Happy New Year everyone! A brand new year before us and an update is in order. I was prompted to not neglect my blog from an avid reader, who looks forward to what has now become the only entry for the year. 2017 may not have been a huge year of baking for me, but nonetheless, the blog must go on.
Having said that, I must recount one highlight in the past year.
In October 2017, Singapore held the inaugural Great Architectural Bake-Off (yes, much like TV's Great British Bake Off). But this was more than a baking competition, it's a coming together of architects working with an edible medium while applying their design skills. The friendly competition truly took baking and cake decorating to another level. Being the 'batter' half of an architect, I had the amazing opportunity to bake a durian cake for the participating team.
DP Architects went into the competition with a re-creation of The Esplanade aka as 'the durians'. Watching architects do anything is really quite daunting, they are meticulous about details to a fault, as they should be of course. So while all I did was bake the 4-layered durian cake in the shape of the Esplanade dome, it was the planning of details with the rest of the team that made the experience so awe-inspiring. Every little detail was not spared, right down to the spiky shades that gives the Esplanade its signature durian moniker. The leading architect on the team had painstakingly hand crafted more than 200 spikes with gum paste, which were then flawlessly applied on the dome cake one by one. Talk about an exacting task! The end result was a stunning replica of The Esplanade at the scale of 1:400 that took home the grand prize! In all my years of baking, that moment when the winner was announced, was my most exhilarating. What a cake, what a feat, what a feeling!
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| And the winner goes to.... |
So what's in store in 2018?
I'm really hoping to get back to some baking, and maybe even cooking! One of my resolutions this year is to master some of my mother's traditional Cantonese recipes. Maybe it's age, we are all growing older, and I find the need to get back to basics. I never imagine that I would want to learn the cooking I grew up on. You sort of take it for granted – the food along with the cook. My mother has some dishes that are real culinary gems, but she is a very prideful cook, which could be why I shunned learning from her all these years. But now I have kids of my own, and I hope I can cook for them the way my mum cooks for us.
Anyway, I digress too much.
This year, there will be baking, though likely for personal satisfaction and consumption. Of course, I'll always be happy if anyone would like to try any of my traditional cakes like Ondeh Ondeh Pandan, Butter Cake, Earl Grey Tea Cake and Durian Cake.
And I may just start blogging about Cantonese dishes, so dear readers, you might still have a reason to stick around :) First up, I'll be attempting a Cantonese staple at Chinese New Year, watch for it.
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| Chinese New Year 'Zhai' (vegetable stew) |
