Sofia the First

Wow! I made some Sofia the First cupcakes recently and had it posted on my Facebook page. Overnight, the post reach surpassed all my previous posting with a healthy number of likes and kind comments. Thanks so much guys. The petite princess in purple offered so many wonderful design elements  to work on that it was simple pleasure to make.

This also made me realised how many of you actually like Sofia the First! I know her because it's on Disney Jr. and it's one of few princess cartoons my boys would watch, if not the only. It is also easy to like Sofia, she's kind and spirited but not cloyingly sweet, just enough to make some awesome cupcakes. Heh.

Here are a few emblems that brings out the essence of Princess Sophia...

Her purple amulet

Clover pattern on her dress

Every princess needs a tiara

It's an extremely purply affair, a sort of powdery lavender that is most fitting for Disney's latest bug eyed princess. Here's Sofia herself in cupcake (literally).

Sofia the First 

I made little printouts of Sofia, had them cut out and mounted on toothpicks, then stuck it atop the cupcake and used the fondant ruffle technique for the skirt. Little round discs of fondant were ruffled piece by piece with a ball tool - something I have to confess that's strangely therapeutic to do - and arranged it all around each cupcake.

HRH Cupcakes

I've had wonderful feedback and was told Mummy H who ordered this was totally pleased as was the birthday girl. From the response I've been getting all around, I think Sofia has just gained a few more fans.

Laylapalooza

If there is one thing from my misguided youth that I regret, it is that I didn't go to music festivals like Glastonbury, Coachella and the likes while I could still weather the elements, large crazy crowds and budget youth hostels.

I only went as far as Big Day Out in Melbourne and though I did get to see The Strokes, The Darkness, Jet and got on stage with The Flaming Lips, in truth, it wasn't quite Glastonbury.

It does seem like that window has closed for me, but my friend Eve who runs the awesome motherhood blog thebottomsupblog.com gave me the opportunity to remember those heady days and showed how as young mothers now, it is still possible to have a rocking party!

Eve threw her daughter Layla a super awesome Rock n Roll theme party, complete with posters, props, memorabillia and a band where her friends can bring a song (instead of a toy/gift) and perform it! I don't think it gets any cooler than this for a 8-year-old! 

So where I came in was to provide cupcakes in line with the colour scheme and theme. I made little fondant electric guitars as toppers and stencils of their favourite bands which include AC/DC, The Beatles, Ramones, Metallica, Nirvana, RHCP, GnR...

I was thinking real hard how to transfer the band logo without resorting to printing it on sugar paper and realised there is no other way but to print it and penknife it out into a stencil. Then I dusted edible black dusting powder and voilà, a decent transfer that actually looks like it was spray painted on!

Rawk on!

Happy Birthday Layla

Now if you want to see the rest of the party and how Eve had put it together so wonderfully, do check it out at http://thebottomsupblog.com/laylapalooza-2014/

What more can a cupcake be?

Some time back, I made a cake made up of cupcakes. My dear friend saw the idea from somewhere and asked if I could do something like that. For all intents and purposes it's a regular cake, except it's made up of many cupcakes put together, kinda like a jigsaw puzzle.

This great little idea is called the 'pull-apart' cake. It's also perfect for those who don't want to deal with cutting up a cake to serve. Once the candles are blown out, all you have to do is pick up a cupcake and enjoy the goods. And the design possibilities are endless!

I made a beach theme pull-apart complete with the birthday boy's favourite beach toys! Here's a look at how it's done...

Setting up the base of cupcakes

Adding the frosting over the top entirely

Happy Birthday Zach!

These cupcakes quickly caught on as I started to get a few requests for this idea. Mummy P ordered what must be the biggest batch of cupcakes to date for her kids as they both shared the same birth date so it was cupcakes galore at school!

The birthday boy wanted an superhero themed cake so I suggested Iron Man! The request was for 50 cupcakes so I had to think of how to configure the 'cake'. I image googled Iron Man and thought the logo was the best way to go - a huge red M with a dot above.

