Yacht Cake 2 ( replacement cake )

This is the replacement yacht cake i had to make after the 1st yacht cake fell from the stool. I stayed overnight to re-bake and re-decorate the cake again and slept only 2 hours just to get the cake to be delivered on time.  

This cake is much smaller than the 1st yacht cake since i didn't have much time and i downscaled the batter and also the size of the cake. I didn't have as much time to add in as much details on the cake as i would like, plus lacking sleep i was having a headache.

The yacht is named 'Tuxedo" because that's the name of my boss' boat...but of course the above doesn't look like my boss' real boat. 

Everything on this cake is made from edible material and cake flavor is Coffee Cake with Coffee Buttercream. 

Thankfully this cake made it in time for my boss' celebration dinner.

PS: Im typing these 2 yacht posts with 2 hrs of sleep..so my sentences might sound weird..but i'll correct later after i have enough sleep..hahahaha..

....The Next Day....

My boss gave me this photo he took last night after the cake was cut.  I find it pretty interesting to see the  inside of the cake though..maybe because most of the time i don't get to see the inside of the cake or the cake being cut.

Yacht Cake 1 ( fell & damaged b4 delivery )

I made this cake for my boss' birthday celebration. Took me the entire day to decorate this cake and when i completed, my husband moved the cake to be placed onto a stool while i cleared up the table and then i accidentally touched the side of the board and then entire cake fell off from the stool and smashed into bits! All my hard work gone...wasted!  I was way too shocked and lost my sanity a bit and hence for got to take photos of the damaged cake..which i should have. 

Then i ended up staying up overnight and slept only 2 hours to re-bake and re-decorate the 2nd yacht cake ( in my next post ).

Right from the beginning, i had lots of problems with this cake..with fondant cracking, with cake sliding..etc and hence the boat looked rather 'bloated'..LOL!

Everything on the cake is made from edible material except the candle of course.  Cake Flavor: Chocolate Cake & Coffee Cake with respective buttercream...but too bad nobody got to eat it..all went to the bin! :(

Pineapple Tarts

Every year, just before Chinese New Year, i will order my fave pineapple tarts from a friend's friend who makes the most amazing melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tarts ever. However, this year she stopped baking them..and i am left with no pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year! Arggh...!  Pineapple tarts is my all time favorite goodies during Chinese New Year among others like 'bak-kwa' (..like beef jerky..but it's pork and sweeter and juicer), love letters (almost like tuiles and traditionally done under charcoal fire with a patterned metal clamp..which i remembered i did help out when i was a little kid..), Lapis cake, Suji cookies, Bangkit, etc.. I wanted to give pineapple tarts a miss this year but one of my amazingly talented flickr friend, "Sweet-Tooth-Fairy" had to tempt me with her recipe and her pineapple tarts that i am left with no choice but to bake some for myself. And so my quest for the perfect pineapple tarts (to my tastebuds that is..lol!) began...

My first batch of pineapple jam was a bit too moist (4 pineapples in total).  But nonetheless was still ok but a bit more difficult to handle so the shaping of the soft pastry was a bit difficult. So instead of round, it was a bit 'dome' shape - see photo below..supposedly to be a bit round..but ended up dome..lol!  It's sweeter but the pastry does have the melt in the mouth texture. Overall, it was good but still room for improvement. My husband said the pineapple jam was a bit sweet and has no tangy flavor. 

For experiment no. 2, I actually wanted to buy store-bought pineapple jam at the speciality bake-store but last minute all the ready-made jam were sold out..so i had no choice but to cook my own jam again! This time, i bought 6 pineapples (not totally ripe) and grated them all together and cooked them in a non-stick wok and till dry.   I'm not too sure if it is because i had more experience or what, but i shaped the pastry much neater this time and faster too. See the pastry below is more compact and neater..and the jam inside is drier too.

My husband likes the 2nd batch better as the pineapple jam has a bit of sourness/tangy taste and the pastry is not as sweet, has more texture but still maintaining the melt-in-mouth quality..except he thinks the pastry is a tad too buttery.  He said if i cut down on the butter a bit more would be perfect....but that would be experiment no. 3..after Chinese New Year... Although i still have pineapple jam stored away in the freezer..:)..but i need a break from pineapple tarts..LOL!

Wishing all a Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year! 

And May the Year be Tigerrific! :) 

新年快乐，身体建康，万事如以，恭喜发财！ 

Book & Vintage Car Cakes

A lady from Church requested that i bake a cake to our monthly fellowship gathering for her 4 grandsons' birthday.  I don't really know what her grandsons like so it was difficult to come out with a design.  And for 4 boys to share 1 cake seems a bit sad..so i thought why not bake 2 cakes for them instead since I couldn't decide if i wanted to decorate the cake into a book or a car, i might as well do both and see which one turns out looking better...hahahaha...  Perhaps also because of this, both cakes turned out less than satisfactory to me. There are a lot of mistakes and i can spot them right away.  I decorated both cakes at record time..hahaha..i decorated both cakes the same time i decorated the camera cake i did earlier... so 1st lesson i've learnt - "never decorate more than i can handle"!   

