cup-a-cakes

New Year, New Site

2008-01-02T11:10:00.000+08:00

www.love-a-cupcake.blogspot.com

Bidding 2007 farewell

2007-12-31T12:02:00.000+08:00

Dear Readers...

As we bid farewell to 2007, we will also bid farewell to cup-a-cake. I will start anew with a new name & blog... Starting next year (tomorrow), I will be using a new name & blog page - http://www.love-a-cupcake.blogspot.com/

Thanks June & Viv for the name! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Note: This will be the last post for this year!

Merry Xmas Jing & Family!

2007-12-31T11:35:00.000+08:00

This is my last christmas order. It's a late celebration for Jing (my junior in SGGS) & her family in KL. Since we are both Georgians, I just couldn't turn her order down... *grin*

She wanted just 12 cupcakes with xmas decor

She's travelling down to KL with it...

And for 12 pieces of xmas cuppies... this is the packaging!

Jing, hope u & ur family had a blast celebrating!

Thank you...

2007-12-28T11:45:00.000+08:00

To all who have supported me so far...

I just want to dedicate this post to you. With all your support, my "christmas calling" to reach out to the poor has been a success! In total, I've reached out to 5 homes and many have played a big role.

Some helped by baking & decorating the cupcakes, some by sending me all the necessary utensils, and the rest of you, by ordering cupcakes! Like I said, 30% of everything goes to the charity! The rest will of course be from Manila Place...

It has been quite challenging to make this possible because this month has been exceptionally busy - with the shop, various outside functions, friends & family... There were times when I felt like quiting because I am not able to cope.

Thanks to the support for all of you... I persevered and I'm glad I did. It's really worth it.. Thank you.... :)

Christmas Dessert @ Manila Place

2007-12-28T10:12:00.000+08:00

I've always wanted to bake for our set lunch/dinner sets @ Manila Place... My chance finally came when we were planning for our Christmas's Menu.

I made chocolate with biscuits drenched in coffee and mixed fruits cupcakes. YUM! This is really my favorite. Partly cause I'm a coffee lover. We then served it with orange cream & fresh strawberries....

~ Mission accomplished ~

Louise's Little Angels

2007-12-28T09:59:00.000+08:00

Louise is my very first customer for christmas cupcakes. She was really sweet over emails and she actually came by Manila Place for lunch. Even sweeter in person! (really great to meet u!)

She wanted to do them for her group of children playing in a christmas performance. So, job's done and christmas is over - she sent me pictures of her children with the cupcakes!

They all look so cute and colourful in their costumes! Looks like a play where lots of effort has been put into....

And the adorable faces of her little angles....

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Thanks so much for the pics!

Happy Birthday JJ!

2007-12-26T23:24:00.000+08:00

I have always been wanting to do something for children... more kiddish designs and my chance finally came when Mrs Toon called requesting for 24 big cupcakes for her son, JJ's birthday party. She wants lots of chocolate for base and colourful topping.

So, I did chocolate base with lots of chocolate chips and added marshmellows too!

For the topping, JJ's favourite colours are yellow, blue, pink and purple! So i decided to use them all and make happy smiley faces for JJ & friends!

All together now.... It really looks like happy cup-a-cakes now!

Happy Belated Birthday JJ!

With love from Shaun

2007-12-26T22:35:00.000+08:00

Shaun messaged me late one night and asked if I could help him bake for the gf's birthday. Shaun is a dear friend since college. He's taught me lots about lots *grin*.... and he's my personal computer designer... He knows my taste :) In short, a good good buddy...

So anyway, back to his cupcake.... We decided on plain vanilla with white choc topped with strawberries.

Shaun was not sure where he's keeping the cakes yet. He's picking it up early in the morning. So I decided to keep them frozen so that it will be just nice for dinner! :)

And here he is! My buddy, Shaun who came to personally pick up his cupcakes and also for a quick catch up. Havent seen him in a long long while.... Thanks Buddy!

Happy Belated Birthday to ur gal....

Cup-a-cake brings C.H.E.E.R! (part 2)

2007-12-26T15:31:00.000+08:00

With 7 big boxes filled with cupcakes, we made our way to Lighthouse.

Before this, I had no idea whatsoever what it was at all! I have often wondered what becomes of the beggars & homeless people around Penang. Little did I know that there is a special place where they can go as when they like to get a proper bath and food. But this home don't just stop here. They go all out trying to help these people hoping to give them a new life where they will become financially independent and no longer homeless. It is not necessarily just for people who are beggars and homeless. It is also a place where people who are lonely can go to. It is a place which offers you hope and a new beginning... This is why they are known as "Penang Office for Human Development".

This is how Lighthouse looks like inside & out

Our delivery team arrived with loads of happy cupcakes to bring cheer! There were lots of other foods prepared for them as well - fried beehoon (sponsored by EQ Hotel) & finger foods as a part of the Christmas & New Year celebration.

The event started off with some games outdoor

and then indoors

The carollers were there to serenade us all into christmas mood. They are so good!

Then Santa Claus made his appearance once again! Giving out goodies to all who were there. This Santa is so much fun. You can see how excited everyone was waiting for their turn with Santa to come... It is the most rewarding gift to see their faces lit up by such simple gestures..

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to ALL!

Yummy yummy food enough to serve us also!

And finally... it's makan makan time!

Helpers going around to distribute the cupcakes...

Among the many recipients of the cupcakes is also the Bishop!

And the people who helped out in making the cupcakes possible!

Thanks all!

I planned on bringing cheer to the poor/homeless/orphanages today but I think I received the biggest gift of all - the true meaning of christmas. I have never felt christmas as much as I have today....

The Afternoon Production Crew

2007-12-24T15:55:00.000+08:00

We grabbed lunch before rushing home to finish up our final preparation for the afternoon session.. We will be going to the Lighthouse where St Joseph is located. While we were at IC Church, two of my lil' helpers were busy preparing and decorating the christmas cupcakes for our afternoon session...

Look at all the cupcakes they have done while we were away for less than 2 hours!

Adding on the final touches before packing them into boxes...

Thanks Ayu & Murni!! They are both cousins and trust me, lots of FUN! My Sunday would have been chaotic without them...

Thanks again guys!

Cup-a-cake brings C.H.E.E.R! (part 1)

2007-12-24T15:50:00.000+08:00

Its been a crazy crazy week & month... Should have posted this one week ago but just couldnt find the time to do so... anyway, better late than never.... here goes!

On 16th December... we went to Immaculate Conception's church at Pulau Tikus to celebrate christmas with the oprhans from St Vincent D' Paul. It was such a great experience... really.

We arrived at 10.00am sharp and the hall was already packed with the orphans from St Vincent D' Paul as well as IC's parish who are there to celebrate the occassion. Carollers from IC church filled the hall with the feel of christmas with about half hour of beautiful songs..

Santa then appeared with a big bag of goodies for the orphans... It definitely brought cheer...

And then... it was time to give out food & the cupcakes!! We brought 3 boxes of cupcakes (108pcs) and had so much fun giving them out.... the recipients were so grateful & happy. All our efforts are really worthwhile just seeing their faces lit up!

Merry Christmas all!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We then rushed home to prepare for PART 2

Christmas Cupcakes for Christmas Carollers

2007-12-24T15:45:00.000+08:00

We got up real early on Sunday morning to start preparing for our busy day today...

I have an order from my previous wedding planner, Edward who wants to surprise his carollers (who will be going to the homes with us...) with christmas cupcakes!

I also included a candy cane in each box so that all boxes will have something similar (did different designs for each)

The final product of each boxes...

Christmas Countdown....

2007-12-18T19:37:00.000+08:00

Only one week to go..... Hurry and finish up with christmas shoppings! (i better start too!)

**merry christmas**

More on Christmas Calling~!!

2007-12-15T21:36:00.000+08:00

Today... we've been busy preparing for tomorrow's visit to the orphanages... I've baked the cakes already... today, a couple of santa's lil helpers are coming over to bake! or should i say finish up with the toppings!

we had a total of 12 trays of 36 cupcakes (432pcs) to decorate. Started at approximately 11.00am. First, there was 3... then slowly, one by one came to make this event more meaningful!

