Cakes in Japan

Now that i have some time to sort out some (only some) of my 3,000+ photos.. here are some of the cake photos that i took at Takashimaya in Osaka and wondering how these cakes are made. If there are anyone who can tell me how these cakes are done, i'll be so grateful..:D

These are cakes hanging up in rods..i think they are baked in factory and then sent down to the store where they brush syrup over the rotating cakes cos there is an outer layer of sugary crust on the cake...and i saw this lady brushing and brushing and brushing..over and over...

I bought a small version of the round cake (above) to try.  Does anyone know how this is done? This looks just like our local Kueh Lapis (layer cake) in term of layers but this Japanese version taste lighter and more like sponge cake.   

This is the bigger ring cake but i bought half..as i don't think i can finish so many slices after a huge dinner. 

These Chiffon Cakes..Japanese Chiffon Cakes.  No ring in the centre and it looks so pretty, tall and neat too! How did they do it? Anyone knows? It's so tall too!  I had a sample piece and it tasted very good too!  I wanted to buy it on the last day to bring back but i forgot about it! 

Oh..hahaha..i had to sneak in this..my dessert at macdonalds which was a daily affair..as you know my son loves macdonalds! 

and this food-strap set i bought at Macdonalds (the one below) in Osaka.  The bears are the Singapore version..which i just bought it a few days ago. 

And this little fish staring at me at the aquarium in Osaka.  Very cute isnt it?  I love this shot that i took of this fish... of course there are other fishes too but i doubt you want to be bored with fishes and crabs and penguins..lol!

Happy New Year to you my friends! 

Banana Pajamas Cake

My son's birthday is on boxing day and we usually celebrate his birthday on Christmas Eve with logcake as his birthday cake.  But this year, I decided to bake a special cake for him.  Initially I thought of just baking a normal quick and easy chocolate cake (like last  year) or go down to the bakery to buy him a cake...but guilt got the better of me.  Even though I am not certain if he knows what or when his birthday is (and he is still rather confused as to how old he actually is), I should still make him feel special by baking one of his favorite character cakes.   I figured Banana Pajamas is probably quite appropriate because whenever you ask him to sing a Birthday Song, he would sing it as "...Happy Birthday B1 & B2.." and not his name or any other person's name...because he is replaying this episode of Banana Pajamas in his mind - of them celebrating their birthday with Morgan, Lulu & Amy with a cake, munchy honey cakes and yellow jelly.. 

This design is taken from Debbie Brown's book. Of course her Banana Pajamas character cake is way way way better than this.  That's because i didn't follow her instructions and I used my own cake base and thus resulted in a not-so-great Banana Pajamas. But inspiration and design is from Debbie Brown.  

Again, i couldn't decide which photo i like better, thus posted up both of them.   Since this cake wasn't exactly planned for and last minute i rushed through, i felt that i didn't really do a very good job in carving or fondant work..but at least they still look like Banana Pajamas since my son is able to identify them..and he seems pretty happy when i completed it.  We have yet to cut the cake, so not sure if he will be upset if we cut it tonight though..

Happy 18th Birthday to my son Joel! Yes, he is 18 already and i can't believe it....i  keep forgetting at times and still sees him as my little boy..  

Updates: [He didn't want to cut the cake at all...probably he doesn't sees it as a cake and doesn't want to destroy it........hmm..maybe i should just bake him a plain cake next time so at least he knows a cake is a cake..hahaha]. 

Wedding Macarons

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my earlier post re the wedding cookies i made for my friend.  All of you are always so encouraging and kind with your words.  Thanks! :D   Without further ado, here's the second installment of the wedding cookies..this time round in the form of macarons.  Macarons are also cookies correct?  Not so sure..but i think so.  As my friend's wedding theme is pink, so pink and white macarons (white looking more like champagne color actually) it is.. I hunted for THE cute ribbon for the longest time and managed to find the one that i like but it's sooo expensive...what to do, i needed to have that ribbon to complete the entire look for the macaron-lollipops, so not much of a choice. 

