It's mid year and she's ONE!

We've reached the half way point of 2017. Is it just me, or is time passing especially fast this decade? Feels like the older you get, the faster everything happens, and the time to get anything done gets lesser. I think it's especially so when you have children, and I have 3!

We recently celebrated my little girl's 1st birthday. It's one of those milestones that parents look longingly toward, yet as it passes, the reality hits home that your little baby is almost baby no more. I feel it more so with my No.3, maybe because I know she's my last baby and I don't want her to grow up too fast!

For her birthday, I knew I would have to whip out my tools that's been in storage and make something very special. Although I've been baking but it's been a while since I crafted with fondant and I know that for her first birthday, I would need to create something that will make her light up. One of her favourite tunes and animation from YouTube's Super Simple Songs is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". The owl and star are that main characters. I think this amazing YouTube channel is a rite of passage for any parent and child in the age of the iPad. I've used it with my two elder boys, and now 7 years later, it's still the gold standard in children's song and cartoon animation!



I've actually made this cake once some years back for a friend's son. I think I could even pull out a picture of that cake from my Facebook page - see picture. Looking back, I actually see a couple of changes in cake trends. Those were the days when fondant was all the rage. I had ordered buckets of fondant 5kg at a time at the height of its popularity. A fondant covered cake was a show stopper at any party. But trends come and go...now you see most cakes are covered in a smooth buttercream or glazed elegantly with chocolate ganache, while fondant only gets a spotlight as a design element or a character topper.

My Star is ONE

Here's my sweetie's Twinkle Star Birthday Cake! What made it really special was how everyone sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as well and it made her beamed like a little star. Made my heart swell :) Happy Birthday Miss Julianne! Now, please take your time to reach 2 years old.

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.

Peppa the Popular Piggy

You always know what's hot with the kids by the cakes that get requested and the one that is getting keeps popping up is Peppa Pig!

The cute little pink piggy is famous for adventures around her neighbourhood with her little brother George and extended family and friends. There are many other little characters in this British preschool animated series, which includes rabbits, sheep, cats, dogs and elephants. It's truly great fodder for fondant characters.

The most famous image of Peppa and her family is where Mama pig, Papa pig, Peppa and George are enjoying a stomp around in a muddy puddle, typical piggy activity!

I made my first Peppa pig cake in Dec last year and in 2014, it's easily already one of the most requested cakes. Check out all the Peppa cakes I've done so far...

Peppa and friends (extended version)

Peppa and family

Peppa herself

This was a special request to feature the main star herself - Peppa. This cake is carved out, and covered in meringue frosting. Fondant is used only for the outline, so that minimises the sweet stuff. 

Peppa is popular

Always a joy to make, I'm almost eager to see another request for this.

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/

Be Still, My Unicorn

It was going to be a quiet week for me partly because the World Cup has ruin my sleep - I'm not usually a football fan but hey, this is a once-in-four-years event with some athletic eye candy, so why not! But then a friend contacted me for a Unicorn cake for her elder girl and I decided to forgo sleep altogether ha! They are based overseas but were headed back to Singapore for a wedding in Bintan, and she needed a birthday cake as a surprise for her girl who was turning 8.

I love horses, and the mystical unicorn adds another dimension to the equine beauty. At first I was going to make a dumb down version of the beast but when Mummy J showed me the birthday girl's favourite unicorn figurine, I got inspired to make one like it (well, close enough at least).

Keira's Unicorn and Pegasus

As you can see these figurines are almost life-like and I've always been nervous about making anything too much like still life. However, I was up for the challenge and did some research online and found this amazing tutorial on Cake Central on how to sculpt a unicorn. After a few attempts, I was happy with how my unicorn was turning out. I'm so grateful for the generous cake crafters out there who constantly put up ideas and how-tos.

Here's my unicorn in progress...this is made with a mixture of fondant and gum paste, left over night to set and dry before details and shading were added on.

Sculpting at work

Done without shading

Complete with shading

The cake had a few challenges to overcome before it could meet with the celebrant - mainly: Transportation. It would have to go by car to a ferry terminal, take a 45-minute ferry ride, then a transfer to the resort and stored till evening when celebrations will happen. It was a highly humid day. I was seriously concerned. Just a week ago, one of my cakes didn't make it in transit and it was just a car ride that unfortunately had to brake suddenly at one point. The tiered cake shifted, the fondant cracked. I think I was more devastated than the recipient. So yes I was a bit naggy with Mummy J but she was totally cool about it.

Here's the completed cake when it got picked up in the morning...

Keira's Surprise

I'm glad to say everything went well. Mummy J reported back that the cake survived the journey and the birthday girl loved it! While I could see in her picture that there was some wear from the day, I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. For me, that's what it's all about :)

Happy Birthday Keira

The 100th Post

I've been procrastinating on this very post for more than 2 months. But it's not for a lack of cakes to talk about - I've actually taken on some interesting orders which you can check out at my Facebook page - it's more the pressure of the 100th post.

