baking bee

Shiori's Sweet Shoppe

2011-03-05T14:24:00.008+11:00

Hip Hip Hooray! Lil' Shiori is turning 1 !! :)

To celebrate her 1st birthday, Shiori's mom (c Yun) organized a sweet shoppe for her and her little friends.Fairy floss, cupcakes, lollipops, gumballs, all sorts of sweet stuff, you name it. Kudos to c Yun for the decor, party hats, and the other pretty little things. :)

sweets table

for the birthday girl

the decor

I was honored to bake the cupcakes for the sweet shoppe! Yay!! :) C Yun opted for vanilla cupcakes with crumbled Oreo chunks frosted with pink and blue vanilla buttercream icing.

cupcake tower

and for now, i'll let the pictures do the talking....

made-with-love cupcake topper

happy birthday Shiori

PS. the not-so-sharp images were taken with my blackberry. The rest of the images are courtesy of Rudy Sebastian and Shiori's mom.

my darling is over the ocean

2011-02-14T22:02:00.005+11:00

My best friend ask me a a while ago to make her a cake for Valentine's day. She wanted to give this cake to her boyfriend who stays in Singapore. The idea came from her friend's thumbnail. Maybe you have seen it before. I personally think it's very cute.

As someone who is also in a long distance relationship, I get the feeling of this picture. Being in different time zones and different parts of the world can be exhausting at times. It's not only up to us to keep the love burning and being committed to each other, but God's grace also plays huge part of it. Thank God that we can love each other because He has first loved us and show us how to love, unconditionally.

So, this is the final outcome of the cake. It put big smile on my face when i finished it earlier this morning.

Happy Valentine's to those who are miles apart from their loved ones. May your love keep burning, just as the first time you fell in love with each other. xxo

Oooh! By the way, did you notice that the birds are in Singapore and Java, roughly ?? ;)

the Happy Jungle

2011-02-14T21:40:00.004+11:00

It was two days before Chinese New Year. Mom was away, so i was kind of in charge of managing the house.. and let me tell you something, it's not easy! I'm used to living in an apartment where everything is within arms reach. hehee.. but i ain't complaining. Big house do comes with its own bonuses, and to name a few: spacious kitchen, big pantry, and large dining table where i can freely spread my baking tools. :))

Anyway, in the midst of the chaos of preparing things for CNY, I managed to make this cute little cake for my best friend. I entitled it "the Happy Jungle" :)

my fave was the 2 love birds ;)

Pardon the poor quality. I only managed to take the picture with my blackberry...T_T

of egg-tart and pretty pics

2011-01-06T01:56:00.004+11:00

Hi there! :)

Thank you for closely watching my blog. I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and a great start of the new year. I myself have had a good break at the end of the year, spending time traveling with my beloved family. We went to HongKong and Macau over Christmas.

Apart from the quality time we had together, food was one of the highlights of the trip. You must eat eat eat in Hong Kong cos everything is just so cheap. What do you eat there? Chinese food of course, proper chinese food. Thank God my auntie lives in HK, so we actually had someone who really knows where to get great food otherwise we would have been lost since most of the menu are written in Mandarin with no English description *lost*. I particularly love the yumcha, especially the chicken feet. heehee.. Some of you might find eating chicken feet a bit disgusting, but this particular chicken feet is so good! They are plump and soft, very easy to peel off the bone too. yumm! Another thing we couldn't get enough of was the pearl milk tea from "Share Tea". They cook the pearl to perfection, soft but still chewy. The tea was also very fragrant. You can pick the level of sugar you want in your drink, that way you don't get a super sweet milk tea.

And if you get the chance t0 go to Macau, you MUST try the portugese tart from Lord Stow's bakery (Located in Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetians). It was the BEST egg tart i've ever tasted! Seriously, die die must try! I usually don't like egg tart because it is generally very sweet and also because of the strong egg-y smell, but this one is different. After one bite, i keep wanting for more! The crust is crispy and yet not hard, the egg custard is velvety smooth. Together with the caramelized sugar coating, they give a very nice sensation in your mouth. hmmm...

