I pretty much had a mental battle with myself over this one for weeks. Whether I was even going to take on the challenge cause:

Singapore. Heat. Humid. Melting ganache. No tools. Expensive ingredients. No kitchen space. No oven. Where do I even get the speciality ingredients? What brand fondant do they sell here? 

In the end, I scrapped together this 2 tier cake for my colleague's son's 2nd birthday. It was stressful... like mega.

First off, two tall tier cakes takes a long time to bake. And well, my fridge isn't all the big either so I just didn't have any room anywhere. Then I had to let the AC run pretty much all the days that I was putting the cake together. That's just a waste of money and electricity (as humid and hot as it gets here, I absolutely loathe AC...)

Then I had like the tiniest rolling pin (think something you'd use to make dumpling skins, not huge ass pieces of fondant to cover 8 inch cakes!) that I had to make do with to cover the cake. Oh and I had no lazy susan so I pretty much had to turn the cake manually whilst at the same time not dent the cake in anyway. I had no wooden or plastic dowels to hold up the second tier but I learnt this amazing trick of using thick drinking straws instead. Luckily those are easy to obtain.

I also had to express order cloud shaped cutters and ebay isn't really a thing here so they don't have the cheap options online. I still got them online but it was like same as store prices except that stores don't have stuff like this readily available. So stressful.

In the end, managed something that I think looks ok. Will I do another fondant cake here? Umm...

Ironically, had to go back to Sydney for a few weeks for work. Even in Winter, it was amazing and I didn't want to leave.

Caught up with friends so basically threw some passionfruit, chocolate and caramel together and came up with the ugly-pretty thing. Tasted good though. I think we call this kind "rustic".

I've had another extremely busy weekend (and week building up to it)! With a wedding in the Blue Mountains followed directly by a Kitchen Tea back in the Sydney CBD, it was always going to be a logistical challenge.

I did have an amazing (and rather cold) time away outside of Sydney on Friday evening and Saturday before hastily fitting in a morning bushwalk on Sunday morning before the drive back to Sydney. I was exhausted. The wedding was beautiful and very much what the bride wanted.

So was the Kitchen Tea - the cake, which I had completed by Friday morning, turned out well too! We were supposed to have a cake topper as well but my dear friend forgot it. No matter, flowers to the rescue and as she had already prepped everything, it was really easy! The cake was delicious just in case you were wondering! Very happy with how it all turned out.

It was a great afternoon (despite the dreary wet weather storming outside) at Doltone House opposite Hyde Park. Lots of laughs, competitiveness and general fun. Really enjoyed myself and was quite impressed by the service.

Hello Friends!

It certainly has been a long time. This one feels like a practice cake as you can see the drips are well not really drips... more like blobs. I knew I'd be busy back home but not entirely sure how busy!

This was a small chocolate cake with vanilla bean buttercream and random lindt balls, kit kats, salted caramel popcorn and walnuts on the top for a last minute birthday bash.

Make sure you tune in to the cake that comes next!

Ohayo from Tokyo!

This has got to be one of my most the most crazy things I thought I could pull off: limited space, limited resources, no electronic equipment (I did buy a set of cheap egg beaters, they literally died after 5 minutes), NO OVEN!

But world had gotten around the Tokyo office that I baked for fun and as a leisure thing (I wonder how that happened?) and so a challenge was set that I should bake a cake for our boss' birthday. I am always up for a challenge so over 3 nights in my tiny apartment where my 'kitchen' was made up of a sink, one induction burner, a bar fridge, about 50 cm x 50cm of bench space and a tiny microwave oven, I set to work.

I love their 100 yen shops - got my spatula, whisk and cake board and box there so at least some things were easy! My sister had shipped over some plain flour, Cadbury chocolate, cocoa and sugar for me - if you lived in Japan for a few months and tried to buy these items, you will quickly understand why I had them shipped over... $$$

So this was it...! Had to cake the layers individually three times due to the size of the oven. All these constraints really tested my patience :) But we got there in the end, three yummy looking, still moist layers of chocolate cake. Then came the buttercream and butter is about 4x the price in Australia and without electric beaters, I was beating for a l-o-n-g time. Again, excellent patience practice training.

Assembling the cake... another wonder how I managed with such limited space and using the butter knife that I had in the apartment, it kind of came together. I wasn't going to come up with any fancy design and again, the abundance of confectionery and snack items in Japanese shops is a wonder because it literally made the cake look beautiful - just by throwing on as much chocolate, biscuits, sugar, pocky sticks and wafers on the cake as I could and trying to get some 'height'.