When I realised I was going to reach this 100th post, I told myself I got to do something to commemorate this baking journey of mine. I bantered about many ideas with family and friends - maybe throw some kind of thank you party, have a pop up event of sorts, or even officially launch a baking business. After all, I've been doing this for almost 3 years now in an idyllic way.

So here I am at my 100th post.

While there are no parties to speak of, or special events, still I'd like to take this post to thank all those of you whom I've come to know through my cakes. To the mothers who have included me in their childrens' milestones year after year, to the kids who have dreamt up of interesting themes for me to explore and to family who have always been such a source of encouragement!

In 2012, I made my first fondant cake. I'm sure I've mentioned in my blog before...it was a good friend and ex-colleague who asked me to make a fire engine cake. I didn't know then, but taking on the order would open up a whole new world for me.

My first fondant cake... the one I still joke about with S who said, "Don't hurt yourself making it ok?"

My First Fondant (2012)

Here's a look back at some of my favourite cakes in the last two years...

With half of 2014 behind us now, I've already done more than two dozen cakes that I absolutely enjoyed putting out. While there's more to come, I'm also hoping to make a leap of some sort this year. So I'm going to grant me an extension, meanwhile I've spruced up the blog a little to include some new sections, do have a look around. I hope to bring you new news soon. The 101st post maybe?

Peppa Pig

I love children's literature, it's such a great fodder for cute cake ideas. I've done a few including Dear Zoo and Hungry Caterpillar, now adding to the library is Peppa Pig!

A friendly neighbour who has 2 little boys just like me requested for a Peppa Pig cake for her elder boy who turns 3. She had already actively researched for ideas online for the cake and wanted a 2D design fondant cake. Peppa Pig is a simple enough character as they are drawn in basic shapes with simple details. Still, it was hard deciding on a design. My son's library has a great Peppa Pig book but in the end, I couldn't resist this design that Mummy C shared...

Peppa Pig and Family

It's a neat cake with all the signature Peppa Pig narrative - sunny day, playing in the mud, Peppa with her family - little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig.

So off I went replicating it the best I could...

Character development

Story board

From screen to cake

2D cakes are truly tons of fun to make. With the fondant cutout, it looks almost like a page out of the story book. I added a few little details like a ladybug and a simple trail of trains that can hold the candles.

Peppa Pig!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

Building Castles in a Cake

In the beginning of the year, I made a boy castle cake and met with some construction challenges. So when another request for a castle came along, I was ready to roll my sleeves up and try again!

Mummy E got in touch with a very straight forward brief - a castle cake with turrets, and cobblestone-textured walls for the castle exterior. Her boy is a big fan of dragon-slaying knights and they have an awesome collection of toys that could be used for a birthday cake, now all that's needed is a castle.

There are many places to draw inspiration from. Mummy E sent me some examples of what she envisioned for the cake. I also looked to my boys' toy corner and actually found this Melissa & Doug castle that had just the right turret design.

Melissa & Doug Castle

I was going to make a square base and stack it up 3 times, with turret towers. I usually turn to ice cream cones when it comes to building castles but Mummy E didn't want the conical type castle so she suggested using paper towel rolls to construct the height of the turret - excellent idea!

The one important tool in this cake project is the embossing mat for the cobblestone texture. I wanted to buy it online as I was out of town while planning this cake with Mummy E. In the end, it was available at Kitchen Capers in Singapore, they have a good one because it comes in a large sheet. For those of you interested here's the link. Mummy E very kindly bought it and left it with me.

I made the turrets 2 days in advance so it would dry out nicely. It was a bit tricky to make fondant adhere to cardboard but with some careful moulding it was doable.

A lot of grey fondant was used, there was little need for any other colour. But having said that, I applied a technique I learnt at a fondant figurine class - shading!

Here's the castle before I applied shading...

Castle Grey

Closer look at the embossed texture

And here's the castle after shading...

Shady Castle

Elijah's Castle

Now with Elijah's knights and dragon characters, it all comes to live!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

My Little Pony Mania

October was the month of My Little Pony cakes! It seemed like every mummy who got in touch with me requested for the pretty ponies for their little ones. I think the rainbow coloured ponies must be enjoying some kind of resurgence in popularity because even McDonald's is packaging their Happy Meals with My Little Pony toys.

I was very happy to make these MLP cakes again as I really enjoyed my first effort for a friend's daughter some time back. I made a total of 4 MLP cakes, with one special order for sisters who were celebrating their birthdays together so I made two cakes with a connecting rainbow! A bit of fondant engineering challenge there.

Here are the 4 cakes...