Both cakes side by side

Book Cake

Vintage Car Cake

From the photos above, you can see i didn't cover the cake board as i ran out of fondant...so i had limited fondant to work with. :p  And I seriously think that there is something wrong with my eyes (other than the floaters that are still floating in my right eye!)..every time i carve a cake, it will end up slightly crooked..no matter how i try..even after taking proper measurement!?  Arggh!  

The 2nd lesson i've learnt is: "use modelling paste for all the other parts of the car, tires, bumper etc and not just fondant cos it is way too soft"! The vintage car is a copy from one of Debbie Brown's book and yes, i can't even copy properly! LOL! Seriously, it looks terrible and far from her original one! I think my cake here looks more like a cartoon car instead of a vintage car..and it has flat tires! Or perhaps it looks more like the vintage car had been wrecked or something..LOL! Besides flat tires, the bumper is also crooked..hahahahaha.. looks like the car is pretty knocked up..lol!  See what i mean...argggh..modelling paste please the next time...this is the result of no proper planning which is true cos i didn't plan ahead what i needed.

The gathering went on well and i hope the 4 birthday boys enjoyed their cakes! :)  I forgot to add that both cakes are made of chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream covered with chocolate ganache.  Yup.. chocolate again.. :)

PS: Nobody mentioned about the car looking wrecked so i guess they probably thought i did that on purpose..LOL!

True Orange Genoise

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 179: True Orange Genoise

Since i love anything orange and esp. the combo of chocolate and orange. I decided to bake this cake as my husband's birthday cake.  

I made the orange curd & ganache the night before.  I used Sunkist orange juice and reduced it by microwaving it as mentioned in the "Notes" (since it's impossible to find Seville oranges here in Singapore).  I have to say that i really like the orange curd! I had to refrain myself from eating the orange curd before i bake the cake!

I didn't know i had to make Beurre Noisette until last minute when i read the recipe! :P!  Heated the butter until the milk solids turn brown and pour it through a sieve. However, i realised that my sieve is not as fine as it should be since i can still see little brown dots in the butter.  Then i remembered i have this oil-filter paper which filters out every minute stuff...from the oil..

Packet of filter-papers - always a staple in my kitchen cabinet.

As you can see, after running the butter through the filter paper, the tiny tiny brown milk solids are "trapped" on the paper?  Amazing isn't it?  :)  

A tsp of vanilla added and covered with airtight lid. 

After making the beurre noisette, i forgot to take photos! So no more steps till the final cake! The Genoise sponge turned out well and as per instruction, i layered with orange curd and orange syrup.  Ta-Dah! Here's the cake..i didn't do much decoration as my husband didn't want a too elaborated cake. LOL!  So i just piped some white chocolate ganache that reads "happy birthday". 

Verdict: Everyone loved the cake. Of course my husband loved it! He said it is very good.  However, i think i brushed too much syrup since i find the cake a bit on the sweet side but still i do like it since i've always love chocolate & orange combo.  My colleague MH who has a (very) sweet tooth and an orange/chocolate lover said this is really good and she likes it a lot. She also mentioned that the cake sweetness is just right.

However, i really wished i had Seville oranges because i believe that using the Seville oranges probably does make a difference. Just like turbinado sugar vs brown sugar i think as in my earlier upside-down pineapple cake..

Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 339: Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

I didn't have the required pineapple pan or the required sized ramekins, so i baked it in a 8"-pan. However, i think a 6" pan would have been better...cos i realised the batter was too thinned out on an 8" pan.  I wasn't in the best of mood either after a serious family meeting chaired by my sister. So this was more like "i want to get over and done with" cake. I didn't have cherries topping either and added glaced cherries instead to add a bit of color. As you can see the sides are bit burnt..or over caramelized..LOL!  

Can't find turbinado sugar, so i substituted with brown sugar and perhaps i should have added less sugar since the cake batter 100g of cake flour vs 100g of brown sugar turned out quite sweet.  The Caramel topping & the Pineapple Caramel Drizzle made it even sweeter.  I couldn't wait and took a bite when it was still hot and for that moment, i thought i was going to turn diabetic!  Much too sweet for my liking.  Perhaps the fresh pineapple that i used was really sweet to begin with, as sweet as the canned one.   My husband & daughter said the cake was good since they are both able to take sweeter desserts compared to me - but they did mentioned that it is much sweeter than what they would like.  I tried the cake the next day again straight from the fridge,  I think this cake tasted better when it is cold - not that sweet compared to when it is hot.   I'll cut half the sugar in the batter if i do make it again. :)