Baking Tips- covering a cake with fondant

Would like to share a few tips from last week's class at MAC (Mad About Cake)

1. Bake the cake 2-3 days ahead ( personally I would prefer to bake the cake fresh..but it would be a long night or no sleep at all..)

2. DO NOT use sponge cake- it will sink. Bake a solid butter base cake, red velvet, vanilla, chocolate cake etc..even Victoria Sandwich

3. Crumb cake a day before and leave it in the chiller (bake malam, biar sejuk,pagi2 ban gun and crumb coat cake, letak dalam chiller dalam 30 mins to an hour punk..)

4. You can use the store bought fondant or you can DIY your fondant. If you DIY your fondant, do it a day earlier and leave it in the chiller (do cover with cling wrap)- once ready to use, de-frost in microwave about 10 sec.

5. Make sure the cake is in room temperature before you cover the cake with fondant...kalau tak berpeluh you...

6.Usually we use cornflour tak bagi fondant melekat tapi fondant cepat keras, so this time around Chef Zam ajar guna icing sugar especially yang DIY.

7. Uli fondant bagi lembut.Jangan tekan tapi roll the fondant, dah dapat size yang dikehendaki..cepat-cepat cover cake and board dia sekali.

7. Best to crumb coat with buttercream or ganache- avoid using fresh cream or cream cheese for coating/frosting.

NOTE: Difference between gum paste and fondant

Gumpaste- slightly expensive. lebih kenyal, guna utk buat bunga coz it can really stretch nipis for the petals

Fondant- to cover cake, modelling, figurines, etc. Add CMC, typos or gum tarragath to stabilise the fondant (bagi fondant cepat kering)

#notakaki- kena beli roller besar utk gelek fondant..senang nak cover

Hugs!

Buttercream

Bila pergi kedai baking...tengok barang2 baking ni ada macam-macam...kita pun bukan tahu sangat apa kegunaannya..dengar la orang bercakap crisco, krimwell,cmc.tylose...nganga jap....but lama-lama bila dah kenal ramai homebakers, chef2 ni...baru la tahu sikit2...what are these for...but at times I still confuse thou...whta I should this "A" rather "B".

Dalam buku recipe- Martha Stewart ke, Peggy Porchen ke, Nigella ke Tish Boyle, Rachel Allen...semua resepi guna butter- pure butter, salted or unsalted + icing sugar + vanilla for buttercream..

Then suddenly I came across in few blogs, FB posting in Malaysian resepi guna "Krimwell' as buttercream?hurrmm...camner tu?apa sebenarnya krimwell ni?

Lets take a shot with this recipe then...

350 gram krimwell

150 gram buttercup

250 gram icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence/1 tsp extract

Whipped buttercup and krimwell well and then add in the icing sugar spoonful by spoonful, add in the vanilla essence/extract and walla! ready to use..

#Notakaki- personally I don't really use Buttercup for buttercream...I use Buttercup for my biscuits only...

21 days challenge

Me and encik hubby ada la skit age gap dalam 8 tahun...so ada la skit generation gap..I ni zaman rock kapak dia zaman 70's...anyway..kalau nak ikutkan..myself ni memang merentasi zaman sikit..Dulu masa mula2 kerja tahun 90an, it was unheard of pasal outsourcing ni, but I already did that..register myself dengan masa tu ada Kelly Sevices nama lain...Business Trends ada la 2-3 yang famous.Register your name there and tanya la job apa available yg nak pakai orang temporary or short term contract. Tapi masa zaman tu orang ingat kita tukar2 kerja...padahal kerja contract sementara tunggu dapat permanent. I still do that, ambil law tapi buat kerja macam advertising la, event la...live life the fullest.

But I'm glad sebab all those experiences buat kita banyak exposure, jumpa ramai orang and dapat belajar macam2..I ni sedikit free spirit while my encik suami dia sedikit old school...but  most important we compliment each other...gaduh tetap ada la..tipu kalau tader kan...

Mula2 dulu encik hubby agar sceptical dengan flexi hours, outsourcing and social media ni tapi lama-lama bila dia faham..dia yang banyak guna pulak..so macam2 la aktiviti dia...now I pulak kena take a back seat...hehehee kasi can la.....

