Singapore Sweet Safari

Coming to the end of my trip here in Singapore, I've had the lovely opportunity to try the many varied and interesting sweet treats this island-nation has to offer.

My tastebuds have been tingling from the the many delicious desserts I've been tasting. And my girth has expanded in tandem. But oooh...how can one say no to all of these?

Display at Wimbly Lu, a darling little place near my parent's home

Eclairs and Rocky Road

 Their chocolate molten lava cake

Cupcakes! From Plain Vanilla bakery

A whoopie pie from Pique Nique...'twas delicious!

 

A cake pop made by my husban's cousin for her own 21st birthday.

How talented is she?! 

Now...to bribe her for creative license...

And now, on to ASIAN DESSERTS!!

 My ALL-TIME fav (especially because we can't get it in Australia),

the DURIAN

 

 At a little Asian eatery on Leong Siak St.

Clockwise from top left: 

Mango Sago Pomelo dessert with mango ice-cream,

Boiled black glutinous rice (pulut hitam) with almond slices and ice-cream,

Mango Sago Pomelo dessert with DURIAN,

Warm almond pudding.

 At the Old Airport Road hawker centre

A custard egg tart with a biscuit instead of pastry base

and Taiwan-style sweetened silky soya beancurd (Lao Ban)

Just yesterday we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday at House @ Dempsey with a Vintage Tea Party buffet they put on every Thursday and Friday.

 Vintage table settings, complete with bunting!

And mismatched plates!

Sweet treats of different sorts. I die!!

Miniature cupcakes, similar to the Vintage Rose ones I've made

 

Mini skinny pizzas. The truffled mushrooms...OHHH the truffled mushrooms. 

Mushgasm in yer mouth!

 Piping hot tea in an old school thermos flask.

Serving tea that smelt of cocoa, and sweet ginger tea!

WELL! My little getaway abroad has finally come to an end...time to head home, for some new and exciting baking thingamajiggys! Next up will be the North Melbourne Market's special event as part of the L'Oreal Fashion Festival, and my lil' ol' cake pop class at Thread Den!

Hope to see you there!

 

xoxo,

Sarah

Cake Pops Class

Yay! I'm so excited, this has been in the works since late last year and I'm finally pleased to announce that I'll be running a one-off Cake Pop class with Thread Den in March!

Details can be found here: http://www.threadden.com/_pages/class_description/cake001.html

What are Cake Pops, you ask?

Well, they're a delicious combination of cake, frosting, chocolate all on a stick! Created by Bakerella, it has taken the world of dessert by storm! There are round cake pops, egg-shaped ones, cake pops that look like animals, even cake pops that look like cupcakes, on a stick!

I would hesitate to say that I'm an expert on all things Cake Pop-y, but I'll gladly share what I know during this class!

Here's one I've prepared earlier:

Hope to see you there!

Tips for getting the BEST FLAVOUR out of your cake!

1. Ingredients:

Needless to say, a quality cake calls for quality ingredients.

Rich, fat, butter (sorry to the health-conscious!), great dark chocolate, eggs from happy chickens, Madagascan vanilla beans plucked from the ta...(ok, going a bit overboard there, but you get my drift!) all contribute to the flavour of your cake. You can really taste the difference!


2. Baking:

FOLLOW THE RECIPE. Baking, I've found, is more of a science than it is an art. Humidity, oven temperature, a teaspoon vs. a tablespoon, even how high you fill the cake tin, all contribute to how your cake turns out! It could mean the difference between a light, moist, angel-food cake, or something largely resembling Jabba the Hut...(trust me, I've made the latter many times!)

Once, I was baking with a friend who came from the Jamie Oliver school of culinary thought (ie. "a bit o' this an' a splash o' that and Bob's your uncle!")

So when it came to adding a pinch of salt (salt actually inhibits bitterness, and also balances the sweetness of the sugar in your cake), he scooped, oh, about a HANDFUL of it and tossed it into the batter before I could stop him! "It doesn't really matter, does it?" he said.

Result? Really REALLY salty chocolate chip cookies!

FOLLOW THE RECIPE!


3. Storage:

One of the most common questions I get when it comes to baking is, "Do I need to fridge my cake?"

The answer I'd plainly say is, No.

Cakes are always best enjoyed at room temperature - they're moist and melt in your mouth. You get to taste the full spectrum of its flavour in your palate. Suddenly your food has...dimension. Kinda like watching a movie in 3D!