1. Giselle's 1st Birthday

Simple and Sweet

This cake ordered by Mummy V is a bit of a rehash of my first MLP cake. She didn't want 3D fondant nor toppers so I went with this 2D version of 'Sweetie Belle'. I love make the My Little Pony this way as it stands out enough to make an impact on the cake. I especially love the flowing mane! This was a simple orange sponge cake for a small party.


2. Matilda's 1st Birthday

Field of ponies

A friend wanted the MLP theme for her daughter's first birthday. They had the party decorated with all things pony from the banners to the goodie bags, piñata and even labels the drink bottles! Naturally, a MLP cake would complete the celebration. Mummy M is a busy busy lady so she picked up some toppers and came by to discuss the cake with me. We decided on a rectangular cake - always good for cutting and serving up with a standing rainbow. A couple of days before the party, I went by to McDonald's to get a drink and saw the Happy Meal giving away My Little Pony figurines. It was my first Happy Meal in ages.


3. Kaira's 6th Birthday

Just add ponies

Kaira was going to have a pool party for her birthday so her mummy was a bit hesitant about a fondant cake being out in the open for some hours. Hence, they requested for a cream cake instead. Now having made fondant cakes for most orders, I was suddenly a bit lost as to how to make a standard cream cake. As you all know I don't do buttercream because I don't use shortening and butter alone won't hold in our weather, so I turned to cream cheese. This is a chocolate cake where the sides are frosted and the border piped with sweetened cream cheese that is coloured. I left the 'lane' exposed as chocolate with some green grass frosting on either side. Ask me for this if you'd like a fondant alternative.

4. Lauren and Shauna's Birthday

Little twin cakes

This cake combo is for two sisters whose birthdays are quite close so Mummy K thought to combine the celebration. Big sister Lauren gets a rainbow cake with a stream running through it, while Shauna meimei gets a elevated cloud cake. The two cakes are connected by a gum paste rainbow that straddles both cakes. The challenge here is that Mummy K had to do the assembling herself. For ease of transporting the cakes, the rainbow was not inserted and the cakes had to be assembled on site. I provided all the necessary 'tools' and here's the result of Mummy K's handiwork. Well done!

Oh Toodles!

A mummy I knew from childhood got in touch with me when she saw I was baking children's cakes. It's always so nice to hear from old acquaintances who are now mothers, all looking for cakes for their little ones. Mummy A's little boy was going to celebrate his 1st birthday with not one but two Mickey Mouse cakes!

The two cakes were going to be for two separate parties as celebration was spread out over a day - a.m. session and p.m. session. I totally get that; I did that with my boys' birthdays too because we wanted to group our guests such that we can entertain them adequately.

We discussed the design options for Mickey. As you can imagine, there are loads to choose from and every single one looked wonderful - that's the thing with Mickey Mouse, it's a design that always works; it's timeless!

In the end, Mummy A got a very cute plush and some great Mickey character toppers for the two cakes. For one, we had the Mickey plush hugging a cake. Simple enough but when you get the colours right, it's such a very happy cake!

Mickey hugs a cake

Emmanuel's First

Mickey hugs a rich and moist chocolate cake layered with chunky Oreo cream cheese frosting. I love how the red fondant cover complements the plush toy, which admittedly did all the work. All that was needed were some stars, Mickey's emblems and the No.1.

For the second cake, I borrowed from some designs Mummy A sent me - the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse design. Again, the toppers did all the work and I just set the scene for it.

Happy Birthday Emmanuel

Huat Ah!

I come from a family of avid mahjong players. I grew up familiar with the racket of mahjong tiles clacking around the house and inherently know all the high (pong!) and low (grunts from a loser) sounds of the game. No family function is ever complete without a few rounds of mahjong and I've had some cousins who were almost born at the table! My mother at 73 is still at the top of her game. But, guess what, I don't play mahjong. The constant drone of mahjong makes me feel numb; every time I hear those tiles, I get bored, very bored.

I may have missed out on the necessary DNA to play mahjong, but I sure can make a mahjong cake. Considering my disinterest in the game, I was quite excited to get a cake request for the 發 ('fa cai'; prosperity) mahjong tile with a rainbow cake inside. It's my first mahjong cake and making it came quite naturally to me - thanks to those years of packing up mahjong tiles for my mum after the game.

I usually only make round rainbow cakes but I made an exception here and baked the six layers one at a time as I only had one rectangular pan. It was simple enough to cover the cake, one layer of white fondant, followed by a green trimming for the back of the tile. Then came the tricky bit which is carving the chinese character 發.

Here goes...

Happy Birthday Freddie

Birthday boy F had his mahjong and ate it too! Let's hope this brings him lots of good luck at the table.

HUAT AH!