Esan's Iron Man Celebration

For the birthday girl, she wanted something princess-y so I had a look around and saw a very nice idea online of a princess dress put together by cupcakes. I made a fondant tiara to top off for the royal treatment. Admittedly, the shape didn't work out as nicely as I would have liked. I think it' was a case of no. of cupcakes versus the configuration for a dress.

Happy Birthday Princess! 

What a Character!

I had the pleasure of baking two orders that involved some interesting and well-loved children's characters. For the birthday recipients, the cakes not only made their day, but it was central to the celebration and really goes to show how it's not a party unless you have cake!

When I think of pirates, it used to be 'Pirates of the Caribbean' with Johnny Depp in all his uncanny ways. Now that I have kids, it's Disney Junior's 'Jake and the Neverland Pirates'! Oh how things have changed. But Jake and his mateys are definitely more inspirational when it comes to making confectionery.

I was delighted to bake for Riven again. His mummy had contacted me exactly a year ago for his birthday. Another year older now, his love for Mickey Mouse has moved on to a more swashbuckling variety - Pirates!

Riven got a box of cherubic-looking pirate cupcakes for school and a small cake with all the emblems that would make a pirate proud. The pirate fondant toppers were easy enough to make, you just need round cutters and edible ink pen. Cut a nice round disc for the face, a semi circle for the head scarf, some little round cutouts for the polka dots (I used a the opening of a large piping tip) and draw in the face with edible ink!

Happy B'Arr-Day Riven

Eye patches rock

Riven's Treasure Chest

My next recipient is a little older, but age doesn't have to define you, especially not when it comes to the sort of cake you can ask for on your birthday. The birthday girl's friends were throwing her a tea party, and not just any tea party, but the sort that Alice would enjoy in Wonderland.

Since it was just cupcakes, I figured to make a few key characters and feature some famous quotes from the fantasy claptrap. So you got to have the White Rabbit, Alice herself falling down a rabbit hole no less, the mad hat and crazy clock. I particularly enjoyed pulling out quotes from the story that have become so famous that it's part of popular culture - "Eat me!"

Alice in Cupcake-land

Time for cupcakes

Happy Birthday Cindy

Wonderful Tea Party

I just realised a common thread in these character cupcakes - Johnny Depp movies!


“You would have to be half mad to dream me up.” 
- Lewis Carrol

Dear Daniel

Dear Daniel,

When your Mum and I were young, we were each other's favourite playmates. Family gatherings saw us like peas & carrots and we especially loved playing 'house'. Someone was always making a meal, we pretended to 'work' and of course there was the occasional domestic squabble but our kinship and friendship weathered it all.

Then we grew up and went from playing to partying. Too many nights were spent queuing at clubs, drinking till the bar closed and then, still reluctant to head home, we would eat our first meal of the day at Adam Road hawker centre till the sun beckoned.

Well well, look at us now. Our main preoccupation, making sure you kids are fed, cleaned and entertained. We queue at supermarkets, stay up till you are done drinking (milk) and still reluctant to head to bed, we try to cram in some me-time online till we hear your next cry.

It's been a month now since we were blessed with your arrival and every day, you are a joy to all who are in your life. Every time I look at you, I think of how very far we have all come. We couldn't imagine it before, but Daniel... you and your cousins Jake, James and Clare are everything we ever wanted and more.

Love,
Aunty Debbie

ps: In case you're wondering... your Papa is a HUGE Liverpool supporter, which explains why your full month cupcakes have those little red football jerseys with your name and day / month of birth ('39') on it. They were lovingly handmade by your Mummy and I, even though we don't watch football. But you should know the family is divided into Liverpool and Man United supporters, I'm sure your Uncle Ravi and Uncle Andrew will be having a chat with you the minute you can kick a ball.

Happy 1st Month Danny boy

Busy Bee

I've been a busy bee.

