Thursday, November 21, 2013

Christmas wreaths - the edible kind!


Photo by: Little Birdie Secrets

There are plenty of stories about how the Christmas wreath tradition started.

But what I love is how one thing stands out so clearly in all the different stories - the wreath is an unwavering symbol of hope and light.

Now that is Christmas beauty.

Some wreaths have candles that are lit in the weeks leading up, with the final candle bursting to light on Christmas day.

Just lovely.

Now there are all sorts of wreaths.
Pine, fir cones, paper, garlands, fabric, twigs, twine, laurel leaves, gold, silver, blue, green, red...

So many awesome manifestations.
> Red is Christmas!
* Rich, red velvet cake
* Never too much red with Elmo
* Baked with love

I worked on my lemony version for Christmas, cuz I like edible wreaths best!
> What's baking this Christmas?

The recipe I used was from one of the happy COOKIE
books (it's literally titled 'Cookies'!) I have on my bookshelf,
which makes it a little hard to transport to share here.
But Martha Stewart has an amazing version, check out her recipe here.

Another recipe for Christmas: Sugar Cookies - perfect for festive icing!

Start by rolling out little lengths of dough ropes. Take 2 ropes,
twist them together like you're braiding hair. Circle the braided
ropes to form a wreath, tucking the ends together where they meet.

The dough softens when it's been out of the fridge for a while,
just pop them back in to firm up if it gets too soft to handle.

When they're slightly browned, they're ready to be taken out.
The final baked wreath is still fairly pale in color, so don't get alarmed. 

As it bakes, the braids expand so remember to
leave a little space in the center for the dough to fill out.

After cooling, the braids are ready to be glazed (see recipe for Lemon Glaze).
While the glaze is still wet, add your sprinkles and decor to make them
Christmassy. I added little fondant angels and stars to mine here,
great variation that's quick to make and keeps well.

Bag the little rounds of Christmas spirit in clear
pouches so they can peek out and say hi, and you're all set!

Friday, November 8, 2013

The most wonderful time of the year!




It's officially Christmas season! 

I'm not crazy (yet)... 

I know it's only November, but if you've been to town, you'd have seen the first Christmas lights strung up along Orchard. Yes I did realise they're not lit yet, but honestly guys, we gotta make the most of the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

What we lack in wintery celebration, we make up for in Christmas decadence... especially the desserty sort. 

Time to start making that list, checking it twice (there's still time to be nice!), and making sure you don't miss spreading the cheer. 
> click on our Christmas Bake List picture above for bigger pop-up

We can't wait for Christmas!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ombre swirl cookies



I've always loved colors.
Instant perk-me-ups.

         More of our colorful bakes: 
         > Minion cuteness!
         > The very hungry caterpillar
         > A purple green birthday
         > How do you wink at an orange?

Add to that, the power of ombre.
Life can be so sweet ;)

When I came across I Am Baker's Rainbow Rose Cookies, I knew I'd found my vehicle for ombre goodness.

So I adapted her rainbow colors for swathes of pink, the little pretty swirls on each cookie peeking just above, showing off their graduated hues.

         Pink's one of our most popular dessert colors!
        > A fairy tale wedding
        > Sugar & spice!
        > Sweet strawberries
        > Bunnies at the zoo



Love colors!
Have I mentioned that already?

Started off baking up a big batch of the sugar cookies, here's the recipe I adapted from I Am Baker:
                 ===========================================================

SUGAR COOKIES
(makes about 48 cookies)

Ingredients
224g butter
300g sugar
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
4 tspns vanilla extract
2 tspns almost extract
600g flour
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking powder

Instructions
- In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until well combined, about 2min
- Add in the eggs and egg yolks, mix until combined
- Add in vanilla and almond extract, mix until combined
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly (about 1 cup at a time) add the flour to butter mixture and combine. You can use a mixer or not, just depends on how strong you are. Don't over mix the dough, it will get tough.
- Put dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 1 hour
- When ready to bake, heat over to 180 degres Celsius. Roll dough out, cut out cookies and bake for 12min.
===========================================================

I'd adjusted mainly the butter and sugar amounts and the baking time to suit my oven, I prefer my cookies less sweet and not too buttery. For I Am Baker's original recipe, click here.

This is a pretty sturdy cookie recipe, great for storing and handling.

Just make sure you cut them fairly thick so they don't break apart so easily when decorating. They also keep well and you can make them in advance, freeze them and pop them out when you need some.


You can make the cookie frosting out of buttercream, much like how you would top a cupcake - just a thicker consistency so they'll hold their shape.

I made mine out of royal icing as they had to stay out quite a while for a mom who ordered them for her daughter's Teacher's Day gifts, and royal holds up much better in our heat and humidity.


I experimented with colors and tips - this was a Wilton 2E:


And decided I liked the open-tip #827 better:




Another obsession of mine - washi tape, a serious contender for a girl's best tool. 

Don't forget to whip them out when you need to dress up a plain box or kraft bag, they can take a million shapes and forms. 
> Check out our cute cupcake bags

What I did forget, was to take a photo of the boxes I decorated with washi tape before I gave them out, so shall have to settle for the next best thing: a picture of the tape I used instead!