This is especially so for fondant-covered cakes - popping it into the fridge, then taking it out after would cause the fondant to "sweat" and sometimes peel off from the cake itself. Not a pretty sight!

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, especially during hot summer days! With buttercream being prone to melting in the heat, I'd say it's fine to store a buttercream-covered cake or cupcake in the fridge, then allow it to come up to room temperature before eating.

Pop it in an airtight container, put it in the fridge till you need it, then give it an hour or two (depending on your ambient temperature) before devouring it.


Happy Baking!

Happy New Year!

Here's a look at what I've been up to til the end of 2011...

 

 

Another cupcake tower with a brown and cream theme...

 

The wedding was held in the Yarra Valley...just gorgeous!!

And of course there was all the Christmas baking...

 

Chrissy cake pops!

Made some cookies for our friends - 

gingerbread and dark chocolate!

And what's a party without a Christmas log?

This one's an oldie but a goodie - chocolate ripple cake!

With summer berries and a lil' dusting of cocoa to bring some yuletide cheer!

Another dessert I've been wanting to try out, the Brownie-cheesecake trifle, 

or what I call "Your Daily Calorie Intake in a Cup"

It features layers of:

Triple-chocolate brownies

Cheesecake mix

Summer berries

Whipped cream

Oreo cookies

It's based on this one from Lauren's Kitchen

The last year has been an amazing journey, an amazing start! Looking forward to the new one ahead. Happy 2012 everyone!!

 

PS. Buttercup Bakeshoppe will be taking a well-deserved break (VACAAYYYYTION HERE I COME!!!) until late February. But I'll be posting up my food adventures abroad here, so stay tuned. And I've got some exciting news for March to announce too!

Cupcake tower & Fire trucks galore!

Here're a look at some cakeing I've been up to lately.
(Tip: Click on any image to bring up the gallery for easy viewing)

My first proper cupcake tower for a wedding:

 

The bride's bouquets were made of peonies, so I made this large loose Peony for her.

Her theme colours were cream, baby pink and hot pink!

And here's a birthday cake for a little boy's second birthday - a vroomy red car and who doesn't love a fire truck?!

Partle educational as well - remember the emergency number!

The dessert table at the party set up by the birthday boy's mum!

Reebonz Australia

Just a super quick post!

Last week we did an order for Reebonz Australia, who wanted some of our typography cookies and Christmas gingerbread cookies to send out to their top customers.

Of course we were happy to oblige!

Anyhoos, as a thank you, Reebonz (pronounced ribbons) has given readers of this blog 50 credits to use on their site when they sign up using this special link:

www.reebonz.com/invite_code/buttercupbakeshoppe

So have fun and knock yourself out shopping!

The Cake School Open Day

Sunday was perfect weather for making the great trek across the city to Ringwood. (I live out West...it takes awhile, even on a Sunday!)

After months of waiting, The Cake School has finally launched! And this was their Open Day where I got to see their talented team, led by Fran McGregor run a demo class.

Obviously, I was in full gushy mode, who can help it, surrounded by such talent? (There I go again!)

Here're some pics of the day:

 I walk through the door, and the first thing that greets me?

CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE.

omnomnomnomnonomnomnomnomn....

 With dark couverture chocolate ganache. Of course.

 Here's Fran and Yvette (Baking Addict).

 

Fran demonstrating how to cover a cake board with white fondant.

 Yvette teaching students how to trim the edges off the cake board with... X-ray film!

Who woulda thunk it?

 TA-DAH!

Incidentally I've been a fan (read: stalking) Baking Addict on Facebook for a short while now, and I was just SO pleased to finally meet her. She's just as nice a person as I'd imagined. Nicer even!

 

Smoothing the chocolate ganache on the top.

 

 

Final product - Naked Cake!

 

OMG how perfect does this look? 

I exclaimed (out loud) "Doesn't it make you want to jump in and swim in it?!"

I think what I probably meant was that "I wanted to dive right in."

This mix-up could probably explain why the lady next to me gave me a strange look.

Styro-balls, bases for roses.

 

 Me and Fran!

 

Yvette, moi, Effie (Designer Cakes by Effie, another Cake Artist I've been following) 

 More pics of their lovely cakes and front lounge can be viewed here on The Cake School Facebook page.

I'm just so super excited to take some classes next year!