Pagi ni sembang2 dengan encik suami fasal anak2, fasal kerja dia, kerja ai..next step nak buat apa. Dah habis discuss, hantar dia kat pintu sperti biasa la kiss kiss muah muah..sambung kerja...

Hari ni terjumpa pasal 21 day challenge atau cabaran 21 hari. Dulu Encik Suami ada cakap buat kerja 100 days then it became a habit...so sebelum kita take the 100 days challenge, kita buat dulu 21 days challenge ni ...

Selama 21 hari ni 

1. Bangun pagi jam 4.00 am pagi...(masa bulan puasa boleh, naper la tak teruskan...ish ish ishh),

2. Baca 100 ayat Al-Quran

3. Zikir 1000 kali tiap-tiap hari

4. Solat Dhuha

5.Update blog, page ,instagram, blogwalking, komen, baca kat semua group business dalam FB

Buat 5 ni dulu...boleh tak rasanya??...Insyaallah caiyok caiyok

Baking Journal series- Coral Beach Cake

My own  Coral Beach Cake..

I have to keep on learning and keep myself updated and equipped with more technique and knowledge to be a better homebaker. Search the net and you will find Chef, Bakers & culinary schools offering classes to working adults.

So, here I am, enrolled myself in a basic fondant class , decoration and air brushing class. I learn to cover the cake board, dowelling, air brushing the cake, royal icing drawings and a lot more...with Chef Zam from Mad About Cake

Actually, I was contemplating to join the class but the moment I saw Syahir Sepet aka Encik Kek from group Deko Deco Kek  (DDK) is joining & then Syasya..so I decided to join as well...ni la masa nak berkenalan dengan orang2 muda yg berjaya ni..

First time uli fondant sampai sakit tangan and lenguh berdiri...no chairs this time around except time nak lukis royal icing..It was fun fun fun...Chef Zam kelakar...we all semua teruja guna air brush..itu belum sesi bertukar pengalaman, ada cerita yg Chef  yg nak ambil kesempatan sebab En Kek ni famous, ya la walaupun umur dia muda tapi follower ramai...yang bercerita owner yang boutique yang ada attitude walau u bayar sews kedai nak letak barang..wah macam-macam la...Anyway, my aim for next class?jeng jeng jeng...tunggu.....

Sugar Flowers

Dah lama nak belajar buat bunga sugar flowers ni...its either kelas penuh, or the timing was not right.

Sekali tu..blog walking cari edible pearls big size tether jumpa la this place...apalagi bila cakap dengan Big Boss aka Encik Suami, dia bagi green light! yahoo!!!

I suka crafty arty stuff ni tapi bila bab-bab buat bunga ni, gubah bunga ok tapi bila buat bunga, memang la I ni keras tangan..sejak dari dulu lagi kalau tolong mak ambil order buat2 bunga ni...memang surrender awal2..asyik tak jadi jer....

So inilah setelah sekian lamanya memberanikan diri...untuk kembali membuat bunga...not bad..not bad at all....berpeluh2 jugak la I menguli fondant tu...

I was so lucky to get to know these group..one of them actually hails from India, a producer turned home baker..

So lepas ni..dah boleh ambil order...hehehehe..

HUGS!

Sponsor cum free promo untuk grand opening butik Ashhannas

Bila dah berbisnes ni teringin ler nak promo skit business.

Ye la..you have to start somewhere kan? tak kira la ada yang mengeji or mengata...Anyway, I have been following this photographer Annas Eskay on FB and then Instagram...& since sejak azali I memang suka sgt dgn boots, I follow Fashion Republik KL.giler fun boots dia...

Ada la announcement kat Fashion Republik KL depa nak buka butik Ashhannas..nak buka peluang siapa baker2 nak sponsor makanan. So, I just try my luck & whatsapp le...lama tak respind ingat takde dah peluang...sekali tu 2 hari sebelum grand opening depa WA..ok la...jalan jer la...

I prepare la cupcakes, congo bars, mini cheesecakes & banofee pie..in return..they give free shout out & Annas akan ambil gambar food kita sponsor...ok la kan...