Since coming back from a trip last week, I've baked a Pororo birthday cake for a handsome little fella (my nephew Tim turned 2) and also made a big batch of red velvet cupcakes for a returning customer. She actually wanted the 'Despicable Me' Minion design but didn't really have the budget for the customised fondant, nonetheless I surprised her and went ahead to make one silly Minion holding a birthday sign ; ) it sure made her day!

But what I really want to blog about is a special order of Honey Beehive cupcakes!  I got the request for the bee themed cupcakes for a BodyShop event. The BodyShop recently put out their Honeymania product line and the cupcakes went out to the media.

I made a lemon butter cupcake with a honey cream cheese beehive swirl. The cupcakes were topped with a honey bee, which I put together using lemon fruit gum and almond slivers for the wings.

Have you heard the buzz?

The details on the honey bee were added with the Americolor gourmet pen. It was so fun putting this together. When I was thinking about what to use as the bee's body, Marks & Spencer's fruit gums came to mind immediately. They are super yummy! But what really made me smile is how the lemon fruit gum is in the perfect shape for a honey bee ; )

I also made some paper toppers with the honey bee artwork. I love the yellow and black theme, it such a great combination. Nature really has great taste!

Honeymania

A friend who went on thebodyshopsg Instagram showed me the postings on the cupcakes. You gotta love social media. I was super thrilled. So glad the recipients enjoyed it.

Safari Cupcakes

Finally, I'm getting some adult action! No not that kind (brain out of the gutter please) but cupcakes for a nice young lady turning 30-something ; )

After having made those cute animal fondant for kids birthday, I get a request for animal print cupcakes. The birthday girl likes her leopard and zebra motifs. Now how do we incorporate that tastefully on cupcakes? 

1. Take the easy way out - just buy animal print cupcake liners

2. Use fondant and paint on the animal print as a topper

3. Use animal print art paper and make toppers

I did two of the above and got stuck on the fondant because I'll be using cream cheese in my frosting. So what sort of topper can I print on with edible paints that will hold up well on cream cheese? I strolled the aisles of the supermarket for inspiration and one thing stood out - Marshmallows!

I decided to buy those big tubular white marshmallows for camp fires and use them as toppings for the cupcake, on which I painted the safari patterns. Here's how I did it...

Get a pack of marshmallows. Snip the two ends of each piece and you'll get a flat disc of marshmallow but you'll find the scissored end sticky - just dust it with some powdered sugar or corn flour.

Snip to disc

Then paint on the spots with some edible paints - I'm using Americolor soft gel with some added water.

Pink leopard prints

Colourful safari cupcake toppers

A pack of leopards

Making the zebra prints was even easier. I used my Americolor gourmet pen here and just drew on the stripes.

Here's the animal print cupcake liner

A herd of zebras

I also made some paper toppers using animal print paper. This gave a nice variation to the cupcake design, but really, it was the best way to spell out Happy Birthday Missi!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Hope you had a good one 

Laser Tag 'Em

Believe it or not, I've never played Laser Tag or the more physical Paintball games before. It's been the rage for young boys (and girls too I'm sure) and even the not so nimble enjoy a good tag, as seen at many company team-building events. So when I was asked to make Laser Tag cupcakes, I was like, "Okaaay... what do we make?"

Did you know the creator of Laser Tag drew inspiration while watching Star Wars. It's no surprise that Laser Tag is one of the game choice for sic-fi fans. Well, the recipient of the Laser Tag cupcakes is for a friend's son who turns 8! The birthday boy and his buddies will be playing a round of Laser Tag to celebrate and his mummy thought matching birthday cupcakes would be cool!

She was right, Laser Tag cupcakes must be one of the coolest cupcakes I've made so far. So here's what I decided to make - target points, laser guns and those military-style vest you kit out to play the game.

Warren's Target

Fondant combat

I had fun making these fondant toppers, especially those little guns. Given a little twist, it could be a hairdryer even...haha! The birthday boy's name was also in focus as I spelt it out on the target points. 

