My very first Cake Decorating Class.........Sugar Art

That's me and SugarArt award winning instructor , Mr Kelvin Chua of Vinism SugarArt

Anyone heard of Vinism SugarArt or Mr Kelvin Chua before? I'm pretty sure you all did, if not you can always check him out at eBlogger or Facebook , Youtube and etc. He is a very fine 'young' man that has a sky-high talent in creating and making very fine and mystique designs using royal icing. Don't be surprise when I tell you that he doesn't bake, not as good as us (ahem), hahaha......as his passion is not in baking, but only the decorating, and using only 'sugar' and that is why it is called "SugarArt".
Sometimes, it really amazed me when I think of what 'sugar' can do. I have never attended any baking or cake decorating class before , not that I don't want to, but generally time is not on my side. Now that I have been baking for about 2.5 years , this is the first class that I have ever attended :P
Well, I'm a bit choosy when it comes to attending classes like baking or decorating, I very much prefer a 100% hands on classes, and definitely not classes where you just sit there, with a notepad and pen, jotting down what the chef is doing in front of you, and later only get to taste the finished product :P,  Secondly, at times when I found one that I like to attend, it's either the timing is not right for me, or it's somewhere not in my location.......so there is always something that came up :(

Day 1 - Flow of Fantasy

Anywhere, this time I finally got myself signed up in not one, but two classes on SugarArt Cake Decorating jointly organized by Sugar Art of Kota Kinabalu (Mdm Fanny Chin) and Mr Kelvin Chua of Vinism SugarArt. In fact, it was a 3-day course for three different theme, but the 2nd day, I have an order to fulfil, so I had to skip. I must say, I have learnt a whole a lot of tips and tricks and really useful information on decorating a cake using royal icing. I have not had the privilege yet to try out on royal icing as a decorating factor for my cake orders, but definitely, with this techniques learnt, it will help in many ways!!
These 2 classes that I have attended, it was all about 'piping, piping, and more piping!! However, we had so much fun and lots of laughter in the room, though our hands are trembling with the pipings......LOL

I'm very happy with the outcome of the class at the end of the 2 days session........look what I have created, and I'm impressed with myself too!!

Day 2 - Black Charm

This is the group photo with those awesome 'Black Charm' creators on Day 2

Overall, I would say, I highly recommend those of you who wishes to explore into Royal Icing creating to join in classes like these to learn the techniques and for those who is already into royal icing piping, further sharpen your skills in embroidery painting, filigree piping and lots more!!

Lastly, my heartfelt thanks and honour to the privilege in meeting and knowing, and most of all, learning these wonderful skill from Mr Kelvin Chua of Vinism SugarArt.

"I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I remember" - by Pablo Picasso

Chap Goh Meh and the Return of the Newly-Wed

Today marks the last day celebration of the Chinese New Year celebration , however, it also a day that we welcome the newly -wed (my SiL and her husband) returning home after 3 days after the wedding. 

It's always is very meaningful when a celebration is celebrated, as we always have the people that we love around us, people that comes from afar and people that you called "a family". This year, our Chap Goh Meh was celebrated with, of course the newly-wedded couple, Emily and Aubrey, and Winnie's family (my eldest SiL) with her in-laws from Sandakan. As they will be leaving for Sandakan later in the afternoon, therefore, we feast for lunch today.

May all of you had a great celebration this Chap Goh Meh ya........just like I did, hehe :)

"Happy Chap Goh Meh"

I'm back.......and promise to stay connected!!

It's been a long time.....and I've finally realized that I have not be updating my blog for eh.........a few months.......?? *tongue* Anyway, I'm back and guess what, I'm gonna make a promise to stay in and about from now onwards.......possible everyday or at least every other day, OK? Thanks for being there and still patiently checking in here with me, you guys are the best.......EVER!! Love ya *muaks*

Let's mark today, 7th July 2011....start of a new chapter in this blog of mine. I will not only post what I have bake, or cook.......but in addition, I will also include my family and my daily life's experience in here. Well, of course, I don't wish to bore you, but at least with the intention that you get to know me as a person more besides just my baking....hehe

Yeah !! It's the month of July and I always like July besides December, as this is the month where it marks the starting of the second half of the year, and also a reminder that I'm another year wiser.....hehehe...I mean 'older'......but hey, what's wrong with getting older, the most important is "we age gracefully" *wink* and every year passed was achieved with great satisfaction. I'm very contended and blessed and I always thank GOD for the very abundant blessings that he has given me....Amen!!

So, a promise is a promise, the next post will be in the house .....shortly........stay tuned!