Lord Stow's famous Portugese Tart.

And here is something else that i love about traveling, especially with my brother.. ;)

he takes pretty pics :)

Fluffy

2010-11-04T14:19:00.007+11:00

Fear not! I haven't abandoned this blog. :) thanks for keeping close watch. I've been busy in my kitchen developing new variant to go the the shelf and now.....

bakingbee proudly presents the newest baby :

Chiffon Cake

orange chiffon cake

Chiffon Cake is known for it's light and fluffy texture. This is achieved by incorporating large amount of air during the beating of egg whites. Chiffon Cake also contains lower amount of fat compared to traditional butter cake and thus making it a healthier option for you. :) *wheeeee*

Flavours selection: orange, chocolate, ontbijkoek (Dutch Spiced cake), pandan, lemon, vanilla, and cheese.
Grab some now for your afternoon tea ;)

B's out to check something in the oven...ciao!

chocolate chiffon cake

My First Love

2010-07-27T23:11:00.003+10:00

People say that first love never dies....

Well, do you still remember yours?

I Do.

In fact, i just met this guy again the other day. In this case, it's true that my first love still gives me an unusual sensation that leaves my heart wonders: Did i really get over my first love?

Turned out that i didn't ...

Let me introduce you to this awesome guy..

Meet CHOCOLATE BROWNIES !
*teeheee...* gotcha!

Yes! you read it right! Chocolate brownies it was. Years ago when i still lived with the GM family back in Melbourne, they introduced me to this awesome chocolate brownies in whom i fell in love straight away. Never before had i consumed such a delectable brownies. It has the perfect level of chewiness and sweetness. I can't stand brownies that are too fudgey. They taste like chocolate bars to me. I prefer the ones with the texture of a cake, but with the right amount of chewiness and density. Just like this one. :)

So after years and years of not making one, (I don't understand why i haven't been baking one even though it was a fave amongst my friends. The last one i remembered was for Evangie before she left for good. Gosh that was almost 2 years ago ? I still owe Juls one batch. :( sorry dear. promise that i'll make you one when i come visit or when you go visit me here.. hehee.. ;)) I finally made it again the other day. They are still the same. This time however, i added orange and rum to give it a twist. Turned out, they were Heavenly!

OK, brownies are ready to go to bakingbee's shelf. :)

PS. On a side note, this particular brownies was also the very first cake I baked. I knew nothing of baking back then. I owe it to the GMs. Thanks for introducing me to this perfect brownies, for the hours we spent in the kitchen and for the unforgettable memories during those 2 precious years. I miss you guys. I miss the Greek food Yia-yia made and her best Baklavas ever! ;) let's meet up when i come back to Melbourne in the future!

Say Hello to Chixie!

2010-07-04T23:25:00.003+10:00

Hello again fellow readers.. :)

Apologies for not updating my blog for quite some time. I have been quite busy with my other work at daddy's office. Fear not. I have not forsaken my love for baking and cake decorating. :)
yes yes.. more to come indeed.

This time, I'd like to introduce you all to my new friend. *giggles....*

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to....CHIXIE !

Chixie

This is Chixie, bakingbee's very own mother hen.

Chixie was made out of love and sugar paste ;)

This is the picture of Chixie and her babies.

Chixie and her babies made their debut on my best friend's birthday cupcakes last week :)

Welcome to the family, Chixie!

Newest Addition to bakingbee's cupcake galore

2010-04-23T14:36:00.003+10:00

Introducing...... *drumrolls*....

JAFFA CUPCAKES !

Yes you heard it right. Jaffa Cupcakes! This newest addition to bakingbee’s cupcakes brings you a little taste of Heaven. This cake may be small, but once you have a bite, you’ll be surprised! It is full of richness from the marriage of chocolate and orange. The velvety smooth jaffa frosting delivers the final kick and makes this little baby oh-so-irresistible! You’ll be asking for more cos they are finger-licking-good! ;)

So, what are you waiting for? Grab ‘em fast!

