Hello 2016!

Happy New Year dear readers.

I realised I blogged all of 5 times last year. Oops. But I'd like to think I lived more, and just wrote about it less, and it sure doesn't mean I had baked less either. Last year, the launch of my red velvet venture, Velvetin, was a promising check off the resolution list, though it never became the business of my dreams. Still I enjoyed the process, and it's always there for further undertaking.

So here we are, 2016.

This year, I may have to take on a little less baking, but please do still visit my Facebook page for updates. The special project I have in my oven this year is some other kind of baking, a new creation that has captured the hearts and mind of my whole family. A new baby on the way :)

While I hope to continue baking, in spite of the madness that will be my life come June with two boys and a little baby, let me first apologise if I'm unable to reply your queries or take on your orders. I still hope to hear from all you mummies and keep in touch for future bakes.

Meanwhile, here's to the year ahead... make it a good one.

What! It's 2015!!!

Did I completely miss a Christmas post to round up 2014?
Well, here's a Merry Christmas, Farewell 2014 and Happy New Year to one and all :)

Now because 2014 came and went - a year that dissipated into the cosmos before I could see any of my resolutions through or keep up with the many postings I should have done - I'm embracing this January to start over again. As we all must. Here's my list....

1. Launch something new.

Yup that's it.

There's only one item on my blog this year. I'm not going to set myself up for failure by charting up a list of ideals. I'll save that for my personal diary (remember those things we wrote in with a pen in an age where personal thoughts were, well private...ok, sorry I digress).

No matter what did or did not take off for me in 2014, I'm still extremely thankful for a year where my loved ones thrived and we wanted for nothing. Going forward, feeling blessed.

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?

Birthdays @ Home

As we enter into the last month of the year, I always get a bit contemplative. What have I put into 2013 and what did I get out of it? Well, there sure was quite a bit of travelling, mainly shuttling between S'pore and Jakarta. But mostly, it's a year of adjustment for our whole family. I think we did well and I was still able to bake and even squeeze in some freelance work!

The recent birthday celebration at home pretty much sums up our 2013 - making home in 2 places. We got back just in time from JKT (like a day before) to hold a simple party at home with friends and family, I managed to bake two cakes for my favourite boys. 

Remember that rainbow cheesecake with the colourful concentric circles? Well, I made a monochrome one for the hubby. He loves the colour blue and I made him a cheesecake in 6 hues of blue. While I was making this B, who is pedantic about colours, gave me some insights into how shading works. So it seems if I made this monochrome cake with the outer rings from dark to light, it would have a tunnel with light at the end effect. In this case, he wanted a bulls-eye effect - so outer rings from light to dark. 

Blue Cheesecake

Happy Birthday B

And here's what my 4 year-old big boy got...

Cake on Fire!

Happy Birthday Jake

So our little guy has a new obsession - Hot Wheels! Where I used to have a gazillion Thomas the Train toys strewn all over the house, it's now little die cast cars. This cake allowed him to add 4 more Hot Wheels cars to his collection, needless to say it's the best birthday ever! Till next year, I say :)

Before They Grow Up

Hello readers, it's time again for my casual musings. So my younger son James turned 2. We had two small parties and two cakes - Elmo and Cookie Monster. While I can't say he is the biggest Sesame Street fan, he does, however, recognise the furry red monster and the cookie muncher. Nothing is more delightful than hearing your 2-year-old shout out in excitement - "Elmo! Cookie!"

Here are the cakes...

Happy Birthday Jamesy

But I'm not going to wax lyrical about the cakes in this post. As I watch the boys grow from gurgling babies to toddling tots to 3-year-old with an opinion (Jake), I suddenly feel like I'm running out of time.  This precious age of innocence will flash by before they turn into surly teenagers (god help us). We are taking a trip with the boys next month and while I was planning on where to go, it suddenly occurred to me I went from places to see before I have kids, to places to see with your kids before they grow up.

We are fortunate to be able to take the kids on trips. While I lament that with them in tow, it means we'll have to forgo some (nice) restaurants, skip some (cool) museums, forget the pub crawls and night scene and generally keep it kid-friendly, there is a part of me that realises that they are not going to want to travel with us after a certain age. You only have a small window to see the world through their young eyes while they are still filled with wonderment. So that got me thinking, what are the places to see with your kids before they grow up?

Here are some places on my list... in no particular order:

1. Legoland Billund, Denmark
2. Disneyland / Disney World, USA
3. Great Ocean Road, Victoria
4. Great Wall of China, Beijing
5. Terracotta Soldiers, Xi'an
6. Northern Lights, Arctic Circle
7. Big Five, Kenya
8. Las Vegas the husband says no need, you'll always feel like a kid in Vegas
9. Christmas Markets of Europe
10. Vatican City, Rome

I don't know if we'll ever get to some of these places with the boys before they turn 12, well, I have a good decade to work on it. We are checking off one on the list as we head to Melbourne next month! What are some of the places you'd like to see with your kids before they grow up? 

What Happens on a Baker's Birthday?

Hello dear readers, thought I'd take this opportunity to share a bit of my life with you. I don't have a cake to feature today but here's a bit of musing about what happens on a baker's birthday. Who will bake for the baker?

Well, what usually happens is you get a lot of jokes about whether or not you'll be baking your own birthday cake. With this baker, the answer is probably no. It's kinda like, the chicken rice seller won't really make chicken rice for herself, right? In any case, I'd be at a lost as to what to bake, what do I like that could be represented in a cake? These days, my hopes and wishes are less tangible - more family time, happy healthy kids, cheaper air tickets, parking lots at the supermarket!

This makes me think how wonderfully sweet and simple the time of childhood is, where your favourite toy, character, object represented in a cake would totally make your day. One of my most memorable birthday cakes from childhood is a 3D English Cottage. It was a time when fondant didn't exist and this cake was made entirely with vanilla sponge and buttercream! It came complete with a walkway and a rose garden. The bakery that made this for my 5th birthday is still around and they are still making these amazing cakes... check it out Balmoral Bakery.

Now many years later, I'm making cakes, who would've thought! And I've baked enough birthday cakes now to know how a castle cake can mean the world when you're 2 or 7 years old.

So anyway, the baker will probably receive a store bought cake - I'm not complaining, my personal favourites are Rive Gauche's Guanaja and The Patissier's Croquembouche (I love profiteroles). I don't think the hubby has time to run to the stores for anything fancy, but his coming home from Jakarta tonight is present enough.

Talking of presents, I received one of the sweetest presents a Mother could ask for this morning. Jake who turned 3 years old just 3 months ago wrote on his drawing easel - "Happy Birthday Mama" though in an abstract way that would make Kandinsky proud.

Happy Birthday Mama

Now how do you make that into a cake?