SOCKS FOR JAPAN.......ALL MAILED OUT

Today is the 'd' day that the socks were on its way to Japan......yes!!! I'm so excited and so were the kids. I told them that I will be heading to the post-office first thing in the morning to get it mailed out to the attention of Mr Jason Kelly.

It was drizzling in the morning and the urge to get to the post -office was so great that I left the house early so that I get a parking somewhere near to the post-office entrance, as you can see, I have 2 boxes of it.......though it's not really big, but it sure does keeps both my hands occupied.

I reached the post-office at 8.10am and already it was packed with people waiting in line with their numbers. I quickly grabbed the consignment note that was ready at the counter and quickly filled it out, while waiting for my turn. I'm so glad and relief after I have safely sent it all out. The officer told me that with "Pos Eskpress" to international, it will take about 10 days as the situation in Japan is not that good now, some of the areas that was badly affected by the tsunami or the earthquake, actually makes transportation a bit difficult.

But, I've made it this far, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that these packages will reached Mr Jason Kelly safe and sound in about 10 days. I will monitor my emails to see the acknowledgment from him, as he promised he will do that to all senders. God bless!!

SOCKS FOR JAPAN....WE DID OUR PART

As promised to update you guys on the progress of our mission to participate in the "Socks For Japan" activity, here.....you can see my 4 kids doing their part in contributing not only their savings $$$ but also their effort to make it possible. I felt truly proud of each of them , as with a word of complaint , they efficiently completed the task that I assigned to them ^-^ Praise the Lord !!

75 pairs of socks for "Socks for Japan", Care Messages and Ziplock Bags

I think "One will feel most happiest , is when One has done something that One thinks that it is truly meaningful, not to Oneself, but to OTHERS."

We accumulated our money contribution and I headed to "SoxWorld" to pick the socks. I chose different sizes for different age group and colour and for both Female and Male. With the amount of money, we managed to buy 75 pairs of socks altogether. Then, I received the 'Care Message' that I sent earlier (2 days ago) to Jason Kelly's website to have it translated to Japanese. I duplicated 75 pieces of it and have it printed out.

The translated 'Care Message' in Japanese Language

Ian, Daniel, Dylan and Angelica doing their task of inserting each pair of socks into the Ziplock bag......

...attached a Care Message, compressed and sealed it, then lastly, labeled it.

All nicely packed 'With Love" from the kids

And so the packaging is done. Now, I will have to go search for box to store these socks for sending out soon. As I will be leaving for overseas on the 1st April, I will need to get this done within these 2 days.....Hurry!!

Stay tuned for the final chapter of 'Socks for Japan'......from US!

CAN YOU HELP?..................SOCKS FOR JAPAN

 

I'm sure everyone heard about the great breaking news of the recent March 11, 2011- Earthquake and Tsunami hit on Japan. It's so devastating and heartbreaking when I saw the waves quickly swallowing up the lands of many farmers, houses to thousands and millions, cars and trucks of every drivers, and even pushing the ships onshore like it doesn't weigh a hundred tonnes.

Until today, they 387,000 and even more living in the 2,200 shelters , man and women, babies and children of all ages, young and old. I don't know if you have ever thought of ever lending a helping hand to them.......maybe you might think that we are a world apart, and that is not possible? Or maybe, you doubt that what you contributed will not make any difference compared to others? But have you ever think that sometimes, it's not contribution that comes in the form of money or food that is the most important and useful........of course there are.....but sometimes, very little and basic daily necessity (especially to the Japanese) we overlooked such as "a pair of clean warm socks" will give them the moments of comfort on the spot when they put in on.

This is a website that one of my friend in Facebook posted and it really caught my attention as I was feeling very down since the natural disaster struck Japan ......I don't know why and what connection I have with them , but I felt deeply sorry and sad for them. I really wish I can help even though it the form of a very small 'token'.....and this is exactly what I found meaningful and heartwarming  - "SOCKS FOR JAPAN".

Please kindly take a moment of your time to click on the link and see what you can do .........even 10 pairs makes a big difference to these people. Below is a paragraph that I extracted from the official "Socks For Japan" website that explains "WHY SOCKS" and not other things ? which I think might actually help you to realize and understand, your participation makes a difference to this world.......even though its only "SOCKS".

WHY SOCKS?
Several reasons. Many of the victims ended up barefoot after fleeing in a hurry. In the disaster zone, feet get wet and then extra cold at night, especially in currently freezing weather. People often forget about socks in favor of more obvious items like blankets and jackets. Receiving a new, fresh pair of socks provides a moment of comfort. If those socks arrive with a caring note as well, it’s very heartening for victims. If you’ve ever been stuck in a pair of wet, cold socks or no socks at all, perhaps you remember how soothing it felt to pull on a warm, dry pair. Victims have already requested socks on TV news.