Madison's Giraffe

Remember how in older housing estates you always had a neighbourhood bakery you can count on for cakes for all occasions, or a sweet treat whenever... well, I've become that - the friendly neighbourhood baker.

My neighbour in the opposite block has the easy convenience of ordering and picking cakes up from me. She can literally gesture from her window, across the swimming pool, to me for another red velvet cake please. So when her daughter's 3rd birthday came round, she had yet another excuse for a cake from her neighbourhood baker.

Mummy D is hooked on my red velvet. She's also been meaning to try my rainbow cake but the red velvet always get in the way. So for her daughter's birthday, it's finally the rainbow cake! Her only design requirement - must have M's favourite animal, the giraffe!

While I love colourful children's cake with all sorts of fun trimmings and embellishment, I think there is nothing classier than a minimal design cake that focuses on one or two elements. So here's what I came up with...

Less is More

A rainbow that is neatly covered in soft pink fondant and simple trimming that ends with a fondant bow. I made a little fondant giraffe with blushing cheeks and topped the cake of with a name tag for the birthday girl. You really don't need anything more than a candle to this. Besides, you can let the colours inside do all the wow-ing!

Happy Birthday Maddie

Tayo and Friends

The Korean wave is not confined to pop bands and soap opera, we've now got children's programmes and toys from Korea that's as big a hit as Mickey Mouse and Thomas the Train... well almost. You know the Korean characters are catching up when you start getting cake request for it.

A mummy who came across my cake at her son's preschool looked me up for a Tayo the Little Bus cake. I'm familiar with Tayo because my two sons are fans as well. Tayo is a Korean animation series about a little blue bus and his friends, which include other modes of transport like taxis, police cars, fire engine, trains and construction equipment. It's somewhat educational as the adventures of the little city bus impart lessons like how to cross the road safely and speeding is dangerous, etc.

Mummy S was quite resourceful in scouring online stores for the Tayo toy characters, which means I was spared having to fondant a bus or fire engine. She found a nice deal on G-market for the toys. It was tempting to put a few of the characters on the cake but I suggested to go with just one to make it stand out. The birthday boy finally decided on Frank the Fire Engine.

I made a rainbow cake - buttermilk cake recipe with cream cheese filling - covered in white fondant. Then I decorated the sides with rainbow garage doors like in the series. With the remaining coloured fondant, I cut out many stars and dotted it all around the cake. Check it out...

Frank the Fire Engine takes top spot

Happy Birthday Joshua

I was just thinking of how to cover the cake board. Looking at the many artisan bakers I admire, they  usually have their cake boards decorated. I read somewhere that it's unprofessional to leave it bare. I hardly ever cover my cake boards, I find it a total waste of fondant! It's bound for the bin once the cake is served :( Instead of covering the entire board, I decided to be a bit creative and rolled out ropes of fondant to encircle the cake, then added stars with the No.3 to the corners (Joshua is 3!)

Tell me what you think - do cake boards need to be covered? I'd love to hear from anyone ; )

Dear Zoo

I love going to the zoo, and our zoological gardens is pretty impressive for a small island state. Now that I have kids, the zoo has become the perfect adventure for our whole family. I especially love experiencing the wonder of nature through their young eyes. There is a great book that reinforces our affection for the animals at the zoo - Rod Campbell's Dear Zoo.

This classic lift-the-flap book is a wonderful read to kids as young as 9 months old. It's about a child who writes to the zoo requesting for a pet, and takes you through a gamut of animals beautifully illustrated by Campbell. Next to the Hungry Caterpillar, this is our other favourite book. So I was delighted that a close pal requested for a Dear Zoo cake for her little boy.

Mummy T tells me that Baby Z loves the lion, elephant and giraffe. So for his first birthday cake, the zoo will present him these 3 animals. I made them out of fondant and realise I have a knack for sculpting animals!

Here's a step by step look at crafting Mr Lion...

Ready for the mane event

Fit the mane around the head

Snip snip snip 

Hello Lion

Baby Z is so nice that he gets the cake twice. I made two sets of animals and for a moment it looked like a Noah's Ark cake!

Two by Two

I made a rectangular chocolate cake with Oreo cream cheese filling. The animals sat nicely on top and I made the distinctive red crate for the side of the cake. Then I used colourful M&Ms to line the sides, makes the cake light up instantly! 

Happy Birthday Zach

For the second cake, I made a rainbow cake covered in pale yellow fondant. It has a smaller surface so the animals sat closely and actually made them look bigger too. For this cake, I used yummy fruit gummies to line the sides.

Happy Birthday again!

The birthday boy was totally taken by the elephant. After blowing out the candles, he would grab Mr Elephant and nibble on the ears. Well, it's his birthday, he can do whatever he wants to... well almost (bedtime is still 7.30pm).

Zach's Dear Zoo