First we fill up the cup with icing... smoothen it... then design on it! Sounds easy eh!?

Our 4 designs of the day!

A new design! Thanks to snowflakes sprinkles sent by Sherene!

Santa's lil helpers - Suzanne, Joanne, Chen Yi, Meri, Ayu & Murni! Uncle Norman was ard too! I hope they all had as much fun as I did watching them! :)

All together on one tray..... :) We'll be giving 3 trays for the morning function @ IC Church for the St Vincent D' Paul... 1 tray for suzanne to bring to a home tonight (forgot the name) and 7 trays for LightHouse & Sunshine tomorrow afternoon! Another busy busy day ahead... We'll do more decoratings tomorrow..

Don't my freezer look so christmas-y? Love it!

Tomorrow's the day when we give back to the community!

Busy busy day...

2007-12-15T21:22:00.000+08:00

Today will be the day when all our previous preparations will be put together for Blaze's opening ceremony. We have a team of people coming over to my place to prepare for the canapes & desserts. Started at 10.00am and we never stopped working...

My lil chefs hard at work.. Amongst the things we prepared are:

1. Cupcakes - 3 flavors... vanilla with mandarins, chocolate with strawberries & tiramisu!

We prepared mini tags to be placed in the cupcakes

And we'll be setting up a 3-tier cupcake also as a part of decor...

2. baked wanton to be used as bowls...

remember the tarts we made earlier? it's for

3-6. salmon & tuna mayo tarts, cheese tarts, fruit tarts

(now you understand why we had to bake so many??)

7-9. chicken ham sandwich, nasi lemak in wanton wrap & prawns with potato salad on crackers

Then we packed everything up and left for Blaze.....

Our 3-tier cupcakes! It finished so fast I had to refill in less than 1/2 hour!

Busy for fulfilling day......

Cupcakes on tree for Mandy's dad...

2007-12-15T21:13:00.000+08:00

Mandy is my dear friend poh sim's colleague... I got to know her during ps's wedding... She called me to order some cupcakes for her dad's 60th birthday celebration. She wanted to do what I did for Poh Sim's birthday...

She requested for 3 flavors... vanilla, chocolate and tiramisu.... and in order to fill up the cupcake tree, I made 24 pieces!

Had to put them separately. Into a carrier and the cupcake tree separately. I've given her instructions on how to put the together.. :)

I took this picture coz I wanted to show mandy a sample of how the cake would look like but I did not have to send it... sorry-ar!

She also requested for me to prepare some birthday tags for her & her family... 12 in total... the best part is the message from Joe Lee (their family dog)... I did not know how else to write a message from a dog but...

"woof woof woof!"

(dog translation: happy 60th birthday!!)

crazy week....

2007-12-15T21:06:00.000+08:00

This week has been very hectic.... partly coz of standing buffet we are having for Blaze's opening ceremony. Lots of preparations to do for it.....

Luckily I have 3 lil angels to help me out....

We did cheese tarts..... Lots and lots of them...

Cupcakes.... endless baking....

And a lot of tart shells! Empty ones... My lil angels are so good at it now...

We did about 300 in one day! Unbelievable..... It's so much nicer and faster doing with them... It's very simple to make tart shells but so so so time consuming!

My 3 lil angels - monica, chen yi & meri... thank you so much gals!

Cupcakes for Sony's Students....

2007-12-15T21:01:00.000+08:00

Manila Place is starting a waiterless catering for function. Waiterless meaning we will either deliver the food, or you pick up the food with proper settings and leave! We'll come back to collect the dishes and etc or you can deliver it back later on... Ideal for small functions!

Sony was having a training session for their customers and requested for some refreshment for their high tea.. as a part of their high tea... is cupcakes! Also served was sandwiches, tuna tarts and mango tarts.

Cupcakes for Lynette's Mom

2007-12-15T20:55:00.000+08:00

My dear friend Lynette, from penang msged me on msn late last night asking is she can get some cupcakes for her mom... Usually, for such a last minute order, I wont take but for a dear friend... i'll definitely go all the way out...!

We discussed about the designs and all... finalized with choc chip base... orange cream topped with fresh strawberries! Yummm.....

Strawberries never fails to make cupcakes look so delish and tempting!

Happy Birthday Aunty! Hope it was a great one....

Orders from a cupcake lover!

2007-12-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

A customer @ Manila Place enquired about cupcakes today... she's a cupcake fan who sells, buys and loves them! Later, she placed order for 12 vanilla cupcakes with vanilla toppings.... I felt quite pressured coz being such an amateur, i've never had the opportunity to serve someone who's into it!

I went ahead to make simple design.... I just got these mini chocolate swirls and I really love them... the taste and the design... very very pretty! love it!

Putting it all together... and off it goes to be delivered! I specifically requested for feedbacks and she was really nice about it... Her text to me was:

"hi! we loved the vanilla cupcakes, it's moist and just buttery enough. We prefer butter frosting to whipped cream frosting. Nevertheless, it's gone in minutes! Thanks!"

Thank you!!! :) Hope your friend had a great birthday....

Updates on Christmas Callings & Christmas Cupcakes!

2007-12-10T22:58:00.000+08:00

I'm really overwhelmed by my Christmas cup-a-cakes response... I am only taking orders up till 20th December 2007 for pick ups between 20th - 26th December. Please take note!

I am even more excited about this Sunday's Christmas Calling... we were supposed to bake 1000 cupcakes in total but we've decided to do bigger sized cupcakes... So, for the first one, which is for St Vincent De' Paul (to be held at the Immaculate Conception Church), we will be baking 100 pieces for about 60 children.

As for the second one (for Lighthouse & Sunshine), we will be baking 300 pieces for about 200 children and old folks! There will be other food as well... So, we've decided not to do too many, which is good... I was afraid of storage problems! The biggest box I can find can only store about 36 pieces!

I am really looking forward to this Sunday though it is going to be really hectic fo me... rushing to and fro and so forth... BUT, with the christmas bug I'm having, I'm simply more excited than anything else! :)

NOTE: Last Friday, we went to a home for the handicapped orphanages at Bukit Tengah. It was quite an emotional experience for us. It's really sad to see the situation they are in... I'll post up pictures and talk more about it soon.... We often forget how fortunate we are until.....

Christmas Cupcakes for the homeless....

2007-12-05T21:18:00.000+08:00

This Friday, we will be donating our baked cupcakes for the first charity home! This time it's for a home at Bukit Tengah. The home is for handicapped children. Ooohhh.... we really hope we can bring some cheer to them with the cupcakes!

This time around, I have 4 helpers! Chen Yi, Monica & Yap (not in pictures) and Mary - my little apprentice...

For this batch of cup-a-cakes for the handicapped children, we designed new designs for them... Let me run through the new designs with you...

Design 1: Traditional Christmas Wreath

The size of the christmas cup-a-cakes in case you are all wondering... "palm size"

Design 2: 'Merry Xmas' greeting

Design 3: Christmas Tree with a swirl

Design 4: Red red Christmas Tree

The red designs...

Design 5: "Ho! Ho! Ho!" Greeting

Design 6: Gingerbreadman

These christmas cup-a-cakes are ideal as 4-in-a-box.....

or even as 36-in-a-box like the one we are preparing for the children at the centre!

There are about 45 children at the home... and we baked 2 boxes of 36 cup-a-cakes for them! We will be bringing it to them this coming Friday!

Thank You dearest Helpers! You guys are making all this more & more meaningful! The true spirit & meaning of christmas! :)

My Christmas Tree is now UP!

2007-12-04T17:45:00.000+08:00

Since a few years back, every christmas, I will set up 3 christmas trees... one for each outlet and one at HOME! I'll say that I enjoy setting up my house's the most because... I am always looking out for nice christmas ornaments for my tree at home and I usually spend quite a bit on them each year! It's growing! This will be the 3rd christmas!