Socks aren’t primary support, but a token of care that will last beyond their small mid-crisis comfort. All supplies exist here in Japan, so we wanted something that delivered meaning past the need of the moment, something more special than what people get from emergency teams and government supplies. Military socks are not the most comfortable. Small joys matter. A March 17 CNN article observed about the victims: “It was the little things that helped them retain their sanity as an end to crisis still seemed distant.”

THANK YOU, GOD BLESS!!

p/s: I have received a reply from "Socks for Japan", Ms Machiko on the Care Letter's translation this morning, and my kids (each of them willing to contribute their daily savings (Pocket money) to buy as many pairs of socks and I'm in the midst of preparing the 'Little Warm Message' to be attached to each pair of socks. Next, I'll head to the store to buy some 'Ziplock Bags' and lots and lots of colourful SOCKS for all ages.....take the first step like I did, I promise you that you'll not regret ;)

Stay tuned.......will update you on the progress.....later! 

My Little Girl is 6 Years Old Today

I'm sure every mothers in the world agree with me that they will try their very best and effort to make their children's dreams and wishes come true as much as they can. This year, my little girl, Angelica has wished for a 'Barbie Doll' cake ……and she specifically wanted me to bake it. In fact she has been asking for this cake since her last year's birthday……but because I only started to bake last year August, I really wasn't confident that I'll be able to come up with such a beautiful 'standing' doll cake.

Therefore, not to disappoint a little girl's wish, I struggled to make a 'sitting Little Mermaid' cake for her last birthday instead……..hehe. I wasn't very satisfied with that cake but......My little girl is a very 'easily satisfied' girl, and she loved it just as much. Therefore, I made a promise to her that this year when she celebrate her 6th birthday, I'll make a standing Barbie Doll cake for her, just the one she has always wanted.
As she also wanted to celebrate this year's birthday with her classmates for the last time in this pre-school (as she will be proceeding to Primary One next year) , she wanted a "Princess in Pink" birthday theme……..and I am more than happy to grant her her wishes…..^-^

And so, I made her these "Princess" theme cupcakes with the major color 'Pink'…….we have all the Disney's Princess character like Aurora of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle of Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine of Aladdin and Ariel of Little Mermaid……..of course, we also have some fairy magic wands, sweethearts, pink tiaras and some ice creams (one of Angel's favourite ……with lots of sprinkles on it) ;)

Besides that, I have also made some 'Sugar Cookies' for her to be packed into the party packs for her classmates. As this month's Daring Bakers Challenge is making 'Sugar Cookies', it's the perfect timing for me to bake some sugar cookies and also practice on decorating them too. Thanks to this month's Daring Bakers' host – Mandy from "What the Fruitcake?!".

Last but not least, the promised "Barbie Doll" cake that Angelica has always wanted. I'm glad everything came out perfectly as I wanted it to be, I'm very satisfied with the outcome this time, though I might not be perfect to some of you (who are much more experience in this field than me) but ….……for me, seeing my little girls' eyes lite up and her smiling face just froze there for period of time, the peck on my cheek and the little 'bear-hug' she gave me, tells me that she is very much appreciates my work and my effort in making her this year's birthday the 'happiest day in her life'........therefore all hard work and sleepless nights I put in for all these preparations……it all worth it! Cheers, Cynthia!! LOL

Happy Birthday Angel, my sweetie, you will always be my little angel and Mummy will try my very best to make your every wish come true!!

 May the good Lord bless you, Sweetie, Love you always……xoxo!!

Forgive me for my absence lately........

Gosh! Time has really flies by so fast without me realising that it's already September......and I haven't been posting any latest bake so far. Please forgive me as the last 2 weeks of August was a nightmare to me.......all my 4 kids were down with high fever, cough and flu and sore throat. I don't know when was the last time something like this happened in the past........but it sure gives me enough sleepless nights, and rushing up and in and out of the clinic, seeking for doctor's advice and requesting for medical leave for the kids, as 3 of my boys are hit at the time when the 2nd term examination is on.......Sigh!!

Therefore, I was left with no time to think of anything else (definitely not baking) but only what time and what doses of medicine to give to which kid.......round the clock. Come to think of it now, I'm quite good with the medicine names, doses and also the exact weight of each of my children, says the phamarcist when I went to purchase medicine for them. I can spell out everything she wants to know without a blink........LOL, I guessed this shows how much I'm a "Mumto4Angels" is.......LOL

Anyway, I promise I will try to go back to baking like usual this September........so not to neglect those challenges that I joined, and also to those who faithfully follow my blogs ^-^

By the way, I have just started to venture into a small cupcakes business on my own called "Cupcakes Fairytale" , from home, on a very small scale, just to cater to those friends who used to order from me. Please do feel free to pop into this link and well, if you would like to try .........I would be happy to be a part of your fairytale.

