Modelling with fondant

Over the last few months, I have really been trying my very best to improve on my cake decorating skills.  I have welcomed every opportunity to bake and decorate.  While I can say that I can now frost and pipe borders confidently, I sadly cannot say the same for making roses from buttercream or royal icing.  I have actually wasted three batches of royal icing trying to practice...don't know if I'm piping incorrectly or if my icing is just not the right consistency.  I have failed miserably.

Having experimented on those modelling paste baby booties, I figured it was time to give fondant roses a go.  I found this You Tube video demostrating a very easy way of making them.  No tools were needed, which was great.  Have a watch if you are interested.

My first attempt yielded this...

I was really pretty happy with that.  At last, a decent rose! 

I also tried a slightly different method.  Instead of the spiral center, I made a cone for the rosebud. Again, I just used my fingers to shape this.

It turned out even prettier and it looks more realistic, doesn't it?

Because of my success with the rose, I am now so into modelling with fondant.  But let me just say this...while fondant cakes are simply the most beautiful and stunning cakes I've seen and even though I am very keen to learn about cake decorating with fondant, I am not a convert.  I have not eaten a fondant-covered cake even once but I've heard and read comments that while they are a feast for the eyes, they do not taste very good.   I still prefer frosting that I can spread and pipe out.  Who doesn't like meringue buttercream, seven minute frosting, cream cheese or whipped cream?  I am a firm believer that although people eat with their eyes, it still comes down to the taste.

Anyway, before I end, here's just one more new thing I've learned...mini rose cupcake toppers!  Find the tutorial for this and other cake decorating ideas here.

How cute are those?

Thanks for reading!

KitchenAid mixer cover

You may have noticed that it's been a while since I last completed a sewing project. That was two months ago when I made the laptop bag for my daughter.  I have not mentioned this to you yet but that bag became such a huge hit over at my daughter's secondary school.  Everyone was raving about it, students and teachers alike.  Even the principal had a look at it.  Of course, I am stoked!  I will not be surprised if next year, the school will come up with an official laptop bag for the kids to use.  And I will certainly be proud that the inspiration came from something I originally made!

Anyway, I finally got some sewing done yesterday!  As I said last time, my KitchenAid mixer needed a cover.  I found a few tutorials on the net on how to draft a pattern but I decided to do it my own way for more precision.  I am just like that...I calculate a lot and even use math formulas if I have to.

I didn't purchase any new fabric and just used up a Japanese floral fabric that I still had a big piece of.

As you can see, the cover is quilted and it is completely lined inside too.

See that arch at the top?  That's where I had to be really exact in my measurements.

And there underneath...my precious candy apple KitchenAid mixer.

That's something from my two worlds...sewing and baking!  Hope you liked it!

Of baking and sewing

I had a super busy Saturday preparing 48 cupcakes for the baptism I mentioned in my last post.  The baby's mother chose red velvet and this of course delighted me because I have somehow mastered baking this particular kind of cupcake.  I had concerns about the cream cheese frosting though since it was quite a warm day. The frosting turned out softer than usual and I had difficulty piping it out in swirls. Thankfully, the finished cupcakes were adorable anyway.

Isabella Rose.  A lovely name, don't you think?

I have a huge cake/cupcake order coming up in a couple of weeks.  It's making me a little anxious cause I am doing this all by myself.  I hope I will be able to handle it. 

Here are a couple more cupcakes I baked in the past month.

Carrot Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Made for a friend's birthday.  This is super yummy and now one of my favourites!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes with Lemon Curd Filling and Seven Minute Frosting.  Baked for a family friend on Easter.  Was particularly excited about this one since it was the first time I used my kitchen torch to slightly toast the meringue.

Both carrot and lemon cupcake recipes were from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.

Well, that's about it for now.  I am hoping to do a bit of sewing this week (finally!).  My KitchenAid mixer is needing a nice cover badly (I have been covering it with a pillowcase ever since I got it!).  My Etsy shop has also been doing very well these past weeks (thank you, Etsy buyers!) and I am thinking I should come up with a new sewing pattern/eBook very soon.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions for something useful I can make a pattern on?

Have a great week!

Baby Booties Factory

I have been asked to make cupcakes for a baptismal reception next weekend.  Honestly, I have never prepared themed cupcakes before, so while I had accepted the challenge, I knew I had some researching to do.

While googling for baby-themed cupcakes, I came upon this super wonderful tutorial on how to make baby booties from fondant.  Exactly what I was looking for!  One problem though...I have never worked with fondant before and was pretty much clueless about a lot of things.  I was then off to do more research...

Luckily, I had this cupcake book from the library with me that had a recipe for modelling paste.  The author of the book used modelling paste to create most of her cupcake toppers like flowers, butterflies, stars, etc.  It was great since I had all the ingredients on hand.

After leaving the modelling paste overnight, I excitedly worked on the baby booties.  Oh what joy!  I felt like a child playing with clay!