Have fun experimenting with ombres and washi!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Weddings - also known as Fairy Tales with Cake and Dessert...



Fairy tales exist.
They really do.

Especially when they involve lots of cakes and more desserts than you can count.

Oh wait, think we call those weddings! ;)
> Check out how we 'bake with love'

We had a chance to get involved with one of those fairy tale weddings recently, with a very apt 'Fairy Tale Knights' theme... bliss!
         > Get some sweet treats:
            Sugar & Spice
            Sweet, Sweet Strawberries

The couple chose a lovely silver, pink and white as their wedding colors, and we were thrilled to play a part creating their church luncheon dessert table, and the wedding gala dinner at night.
> More on a very lovely Elephant dessert table


The Wedding Dessert Table
We had their theme colors accentuating the cute mini desserts

And itty-bitty personalized tags with the couple's
names and wedding emblem 

A little kerfuffle of panic when the air-conditioning
didn't work (humidity is dessert's worst enemy!),
but it got sorted and everything turned out perfectly.

Dessert world's definition of 'living life on the edge' LOL.  

The color-themed candy bar piled high with happiness
in all sorts of pink and white shapes and forms

Spot the Knights & Castle centerpiece, with
hidden mini cupcakes scattered around ...

Do you feel dreamy yet?

Glorious blooms adding zing to every table


The Gala Dinner
The amazing dinner ballroom, just minutes before the guests arrived

Our pride and joy - the 2-tier wedding cake
awash in pink and white blooms

Every one of the 130 guests received a
hand-wrapped slice of wedding cake to bring home

It was a mad day with too little sleep and too much to do,
but a beautiful note of thanks wiped all that away in a snap.
So. Worth. It. 

Monday, August 19, 2013

Bee-do, bee-do, get ready for some Minion cuteness!



They were never meant to be such a big part of the movie, creators thought they'd be a fun little something-on-the-side for a bit of a laugh.

But their indecipherable babble and staccato tottle and skips were so endearing, they upstaged the stars and will now have their own movie.


Bellooooo Minions!
That's 'Helloooo Minions' for you.

Yes, Minion-ese apparently exists, a language with Spanish, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Filipino influences created by the Despicable Me director.

Yellow fever hit everywhere (I'm guilty of a certain banana-song ringtone!), and these highly excitable creatures with very little self-control were in hot demand - even as desserts.

Read about:
> Another yellow birthday: A day at the construction site
> Another fidgety creature that can't sit still: Bunnies!

Cupcakes are a great backdrop for the Minions, you could create different personalities for each.

The gang waiting to surprise Karlye!

Before they got to Karlye, these 4cm tall tic-tacs-on-steroids had to
spend some time in the workshop dressing up and getting some eyeballs

Running amok uncontrollably, as they do in real life

Kevin - impulsively (as all minions are) overtaken
by the Saturday Night Fever

Dave (right) - slightly appalled that he has to
stand next to Stuart in that green frock 

What's a minion got to do to get that banana??

Poopaye = Goodbye, an apt farewell gift for a wild Minion fan

Couldn't resist finishing off with the adorable Minion bubble wand
I spotted at the party favor shop next to my physiotherapist's office


Another little boy was celebrating his birthday with the Minions, and this time I went with some cheeky 2D faces:

Minion - deconstructed

Fun fact: Minions love bananas and apples, and the mere
sight of either of these fruits can cause complete chaos.
Low maintenance friends, what's not to like? ;

The birthday boy in the background, grinning as widely as his minions!

Other themed desserts:
> The Very Hungry Caterpillar
> Hello there, Kitty!
> Never too much red with Elmo!
> A Rilakkuma birthday

Friday, July 26, 2013

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

One of the best thing about kids' characters and books are the eye-poppin' colors.

I love the splashes of fun and the cheery bright hues. 
No excuses, no space at all for the blues. (ooh, that rhymes!)

Check out more cheery day bakes:

Anyone who's spent half a day with a toddler would be well acquainted with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 


He chews and chomps his way through an impressive 10 different foods, teaching kids about numbers and the days of the week. 

        More kids' fun:
       > Hello there, Kitty!

So when the request came for a Hungry Caterpillar cake, I jumped at the chance. 


And the caterpillar's long segmented body was perfect for a wavy line of cake pops.

Double Fun!

I begin with the fun parts (always!): cheery slices of
chocolate cake, apple, watermelon, strawberry, muffin, pear,
ice-cream and of course - a lollipop.

All with their signature holes.

Phew, that Caterpillar can put it away!

While the fondant pieces set,
I get the red velvet cake started

After 45 min in the oven, the batter loses its
bright red for a coat of rusty chocolate -
red velvet's signature color

Caterpillar's food meets red velvet cake - happiness.









Guess what these are? 

Bingo - cupcake toppers! Can never get
enough ice-cream. especially ON a cupcake.Thrilled to
find matching cupcake liners with ice-cream prints all over.

Sitting pretty in summer Caterpillar colors

All ready to meet the birthday boy's friends

Can't wait for my 11 month-old nephew to be old enough to meet the Hungry Caterpillar. They're both tubby and cheery, I'm sure they'll hit it off.