Some of my most treasured ornaments....

I prefer the cute cute ones to those classic ones.... :)

Merry Christmas all!

More X'mas Pressies!!!

2007-12-04T17:39:00.000+08:00

I feel so blessed this Christmas! This time's gift is also from the States but it's from June & Kelvin this time.... I actually received it last Friday... and the Friday started off quite badly...

It all changed as soon as I saw the big box! I forced June into telling me about it coz I was afraid we'd buy the same thing. But nevertheless, I have been really looking forward to it!

I'll share with you slowly... what I received...

Look at all the nicely wrapped up gift! It's so sweet and thoughtful! I really appreciate it...

You know what I sucker I am for things like this....

Gift No 1: Jumbo Cookie Cutters!! Yea!! Love the snowflakes one...

Gift No 2: Familiar? Shere gave me the same thing too! But this is really handy... so goody!!

Gift No 3a: Santa serviettes (it's so nice i'm just going to keep them!!)

Gift No 3b: Santa on ski Serviettes

Gift No 4: Lotions, lipgloss & such! Love it! (I tried the lipgloss and it's fine on me! and yess!! it tastes so nice! yumm yummm!)

Gift No 5 - Chinese Takeaway Box! I love it! wish i can get them here... :(

Gift No 6 - Birthday Tags (even if i do put it on any cupcakes... i'll definitely ask them back! lol)

Gift No 7: Santa on sticks!

Gift No 8: Stickers

Gift No 9: More stickers!!! They are all so nice.... how to use?? So Sayang...

I love the box... look at the christmas trees! so nice.........!

Gift No 10: Stencils! Thank you mind reader!

Gift No 11: Baking Cups - I've been looking for them here but cannot find.......

Gift No 12: Party Bags!

love the red snowflakes...... i'm going to 'kinda' use it.... heheheh

My floor is filled with gifts! oh... words cannot describe how happy I am!

Thank YOu Mr & Mrs Yeow!!

My New Helper - santá's little helper :)

2007-11-27T19:15:00.000+08:00

Introducing to you....... Maizakiah Ayu! An engineer turned baker!

I hope I don't get too used to her helping around because she won't be around for very long! But... though first time... she's already really good! She made 30 christmas trees in 3 hours! Not bad at all!!! Yeah!!!

Thanks so much dear... baking was so much fun with u around!

How is Frank? (her little snowman)

Christmas cup-a-cake (Part 2) - The Flavors

2007-11-27T19:06:00.000+08:00

Flavor 1: Cranberry - what is christmas without cranberries??

I never knew how nice dried cranberries are till today!!

Flavor 2: Mixed Fruit - naturally....

Yumm yumm... as u bite, you get to taste all the different fruits! Yum!

And voila! All the different designs with bigger cup-a-cakes. Much nicer-eh? Fits the box better! I have to customize my holders soon!

Look out for the Part 3 when I finalize the flavors! I already have a few up my sleeves! Seriously need to find the time now. Very busy week.

My Christmas cup-a-cakes range (Part 1)

2007-11-25T11:27:00.000+08:00

More experiments with royal icing! So much fun I'm telling u..

For my christmas cup-a-cakes.. I will be having 4 designs and 4 flavors...

Design 1: Candy Cane! Thx sher!

Design 2: Snowman

Design 3: Snowflakes (not happy with em yet...)

Design 4: Christmas Trees

Giving you 4 designs in one box! I've decided to make the cup-a-cakes bigger...

They will make such a nice gift for christmas yea?

Coming up next... Christmas 4 Flavors!

For more enquiries / to order, email me - cupacakes@gmail.com

My 1st 2007 Christmas GIFT!!!

2007-11-25T11:00:00.000+08:00

I've never looked forward to seeing the postman as much as this time! The package from Sherene has finally arrived. Click here for the first part....

That is such a big box! I mean I seriously did not expect so many stuffs!! Let me go through all the things she sent... I was wow-ing all the way!

My best christmas gift ever! Price-less!

1. Sprinkles! This is really good because it has all! And it's so easy to use...

Sher: I really wanted this!!!

2. Mini cookie cutters!!! Yea!!! The thing I have been waiting for!!

Sher: This is among my very very wanted & needed item!

June: I hope u din get this as well??

3. Bags to keep cookies & stuffs!

Sher: It's so nice I don't think I'll ever have the heart to use them...

4. More sprinkles!!! Trust me... one can never have enough of sprinkles! I'll have to show u guys my collections one day.... This mini little sugary sprinkles are not cheap I tell u!

Sher: ..................... *speechless*

5. Snowman fun pix

Sher: I tried not to get these because I might just get too addicted to them! Very sayang to use.. U are spoiling me! This is too much!

6. Zipper seals

7. Silicone scraper

Sher: Those will definitely come in handy!!!

8. Candy Canes (big & small)! Yummmmm

Sher: Perfect for something Í plan to do! Best part is... it's sold in Penang too!!!

9. Jumbo cookie CUTTTERs!

Sher: Yeahhhhh! Love u lots! Thanks so much!!!

THANK YOU Sherene... really appreciate it!

Tropical Birthday Cupcakes

2007-11-25T10:39:00.000+08:00

Got a new order from Chen Yi. She wants to do it for her friend's birthday. Her friend loves bananas and anything chocolate. The colour theme she gave me to work with was green, brown & yellow. Base to be chocolate banana and vanilla topping.

The first thing that came to my mind with all those combination is a very tropical feeling.

I managed to get this really nice coconut trees... which will be perfect for the tropical feel I hope to create. I was hoping to find banana trees actually, but oh well... I think these are nicer!

For the middle part of the cup-a-cake, I added mini chocolate swirls... lots of it because Chen Yi mentioned her friend's love for chocs. And to blend in the yellow colour, I handpicked the yellow round sugars... only yellow to be added around it. I wanted to give it a sandy feel using brown sugar at first but I'm afraid it'd be TOO sweet! Also added mini hearts and silver dagarees - kinda like my signature now...

And to top it off... chocolate biscuit! They kinda look like tree trunks with it's top cut off..

And into the box it goes! I hope they (chenyi & friend) likes this tropical idea!

Happy Birthday _____________!!!

(ps: can give me a name to fill it in??)

Christmas Mood!

2007-11-25T10:30:00.000+08:00

Do you know that before I started baking cup-a-cakes... I wanted to get into cookies!? Or like how I call them.... coo-kees! But since I've gone crazy with cup-a-cakes... I barely have time for my coo-kees...

Anyway, with christmas around the corner, I baked some gingerbread cookies. I wanted to wait till my christmas cookie cutters arrive but well... patience is not something I quite have!

I did two shapes - flowers & star

And I had some really fun time playing with royal icing but I definitely need more practice! Very bad royal icing works... Though the recipe this time is good enough. It hardens better than my previous 'tries'!

The taste however, I'm quite happy with. A nice blend... Will try them again once my cookie cutters arrive! YEA!

SPECIAL FOR DECEMBER!

2007-11-23T10:09:00.001+08:00

In conjunction with the "Christmas Calling",

For all the orders I received and will receive in December...

30% of each sales

will go to Charity!

so... start placing your orders today!

The simplest way for you to make a DIFFERENCE!

UPDATE on Christmas Calling!

2007-11-23T10:02:00.000+08:00

I've been getting some really good feedbacks for my "Christmas Calling"

On 16th December, I have 2 functions simultaneously.

-----------------------------------------

One is for St Vincent Dé Paul

the other is for the homeless @ St Joseph!

-------------------------------------------

Total I'll be baking for them is about 1,000 cupcakes!

---------------------------------------------

I should be doing them on 14th & 15th December

For those we can help out... please send me an email!

A pressie from a very dear friend!

2007-11-22T12:21:00.000+08:00

I received a belated birthday gift from a very dear friend (mel g) recently... and yes! They are baking related... even the card!

I absolutely love hallmarks!! The card is so nice!!! Look @ the 3-d mixer! Thanks Mel! You really know my taste....