Hari yang di nanti dah tiba, pagi tu terlewat skit pulak...sampai sana........waaa..terkejut!!! ramainyer orang beratur......nasib pergi dgn Ariff my son..so dia naik letak my bakes kat atas & balance yg I bawa tu bagi kat Ashh...rupanya dia ni adik Annas...

Ni cuppies yang I sponsor, orange cuppies,apple crumble cuppies,mini oreo cheesecake&mini blueberry cheesecake

Letak jer congo bars tu...chas cus...habisssss....nak ambil rasa dari baker lain pun tak sempat...habisssss...sekelip mata......terus kosong pinggan2 kat situ...owh! tidak....ingat nak naik la tengok skirt ke hapa kat atas....Ariff kata tak payah la Ma..tak muat nak jalan naik tangga pun...

Me & Ashhry of FRKL

Beberapa hari lepas tu, depa WA minta buat cakes and bakes yg kita sponsor tu utk Annas ambil gambar..happy la...dapat jumpa famous photograper..lupa nak bagitau dia ni photographer favourite Cik Ta, Rozita Che wan....

Ramai jugak yg bawak mcm2..ada jugak yg lambat dtg...cream cheesecake ku cair sbb tunggu lama sgt....redho jer la...sambil2 tu berkenalan la dgn baker2 lain...Yatt from Yatter cake...dah dok situ lama kitaorang kecek le Ashh nak tgk boots...yg pada masa tu belum di update kat Instashop dia....rambang mata..tapi since kaki ai ni besor saiz nyer...memang limited choice jer la yg boleh beli....terpaksala puas kati dgn apa yg ada walau ikut hati nak colour lain..

Self service laundry

Friends dalam whatsapp group day bercerita fasal self service laundry ni, mula-mula Mantoi..asyik check in jer, pastu Jerry promo yang dekat Bukit Antarabangsa, last sekali Shireen call bagi tau Melawati dah ada satu...bila kena time catuan air tu renyah jugakla nak membasuh kain&jemur..kena hari panas ok..kena redup...ampaian kat belakang rumah pun tak cukup...
memang bagus juga ada sebab kdg2 bila balik trip ke kampung ke travel ke...kat situ ada "huge" washing machine terus basuh 24kg sekali...

Anyway, bukan nak cerita pasal business ni, tapi nak citer betapa excited nyer my kiddos especially yg kecik2 ni bila nak pergi buat self service laundry..tergedik2...sibuk la nak try..

Eton Mess

Teringat the 1st time makan benda alah ni...Masa tu my bestie Sue was based in Sweden& she came back for a break in Malaysia. So janji nak meet up with Nina at Apartment KLCC.

Nina had eton mess, dia bagi ras and I was hooked from that day onwards.I love the light pavlova mixed with cream and fruits..yummeh! Tried the pavlova in Alexis after that....sedap giler...love love love this..Kalau hari yg crave for pavlova or eaton mess I can just start the car and go get it! Masa based dekat TIME.com Glenmarie..sanggup bawa kereta pergi Bangsar Alexis beli..ever since that I search the net for the recipe..so here goes..my kids love them too!!

4 egg whites
160 gm caster sugar ( I reduced the sugar from the original recipe)
1 tsp of vinegar
2 tsp cornflour

Whisk the egg whites till soft peak, about 3-4 minutes, add the sugar spoonful by spoonful- go slow...no rush..then bila dah habis gula tu, whisk at medium high ( about 4-6 minutes) till ada peak, and the egg whites dah bertukar jadi lembut& berkilat.

Scrap the bowl,  add in the vinegar& the cornflour and whisk for another about 2-3 minutes. Since my first attempt of doing pavlova was to refer to kitchen guardian's blog, so I drew an 8" circle on the baking paper as well and did a meringue nest. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hour at 120C. Dah siap biar jer dia sejuk dalam oven tu.

Dah siap tu, I pecah2 kan and campur with the cream and fruits...

Untuk cream ni...I have love hate relationship dengan whipped cream, the diary ones..one extra whipped and they turned to curd...mula2 tu hantam saja labu...letak atas pavlova..pastu keluar air...bahahahaha lawak kan?after that day pandai skit...