Anyway, I called it a success... and it was definitely a yummy cake. But it also encouraged me not to attempt it again in my time in Japan. Thankfully, there was lots to do anyway so I was more that okay not to bake but to sight see. An experience of a lifetime in this little kitchen and I would not have changed any part of it.

It's been awhile and I must apologise! Times flies when you're juggling too many things.

I've had a few pretty cool requests coming through since arriving home (did you miss me?) and I was even responding to emails during my few weeks in Tokyo. Having the opportunity to stay in the middle of the city (smack bang near the Imperial Palace) really opened my eyes to how small the living conditions were.

My studio apartment had no oven, just a little microwave oven that would probably at best allow you to make a 6-inch cake. The next few months will certainly be a challenge for me!

And so, my first weekend back in Sydney and home, I was tasked with a 50th birthday cake with Southern Comfort as the theme. I'd always been fascinated by the wine barrel cakes and it is on my to-do list as soon as that opportunity comes up!

Anyways, here's a very simple version of a bucket-inspired cake. With real bottles of Southern Comfort and Minties as ice cubes. How I do wish we had the confectionery selections in Tokyo though, then I would definitely have been able to source some clear coloured lollies for ice cubes in the short time (and budget) that I had.

Have you ever heard of the saying that red cars drive faster? It's become a bit of a little joke between my circle of friends ;) For the record, no, there is no scientific proof of red being faster at all!

I had a request from a parent (from the sounds of it, a very organised mum!) many weeks in advance for her son's 2nd birthday. It sounds like a very well planned and fun birthday party. And today's weather in Sydney is absolutely perfect - slight breeze, some sun and cool temperatures. Make me want to join in the fun!

Said parent had planned the whole cake from top to bottom which makes me job a lot easier (sometimes harder depending on what they are asking for!) but it certainly is a lovely change to customer's having not so many ideas of what they want on their cake.

I think this is simple yet so creative at the same time - especially the detail on the top tier. The 'mini cooper' logo and the writing on black and red to resemble a car number plate (the European ones in NSW). Very clever!

Another licensed cake for a little boy who is obsessed with Thomas. I get so many of these requests that I've actually stocked up on little Thomas figurines so I don't have to stress out and look for one every time a Thomas cake is requested. And I thank my friend in retail for helping me out!

Repeat customers make me so happy. I'd actually made baby Seth's Christening cake a couple of years ago and I can't believe he has just turned 2. His mum chose a simple yet pretty two tiered cake and it was a huge celebration at one of the many parks around Sydney. It would have been a fabulous day!

I use to get away with not having to temper chocolate before melting and making cool shapes. But in the current humid and warmer weather, it's not a great idea.

It melts and it doesn't re-set. I think its my cue to learn how to actually temper chocolate.

In the meantime though, I can make loads of chocolate ganache, chocolate dipped goodies, shaved chocolate, piped chocolate, chocolate borders, etc etc. And yes, it is a pretty messy job. If it's too warm, it's too runny and if it's too cold, it sets before you can pipe and shape it. Many nights, chocolate is not my friend.

But its everywhere. And if it's not, then cocoa is.

It is just that popular in cake form! Almost as popular as my Chocolate Caramel Ombre Cake. Another variation below.

It's always exciting to remake a cake. From a purely 'numbers and time' point of view, it is very economical because you already know mentally what needs more time, where you can save time and how you can achieve everything in less time.

So I was very fortunate to be asked to make a cake that I did last year for another little boy's first birthday. It is just so colourful and simple and so innocent and everything a first birthday should be about: blue skies, a few giant cumulus clouds and little cars.

It also gave me more experience in portioning. Because a taller tier cake means you don't need the cake to be as large is diameter as the additional height makes up for it. This is still something relatively new to me (yet it is so logical). I guess coming from a hostess' point of view, I always want to ensure that there is slightly more than enough rather than "just enough". This translates to cake sizes. And I also want to be fair from a pricing perspective. So these days, when I have customers asking for a quote, I always ask how many serves required. If they ask for 30, then I try to cater for 35. If they are for 35, then I try to cater for 40. Of course, sometimes it is not so simple with the tiered and larger cakes.

It's always very interesting to do your own research on this. It depends on the person cutting the cake, the sharpness of the knife. The general consensus is that a coffee (finger) slice is 1" x 1" x 4" and a dessert (party) slice is 1" x 2" x 4". Great to keep in mind for your next occasion.

