: regular 2 1/2" cupcakes and mini cupcakes. The minis let your guests try both flavors without the guilt of eating 2 full size cupcakes.
This was me, making the Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing a couple of hours before delivery. My oldest daughter supervised the work, while a friend took photos (as well as helped me with the assembly).

Here's the lovely birthday celebrant, checking out her cake, which was set on a cupcake stand that spun on a lazy susan.

Happy 40th Birthday, Dina!

PINKALICIOUS Cake and Cupcakes

2009-07-17T17:52:00.000-04:00

My daughters love the book "Pinkalicious." So when my eldest's good friend from school said she was having a Pinkalicious birthday party, I offered to make the cake and cupcakes. My daughters picked out the page on the book which inspired the "Mia-licious cake".

6" Pink Velvet Cake covered with fondant and decorated with Colorflow appliques.

Chocolate and pink velvet cupcakes iced with buttercream and decorated with Royal Icing embelishments.

VBS GAMESHOW WHEEL Cookies

2009-07-10T17:40:00.000-04:00

Our church hosted a VBS for the children - the theme was Studio Go - Game Show. The wheel, made from Colorflow, was iconic for the game show theme.

I made the cake stand using the different craft items the children used during the week.

The star-shaped cookies were decorated using Royal Icing Flooding.

* The heart-shaped cookies were decorated by the pre-k and kindergarten classes with help from the volunteers and parents. The kids were so proud of their creation, as these were served on the final night. *

Orange Zest Sugar Cookies

CIRCUS ELEPHANT Cake

2009-06-20T17:36:00.000-04:00

I made this for my youngest daughter's first birthday. We went to see the Ringling Bros. Circus at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The elephant who opened up the show looks so similar to the gumpaste model atop this cake.

I wasn't planning on making a cake, but I found out quickly enough that the girls expected cake in the morning. So I stayed up all night making a cake and decorating it. The elephant took the longest to make beacause his head was heavy, and he is balancing his big body on a teeny little stand. Next time, I would use a better skeletal system for figure modeling. Lesson learned.

6" sour cream pound cake.

BIRDS AND NEST Cake

2009-06-01T17:32:00.001-04:00

This was my first cake outside the classroom. I made it for my nephew for his first birthday.

Tiered chocolate cake, covered with fondant and decorated with appliques colored with petal dust.

BUTTERFLY AND PEACOCK

2009-05-19T17:21:00.000-04:00

Colorflow is very similar to Royal Icing flooding, but it dries up harder.
My two colorflow projects:

3" french iron basket cake with Royal Icing Chrysanthemums and Colorflow Butterflies.

Colorflow Peacock, which was knocked down into pieces by my daughter and never made it on a cake.

Colorflow is similar in technique to Royal Icing Runouts/Flooding. Colorflow is great for pure decoration on a cake as it dries harder and puffier. But Royal Icing tastes better and is my choice for cupcake toppers which will likely be eaten.

BASKETWEAVE Cake

2009-05-19T16:52:00.000-04:00

Basketweave varieties.

The top tier was piped using a leaf tip.

The middle using a round tip.

The bottom using a fancy tip.

Apple Blossom, Daffodil, Primroses

2009-05-19T16:50:00.000-04:00

Mini cakes are wonderful alternatives to cupcakes. They are good for one or shared by two.

Here are some mini cakes decorated with royal icing flowers:

Three-tiered mini cake with Apple Blossoms.

Daffodil mini cake.

Victorian Rose Cupcake with stringwork stacked on a 3" inch mini cake.

Basketweave mini cake with Primroses.

Violets, Pansies and Daisies

2009-05-19T16:39:00.000-04:00

At first we thought we'd take just one course, now we're on to our 4th and final course -- covering more royal icing flowers:

Violets

Pansies

Daisies

LACE, EMBROIDERY AND STRINGWORK Cake

2009-03-24T16:34:00.000-04:00

Royal Icing Work

Ruffle border, stringwork, cornelli lace butterfly on a cushioned lattice, brush embroidery, gumpaste rose.

Lily, Morning Glory, Petunia, Poinsettia

2009-03-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

Royal Icing hardens and reminds me of those little sugar dots that I used to eat when I was younger. It's wonderful to decorate with because you can prepare it ahead of time and paint it with nice details that you can't do with creamy buttercream frosting. Here are some cupcakes decorated with royal icing flowers:

Lily

Morning Glory

Petunia

Poinsettia

TIFFANY AND BURBERRY PACKAGE Cakes

2009-03-17T15:21:00.000-04:00

Tiffany- and Burberry-inspired package cakes.

Fondant covered cakes have a smooth and sleek look. Despite popular American opinion, I think fondant tastes just fine - we're just not accustomed to chewing our icing.

I used 2 fondant smoothers to make sharp edges on the tiffany cake.

3.5" rainbow cakes

Lace and Embroidery

2009-03-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

The next class we took was on fondant and tiered cakes. First lesson was using royal icing for details.

Brush Embroidery: gentle brushstrokes on royal icing makes it look like embroidery.

Cornelli Lace: one continuous string that never touch or overlap, and it starts and ends at the same point.

Calla, Carnation, Daisy and Fantasy Flowers

2009-03-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

We decided to go on to take the next course on fondant and gumpaste. Here are my gumpaste flowers for the final project.

Calla Lilies and Carnations*

Fantasy Flowers

Oriental Peonies and Daisies*

*vase, cup and package to hold the flowers were also made from gumpaste

BUTTERCREAM ROSES Cake

2009-01-20T15:16:00.000-05:00

Buttercream icing and roses.

A few of us stayed up til midnight making roses. We are the geeks of cake decorating class.

Margaret did amazing roses during class, while everyone struggled. Alicia had nice color striping on her roses.

That night, we had to borrow another friend's flower nail so the 3 of us can work on it together. So at 10pm, Alicia went out to pick it up for me. Afterwards, I realized you can use a lot of other things, like a meat thermometer with a flat round face. All this work for roses!

By the end of the night, I made around 70+ roses.

8" chocolate cake

Sunflower, Cat, Elvis etc. Cupcakes

2009-01-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

Sunflower: brush striping for special color effect

Cat: an idea from "Hello, Cupcake!"

Elvis: figure piping for my husband with a crooked smile

Sotas: chocolate lace sotas edging

Doll: used a doll top from my daughter's toy chest

A group of us got together for a baking lesson on chiffon cakes. These cupcakes were cut out from a 9" pandan-flavored chiffon cake.

HENNA PAISLEY INSPIRED Cake

2009-01-13T12:13:00.000-05:00

My cake decorating journey began when a group of ladies decided to take a class at a local craft store as a way to get out of the house and do something creative together.

This was my very first decorated cake. The design was taken from a paisley dinner plate.

I outlined and colored the design with tinted piping gel. It was supposed to be a transfer pattern, but since I let it harden, it served more as a press template, which could be saved and re-used. Onced the pattern was "stamped" on the cake, I traced it with piping gel. A little more work, but it actually worked better than the transfer idea.

The color was inpsired by my middle daughter's favorite color.

8" green tea cake