Later tanya otai otai baker- rupanya guna non diary kalau nak tahan lama..well....I prefer the fresh cream...its not as sweet so it balance out the sweetness of the sugar in the pavlova, the cream and the fruits..

#Nota kaki

• bowl jangan berminyak, lap bersih2 nanti putih telur tak kembang
• putih telur jangan ada sikit pun kuning telur (tapi kadang-kadang ada jugak skit yang termasuk so I just scrape jer dengan kulit telur or sudu..)
• basuh telur
• panaskan oven 150C-180 C - bila nak masukkan meringue nest/pavlova tu turunkan suhu oven ke 100C-120C..kalau suhu lagi rendah lagi lama nak masak..tapi kalau nak pavlova yg putih gebu memang suhu dia rendah jer& masak dia lama..and harga pun mahal la.....

Hugs!

p/s: please excuse the auto correct

The day she didn't wear her diapers anymore...

Yay! I finally managed to potty trained Sufia and she's not wearing any diapers now..Her favourite quote now "I'm a big girl now Mama..."

I've been trying to potty train her for few months already and tell her to inform me whenever she needs to pee or to poo poo but it was never a success.How I did it?One day I decided not to send her to nursery and spend a whole day with her at home. One day of undivided attention to her. No diapers, just wear her panties.10 minutes interval I kept asking her whether she needs to go to the toilet or not.Yup! finally she did it!! until 6pm no diapers...The 1st night, I still put on her diapers, come the 2nd night, I train her to pee before going to bed and yahoo!! she did it..

Talk about potty training...I don't remember how I did it with my eldest Ariff and no 2, Haziq , but I think it was the kindy in Kuantan when I was based there for a year..INTAZ trained my 2 elder boys to be off with diapers..

Then came son no 3, Luqman....owh my..it was so difficult to make him not to wear the diapers.He was so chubby and he's wearing size XXL which only available from Mamy Poko..damn expensive I tell you...I think he finally gives in when his butt gets too hot and sweaty inside the diapers...ya la day 4 years old..dah nak masuk sekolah I told him..malu la nanti kawan tengok...

Son no 4, Iddin was a breeze..easy peasy because he did it himself. One day, in the middle of the night, he just took off his diapers because he says its hot.he hates it when his bum sweats. He was 2 1/2 I think...

There goes...the last of the diaper...no more diaper budget from this month onwards...Alhamdulillah..

Hugs

Swiss Meringue Buttercream with a twist

Now and then I would just go blog crawl and search for any new recipe or ways to improve my baking.

I love swiss meringue buttercream. Its light and not too sweet unlike buttercream.

A simple recipe that I always use is this..enough for layering my Victoria Sandwich Cake.

Ingredients

100 g cater sugar
250 g unsalted butter
2 large egg whites (I use A size eggs)
2 tsp vanilla paste/extract (use slightly more for essence)
(optional) 1-2 cups of whipped cream (non diary)

Method

Thisk egg whites with sugar, double boil, until the sugar dissolves and the egg is hot/warm to touch.
Then pour into another pour/mixer and whisked until the bowl is at room temperature/no longer hot to touch. Then put the butter pieces by pieces in the bowl,whisked until fluffy.Once done, keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use...


The twist in the method.

I found this method instead of whisking or whipping the egg+sugar until cold.Whisked until room temperature or you can put it in the fridge until you're ready to use.

Once ready to use, take it out from the fridge, leave it out until it reach room temperature. Whipped the butter then pour the sugar+egg ingredient into the butter.

Verdict is more or less the same, but the good thing about this method is I can actually do the sugar+eggs base in advanced.

So takde la nak masukkan butter dalam adunan yg suam yang mungkin akan menyebabkan butter tu cair...

Alhamdulillah have tried and tested for my Victoria Sandwich Cake....yummeh!

When life give you lemons..you make lemon curd..

Bila dah start pergi kelas baking-baking ni....macam best la pulak..especially when your other half bagi encouragement. My Lor Kong ni has sweet tooth..memang ngam la dengan selera dia when I start my baking journey ni..