And if you're a bit like me and aspire to be something along the lines of Hostess with the Mostess (Yes, I think she actually exists), then Pintrest is a great place and guide to how many portions of different types of foods and drinks you should have. I've learnt over the years that... Less really is more. Unless you want to try making all these things because otherwise you won't have the chance to or time to or just want to show off your amazing kitchen skills. Then it's a good idea to ask your guests to bring tupperware ;)

Oozing from the inside... Happy Straya Day (for yesterday!)

A geeky emoticon smile!

I was quite the amused one when I was asked to make this but how appropriate I think if it describes the fellow accurately? It's actually very clever.

Chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream. Great for a hot day and an outdoor party.

Here's to more years of AWESOME!

I like making tall cakes. I can't help it and it just happens. Even when I don't plan on them to. I think they look better and if you eat with your eyes, then it tastes better too!

A cake stand usually helps but I just don't think its fun cutting into a shallow cake and pulling the knife out. Which makes it a problem for me when I package my cakes in the standard cake boxes... I find that a lot of the time, I'm cutting it mighty close if it fits in the box at all!

Here's another moist chocolate cake (4 layers!) with salted caramel filling and loads and loads of walnuts! 

Sky high salted caramel and chocolate ombre cake for a last minute birthday order! Asked to make it look pretty so a little flower, some strawberries and crushed nuts helped with this one. Would have loved a piece of this one... delectable. 

Next up, a kids chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream roses. I was anxious with the piping buttercream roses as I have always felt that mine weren't good enough to look good but decided to try it out and I think I like it! The trick is to have the buttercream consistency correct. Not too runny and a cooler room temperature helps with the buttercream holding shape. And huge hint... don't ever try and pipe whipped ganache like buttercream! It makes for one melting mess...

And another 4-layer chocolate caramel ombre cake. It is proving to be very very popular...

A very dear friend of mine from Melbourne was visiting Sydney this weekend as it was his godsister's 30th Birthday. Got to catch up a little this afternoon with some authentic Viet food which was awesome too :)

There's something about turning 30... a special milestone in one's life and he actually had the wicked thought of making her a clown cake instead. She is petrified by clowns and thought it would be funny. Maybe... but perhaps for a 16th or 21st! Lucky we went for the sweet and elegant!

Nerve-wracking when you least expect it! What if my layers turn out uneven? What if the cake is too dry or too dense? What if the caramel is soaked up and doesn't leave distinguished layers? So many little things run through your mind... but this turned out so well. And now, I count the endless possibilities that this cake can make! 

Here we have 4 layers from vanilla to caramel to choc caramel to chocolate, sandwiched with gooey delicious salted caramel frosting and finished with whipped chocolate ganache. It sounds very sweet but the added use of natural (home made, I might add) yoghurt and almond meal brings upon a balanced texture and flavour. A new favourite of ours!

The cake board barely fit the jersey! Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise... cakes are heavy. And when you think about it, gram for gram, it all adds up. If it's 3 kg of fondant and 1 kg of chocolate and 500 g of butter... that's already a whopping 4.5 kg! Plus ganache, cake, buttercream, etc... no wonder they need guys to do all the heavy-lifting.

It's been a hot weekend in Sydney and it makes working with fondant that much harder.

However, perseverance and not wanting to let anyone down always prevails. Cake may look kind of easy but it was quite fiddly in the end. Pretty happy with the piping though :)

Double chocolate mud cake... crowd pleaser! Can't wait to deliver!

We're becoming addicted to these sky high cakes... 4 layers of moist chocolate cake with lashings of hazelnut whipped chocolate ganache frosting in between and topped with handmade chocolate truffles with whole hazelnuts. This one is a real treat!

Inspired by the Ferrero Rocher... it's definietely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's been another busy week in and out of the kitchen here and we've been running around all weekend in this weather catching up with amazing people and celebrating birthdays. We managed to finish this huge present cake (cherry chocolate & kirsch = black forest yummy-ness) right on time.

Looks amazing right? ;)

When it comes to toys, Lego has been around and around the block (no pun intended!). It's probably one of those items you'll always find in the toys section of a department store and always jumped on by kids. I was asked to make a 11th birthday cake this weekend and it was between Lego and Minecraft. I wouldn't be surprised if you're thinking... what's Minecraft? Probably the best summary is that its a kids game... on an iPhone / iPad / smartphone!

Anyways, Christopher decided to go with a timeless piece of square red lego. And look at how it's turned out: 

Yummy moist chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and red marshmallow fondant.

Now if we only had enough blocks to build something with..