I molded a total of 35 pairs of these little cuties, taking me a good two hours.  Didn't really care about the time!  I only used a third of the modelling paste and left the rest untinted for later use.  Yesterday, I also made some letters from royal icing which I will then top on 12 of the cupcakes to spell out the baby's baptismal name.  I avoided taking photos of that one cause the letters seem a bit delicate and I don't want to risk breaking them.

Here's the recipe for the modelling paste.  It is quite different from all other recipes I found on the web but it works great!

MODELLING PASTE (adapted from Divine Cupcakes by Tamara Jane)

500g icing sugar (powdered or confectioner's sugar)
130g cornflour
110ml water
1 1/2 tablespoons gelatine (unflavoured)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Sift the icing sugar and cornflour into a large mixing bowl to combine.

Place the water, gelatine and cream of tartar in a glass measuring jug and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Place the jug in the microwave and heat on low in 10 second bursts until the gelatine has dissolved.  Be careful not to overheat the mixture.  If you do not have a microwave, place the water, gelatine and cream of tartar in a bowl.  Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then heat gently over a pan of simmering water until the gelatine dissolves.

Pour the gelatine mixture into the bowl with the cornflour and icing sugar.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.  Allow to rest in the bowl, covered with a damp towel for an hour.  Place the paste into an airtight container and store in the fridge until required.  This paste is best left overnight before making decorations.  It can also be frozen for up to 1 month if desired - allow to defrost in the fridge before use.

Will show you my finished cupcakes next time.  Have a good weekend!

The Spanish in me

I have been away from this blog on purpose and for a reason...a reason which I will hopefully be able to explain to you soon.  I actually didn't have any plans of making a new post but I just couldn't resist it today.

The title says "the Spanish in me".  I am not Spanish but a Filipino by birth.  Most of you probably know that the Philippines was greatly influenced by Spain, having colonized the country for more than 300 years.  Spanish influence is still very much evident to this day, both in our language and our culture. 

Filipino food reflects the adaptation of Spanish cuisine in a big, big way. One of the snacks we love to eat is Churros, sometimes referred to as Spanish doughnut. (I do think in Spain though, they eat this for breakfast.) Curiously, churros is also widely popular here in Australia (I say that with wonder because I don't know a whole lot about Australian history).  This morning, as I was walking around at the mall with my daughter, I saw this small stall selling churros, and it reminded me of how long it has been since I last cooked churros for my family.

So just a few hours later, here they are on our table...but gone in a matter of minutes.

These were delicious....crunchy on the outside, very light and melt in the mouth.  You just can't get enough!

And dipping it in chocolate sauce just makes it even better!

I don't really know how many pieces I ended up with since they went out so fast.  I didn't have the chance to count.  There were five of us and we were all quite full after our snacking session.  We had a lot of leftover chocolate sauce though...half of that would have been sufficient.

It is so worth to make churros at home rather than buy them elsewhere. For your convenience, I am copying the recipe here. Buen provecho! 

CHURROS con CHOCOLATE (adapted from Taste.com.au)

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time:15 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)
250ml (1 cup) water
100g unsalted butter
150g (1 cup) plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly whisked
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture, sifted
200g good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
250ml (1 cup) milk

Method
Combine water and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until butter melts. Remove from heat.

Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and the dough comes away from the side of the saucepan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes or until cool.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until well combined. Spoon dough into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm-diameter fluted nozzle.

Add enough oil to a large saucepan to reach a depth of 6cm. Heat to 180°C over medium heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 15 seconds). Using a small sharp knife to cut the dough, pipe four 10cm lengths into the oil. Deep-fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer churros to a plate lined with paper towel. Dust with icing sugar. Repeat with the remaining dough, reheating oil between batches.

Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and milk in a medium saucepan over
medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Arrange churros on a platter and serve with chocolate dipping sauce.

Sydney plus more cupcakes

We just came back from a short holiday in Sydney.  This trip was a very nice change for us since being a big family, it is just too costly for us to go on trips regularly.  It was actually my first time to go interstate after nine years in Australia!

We stayed in a serviced apartment right in the heart of the city.  The view was great from our window on the 45th floor...

But what excited me more than the great view was that the apartment was situated right next to this shop.

I hardly ever go to shops like this so I was thrilled to just see all those gorgeous cupcakes!  All of the cupcakes were $2.50 AUD @ (roughly $2.29 USD).  They were small, only about 2/3 the standard size.  While there was a huge variety of flavours, most of the cupcakes were just either vanilla or chocolate.  The flavours were actually in the frosting.  My daughter and I bought a box of 6 to share with the rest of the family.  How were the cupcakes, you may ask?

They were just ok...nothing extra special about them.  Looked better than they actually tasted.  Even for the small size, I would not really crave for another one. Having said that, I really thought my home baked cupcakes were heaps tastier.