And this is the book from her.... more recipes! Yeah!!!

Mel... thank you so much! Hugggssssss

xoxoxox

Thank YOU Sher!!!

2007-11-21T22:55:00.000+08:00

I received a package today.... and I was so happy to find what was inside! Sherene sent me Christmas Card, with a letter and a magazine with more than 70 Holiday Cookies recipes by Betty Crocker! I have actually been trying to look for something specifically on Christmas Recipe and she is one step ahead!

Both Sher & June will be sending me Christmas cookie cutters and a lot of other baking stuffs. I'm already so happy and touched! Seriously. They are so thoughtful! I've been searching hi & lo around Penang for christmas stuffs and trust me! Not easy!!! I nearly ordered some stuffs from KL already. Luckily they told me....

Mr Postman, please hurry! I cannot wait much longer!

Thanks Sherene & Peter for the card & recipe!

xoxoxox

PS: your favour... I will definitely remember and do!!!

Happy Anniversary to June's Parents!!!

2007-11-21T19:53:00.000+08:00

My very good friend from States, June whom I've known since Std 1 wanted me to make some fruit cheese tarts & lemon mango cup-a-cakes for her mom. This one in particular is extra challenging for me because like myself, June loves to bake & so does her mom! We can never stop talking if the topic of baking and new ideas come up. She has also been a great supporter for my new baking interest.

She wanted cheese tarts topped with fruits. My 'chef' advised me to select strawberries, kiwis and peaches for a nice colour combo - I'm glad I listened. Seriously so nice!

The 3 fruits give it a very nice combination taste wise as well...

I packaged them in a small box which fits the 12-tarts perfectly! Added ribbons to make it look more like a gift :)

Lemon & Mango base top with up-to-me... So well, for the base, i used fresh lemon zest & mangoes. The mangoes are really sweet! It'll definitely make the cupcakes sweeter.... But the lemon zest really brings out the smell! Yumm yummm..

June only wanted 12 but I made 15 for her... with one jumbo sized as the centre-piece. She has been bugging me to tell her how much all this will cost but Í have decided for this to be a gift for her. She's been such a great support, this is the LEAST I can do! I'm risking not having future biz from her...! I hope not.... She's too nice to do that... Please accept this, ok?

She wanted to keep it simple...

She loves dagarees... I made a heart shaped love using dagarees, heart shaped sugar and to give it the height, I used milk rocky! As for the icing, I did mango icing to blend with the base... June asked me to use as little icing as possible... I left it at a rose swirl. Note: To all cup-a-cake lovers, don't worry about not liking the icing! You can always take it off the top! It's just to make it pretty! But do give it a try... at least a bit. Sinful but Y.U.m.M.Y!

And finally, into the box with a carrier...

The message...

With love from June, the brother & her hubby!

Added some ribbons as the final touch... chill it a while.... and I'm ready to deliver!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY UNCLE & AUNTY!

Pink cup-a-cakes for a lil gal!

2007-11-21T19:50:00.000+08:00

My sis-in-law recently gave birth to the cutest baby boy, Jayden... They stayed over our place during confinement together with confinement lady whom I got a long very well with!

Today's her last day and she wanted to make something special for her god daughter who is 5 today. She's been watching me bake and testing em for the past whole month! :)

She requested choc chip with strawberry icing and that's exactly what I did!

I topped it with sugar hearts and round-pastel-coloured sugars to make it more colourful!

And 5 candles signifying her turning 5 today! Used a different packaging this time. This one has no handle and does not need and boards to support. Simple & nice!

Finally, I stored it in the freezer to set for a while before she takes it bake home! A very hot day today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL GAL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEG's Mummy!

2007-11-19T12:50:00.000+08:00

I have a regular customer! Peggen Ewe, all the way from down under - melbourne.... This will be her third order now... and the most special one... for her mummy! She requested for this one to be on the cup-a-cake tree! (only for on-loan tho...)

cup-a-cakes on tree in sepia

Peg requested for 24 cup-a-cakes... with 12 as choc banana and the rest up to me... I wanted to keep it as simple and nice as possible... so i topped it with vanilla cream, hearts, fondant flowers and chocolate shavings. All the same so that it will not look too messy. I mixed choc banana with vanilla choc chip that's why you get a choc & a vanilla base.

Peg's message for her mom....

I've known Peg for more than 10 years now and trust me, her mom still looks just the same! After 4 children... she still looks young & hot!

Happy Birthday Aunty!

Hope you had a great time celebrating your day.

Sorry this didn't turn out to be a surprise...

Happy Birthday Juven & Friend.....

2007-11-19T12:38:00.000+08:00

It's been quite a busy week... This order comes from my own shop! From one staff to another. It's actually Veryn & Friends for Juven & a friend (name to be advised?)

There's always perks to be staffs @ Manila Place. They ordered 12. I gave them additional 6! They wanted choc chip... i gave additional vanilla choc chip... and they wanted orange & pink at first. I wanted to make it more striking because they are all so young... but after putting in the orange, I did not want to put pink coz I'm afraid it'll be too much!

So... texted them to see if adding vanilla instead of pink is alright.... Got the approval! Vanilla it is... They wanted lots of hearts...

So I added fondant hearts on wires... Looked a bit too plain... so I added oreos biscuit... Hmmm looks better now... at least not too flat! Oohh.. these oreos sticks are really yummy!

Then, I added the greetings for them... and a candle for each birthday gal...

And finally, into the box it goes.....!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GALS!

Hope it was a great one & many happy returns!

(I'll post up their pictures soon once i get them...)

cup-a-cakes 2 cheer one's day

2007-11-16T11:20:00.000+08:00

Peggen's asked me to make more cup-a-cakes for her love ones in Penang! This time, it's for a friend whom she wants to cheer... *so thoughtful-eh*

Peg requested for vanilla base with orange topping... So i did vanilla base but added some orange filling inside just to make the cake more orange-y!

Peg also requested for less cream... For the cream, i used this really nice orange paste which makes the cream really tasty! Yumm Yumm... I also left the topping at one level swirl - i call it the flower swirl. After doing the swirls, I decided to leave the decor simple because just the swirls is really nice and elegant already. I added some dagarees to make it more classy.

I really love swirls like this. The cream have to be soft enough to give you such a nice and clear layer. If it's too hard, you will have really rough edges and ugly flower...

all together now...

Mrs Wan, I really hope these cup-a-cakes from Peggen will make your day!

Choc Banana cup-a-cakes filled with lots of love!

2007-11-16T11:00:00.000+08:00

This order is for my dear friend, Chen Chyi's mom. Her mom loves anything chocolate but not too sweet. And CC asked me to add in bananas. Banana in chocolate cupcake is really nice coz it helps make the cupcake moist. She also requested for lots of hearts...

Made specially FOR CC's mom....

I started with the base... instead of the usual cake board, I wrapped it up to make it look more classy... This board fits 12 mini cup-a-cakes perfectly. Since CC said the mom don't enjoy cream so much, instead of doing the usual twirl, I did one round leaving it to look like flower. For the cream, I mixed in chocolate rice to give the cream more taste. As for the base, I made choc banana and in order to enhance the banana taste, I added thick & fresh bananas right in the middle!

I filled the middle part with lots of chocolate rice so that I can put it the fondant flowers without it touching the cream. (It will melt like a layer of cheese if it touches coz the cream is soft) I added dagarees around it and red sugar hearts beside the flowers to bring out the colour.

To finish it, I added hearts & flowers on wire so that it doesn't look too flat. At first, I wanted to put just the hearts but it didn't look that nice. So I added white flowers!

So finally, this is what we get! The texture of the cream is quite bumpy and not as smooth because of the chocolate rice I added in...

Made with lots of love from the newly weds all the way from HONG KONG!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chen Chyi & Chen Yi'S MOM!!!

more jingles on the way!

2007-11-15T00:04:00.000+08:00

At first, there was a solo caroller....

Then 2 more joined...