Tying the ribbons was hard work..believe me..trying to get those little dots facing the correct way was a pain..i actually took 1 hour just to bag and tie 35 of them!  Thankfully only 35 of them in lollipops..the balance 100+ are just normal macarons...*phew*..

I set these up for my amateurish photoshoot..hahaha.  I can't decide if i like the dark background better or the white one. So i posted both here. As you can see, my Macdonald's coke glasses are in action again. Sorry folks, i really don't have any vase or nice flower pots or proper glasses at all.. i only have these free coke glasses..and i have a LOT..yup..i spend every weekend at Macdonalds because that is my son's favorite place.  

In case you all wondering, i baked the shells before i left for my hols to Japan.  I must say macaron freezes very well.  Thus, I just spend the whole of last night after work filling them.  Otherwise, i don't think i can do all 140+ macarons in just a night...and find time to take photos.. :D 

I'm pretty pleased with how my macarons turned out..so sweet and pretty in pink and white.  :D   The pink ones are strawberry macarons filled with strawberry jelly and buttercream. The white ones are rum and raisin macarons filled with "rum-mish" raisin jam and rum buttercream.  Both flavors are the Bride's favorite! :D 

Merry Christmas everyone! :D

Wedding Favor Cookies

Just got back from my hols on Friday and had to rush through my friend's order for wedding favor cookies, so i didn't have much time to comment on blogs or to catch up quite as quickly. I surprise myself sometimes - I managed to bake 120+ cookies on Saturday and then ice them all the very next day.  Oh..as usual, my husband is always at my back nagging as to what time i'm finishing and it's late etc, so i had to ignore him after a while...

My friend's wedding theme is pink, so all the cookies have to be in pink.   Cookies were made in 4 different flavors..and i used different recipe for each flavor (I like to try new recipes...i get bored easily...so i don't always stick to a particular recipe).  They all turned out quite yummy and sweet. :)

Wedding Favors: 喜喜 Heart Cookies

Wedding Favors: Lace Heart Cookies

Wedding Favors: Mini 'Love' Heart Cookies

Mini Cupcake Cookies

Snowflake Cookies

Candy Wrapper Cookies

The candy wrappers cookies imo weren't very well piped as i was rushing through and felt that my piping wasn't as delicate as i would like..plus my arm and hand were tired after icing 120+ cookies.   As you can see, i did the heart shaped cookies first and the rest later..  My friend's wedding is on Christmas Eve, so i added the snowflakes there so she can put on her dessert table.   

So here ends the part 1 of the wedding cookies...i'm working on part 2 tonight....hopefully I get them out on time as per my schedule..

Pierre Hermé Macarons in Tokyo

Just a short post as i'm still here in Tokyo and have rather limited time on internet. I'm out all day and by the time i get back to the apartment, i'm soo tired to even check emails.   Was shopping in Isetan at Shinjuku today and stumbled upon Pierre Hermé shop. I saw the colourful macarons and was tempted to try even though each piece was really quite pricey.  Nonetheless, after i tried them, i didn't regret paying and they tasted soo good. Surprisingly, his macarons are not so sweet.  I ate 5 at one go..literally..one after another and i couldn't stop. I went back and bought another 5 more so i can eat it tomorrow morning for breakfast..hahaha.. I'm a dessert person and i need my sugar-rush in the morning and not coffee.  

Flavors: Chocolate/Caramel, Pistachio, Chocolate & Rose Macarons 

Rose Macaron

Ispahan Macaron

Ispahan: Lychee centre, Raspberry & Rose infused buttercream.

Flavors: Chocolate, Yuzu, Vanilla/Cassis, Chocolate/Caramel, Vanilla/Chocolate Macarons

And earlier the day, i went to Michelle Wibowo's sugar art's exhibition at the Imperial Arcade.  Her work is super super amazing and her fine detailed work is so awesome.  She's an all rounder...her piping work is excellent and so is her cake carving!  When i grow up, i want to be just like her!   Took quite a lot of photos but i have no time to sort them out as yet.   Anyway, my time to surf the internet is up and i need to log off now as there's a Q to use my notebook..lol!  

I miss baking....and decorating... :(