Update from B

2010-04-18T22:37:00.007+10:00

On the 2^nd of April, I got a very special present; an opportunity to officially sell my cupcakes. *wheeee...* I never imagined that it would be exactly on that date. It was not only my 4^th month of being back home, 2^nd of April was also Good Friday. I believe it was not a coincidence for the Lord works in all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. I believe He has heard my prayers and He was answering it on that day.

My baking journey so far, has not been the best if I may say so. There were soooooo many hiccups and disasters along the way. I’m still learning and adjusting many things here and there. To be honest, sometimes I really am frustrated and feel that my cakes were horrible and getting worse and worse! No joke! Compared to the baking back in Melbourne, this is DIFFICULT!!! But then again, my God is faithful! In my weaknesses, He showcases His Grace and Power. Really, He never puts to shame those who trust in Him. That is one promise that I will never let go. Without Him, this all would reach nowhere, and I, I would have been one depressed girl.

Let me share a few things that make baking a frustrating activity here back in Indo.

1. The Inconsistency of the Ingredients.
a. White Sugar: You will find varieties of white sugar here! HAH! From the brownish to the white coloured. From the coarsely ground to the more finely ground. I prefer the finely-ground white sugar because it resembles Caster Sugar closely (as most of my recipes use caster sugar). Caster Sugar is definitely unaffordable as its price is 4x the price of normal sugar. To make matter worse, the finely ground white sugar is not always available. So i’ve learnt to stock up a bit more when they are available!

b. Icing Sugar: Always choose icing sugar that clumps together! I know the clumps can be a big pain when you need to sieve it. But trust me, the clumps indicate that your icing sugar is PURE, not contaminated with STARCH! The shop assistant of my baking supplier alreadytold me that, but I learnt it the hard way today! The green tea frosting that I made became gooey instead of a bit firmer. The lemon frosting is DISASTROUS!! (More on that on the Cream Cheese section.)

c. Eggs: It’s SOOOO HARD to find good quality eggs! Compared to the eggs in Melbourne, Indonesian eggs are soooooo runny, both the white and the yolk. I never use out-of-the-fridge eggs as they are even more runny . When it comes to baking, you really need fresh and firm eggs. The firmer, the fresher, the better your baked goods will turn out. I have yet to try “kampong” (free-range eggs), I’m sure they are better, but that will make my cakes more expensive too. We’ll see later.. J If the result is more consistent, I might switch to it permanently and get my best friend to supply me eggs from her farm (at the moment, they are for whole-sale only)

d. Cream Cheese: NEVER EVER USE clumpy/ crumbly cream cheese! No matter how much you try to squeeze them out, chances are you’ll still end up with slightly clumpy frosting. No good. No one likes eating clumpy frosting! Enough said!

e. Colourings: The available colourings can’t give me colours I wanted! This is frustrating! You can see the slightly odd pinkish red below. It’s meant to be Christmas Red! R E D!! Not PINKish Red!! ARGHHHH.... need to try different brands, or even better, buying the dark colours (red, black, chocolate) from Melbourne. *evil laugh!*

Considering so many inconsistencies with the basic ingredients, I now understand why a lot of bakeries use cake emulsifier, such as TBM, VX, Ovalet, etc, to minimise the risk of their cakes going astray. Regardless, I still say NO to those cake emulsifier! HAH! Will march on to select the best possible ingredients and formulate the best recipes out of them!

2. The Very High Level of Humidity
It is your biggest enemy when you work with fondant/ sugar paste. You need a lot of icing sugar to make it drier and easier to roll out. That’s the key! No need oil, no need vegetable shortening, just icing sugar! Maybe icing sugar is really that good after all *nudge nudge Juls... ;)* Thank you for the tips, Sis!