Before we left for Melbourne, my daughter wanted to buy one more cupcake, the chocolate with the peppermint frosting.  We ran out of time to pass by the shop though.

Yesterday, on my trip to the supermarket, I saw some Nestle chocolate blocks on sale.  I had a great idea.  I wanted to surprise my daughter when she came home from school today.

My recreation of the Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake!

These are chocolate cupcakes (again, my aunt's old recipe) topped with fluffy (or seven minute) peppermint frosting and crushed Nestle Aero Peppermint Chocolate.

My comment on my cupcakes? They were yummy, light and moist.  Personally, though, I would have preferred a richer chocolate taste as the peppermint flavour can be a bit overpowering.  Devil's Food cupcakes would have been more appropriate with this frosting. No complaints from the kids...they loved it as is.

How proud I am that I can bake. You can too, of course!  Here you go...enjoy this recipe!

CHOCO-PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES (Makes 18 standard sized cupcakes)

Chocolate Cupcake

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup boiling water

1 2/3 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line your muffin tins with baking cups.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F.

Dissolve cocoa powder in boiling water.  Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Alternately add the flour and cooled cocoa mixture in three parts, beating only until ingredients are incorporated.  Do not overbeat.  Scrape down the batter in the bowl occasionally to make sure all the ingredients are well blended.

Divide the batter into baking cups, filling them to about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  Cool cupcakes in the tins for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cool, frost cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting and if desired, top with crushed peppermint flavoured chocolate.

Fluffy Peppermint Frosting

1 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup water

2 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon peppermint essence

green gel paste

Combine sugar and the water in small saucepan; stir over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Boil uncovered, without stirring, about 5 minutes or until syrup reaches 116C on a candy thermometer. Syrup should be thick but not coloured. Remove syrup from heat, allow bubbles to subside.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. While motor is operating, add hot syrup in a thin stream; beat on high speed about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick.  Add peppermint essence and enough green gel paste to achieve desired colour.

Makes 2 1/2 cups.  More than enough to make high swirly tops for your cupcakes!

Green Tea Chiffon Cake : An Experiment

My sister in law's friend (I am not comfortable to call her MY friend just yet as I hardly know her) rang me yesterday to ask if I could help her make a cake.  Her husband, a psychiatrist, has been taking a series of exams he needed for his profession, and today was his last exam.  She wanted to surprise him.

I asked her what sort of cake her health-conscious husband would like.  She suggested green tea.  Of all cakes she could have thought of!  For one, I haven't tried baking green tea cake before (only cupcakes) and secondly, I was afraid I was going to risk wasting my precious (expensive) matcha powder.

But I am not one to back out of a cake challenge, daunting as it was.  (I say daunting because I have been told how very important aesthetics was to the husband!)  My initial idea was to combine green tea with chocolate. Here's how my green tea cake experiment went.

I used my aunt's basic chiffon cake recipe, only altering it to add in the matcha powder. I knew that by using a regular round pan, instead of a tube pan, I would not achieve the maximum height for the cake. My baking pan was 9" round, 3" high.

This was the cake after being halved horizontally. The colour was very "matcha-like".

I had some thickened cream and dark chocolate in the fridge.  What better way to use them up than for chocolate ganache?  I made half of this recipe to use as a filling.

Looked good so far...

My choice of frosting was Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream (chocolate variation).  

This was the crumb coat.  I did the laundry and washed the dishes while waiting for this layer to dry a bit.

Now fully frosted with borders!  At this point, I was feeling quite good and confident.

I had no idea how I was going to finish off the cake.  I decided to do something similar to one of the cakes I recently made.  I have to be honest...I stuffed up.  I could not pipe out leaves correctly and my writing was way terrible....I wish I could have done this better...I really need to practice...(sigh)

Don't ask where that name came from!  It's short for some foreign sounding name.

I got a call this afternoon and was given the good news that the cake was delicious.  The good doctor said the cake was moist and not too sweet and that the taste was sophisticated (TRANSLATION: The bitterness of the green tea blended well with the chocolate!).

So, was the experiment a success?  I guess so.  But until I have a taste of the cake myself, I do not want to make any conclusions.  The recipe for Green Tea Chiffon Cake follows.  You might be interested to do your own experimenting!

GREEN TEA CHIFFON CAKE

Ingredients:

{A}

1 1/2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons matcha (green tea) powder

{B}

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water (or milk would probably be better)

{C}

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

{D}

1/2 cup sugar

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

2.  In a large bowl, combine {A} well.  Add in {B}.  Beat with electric mixer or by hand until smooth and well blended.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat {C} on high speed until frothy.  Gradually add in {D} and beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into egg yolk mixture.  Pour batter into an ungreased 9" round, 3" high pan lined with parchment paper at the bottom (or a 9" tube pan). 
4.  Bake for about 45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Invert pan into wire rack immediately and cool completely.

5.  Carefully run a thin knife around sides of pan and invert cake onto a serving plate.

Enjoy!