And slowly, more & more joined!

Let's all come together and make a difference this CHRISTMAS! To those who have responded, thanks for the support! So far, there are 3 organizations which we will be helping out next month! St Joseph, Chesire Home & St Vincent Dé Paul.. i'm sure there are more orphanages we can visit.... Tis IS THE SEASON to share!

NOTE: This cute lil snowmen will be toppers for my xmas cup-a-cakes specials! Be on a lookout for MORE!

Christmas Calling!

2007-11-12T14:29:00.000+08:00

Hi all...

I'm thinking of baking for orphanages with children for the upcoming christmas! Anyone would like to be apart of this? Many ways you can contribute... through donating for all the cakes or by helping to deliver them to the orphanage... or even to help baking!

-------------------

Let me know how u'd be interested to help! :)

--------------------

Let's make a difference this coming xmas! It is a season for sharing!

----------------

email me - cupacakes@gmail.com

Happy Birthday Elaine's Mom!

2007-11-12T14:20:00.000+08:00

Elaine brought her mom to Tao @ Autocity for her birthday celebration.Looks like lots of fun! and I think Elaine looks more like the birthday gal! hehehe... love ur poses with the cupcakes!

I'm glad ur mom enjoyed them! :) & thanks for the pictures!

Happy Birthday Wern Shin

2007-11-12T14:06:00.000+08:00

or also known as ah boy / leng zai!

the cake got a bit damaged along the way... so sad... but ying said they still enjoyed them. a little consolation for me...

i really need to think of a new way to package them...

ps: thanks ying for the pictures!

special 2-tier birthday messages cup-a-cake

2007-11-10T11:35:00.000+08:00

shortly after receiving elaine's call, ying called to order a 2-tier cup-a-cake for her boyfriend. same day of pick up with elaine. 2 in a day! Now, this is a new challenge for me.... she wants to do it for him together with her friends. she's keen on the messages idea. so I thought it'd be quite nice if for this cup-a-cake, we have lots and lots of messages on the cup-a-cakes to keep the birthday boy busy! :) ying wanted chocolate chip, some hershey's kisses and no other preferences! hmmm...

so, i started with the basics. I chose gold, silver & black to maintain a boy-ish feel... made the choc chip base and tried arranging them first before i start with the topping

then i added the hershey's kisses choc - milk & choc chip flavors! yumm! also added some dagarees & sugar hearts...

added on a long special candle signifying longevity...

and added on the messages! with a colourful mixture of bright colours coz those are the colours ying said her boyfriend will like.

hmm... i just realized i do not know what the birthday boy's name is! except for "leng zai" & "ah-boy"!

And finally - the 2-tier birthday messages cup-a-cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY leng zai!

note: i received a text late last night from ying. apparently the cake got damaged while travelling from gurney - queensbay. the icing smeared on the messages! My worst fears! I feel so responsible for it... :(

ying, will make it up to YOU & ur friends....!

choc peach cup-a-cake for Elaine's Mom!

2007-11-10T11:01:00.000+08:00

I received a call from a gal wanting to do something special for her mom... So at first, she wanted the basics... choc chip and she left most of it to me then. I explained to her how it would be better if she could give me more idea of what her mom will like!

But as we got on discussing through sms, she told me her mom loves peaches & choc and she wants purple to be part of the theme! I can do quite a bit with peaches! But purple? Hmmm.... Only way I could help her achieve that is her board!

So, for her base, i made choc cupcake with peaches as the fillings... and before I top it with icing, a added another big cube of peach to enhance the peach's taste!

It actually looks quite nice even without the icing!

Up goes the lemon-y orange-y peach topping with peaches, sugar heart & dagarees!

OPPS! I forgot to tell them that all of it are edible! I hope they know..

and finally, i added her message for her mom... the candles & it's done! I'm always very excited and worried when I do orders. This is so because I know they really want to make the birthday person happy! And now, I am quite responsible too! Elaine is so sweet to make this for her mom. I really hope the mom will enjoy what élaine's doing for her!

All together now...... Choc Peach cup-a-cake for elaine's mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Elaine's MOM!

NOTE: I need to think of a better way to package these cupcakes especially when they need to travel. I have yet to find boxes with holders for cupcakes. I might have to do them myself.

Elaine, i'm sorry some of the cupcake's icing got smeared... will make it up to YOU soon! Keep you posted.

Cup-a-cake for Peggen's God-Ma

2007-11-06T18:13:00.000+08:00

An order all the way from Melbourne! Peggen, my god-sis wants to give her god-ma (not related to me tho) cup-a-cakes for her birthday! She wanted vanila base with mango topping.

And her colour choice was pink & yellow! SO.. i decided to tie pink ribbons around each cupcake as I am using yellow & mango paste for the topping..

I added a cube of mango in each of the cup-a-cake just to enhance the mango's flavor..

The finale.... i added chewy mango sweets for the topping instead of fresh mango because I do not want the mango to go black... Added little red hearts to bring out the colour and dagarees for decorating! note: both the hearts & dagarees are edible!

The personalized birthday tag

I remembered my god sis saying that her god-ma loves anything pretty... so i added a pretty little butterfly to her birthday tag!

The back of the tag...

And finally... into the box before delivering it! I havent gotten any feedback yet but I really hope the god-ma will enjoy them! :)

Poh Sim's Birthday

2007-11-06T17:54:00.000+08:00

I made some cup-a-cakes for my very dear friend's birthday celebration. Her birthday is actually on the 16th Oct 2007 but we could all only come together on the 4th of November to celebrate with HER! It was a double celebration because she just came to know that she is going to have a baby BOY!!! Yea!!!!

I asked her hubby for flavors suggestion and he wanted me to do tiramisu at first but i'm afraid coffee is not good for preggers. So we opted for strawberry! :) I added some chocolate ones too!

For the top part, i added baby booties - Blue ones as she will be having a baby boy!

Because it is from all of us, i asked each couple to give me a personalized wish to add more meaning to the cup-a-cake! I also added a special candle which eeling picked when she was in KL! Very nice and long. I hope to be able to use for everyone's birthdays... re-cycle!

Her reactions when she saw the cake and as she was going through all our messages...

The cup-a-cake in detail... with all our messages!

The special candle i mentioned earlier...

The birthday gal & hubby - soon to be daddy & mummy!

Poh Sim with our messages & her cupcake!

My very own hubby enjoying the cup-a-cake! *grin*

The Birthday Boy & cup-a-cake

2007-10-30T11:31:00.000+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!

Note: Thanks Jévelyn for the pictures!

3-tier cup-a-cake's 1st ORDER!!!

2007-10-30T10:59:00.000+08:00

This is mint cup-a-cake. My first time doing and it was very challenging because I am no fan of mint! I had to re-do several times coz at first it was too minty!

On the morning when i was supposed to deliver the goods... my fridge flooded and spoilt my topping! Luckily the damage was not severe... i had time to redo... *phew* very challenging this one. Luckily discovered it early.

Let me tell u a bit about how this order came about. This very cute & petite girl came into Manila Place hoping to find a special cake for her boyfriend's birthday... (she is really so sweet the bf's so lucky to have her!) And that's when i introduced her to cup-a-cakes and see if she liked the idea! It's still quite a new thing... and she bought it. Then for about a month we corresponded through mail and phone. She showed me roughly what she'd like and i slept on it. She wanted 3 flavors - strawberry, choc & vanilla... and also a box of mint choc cup-a-cakes...

This is the strawberry cup-a-cake... I decided to keep it simple.. the design wise. She din want too much cream. So i kept it at a rose swirl. It can only be done if the cream is cream-y enough! Else you cannot get the nice ending.

And the vanilla....

And all together. I had to make sure it all looked uniform - size and the swirls.

Then finally the topping.... It's for a guy... so i wanted to keep it as simple and not girl-y as possible. And i'm still not over using rocky! Luckily rocky comes in the 3 flavors as per my order! Choc, strawberry & vanilla! P-e-R-f-E-c-T!