3. The Unavailability of Some Stuff
To name a few:
Perfectly sized Cupcake wrappers! I can’t find the perfect size! Either they’re too big, or too small, too shallow or just simply not proportional! OMG!!! Thank God I’ve stocked up a lot of those that are quite good.

Brown sugar. Simply said, i’m craving for STICKY DATE PUDDING!

Almond meals

Fresh berries. I miss fresh blueberry muffins! No blueberry sold in this town! Arghhhh...

and the list goes on... X(

Anyway, enough of the complaining. I am still very very thankful. I’ve learnt a lot, and i’ve grown a lot too. It is not the best yet, but I get to witness this over and over again.

And He said to me, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for My Strength is made perfect in your weaknesses.” 2Corinthians 12: 9

Indeed.

Soli Deo Gloria!

PS. Here are a few things to be thankful for

The Favourite
cookies and creme (mini-cupcakes)

Dark Brown Satin Ribbon

Bees and Daisies

Project P

2010-03-27T23:37:00.008+11:00

This is not the famous Indonesian band nor is it the ISM’s new international students welcoming project at Federation Square earlier this month. It is Project Profiteroles by bakingbee. Profiteroles are known as “kue soes” here in Indonesia. It has been one of my favourite desserts since I was little. The combination of the choux pastry and rum-lavished smooth crème patisserie tantalize your every taste bud and give you the heavenly sensation.

I first learnt making it around 5 years ago. At that time, a cousin of mine was craving for it, but the profiteroles we found in Melbourne were not exactly the same as the ones we had back home. So, armed with recipes from my mom, I braced myself to make them as her birthday cake. Come to think of it, it was a risky move, mainly because I’d never made them before!! Thank God the whole process went well. The choux pastry puffed up nicely, the pastry cream was also nice. However, when I tried making it for mom back home, it turned out to be catastrophic. Instead of puffing up nicely, the choux formed a blob of eggy substance. Ew! Since then, I’ve never touched that recipe anymore.

Still curious with the whole thing, I went to Borders to equip myself with the “how to make a perfect choux pastry” tips. *thank you Borders!!*I then tried another recipe and this time, the choux was perfect! They puffed up nicely; the outer bit is crispy while the inside is hollow. The crème was very smooth too! Whee! B was happy. That particular recipe then went straight to my recipe book. It has never failed me in making puffed up profiteroles ever since.

Today, I finally got to make it again. Well, here’s the long story. Mom wanted to try her old recipe, the one that I used to make my very first “kue soes”. I told her that I haven’t used that recipe for so long because my new recipe yields better choux pastry. We decided to go on with the old recipe, mainly because she’s still curious. Believe it or not, it turned out so messy! The dough doesn’t firm up at all. I was so upset and annoyed to the point that I wanted to throw away the dough! You see, the pastry dough was runny, and i’m 100% sure if I went on and put it in the oven, it would turn out to be the eggy blob again!!! >.<” Not happy! I’m pretty sure there was something wrong with that recipe. I suspect that the old recipe used “kampong/ cage-free egg”. Kampong eggs are smaller; they have big yolks and small egg white. When I first made it, I used caged egg too. But Melbourne’s caged egg also has big yolk! Unlike those found in Indo.

Step 1: Butter, water, salt

Step 2: Beat in the flour

We decided to adjust it to resemble my new recipe. Even then, I was still unsure of the success rate of this dough because when I put them into the oven, they immediately flatten down to form a blob! Surprise surprise! In 15 minutes, they puffed up nicely! And they don’t flatten down after I took them out of the oven. Yay!!!

Step 3: Eggs in

Step 4: Freshly baked. Big ones

The rest of the dough was put in little cups to prevent it going everywhere. They’re über cute when they puffed up. When you look closely, some of them do resemble mushrooms! X) hehee.....

Mini ones

Here they are... Enjoy!!