Anyway, throwback..last year attended MIFB 2013...memang seronok giler..tengok macam-macam..and jumpa macam-macam supplier..Mr. Hubs cari supplier cheese, me-look look see see apa yg baru, apa yang trending...dari equipment catering, baking, ingredients,moulds,tools, coffee,chocolates....Dulu pergi Epicure Show kat Sime Convention centre sebab nak jumpa Wati of Sugarflours..member lama from MRSM Terendak...tak der la tengok beriya-riya..

Dekat MIFB la finally jumpa Valrhona&Callebaut..macam jakun skit pun ada..itu belum tengok tools,silkomat..coffee and teas...packaging..a whole new world to me...

Sekali tu dap at tabu schoolmate ikut lady boss dia dating KL, apa lagi calling-calling la nak jumpa dia dan..kalau ada rezeki nak bergambar dengan my idol tu...

Taraaa!! dap at jugak..bergamabar dengan YAM Tengku Puan Pahang,Tengku Azizah Maimunah..

walau gambar blur skit...puas hati ku..wee wee...such an honour for your highness sudi bergambar dengan pacal ini...mana tak nyer..orang ramai, press& media dok tunggu jer nak bergambar&nak interview dia...Thank you Helena..you're the best la..Lady Boss u tetap cantik& maintained macam the first time I tgk dia kat MGS...putih, zebu,mulus....such an honour la...

Bila dah pergi situ, dapat la invite pergi product demo, free classes from licensee and supplier..seronok sungguh la..

Yup..next pergi culinary studio belajar buat patisserie from a french chef...Tips, tricks...ingredients used...even to the composition of the dessert on plate..Interesting eh? An Art by itself.....awesome..

Masih bertatih but Insyaallah will continue until berjalan dan terus boleh berlari...

MAS oh MAS..(part 3) MH 370 & MH17

Sedih....itu jer yang mampu ai cakap...

MH370

Lost contact with tower at 2am dekat Laut China Selatan..until now tak jumpa lagi.Ntah apa jadi sampai sekarang tak jumpa lagi..Tak der siapa tahu apa terjadi...tiada kesan, tiada khabar,mcam lenyap begitu saja..

Macam-macam teori,macam-macam cerita..but Tun's statement is still the best..

MH17

Paling sedih...was shot down midair over Ukrine.

ada satu family perished..tiap kali ingat memang sedih..sebab a week before Raya and they have tempah baju raya warna putih 1 family..Ada yg baru balik tunjuk cucu kat grandparents in Europe..mcm2..la...I'm speechless..

Walau kerja sekejap kat MAS, still terasa how difficult waktu sekarang untuk kawan2 kat MAS..they are nice hard working people there..

Stay strong dear friends- you all always in my heart.

MAS ..oh.. MAS (part 2)

Lately banyak betul negative stories on MAS especially since kehilangan tanpa kesan MH370..

Few years back, when I did my MBA Strategy, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by adjuct Professor Dato' Idris Jala, the former MD of MAS before he was called to PEMANDU.He actually shared with us the issues, the plan and the action to turn around the company..yup together with the numbers, graph and statistic.Some people condemn his move when he sold off the MAS building, but he said it was crucial..I'm very sure bukan dia buat suka-suka but with the BOD's approval.

Come to think of it..is it the BOD yg not well verse and menjalankan tanggungjawab mereka dgn telus?I mean the Chairman, Tan Sri Md Noor, used to be MD for MAS and he didn't manage to turnaround MAS. So why was he selected to lead again and be the Chairman for MAS when he failed as MD??Dia tak de KPI ke?

Hurmmm....we love MAS, we have fond memories of the kite logo flew in the sky, the kebaya clad stewardess& the handsome steward.Loves the MAS boutique, love their food..(dulu la),loves their service but what happened??

Should the government change the BOD?change the Chairman?Hope the government would infuse new blood to the management and BOD.Who knows they might have an idea or two to make it work.

Hopefully Government will get rid of the non performers who did not met their KPI, .kalau rakyat marhain like you and me..dah lama kena tendang...


*peace*