New kid on the block

Just discovered a new pastry school, ECOLE de Patisserie or School of Pastry, in Petaling Jaya. The school was established last month. The school offers certificate and diploma courses.

I decided to check out the place last saturday. It was their Open Day. The place is still very new. Their certificate and diploma courses are not exactly for working people like me. Why I say that is because at the end of every course there is a 3 month industrial training. It is compulsory. I am not sure if I can take three months off for this.

They also have short courses. Everything you need to know about the courses can be found on their website.

Cheesy cheese

Made two cheese cakes last night. One for a friend who will be leaving for Australia soon and the other for a customer.

They were lemon cheese cakes topped with peaches. Hey friend, you are only getting this cheese cake if you make it for dinner tonite. :)

Funky cake

Last saturday, I attended the topsy-turvy cake class. The cake is also known as the Mad Hatter cake.

I have read about how to make this cake but never really attempted to make this cake. I am more of a visual person. I need to see it being made and then... the rest is history. When this class came up at Cake Connection, I signed up immediately. Joanne Fam was our instructor.

Joanne used 6 cakes of different sizes to make the two tier cake. There was a lot of carving and shaping. Once you do this cake, you can add another title to your profile: A sculptor.

Yes, a lot of sculpting is done for this funky cake. But the end result is really wonderful. Joanne told us to use contrast colours to make this cake look really funky. She used hearts and the bubble effect to decorate. You can also use flowers. It's all up to you.

The bubble effect:

The hearts:

Joanne putting finishing touches to the cake:


The class was fun. Thanks Joanne!

Vegetarian choc cake

Here's another vegetarian cake I baked for the same client. It was for her birthday. A chocolate with... yummm ... more chocolate topping.

Vegetarian dessert

Made two vegetarian orange cakes: One was ordered by a client for an engagement party and the other was for the home. A vegetarian dessert for the weekend!

Caterpillars went unnoticed

A friend of mine (not going to name anyone) asked me to make cup cakes for her niece's birthday. She wanted anything kiddy.

I lined and decorated the cup cakes to look like two caterpillars. When she came to collect the cake, she was happy to see the cup cakes. She and her family loved the cup cakes, unfortunately, none of them realised that the cakes were made to look like caterpillars. Sigh! :(

At least, my kids were able to identify the caterpillars. That was a consolation. :)

Had leftover cup cakes from the caterpillar cake and decorated them with Valentine's Day in mind.

I also made a birthday cake for another friend's aunt who turned 60. The birthday gal works for a fireworks company which explains the image on her cake.

Another cake for the same friend who's cousin was celebrating her 44th birthday. This was a smaller cake..

Went over to Cake Connection the other day and bumped into Calvin Ng. He had just finished his hands-on class for the handbag cake. Just couldn't resist taking photo of the cake. Looking lovely and real, isn't it?

The bag behind this bag was made during the demo class last week.

I had some extra buttercream and used it to decorate a doll cake.

Roses are red ...

Here's an order for a 7oth birthday. The client wanted red roses and the theme was red and light yellow.

I had an extra icing image and it happened to be my kids' favourite movie, 'High School Musical.' I decided to surprise them over the weekend by making a cake for them.

Where's my LV gone?

Last weekend I attended Calvin Ng's handbag demo class at Cake Connection. I have been waiting for this class for the longest time. I am sure some of you may want to know how to make a handbag out of cake.

So here's a step by step pictorial on how to make one:

First, you need a 12in square cake. The size of the cake will depend on how big a handbag you want in the end. The end result of this demo was about 4.5-5kg. Huge and heavy...

You will also need brown coloured fondant to cover the cake. Light and dark brown. You will know what I mean as you read on.

Then cut the cake into two. You need equal pieces.


Put them upright side by side. You don't need to sandwich them together with buttercream. They will stand on their own. Then shape the cake accordingly by carving out the unwanted areas with a knife.

There you go, all shaped and looking nice.

If the height of the cake is uneven, level it by adding fondant. The white patch on the cake is fondant. Do not take the option of cutting the cake until it is levelled cos it may be too late when you suddenly realise that the cake has gone shorter than the original size. Good tip from sifu. I may have gone down that road. Phew!

Then, glaze the whole cake with piping jelly or buttercream before covering it with the light brown fondant.

The handles for the cake should be done a day earlier so that it will be stiff when attached to the cake.

Knead the dark brown fondant. Roll it out and cut squares for the bag.


Use a brush to apply a bit of water to the squares and attach them to the bag.

Use the icing/clay excruder and churn out the lining for the handbag and stick it onto the bag as shown below.

Then cut out a piece of fondant for the area where the zipper is supposed to be ... right on top of the bag. Once all the finishing touches have been added... depending on the style of the handbag... you can finally attach the handles onto the bag.

Once the handles are attached, the handbag will look distinctively like a certain popular brand. Only we know the flaws in the handbag to know that it is not the real thing. :)

Here's sifu Calvin with his masterpiece.

Have fun trying out this creation. Here's another variation of a handbag cake which Calvin brought along with him. Ideas, ideas... If you are wondering whether the shoes are real, no they aren't... wel,l that's another tutorial altogether.

Next tutorial? Could be a topsy-turvy/wonky cake... Wait and see!

The baking goes on...

Took a long break from updating this blog of mine. But the baking and decorating didn't stop. Here are some of the cakes I baked for birthdays.

The Lighthing McQueen Cake: the main character from the movie, 'Cars.' It was for a 5-year-old boy.The chocolate cake was made in a hurry for my brother inlaw, who turned ...

I had extra cake crumbs which I turned into chocolate balls. Didn't want to waste good chocolate cake. It was a hit with my kids.

Here's a Princesses in the Garden cake. It was for two sisters who love Princess Aurora and Cinderella. This cake was 4kg. Only the dolls' dresses were made of fondant and the rest of the cake was covered with butter icing.