All together now.... the theme she wanted was black and red. Hard to do for the cream so i opted for the boards... with silver ribbons for the holder. I used 40pcs cup-a-cakes for this 3-tier cake. Just nice.... Took me quite a while to think of a nice way to do the 3-tier holder. But quite happy with my final out come... I kept the vanilla & strawberries for the bottom and choc for the middle & the top one, choc & vanilla!

I asked if there's anything in particular the boyfriend liked and she said bowling. Quite a challenge i thought. Wanted to do fondant bowling pins at first but then i found bowling candles! Yeah! Lucky me again! Just perfect... Then i made a happy birthday tag to complement it all since I couldn't write it...

And finally.... tah dahhhhh! The final product! It was quite a rush because they had their lunch at Manila Place too... and i only had so much time to put it together for them and did not have a proper place to take the final pic also! Please don't mind the messy background!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!!

French Culinary Day 5 - It's all over now...

2007-10-21T23:05:00.000+08:00

It has been a great 5-days which passed by really fast...

A bit too intensive for me but nevertheless, a G-R-E-A-T experience... truly is!

French Culinary Day 5: The Final Meal

2007-10-21T23:04:00.000+08:00

LUNCH by chef Bruno

MENU

Caesar Salad

Fresh Toasted Bread

Braised Lamb Shank with fresh mashed potatoes

French Culinary Day 5 - Completed Designs of the Cupcakes

2007-10-21T23:03:00.000+08:00

top row (left-right): creamy choc topped with choc roses, "the gift" dacquoise & caramel choc

second row (left-right): "surprise" almond meringue & choc, cherries & choc

3rd row (left-right): banana choc cupcake topped with smurfs, hazelnut choc topped with mousse & cacao glazing

French Culinary Day 5 - Toppings

2007-10-21T22:38:00.000+08:00

dark & white chocolate "smurfs"

rolled chocolate roses using milk choc

melting of choc using boiled milk - start stirring from the middle!

making flowers using untempered dark choc and then topped with icing sugar

patterned dark choc slices

mini macaroons

dark & white choc mixed to create a marble effect choc

spaghetti strips choc curled before it dries for decor

French Culinary Day 5 - Choc and Almond Cupcakes

2007-10-21T22:13:00.000+08:00

Almond meringue & choc cupcakes. Double sandwiched layer of almond meringue & choc mousse and then a layer of choc mousse coat.

Hazelnut choc cupcakes filled with finely blended hazelnut, topped with choc mousse & cacao glazing... Very yummy! The roasted hazelnut smells soooooooo goood!

Cherries & choc cupcakes filled with sour cherry

The topping for cherries & chocolate cupcakes with choc mousse

Creamy choc cupcake topped with creamy ganache.

Dacquoise & caramel choc cupcakes - Dacquoise is the biscuit sandwiched with choc caramel mousse. This is the best out of all we made today - especially the dacquoise.

French Culinary Day 4 - New faces!

2007-10-21T21:58:00.000+08:00

Today's class have 15 students. Only 3 of us stayed back from the first 3 days. Lots of really nice and friendly people! It's been great knowing all of you... :)

French Culinary Day 4 - Cupcake's Grand Finale

2007-10-21T21:40:00.000+08:00

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with dark choc & heart orange macaroons

The first few are pistachio & raspberries cupcakes with marzipan rose flowers & fresh raspberries; coated with pistachio. It is filled with frozen raspberries also...

Carrot cupcakes with fresh grated carrots with bunny & carrot marzipan toppings.

Walnuts & banana cupcakes topped with banana cream & yellow funny faces choc ball

Blackcurrant cupcakes with blackcuraant cream & butterfly ciggarette dough

Lemon strawberries cupcakes coated with strawberry mousseline & topped with red happy face choc ball & dark choc. It is filled with semi candied strawberries.

All together now... They are all really pretty. A little too pretty to eat I feel... But it will make such nice gifts for people. Will have to try making them soon!

French Culinary Day 4 - Our LUNCH by chef Bruno

2007-10-21T21:37:00.000+08:00

Pasta (of course) with beef stew! Served with toast bread & caesar salad... Yumm!

French Culinary Day 4 - Cupcake Toppings

2007-10-21T21:21:00.000+08:00

Heart macaroons. I used to think macaroons only come in round shapes... Actually, it can be shaped in anyway we like it to be.... It is such pretty little things!

I wish it is not so sweet. Would enjoy it a lot better!

The making of marzipan roses & bunnies. It is very similar to fondant. Only that it has more almond and it is harder. Adding a bit of heat using simple techniques such as rubbing of our hands helps to make it a lot easier to work with marzipan. Some people find marzipan nicer to eat. But for me, a person we don't like the smell of almond, would prefer fondant anyday!

Add some orange colouring & we can form carrots! Add some green colouring, we get carrot's green... Add some royal icing and choc, we get eyes for the bunnies! I do feel that the roses using marzipan is a lot easier than using fondant... or maybe i'm just very bad with fondant!

Using ciggarette dough to make butterflies! So much fun.... seriously! Adding the colour bit by bit each sides and voila! We get a mixed colour butterfly... like tie & dye. We can do any shape at all with it! Just cut the shape out using a thick cardboard and it's done! The best part is... it tastes really yummy.. really really good. Thin, tasty & crispy.

Us students giving the ciggarette dough a go... Really enjoyed doing them...

French Culinary - The School

2007-10-21T21:16:00.000+08:00

Using mostly imported equipments and lots of IKEA stuffs is what the school is made up of. The working area is very proper. Our first 3 days, we only have 7 students. Then, the space was sufficient. When we had 14-15, i felt that it was too chaotic... but of course it is much more fun with more students. But school is meant for learning and not for F.U.N. right not?

French Culinary Day 4 - Fruits Cupcakes

2007-10-21T21:06:00.000+08:00

Blackcurrant cupcakes... two mixture put in separately to create marble effect.
Using piping bag to fill the cup makes it much cleaner!

Pistachio cupcakes topped with coarsely chopped pistachio before baking.
Right after taking it out from the over, we soak it with hot syrup
to ensure that the cake's moisture is maintained. Need to soak while it's HOT!

French Culinary Day 3 - The Grand Finale

2007-10-20T00:31:00.001+08:00

All these cakes in 3 days!

Amazing!

French Culinary Day 3 - The Chefs eh hem

2007-10-20T00:28:00.000+08:00

Everyone all together now....

THANKS ALL FOR MAKING THIS SUCH A GREAT EXPERIENCE

French Culinary Day 3 - Magic Choc Ball

2007-10-20T00:27:00.001+08:00

Watch what happens when we add hot choc to the choc shell...

What an interesting way to serve this dish!

French Culinary Day 3 - Final Toppings

2007-10-19T23:56:00.000+08:00

Adding strawberries & lychees to the Champagne Buche

Then we glaze it with apricot glazing

Really like this... it suits the whole log so perfectly!

This is the Buche Bavaroise... nothing much to add except a coat of glaze to seal it....

See the diff? It is more shining after the glaze....

Adding cacao jelly & cocoa glazing to Buche Noisetine & Buche Choc Caramel.

The difference is... cacao jelly gives a shiny finishing while cocoa glazing

gives a matte finishing... I prefer the matte :) Taste wise, these 2 are my favourite!

This is a caramel chocolate cake. Topped with marble effect made using piping jelly & coffee extract... and the sides are added with choc squares.. Simple & nice..

Margot Strawberry topped with strawberry glaze & fresh strawberries!

This is Copacabana - passion fruit cream with caramelized bananas. Italian meringue for the coating... I love the effect after toasting it! It looked so plain and boring before...

Roasted mango crumble... served with mixed fresh fruits, mango ice cream & crumbles

The decor for Grand Cru Chocolate Shell - so simple & impressive

Final decor for Macaron Strawberry...

Interesting way of making 'poached egg white....'. We then sprinkle some brown sugar before toasting it to create a caramelize effect of the poach egg white

Strawberry & Vanilla Fondant - with semi candied strawberries, vanilla ice cream and topped with poached egg white...