Profiteroles aka Kue Soes aka Cream Puff

Cookies and Creme Cupcakes

2010-03-20T00:34:00.002+11:00

They’re BACK! By popular demand! Haha. Mom and Ella were pestering me to make this yummylicious babies. Well, to be honest, I wanted to make the cookies&crème eversince I got back from Melbourne, mainly because its ingredients are the easiest to find here in Solo. The Oreo biscuits I used for making it have been sitting in our pantry for a while, until today I finally transformed them into a more delectable sweets, The Triple C Goodness!

Back by popular demand

This particular flavour was a hit among my friends back in Melbourne, Jax and Julie in particular. Whenever I made them, Jax always asked for any leftover cookies&cream frosting to put on his toasts, or maybe, he just licked them behind Jul’s back during his “me time”.. X) I bet if he did that, Julie would have fought for the frosting too, cos this darling girl of mine, LOVEEEESSSS sweet stuff! Oh! and the mini soccer ball cake I made for Jax’s business partner’s son’s birthday party was of this flavour too! Yummy yummy goodness.

It took me 6 batches on that day to perfect this particular recipe. Thanks to Julie and Ria for being my loyal cupcake testers. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be able to bake yummy yummy cupcakes. Your encouragement and passion towards cupcakes are worth all the chaos in my kitchen. Xoxo

cookies&creme cake topped with cookies&creme frosting

Today, however, I twisted the recipe a little bit. I’ll try making the original version sometime soon and see which one is better.

OH !!!! and I was upset too! Earlier today, I went to a cake supply shop, only to be greeted by a very RUDE shop assistant. And I feltcheated too! The “spekkoek” (Dutch spiced thousand layer cake) spices I bought there was Rp.4000,- more expensive than other shops while that shop is famous for its cheaper prices.BOOHOOO!!!

PS. i bet you can guess what's coming up soon... ;)

Project O

2010-03-16T14:10:00.006+11:00

Hello again! :)

How is everyone doing? I sincerely hope all is well with you. I myself have been happy and well.

Reason number 1: my dear W has just visited me, and spending a few days together with him has recharged me. Although now I have to deal with the post-visit gloomy days, I’m hopeful for the days to come because I believe our Lord has beautiful plans for us. I have to admit that long-distance relationship is not easy to maintain. High level of commitment and trust are extremely required. We’ve got our share of arguments and silly fights, but they strengthen us and help us to understand each other better. I’ll miss you sorely, dear...

Reason number 2: the special project I mentioned in my previous post turned out well. WHEEE !!! ^^v. I called it Project O. Earlier this month I found an Opera Cake recipe. It looks interesting and doesn’t look hard to make. I feel challenged to make one, mainly because the picture that comes with the recipe is pretty! The layers of almond joconde (almond sponge cake), coffee buttercream, and chocholate ganache are beautifully arranged, and when sliced, they look divine! So yesterday I’ve succeeded in making one. It doesn’t look as nice as the original recipe, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out. I was a bit scared because I substituted the almond meal with blended sliced almond. I read a few posts on some forums saying that substituting almond meal with blended sliced almond is not a good idea because the consistency won’t work and such. But yesterday, my almond joconde was nice, only that it’s a bit coarse. Maybe next time I have to blend the sliced almond even more finely. The cake turned out pretty too although I was sceptical when I was assembling it, cos the outer appearance is not appealing at all. Well, I guess you can’t always judge a book by its cover, can you? I was proven wrong when i sliced that cake. The inside was quite pretty, and i was content, feeling that my whole day of labour was justified. Hehee.. Taste-wise, personally I think the recipe is a bit too sweet. Need a bit more bitterness from the coffee. And the joconde needs to be soaked with more coffee syrup and liquor. There will always be a second time, but for my first try, I’m satisfied!

Here's bakingbee's first ever opera cake.
The frontal facing one is the ugly outer appearance.
The other bit is the one that's got inner beauty, said CJP.

PS. Opera cake definition according to my faithful friend, Wikipedia. ;)

Opera Cake is a type of French cake. It is made with layers of almond sponge cake (known as Joconde in French) soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. According to Larousse Gastronomique "Opéra gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."