Lastly, this is what I found 'weird' during my absence while I was baking one batch of my cupcake orders, hehe. Seen anything like this before?

My brother’s 25th Silver Wedding Anniversary

It's the month of August…….and my brother Anthony, and his wife, Celine will be celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary on the 7^th August. 25 years of marriage is definitely something to celebrate and also to remember especially when they have been blessed abundantly by God with 5 beautiful children and a very healthy and happy family. I am so happy and at the same time, excited for them too. My niece, Aline, their eldest daughter told me about this celebration a month ago, and a lot has been prepared and lined up for the celebration. I have arranged for my two sisters from KL to come back just in time for the celebration, while the rest of the siblings and nieces / nephews are a bit tied up with their work L But, nonetheless, they are remembered in our hearts during the celebration. I have also decided to make some cupcakes as a gift to the guest during the dinner for this occasion, and my little niece, Sheryl, who loves to bake, agreed to help me out.
So, 2 weeks before the actual date, I have already started with the gum paste flowers and decoration ideas. I haven't been playing with gum paste for quite some time since the last time was during Chinese New Year. I think it's time I catch up again on my rolling, coloring and molding of the flowers, petal by petal, the leaves and the tiny flowers. It's always fun to do all that…….the only thing would be, it's a little time consuming and a lot of patience is required J
I got all the flowers done in 4 days, and work out a mock sample for my niece to see a week before the event. All 5 of them are very happy with it and so I set the day to bake the cupcakes a day before the celebration, at my brother's house, as my little niece would like to help me out J So, it was Friday evening, I went to her house after work, we started baking 80 cupcakes at around 7pm and then started the buttercream piping, the decoration and finally, the packing ……..we finished up everything by 10pm, I would say, that was FAST!! YEAH!!
So, I headed home and was very pleased everything went well and the here are the photos of the cupcakes and some photos of the celebration too…….cheers!

                                         ........and here is one of my angel, Daniel.......:)

Happy Birthday to My ‘Trendy Boy’ Ian……you are 11th!!

Happy Birthday to you my dear Ian…….you are 11^th!! Looking back to the eleven years that have past us by so fast, I can't believe that is was actually eleven years ago. What I can say is that I'm glad you are borne into this world as my son, I would exchange nothing for you as you are so dear to me and to your dad too. I still remember seeing you the first time in the clinic after the anesthetic went off, and I regained my conscious………the nurse brought you into the room to me. You are like a gift that God has sent from heaven above to me and your dad after all the losses that we have encountered before your arrival. I'm so happy to have you, IAN!! I will always love you my dear son, xoxo.You have grown so much over the 11 years of your life, and I'm so proud of you…….I always will!
So, for Ian's birthday, we did not celebrate big as he also wanted it to be as simple as possible, he was telling me that he only want to celebrate big when he is 12 years old, as that time, he will be parting with some of his school friends to go to their own preferred high school. So, I promised him that he will have a birthday celebration at home next year ;)
This year, he only wanted to treat his classmates some cupcakes and spend his birthday at home with a little family celebration with his brothers, sisters and mum & dad. So, I made him some 'Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting' and he chose to decorate it with some soccer balls, as he said he started to like watching soccer already since the FIFA Worldcup 2010….hehe, that's good, now I have another football companion to cheer over the matches with……LOL
Here are the cupcakes that I made and was then sent to his school for his classmates to eat and celebrate with him on the 23^rd July…..^-^

Then, on the actual day I decided to make a whole cake for him to be cut and celebrate at home. I have never tried 'edible icing image' before and however found that it's really easy to use and it's very presentable too. I made a 'Chocolate Sponge Cake and Oreo Fresh Cream' as frosting, then top with red glaced cherries and croquent flakes as decoration.
Here are the photos of the celebration……cheers, Ian!

Happy Birthday to IAN, Mummy loves you forever, muaks!!