French Culinary Day 3 - Lunch Break

2007-10-19T23:53:00.000+08:00

Like usual, we had our caesar salad, really nice bread.. and for today, chef bruno prepared chicken with i'm-not-sure-what-gravy.... served with semolina and the dessert... ooohhhh

SO NICE!!! Chocolate caramel with vanilla cream....... yum! So YUM!!!

French Culinary Day 3 - Macaroons, Almond Tuilles & xmas trees

2007-10-19T23:43:00.000+08:00

Macaroons with fresh strawberries! so yummyy & pretty...

There are called almond tuilles... like crispy thin layers of almond.... tastes really nice.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, we have to mould it so that it becomes like a bowl.
OOhhhh... we had so much fun eating the crumbs :)

Xmas decor made from royal icing & chocs! The 3-d xmas trees are made from stacked royal icing and stacked choc. The royal icing is sprinkled with castor sugar while the choc is dusted with icing sugar! So clever right!? The snow flakes is done using royal icing - very pretty

French Culinary Day 3: The making of Frozen Truffles

2007-10-19T23:33:00.000+08:00

First we make the truffles... yumm yumm...

Then we put vanilla ice cream into small choc ball moulds, add a truffle and more ice cream!

We made the vanilla ice cream too! Using high pressure blender that takes only abt 15 mins for the whole process! Too bad the blender is so ex....

Then close the balls up carefully but fast, dip it into melted choc & carefully put it into the truffle powder; & roll it evenly! Then quickly freeze it!

French Culinary Day 3 - Tempering of Chocolate

2007-10-19T23:16:00.000+08:00

First u melt, then u chill, then u heat..... oh... so much trouble! but what F.U.N.!!

The making of chocolate balls.... 1st u dust some shiny powder, then u coat 3 layers of choc!!
Then u leave them to harden in the chiller!

Once choc balls are ready.... we make the filling! Choc mousse, fruits, crumbles and more choc mousse! Then we close the ball up!!!

French Culinary DAY 2 - Xmas Logs

2007-10-17T21:57:00.000+08:00

the school is located on the 8th floor of IMC's annexed building! it's like the roof top. Only one building there! so nice! Love it!

after such a long day yesterday... my head is looking forward to day 2 while my body is resisting to obey orders.... luckily for the 3 mins walk only!

today, we will be doing traditional xmas LOGS! we did so many things even i am lost with what is what... oh boy.... wish i knew french! anyways, pictures will speak a thousand words!

applying of the made-from-scratch apricot & raspberry jam on the biscuit

then we roll them (like swiss rolls) & chill them!

ooohh! Our lunch prepared by chef Bruno! salad; bread; chicken & mushroom pasta; & desserts made by combining all the leftovers! loved the bread crumbs!

the process of removing the LOG from its mould

buche bavaroise! so pretty right? i don't know how to explain what the log is all about but it looks so yummy & pretty. If u can tell, the swiss roll-look-a-like we did earlier is used as the pretty layer outside!

French Culinary Day 1 - xmas desserts

2007-10-17T21:37:00.000+08:00

The moment i stepped into the school... i was so surprised to find only 7 participants (including me) but that's not all! All of them are from big giant hotels except me and another guy! Trust me when i say big! Raffles in singapore, traders & hilton KL, CARCOSA seri negara.. oh boy... all patisserie pros.... *stress*. Luckily for me they are all young & friendly! *phew* I made a mental note that "i cannot be shy!!!"

the master pastry chef, Jean-Francois Arnaud was there with Bruno, his assistant & our translator. We were briefed what to expect for the next 3-days and started! I will not bore you guys with our little details... here are the pics to wrap up wat we did!

Joconde Printed with 3 designs

Joconde cut into strips to line the cakes

choco caramel with 3 layers of biscuits with caramel & chocolate mousse

margot strawberry with layers of almond biscuits sandwiched with white chocolate & strawberry mousse

chocolate with gold dust design

i so love the design of this chocolate!!! playing with chocolate looks like so much FUN!!!

NOTE: we have to do everything from scratch! nothing is ready....

Temporary Home

2007-10-17T21:04:00.000+08:00

I am attending a 5-day french culinary course on Christmas desserts & cupcakes. This course is conducted in KL. So, i checked myself in @ Crown Regency, a service apartment. Pretty happy with it. It has everything i need - broadband internet (had to pay RM150 for unlimited usage for my 6 nights here)... It is only less than a 3 min walk to the school! I am actually very excited because since i developed my interest, i've never really learnt how to bake the right way... the last time, i attended wilton's decorating school...

Looking forward to my next 5-days!!

The true meaning of cup-a-cakes

2007-10-17T20:14:00.000+08:00

cup-a-cakes are such great things because they bring joy to people! and that would be my joy to bake as well - the reason! Cakes can just be cakes if you want to... but oh... trust me it is so different when you make it specially for some one...

And i think the best joy for all bakers is when the recipient of the cakes enjoy them....

I recently baked for my really dear friend's sister, Chen Yi... I crossed my fingers and really hoped that she will enjoy them... and yesterday, i saw these pictures and requested if she could allow me to post them up!

PS: chen yi... i'm really glad u enjoyed them as much as i enjoyed making em' for YOU!

NOTICE

2007-10-12T11:18:00.001+08:00

I will be away the whole of next week... Going away to enhance my baking skills!

Stay tune for more once i'm back in 1 week's time!

selamat hari raya ISYMAR

2007-10-12T10:59:00.000+08:00

isy isy isy... have a great time celebrating RAYA with ur family!

Isymar is my assistant manager... a really good man - father of 2. He ordered 12 chocs and 12 baked cheese... but like i said... good people deserves to be rewarded! I made for him 30! The choc have pandan toppings while the cheese is topped with lemon icings! That shd complement the cakes...

Isy, i hope ur family will have a great RAYA enhanced with my cup-a-cakes! Drive safely... Many whacko drivers on the road!!!

cup-a-cakes for IRA!

2007-10-12T10:51:00.000+08:00

SELAMAT HARI RAYA, IRA!

Ira manages the accounts for us... She is very nice and super efficient! And in my dictionary... good things don't go unpaid! :) I made 9 for her. 6 choc & 3 cheese... I hope she likes em!

Still with ROCKY biscuits! Those stars & crescent toppings is just nice for raya...

More Raya cup-a-cakes

2007-10-12T10:41:00.000+08:00

Some raya cup-a-cakes for vincent's staffs @ central kargo... they have quite a number of staffs celebrating raya there but i only made abt 17! Hopefully it's enough... *crossing my fingers*

I'm still not over the ROCKY biscuits... kekekek... it makes such a nice centre piece! But of course everyone will want the centre piece! Not well balance - the toppings... but it's nicer i think! Vincent thinks it looks like joss sticks... so sad...

And the final product!

Happy Birthday Chen Yi!

2007-10-12T10:31:00.000+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEN YI!

These cup-a-cakes are ordered by my dear friend who's just migrated over to Hong Kong. Quite a bit of pressure for me. She requested for chocolate with strawberries. My biggest problem was finding nice strawberries. All of them were so huge and chunky and ugly... No matter how i cut them and try to position them.. it just looks so wrong... so i went hunting for candies and got ROCKY biscuits instead! Not how i wanted it to be initially... next time... cannot assume strawberries are all pretty.... *phew*

Raya cup-a-cakes

2007-10-12T10:03:00.000+08:00

Big cup-a-cakes (2.5 times bigger than the mini cup). Ideal for any functions! Instead of giving 6 mini cup-a-cakes.... one of these is good enough... And those tags are customizable!

I got a new stamp for my birthday. It's cupcakes stamp! So nice.... have now added them onto my logo! I have to get more colours for my stamps...

Raya cup-a-cakes with stars...

Raya cup-a-cakes with crescent!

A busy day today....

2007-09-29T00:07:00.000+08:00

First it was a refreshment buffet for OSIM's function @ Manila Place....