Then my ultimate stroke of inspiration came when I was thinking about those laser beams. I wanted to recreate that for the cupcakes. At first I thought of using long thin candles that can double up as birthday candles but he is after all just 8, how many candles can you possibly stick into the cupcakes right? So here's what I did with Twizzler candy sticks instead.

Beam beam beam

I love these rainbow Twizzlers. My creative blogger mummy friend Eve introduced it via her blog when she prepared her hubby's rainbow-themed birthday. I'm using them here as my shooting coloured beams, they were just perfect for the job. Here's how...

All you need are a pack of Twizzlers, scissors and some toothpicks ...

Look at those colourful candy sticks

Simply cut to length required

Insert a toothpick for support

Beaming cupcakes

Happy Birthday Warren

Now for some real action, Laser Tag with me anyone?

Numtums No.3

Have you heard of The Numtums? It's CBeebies (BBC kids) super cute series on 10 little characters that help young children learn their numbers. This weekend, I got the chance to make Numtum No.3!

There are so many great resources out there now for teaching numeracy to kids. Sesame Street has always had a great number programme (remember the 123 song with the pinball), who could resist counting with Count Dracula! There's also NumberJacks, Baby Einstein 123 and a whole lot at YouTube. I should come up with a number programme with fondant for kids!

For birthday boy Luke who turned three, it's a cupcake affair with an assortment of "3" designs. There are many ways to use fondant on cupcakes but I think making fondant disc toppers are the way to go! They can be made in advance, they sit nicely on top of the frosting swirl and you can hold on to them if you're not eating it.

Before making the Numtum fondant toppers, I went to the official website for a look at the colour scheme and I totally love it! Check out the blues and yellows...

Fondant disc toppers

Here's the making of Numtum No.3...

Cute little creature

Hooray No.3!

Numtum set on a disc

I had the cupcakes packed in 3 dozen boxes...

Mummy tells me the kids at school loved it! Yay ; )

M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE

He's the world's most famous mouse! You may be 2 or 20-years-old and you may love Mickey in varying degrees over time but he retains an everlasting appeal synonymous with the happiest place on earth. So naturally, he's bound to be requested on birthday cakes.

For one four-year-old boy, it's a box of Mickey cupcakes that his dear mummy ordered with request for some ideas that were too cute not to attempt. She wanted a box of 20 cupcakes with various designs of the Disney character. Mickey mouse is all about the white gloves, white-buttoned red trousers and those unmistakable big ol' ears. And that's just what I did (in fondant).

Meeska Mouska Mickey Mouse

I was told the birthday boy's favourite colour is green so I had to find a way to sneak that in - have his name spelt out in green fondant fonts! 

Riven

I made these fondant disc a couple of days before delivery so they will dry out nicely as toppers. It also gave me the opportunity to place them in the box for a look at the final arrangement.

Empty spot for special design

Riven's mummy asked if candles can go onto the cupcakes, I know what she meant... after all, what's a birthday celebration without the candle-blowing right? While there is absolutely nothing wrong with candles on a cupcake, I did however proposed to make one bigger cupcake (or a small cake) so they can still have the usual cake for blowing out the candles. Since she loved the design of the large Mickey head and ears cupcake, I made a bigger one for the middle of the box.

It's actually made of 2 cupcakes

Large Mickey head in the middle

Happy Birthday Riven

Everyone knows Mickey Mouse but here's some trivia on the famous little rodent.

1. Mickey was first conceptualised as a dog, cat, cow and horse! 

2. Mickey's birthday is 15 November 1928 (that makes him what... 85!)

3. Apparently, intelligence officers used "Mickey Mouse" as a password amongst themselves during WWII. 

4. Mickey's ears were dubbed "one of the greatest cultural icons of the 20th and 21st centuries" by Time Magazine.

5. Mickey Mouse launched the career of Ryan Gosling! (God bless Mickey)