How much is that doggie in the window?

I love dogs! And I used to have a wonderful little beagle named Toby... he was a darling hound with cute floppy ears and the saddest eyes. So when my friend contacted me to make puppy dog cupcakes for his business, I was only too happy to take up the job.

My friend is a dog whisperer who runs a wonderful little outfit called DogTech , where ill-behaved dogs go to learn their Ps & Qs. DogTech Singapore turns 2 this year and these doggie themed cupcakes are thank you treats for the vets that have given their kind support!

I couldn't resist making little paws...

The proverbial dog bone...

And of course BEAGLES!!!

Here's what you get when you put them all together... a medley that makes you wanna howl... Arooo!

I'm off to the vets in the East this morning to deliver these! I'm awaiting the stock of cupcake boxes to complete my orders. Anyone know where I can get a good deal on white cupcake boxes?

An aside...

Here's a pic of my tri-coloured beagle Toby, who has crossed over the rainbow bridge. I miss you so much! Thinking of you with these cupcakes ... woof!

Salty C

I had an order over the weekend from a good friend who wanted something for her mum's birthday. There wasn't going to be many of them partaking in the cake so she thought of cupcakes. I love making cupcakes more than anything else, it's cute, it's fun and oh so easy to eat.

My favourite cupcake has got to be Salty C - the deadly combination of two amazing flavours - chocolate (can't go wrong) and salted caramel (very addictive). For those of you who like sweet and salty popcorn, french fries with ice cream, bacon and maple syrup, you will totally dig salted caramel.

I make my own salted caramel from scratch, which is pretty simple actually. It's nothing more than melted sugar with heavy cream, a good dash of sea salt and butter to stabilise everything. When it's cooked and cooled, you get a lusciously thick treacle that is buttery sweet and savoury salty at the same time - yummy stuff!

What I like to do is fill my chocolate cupcakes with the salted caramel and then pipe a semi sweet chocolate ganache to top it off. When you bite into these babies, the soft salted caramel filling oozes out slightly and mingles well with the chocolate ganache. The chocolate cake is a super moist recipe that does the trick every time!

I also included a mini cake for the birthday girl to cut into, surrounded by the cupcakes that are easy takeaways for the small party.

I usually make these by the dozen - minimum order of 12. But looks like this can be an option too - 9 cupcakes and a mini cake.

Price:
Filled cupcakes: $4.50 each
Minimum order 12 cuppies or 9 cuppies + mini cake ($54)

I Love School Parties

I love birthday parties and I love preparing parties for school. When Jake's school issued a letter to inform parents of a potluck party for the end of school term and requested for parents to chip in, I have to admit, I was excited!

My assignment... Marcaroni and Cheese.

OK, so I was kinda hoping it would be cupcakes or any baked goods, but I got Mac & Cheese. Still, I was happy to prepare this and I wasn't going to the supermarket to buy any of that instant stuff filled with MSG and artificial colouring and flavouring, I was going to make this from scratch. So I called upon my most favourite American mama blogsite - The Pioneer Woman and got her lovely Mac & Cheese recipe - made from fresh milk, butter, grated cheddar and just the right amount of sea salt.

Then I thought, nobody is going to say no to freshly baked cupcakes, so I asked Jake - "What cupcake would you like to share with your friends?" And I got a resounding Banana!!!

Banana it is! I happily baked a box of Banana Maple Cupcakes, topped with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and drizzled in maple syrup for the kids at school!

These cupcakes are great for school parties! A handy and yummy treat that's healthy too. Order these for your kids' school or birthday parties, minimum box of 12. Packaged in easy to carry away box plus labelling : )

Buttery Birthday

It's my father-in-law's birthday and since I've become the official cake supplier in the family, I had the task of baking his birthday cake. He is a simple sort of guy, and his taste for cakes reflect the same. The good ole Butter Cake.

I never thought much about butter cakes, they seem plain and uninspiring. But now that I bake, I've come to realise it is DAMN difficult to bake a good butter cake - the sort that oozes buttery fragrance, makes anything it comes into contact with oily and melts in the mouth. You'd usually find such cakes at old fashioned confectionery shops - one of my childhood favourite is Balmoral at Sunset Way, they make a mean butter cake but I don't think their recipe is something you can google.