My Birthday, My Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to ME!! Haha…....this sounds so funny, normally I used to wish people 'Happy Birthday' and not to myself. Anyway, this year I wished myself 'Happy Birthday' early Sunday morning when I woke up……as I was feeling very happy, and also very satisfied as I have lived another year filled with love, happiness and the best of health and also………some of the things that I wanted to do or achieve, has indeed been done and achieved. Well, I thanked the Lord for all his abundant blessings that he has showered upon me, without Him, I really wouldn't know where am I now………..and in what situation I'll be in. Praise God!!Well, I was very happy this birthday as I received tonnes of birthday wishes from friends and relatives, my boys treated me to a Pizza Hut dinner and Hubby gave me a birthday present that I really like (though I must say it'll take me sometime to master it, hehe) – it's a Samsung Wave GT-S8500!! What else could I ask for?? I'm really blessed with all these, thank you so much !!!

Then, getting back to my baking……..eventhough it's my birthday today, I'm definitely going to bake something, moreover it's a Sunday…………..how can I not bake, right? Hehe………….. So, I ran through my 'To Bake' list that I have listed all the things that I wanted to try to bake …….and there it is……."Red Velvet Cupcakes"!! Perfect choice for this occasion and also since I've baked 5000 cupcakes in the last 2 days……and the mood of baking cupcakes are still hot in my blood, why not!!??

I told the kids, "Mummy is going to bake cupcakes for my birthday"………and guessed what Angelica said? "Huh? Mummy, you are baking cake for your own birthday, then they'll be no surprise already lo??" LOL……….I couldn't stop laughing and assured her that "it's OK, Sweetie, Mummy already has a lot of surprises from you all". By the way, this Red Velvet Cupcakes has already been sitting my list for almost a year now, if I'm not mistaken, so I'd better bake it now before it sits there for another year, hahaha. The recipe was adapted from 'The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook' and I only did a little alteration in the method part :p

 This Red Velvet Cupcakes has a very distinguish ton of red and it stands out really well especially when you pair it with Vanilla Cream Cheese buttercream. The red from the cake and the white from the buttercream is a perfect match!! If you like the look of this cupcakes here in my blog…….then you should try it ^-

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes (Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

Makes 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

60gm Unsalted butter, room temperature

150gm castor sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

10gm cocoa powder

20ml red food coloring (gel/paste)

½ tsp vanilla essence

120ml buttermilk

150gm plain flour

½ tsp salt (you can omit this if you are using salted butter)

½ tsp bicarbonate soda

1 ½ tsp white wine vinegar (I omitted this one)

Ingredients for Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream:

300gm Icing sugar, sifted

50gm unsalted butter, room temperature

125gm cream cheese, room temperature

1 tsp Vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius. Line the cupcakes cases on the baking tray. Set aside.
2. Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add in the egg and beat until well combined. Add in Vanilla essence and food coloring and beat until the color is mixed evenly through the batter. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that all the batter is evenly mixed.
4. In a separate bowl, add cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda and salt to the sifted flour. On slow speed, slowly add the flour mixture, then buttermilk in 3-4 intervals, alternate by starting with the flour and ending with the flour. Beat until the mixture is smooth.
5. Spoon the batter into each casing filling only about 60% or 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on individual oven. To check the doneness of the cake, the top will bounces back when lightly touched and the skewer will comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
7. Leave to cool completely on the wire rack before frosting.
8. For the frosting : in a mixer, beat half the amount of icing sugar and butter until well mixed.
9. Add in the cream cheese and beat well. Add the remaining icing sugar into the buttercream until you get the consistency you wanted. *Don't worry if you happen to use more that 300gm of icing sugar, as it varies on individuals.
10. When you get the correct consistency, you are ready to frost your cupcakes!

Happy Birthday to ME and Happy Cupcakes baking to you!!

My Participation in a 2-day, 5000 Cupcakes Project

I saw this blogpost from Boutique Cupcakes a month ago about them securing a 5000 pieces cupcakes project to use as a gift for the 5000 guest who will be attending the Official Opening of the Wisma Wanita somewhere along Jalan Tuaran on the 18th July 2010. They were recruiting 10 volunteers who are willing to help them with this 2-day, 5000 cupcakes project. So I emailed in to enquire what will be required from us as a volunteer in terms of skills in baking or so forth. They replied and I was being selected and a month later, here it is……..the 5000 cupcakes project in 2 days is ON!!!

I wouldn’t elaborate so much on the whole process as I think the photos I have taken will more or less tells the whole story, though not in details, but I will leave the detailed write –up to Boutique Cupcakes, while I write on my part here……;)

What I can say after the completion of the project was…..a great satisfaction achieved and it was indeed a very tiring process…….but I have no regrets as it was an experience that I truly will remember and cherish forever, as you don’t get to participate in events like this everyday…….so a big CHEERS!!! to Boutique Cupcakes for giving me this opportunity and here’s wishing you all the best in your new outlet that will be opening soon at Lintas Station.