I used the cupcake tree for their 3-flavor cup-a-cakes...

Looks really impressive on the buffet table!

And then we rushed over to Bangkok Lane for an art gallery's opening ceremony.

They just wanted some simple finger food for their opening...

I prepared 4 silver trays of cup-a-cakes (3 flavours) & we served them together with fresh fruit platter, cheese tarts, fruits tarts and some sandwiches!

Luckily we brought some table clothes... and the big flower bouquet they have... made it

PERFECT!

We did not get to stay on to see how much they enjoyed our dessert buffet...

Crossing my fingers! Hopefully they do!!

New Venture - Cheese Tarts!

2007-09-27T22:06:00.000+08:00

Cheese tarts are one of my most favourite bites!

My friend taught me how to make them the other day...

And today, I did them on my own!

Not too bad... quite successful I'd say.

I filled them with strawberry & chocolate cheese tarts!

Yumm Yumm... I'm definitely a choc person;

Not so much of a strawberry person but

can't help making strawberries because they are so pretty!

Another type of packaging

2007-09-27T21:52:00.000+08:00

This type of packaging is suitable for 16 - 30 pcs of mini cup-a-cakes...

It gives a very clean & neat look... very pretty!

This packaging is slightly cheaper - an additional of RM3 only

cup-a-cakes packaging

2007-09-27T17:40:00.000+08:00

Fits 12 - 14 mini cupcakes perfectly

Comes together with a see-thru lid

And a convenient handle

This packaging is ideal for 12 -14 pcs of mini cupcakes for any functions!

If you like this packaging, it will be an additional RM5

say it with cup-a-cakes!

2007-09-27T16:41:00.000+08:00

Instead of sending little thank you notes or little "i miss you" or "i love you" messages...

WHY NOT.... say it with lil' cup-a-cakes?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Email me at cupacakes@gmail.com with the following details:

1. How many pieces you want? (min 6)

2. What colours would you like? (preferably 2 colours)

3. The message! (keep it short & sweet)

4. Choice of flavor & icing? (min 12 per flavor) click here

5. When do you need the cup-a-cakes? (min 3 days upon confirmation)

6. How do you want your design? (with messages? swirls topping?)

6. Your name & contact number!

I shd respond to you within 1 - 3 days!

$$ STANDARD PRICING $$

TINY cup-a-cakes: RM0.60 - RM1.00/pcs

MINI cup-a-cakes: RM1.00 - RM2.00/pcs

BIG cup-a-cakes: RM2.00- RM4.00/pcs

NOTE: Prices may vary accordingly to suit your design!

SPOTTED all over!!

2007-09-21T23:31:00.000+08:00

time to get busy!!!

Strawberry cup-a-cakes 4 a strawberry lover!

2007-09-21T14:29:00.000+08:00

this is my very very dear friend who had special requests for her cup-a-cake.

I kinda' leaked out that i want to do something for her birthday. She requested for fresh strawberries... and that was a good headstart for me. Fresh strawberries will make anything look pretty so it saved me a lot of headache to think of the design and etc.

For starters, she absolutely loves pink... from pastel to striking ones.. and she is also a big time chocolate lover! LOL...

THE VERDICT:

SO, i did choc cupcakes with strawberry cream topped with fresh strawberries!!

Happy Birthday babe!! xoxoxox

Special cup-a-cake for my sis-in-law, Gillian!

2007-09-21T14:21:00.000+08:00

A special cup-a-cake tree made specially for my sis-in-law.

I made chocolate chip cup-a-cake with lemon cream topping with

little orange fondant flower toppings!

Happy Birthday Gill...

(Sorry i could not attend ur dinner...)

R.A.M.A.D.A.N.

2007-09-21T14:11:00.000+08:00

To all who are celebrating.......

Have a great RAMADHAN month.....

My L.A.T.E.S.T. Creation for KHOO!

2007-09-05T21:51:00.000+08:00

I was very excited for his birthday because I get to create a

special cup-a-cakes birthday cake for him! My very first....

SO well, I decided to do a two-tier cup-a-cakes.

-----------------------

I made 20-choc chips cupcakes with peanut choc filling!

Yumm Yumm... And the cream is also choc peanut butter...

Ideal for peanut butter lovers!

We managed to arrange a lil surprise party for him @ Manila Place.

I think he was surprised! And I hope he really did enjoy it! :)

I am so looking forward to make my next birthday cake or special cup-a-cake! This year especially, I am so looking forward to everyone's birthday... Thanks Ah Ming for allowing me to use YOU! Have a great birthday tomorrow!

More new flavors!

2007-08-29T17:55:00.000+08:00

Today... i made a few new flavors... let me introduce them to u from the picture below... let's go left to right from first row and so forth....

1st row: Cappuccino with strong coffee aroma, co-co-nut pandan (this one is so fragrantful!) & choc-o-lat!

2nd Row: Peanut Butter, Mango & Pineapple!

3rd Row: Strawberry, Blueberry & Orange.... (Popular ones...)

NOTE: All in orange are the new ones!

Will do the toppings for them soon.... heheh.. they look rather na-ked without it...

Before they are even ready... I have quite a number of reservations for them already! Yea!!

More cup-a-cakes flavours

2007-08-28T15:11:00.000+08:00

I'm trying to create as many flavors as i possibly can! For now the flavors I have are...

Blueberry, Strawberry, Orange, Choc Banana, Plain Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Almond & Choc Strawberry...

More to come: Peanut, Mocha, Cappuccino, Lemon and lots lots more!

Stay TUNE & be on the LOOKOUT for more!!!

Cup-a-cakes for the Astro Talent Quest finalist!

2007-08-28T14:56:00.000+08:00

We're having a reservation for high tea today... 30 pax. These are the Astro Talent Quest finalist. So amongst the many delicious items for their high tea is my cup-a-cakes! It's so much more challenging when we're doing it for someone specific... It needs to be made-to-perfection! I did 3 types...

This is the chocolate banana... with fresh bananas topped with choc cream frosting & choc swirls

These are the chocolate chip cup-a-cakes....

And last but not least... the chocolate nut! I guess it should all be quite alright because everything finished! None left. Balance, they 'ta pao' all back... That's is the most satisfying feeling for every baker/cook i guess...

Fondant & butter cream icing

2007-08-28T14:43:00.000+08:00

My 2nd trial with cupcakes. This time, i had the help of 2 of my 'staffs' from manila... Monica & Cynthia... We started from about 7pm... and finished at nearly 12.00am! We baked cupcakes & cookies as well...

The blue ones are the blueberry cupcakes. Unfortunately, though it's pretty looking... it's too sweet. I've never been very fond of blueberries... So, didn't really like the taste. But hoo boy... the frosting is simply too sweet! The fondant looks really pretty now... but by the next day, it melts... I think it's because I kept them in the fridge and the icing is pretty wet... Sensitive fondant.... At least it lastest nice while photo was taken! It was like a layer of melted butter the next day... so sad...

However... the chocolate banana was really yummy! I used cream frosting instead... it wasn't very sweet and it taste really nice! Well, coming from a choc-a-holic... it really can't be all that bad! My helpers love it too!!! And trust me, they have no reasons to lie to me...

By the end of it... we were all so tired...... my legs were just so tired! And my eyes were blur and teary from all the intensive baking session we had! Will see how the customers will like our home made cup-a-cakes!

My very first trial...

2007-08-08T20:02:00.000+08:00

I'm not sure how my sudden craze for baking came about but it did! So well.... as I journey towards developing my non-existing baking skills... i shall keep track them so I can know how well or how bad I've been!!!

My first trial is chocolate muffins topped with shaped & colored fondant. It is so much fun working with fondant! Of course I'm far from being any good from it... but i still had lots of fun. I did really small mini ones. Just one gulp and no more! Biggest problem faced is... fondants are royal icings. So it's really sweet. And they don't taste really nice too... just looks good!

all in all... tho it took me a whole 5 hours plus... i think it's quite a successful 1st time.... *grin*