Q: What's your favourite donuts ?

2010-03-08T22:45:00.008+11:00

A: My Mom's Donuts! :)

I've got some confession to make. First up, I’ve been craving for some yummy donuts, my mom’s donut. Her donuts have been the favourite in our extended family ever since I can remember. They’re chewy but not hard. They’re plump and when dusted with icing sugar, they’re the ultimate donut experience! I’m sure you’ll be wanting for more after every bite of it. Second up, I haven’t had them for more than 2 years. Third up, our heavy duty mixer was broken a while ago, so that’s also the reason why I haven’t been having them. Forth up, I succeeded in persuading my mom to teach me how to make her legendary donuts today. YAY!!! ^^v

The then broken mixer was repaired, and according to the repairer, it could work. But today, we proved him wrong! The mixer was soon got burnt again in 3 minutes into the mixing time. Blah! Poor Mommy had to knead the dough by hand. Hope that her right arm won’t be sore tomorrow. Thank God the dough turned out pretty. It also rose nicely.

Mommy kneading the dough

The Dough

At the moment, we just finished shaping them. Have to wait a bit more before they can be fried.

OK... here is the finished product.

Donuts, fresh from the fryer

I’m drooling over them and can’t wait to finish eating it. Mwahahaha XD

Here are the BESTest DONUTS of all time! Satisfaction guaranteed.

Die die must try! :)

It's Time!

2010-03-07T01:12:00.002+11:00

.... to get started seriously!

I really miss baking and decorating cakes! Honestly, whenever I see the cakes I made in Melbourne, I'm sad. It feels like something precious is snatched away from you. Something is just not quite right. I dislike that feeling. Really. So I've promised myself that I'll get baking seriously.

Thank you to those who have been faithfully supporting me, be it kind encouraging words, (possible) cake orders, photography & driving skills ;), enthusiasm in devouring my cakes (both the yummy and the not-so-yummy ones), criticism and advices, and even teaching to bake opportunity. You know who you are. And to me, and of course bakingbee, you are very precious.

Stay tuned! I've prepared a special cake project for mid-March. It's for real! Unlike last year's Christmas Project which I failed to deliver because of time constraint. :( Apologies to you who were waiting for it. Hopefully I'll get to do it this year.

OH OH !!! and now that i've got a proper internet connection at home, updating my blog should not be a major problem anymore!! WHEEEE !!!!! ^^v

xoxo

Return of the Cupcakes

2010-02-23T14:11:00.001+11:00

Dear all,

My baking journey in Indo has been up and down since the beginning of the year. There were good days where my cakes raised to perfection (trust me, nothing beats the feeling of it!!), and there were also days where they turned out to be utterly miserable. I have to adjust my recipes to suit the baking condition here at home. The humidity, quirks of my ovens, and the different ingredients, mainly the flour, the eggs, the sugar, and butter (butter is oh so expensive here!) make all the difference in my cakes. You see, most of the Indonesian recipes use margarine instead of butter, but when i substituted butter with margarine, i get all sorts of funny taste and smell from my cakes! There is this very famous Indonesian margarine brand that smells so funny when it’s being baked to the point that my usually very fragrant banana cake gives out sour aroma from the oven. HAH! Figure that out! I haven’t found a good brand of margarine that can be used for every recipe that I have hitherto compiled. Anyway, after several successful and not-so-successful attempts at various recipes, I’ve finally braced myself to baking cupcakes (again).

I made Red Velvet and Matcha cupcakes yesterday. Those two were the favourites along with my cookies and cream cupcakes. The red velvet were not as red since I used different brand of red colourings (i used to use Wilton’s, they’re good!) The cupcake wrappers were a bit too small too. I can’t find the usual cupcake wrappers here at home! Arghhh.. they’re all not the sizes i want. The mixture itself, were not as thick as it were back in Melbourne. And the cake is not as moist either. Julie!! I need you to taste my red velvet cos you’re the red velvet expert! Oh!! You know what!! Indo’s icing sugar is super duper sweet! I have to halve the sugar content in the icing, and even with that, those who tasted them last nite still complaint that they were a tad bit too sweet.

