These are for a special friend of mine who turned 30 over the weekend. I didn't really know what to do with these Vanilla bean & Passionfruit cupcakes until the very last minute! I just knew I wanted colours, pretty things and flowers.

I wasn't sure I was actually going to share this cake. It didn't quite come out as I had planned looks-wise. And to me, it is rather... inept. I had actually wanted to pipe little beads onto the cake and turn them into petal flowers - hard to explain but I saw it on pinterest and really liked it. But then I decided that it wouldn't look very nice with just green and i grabbed the spatula and started running it around the cake but not too much that the green would blend completely with the white. So I ended up with something like this!

This was a cake for the lovely Miss E's birthday and I was quite nervous bringing it into the office. Green Tea... what if they didn't like it? What if the flavour was too overpowering? What if it's a little too out there?!

Funnily enough (and I mean absolutely no disrespect by making this distinction) but those more inclined to Eastern flavours thought the green tea was too subtle whereas those not use to Green Tea thought the flavour was quite strong and could really be tasted! Personally, I would add more green tea into the cake batter next time. I am yet to find a green tea powder which bakes with a beautiful hue though... perhaps not quite possible. It is mostly a earthy, murky green.

Don't you just love those regular customers of yours? But at the same time, when making such a special cake, it kind of reminds you that another year has gone by.

Little Nelson is 6!!! I still remember the days when I was still studying and working casually and he was only a few months when he and Mon use to come into the store and visit... and even the time he spewed on my work shirt... time flies and I'm thankful to be a part of his life - even in cake form! :)

I had to get the special Wilton ball cake tins express shipped to me on Wednesday. Luckily, Australia Post was reliable this time! (Not so much in the past...).

And its pure chocolate inside. Chocolate Mud Cake with Whipped Ganache. Its sooooo good and chocolately!!!

Did you know that a real soccer ball has 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons? Think I was actually not too far from that figure and some excellent online blogger has already worked out the exact measurements for the shapes for me! (Thanks google and confessions of a cake addict!). The sides of each shape at 3.2 cm... and more "give or take" the lower on the ball you go...

I was actually most stressed about the cake ball not rolling around. It's not exactly flat... even with a little of the bottom shaved off. I'm hoping that all the fondant and ganache will keep everything in shape and intact before it is devoured! Enough for a few photos and for the kids to admire! ;)

Recently, I took a week off and headed to the hot, humid likes of Taipei and all its culinary delights!

And as is the norm in their huge multi-level and sometimes multi-building department stores, level B1 is usually the supermarket / gourmet food / fresh food floor. And boy, were there heaps of take in!

One of the specialties that I've never seen before are these Swiss Rolls with animal print on their 'skin'. They even had the matching soft toy to match and it was adorable! The kind man behind the counter also let us sample the cake and it was the softest sponge with whipped cream. Delectable...