The recipes I've tried so far yield a decent butter cake but it doesn't have that decadent oiliness no matter how much butter is used (in proportion of course). The texture and taste is always best when you have it shortly out of the oven. Once it's cooled, it tends to be more crumbly than moist.

Well, I'm still working on finding the best recipe. The older folks tend to request for it and the kids love it too so I'm going to work at perfecting it. Sure helps that I love butter very much!

Golden Churn butter was used in the father-in-law birthday cake...

When it comes to butter cakes, I only use SCS or Golden Churn - they really have the best flavour.

I couldn't really cover this cake - it's already quite rich as it is, so it wouldn't do well with icing. But it is a birthday cake after all, so I piped some cream cheese frosting frills and practiced my chinese calligraphy - "shou" is longevity in chinese - goes down well with the FIL!

Then I got carried away with the candles and it looks a bit like a clown cake in the end, but hey! the grandkids will be the ones blowing the candles out anyway and they love it!

Here's the recipe from rasamalaysia.com

Ingredients:

2 and 1/3 stick (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 oz (200g) plain flour/all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
7 oz (200g) castor sugar
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
4 tablespoons fresh milk or yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Lightly grease the pan with some butter.

3. Mix the flour and the baking powder together and sieve. Add in salt and mix well. Set aside.

4. Use an electronic beater to mix butter and sugar until well combined or pale yellow in color. (Note: Sugar has not dissolved yet).

5. Add in the first egg. Beat well after each addition of egg until creamy.

6. Scrape down the sides for even mixing.

7. Add in vanilla essence and mix well.

8. Fold in the flour into the mixture and mix well.

9. Finally, add in the milk/yogurt.

10. Pour the mixture into the greased baking pan. Shake it lightly to distribute cake mixture evenly.

11. Bake until golden brown and cooked, about 40 minutes. Use a cake tester to test if it’s cooked.

12. Remove it from the oven and let cool on the wire rack for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.

If you know a great butter cake recipe, share it with me here. I'd be ever grateful!

Boys Will Be Boys

My recent project is for a friend who wanted a cake for her boyfriend's birthday and he's an avid F1 fan. Naturally this calls for a sports car, complete with racing stripes, logos and emblems. My friend, P wanted to be involved in the cake, which I think is a lovely idea, so she came over and we spent a couple of hours putting in the details.

The night before I had baked and constructed the race car sans driver, spoiler and famous decals. When P arrived and saw the bare red car, she couldn't wait to get started!

After a good session of fondant modelling, here's what her boyfriend received on his 29th birthday! This is what I like to call a participative birthday cake. It was the most fun I had making a cake - chatting away happily with the recipient as we kneaded, rolled and crafted together  ; )

 

I'm so glad P loved it, as did the birthday boy!

No prizes for guessing who added the finishing touch to the grid girl posing by the Ferrari, yes the husband! Thanks for the ideas and extra pair of hands boo. 

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When I grow up... I want to be a Fireman!

This has become one of my most popular cakes, thanks to a good friend. She had asked me to create a fire engine cake for her godson's 3rd birthday! She said as long as there was some image of a fire engine on a cake, it would make the boy's day. So I researched and found these wonderful 3D fire engine cakes. S took one look and said, "Don't hurt yourself doing it ok, something simple will do." Well, that got me all fired up and I embarked on my first 3D cake.

Making a fire engine cake is a lot of work but it is also very satisfying when you see the parts come together. First you make all the little elements with fondant - a ladder, a water hose, wheel caps for tyre, headlights, siren, engine grille, etc.

The hard part is really constructing the truck itself and covering it in fondant. But look at the end result! I made this cake 2 more times and the latest one was for my good friend's son. Needless to say, the birthday boys were stoked!

I must also credit my dear husband, he was the one who made the fireman to complete the whole look of the cake. He is my cake boss in a way, always giving me feedback and helping me take the cake to another level. Thanks boo.