Surprisingly, the Matcha turned out to be a hit! Everyone says that the green tea one is nicer than the red velvet. In my humble opinion, though the chocolate tastes very very yummy, it overpowered a hint of tea flavour in the cake itself. And yes, the matcha icing is a bit too sweet. I was scared that it would leave a very bitter after taste, so i added in a little more sugar (and for your information, that’s already half of the original recipe. Thanks to indo’s super sweet icing sugar, my recipes are all messed up!)

The matcha is very special too because the Japanese green tea powder is imported from Melbourne (thank you dear cousin for your kind favour). Those of you who think that the green tea icing is a bit sandy, it’s because of the green tea powder. I didn’t use artificial green tea essence for it. Nor did I use any added chemicals/ cake emulsifiers such as TBM, VX or ovalet for ANY of my cakes. Only premium ingredients are chosen for bakingbee’s cakes. I always do my best to bake cakes that are as natural as possible.

These cupcakes are dedicated to my dear friends back in Melbourne who have been very supportive in testing my cupcakes and giving out comments and suggestions. They’re not as pretty or as yummy (in the case of the red velvet) as the ones back in Melbourne, but i will continue my quest for the perfect cupcakes.
Ciao!
XOXO

PS. new photos will follow shortly.

Bee on a lemon cake

2010-02-19T23:51:00.007+11:00

Apologies to the related parties, this post has been very long overdue. I made this cake 10 days before i left Melbourne. Back then i didn’t have time to write about it because i have to pack my things up and also because the photos are in my brother’s camera. I have been pestering him for it, and yet up to this very moment, he still hasn’t given me that very file!! See, procrastination isn’t always a good thing.

Anyway, this cake was especially made for Vivienne, a.k.a. Madam Ho. We both are birthday twins and earlier last year, she told me that i must bake her birthday cake before i leave Melbourne for good. Initially, she requested lemony cake for her birthday party. It could be lemon tart, lemon pie, lemon cake, whatever, as long as it’s lemony cos lemony dessert is her favourite. Since I’ve never made lemon tart/ pie before, I settled for lemon cake. The trial cake which I turned into my “little miss sunshine” cupcakes, was a success. I wasn’t quite sure of what decoration to put on the cake. But i was thinking that lemony cake should be in the colour of yellow and yellow would be nice with white and pastel green. So I proposed a yellow cake with white daisies and mickey-eared-bees on top of it to Madam. She was sooo excited to hear the plan and told me that daisies are actually her favourite flower. Wheeeee ^^v.

This cute cake was not a trouble to make. In fact, the cake rose to perfection and I was so happy to see how it turned out. The cake was quite tall and was golden yellow in colour. Pretty pretty base cake. ^^v

Madam was very happy to see the cake. It was a pity that I couldn’t come to her birthday party as it was during my graduation ceremony. I heard that the guests loved the cake, appearance-wise and taste-wise. Happy Birthday, Madam! Thanks for trusting me to bake your birthday cake and also for being a great blessing to many of us! May the Lord continue to be your #1 in everything you do. XOXO

Journey to the Past

2010-01-22T01:49:00.003+11:00

Long long time ago, before aviation came to existence, before electricity was invented, men sailed the fierce oceans to do the trading. One of their destinations was the islands in the Equator, which later on became what is now known as Indonesia. This land was so rich, a land flowing with milk and honey. :P No la! Those islands were rich with spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Among the seafarers were the Dutch, who were crazily in love with the spices. Anyway, to cut long story short, in the end, the Dutch colonialised Indonesia for 350 years. (I was actually trying to remember my primary school History subject, but to no avail. So, if you are still interested in the story of Dutch Colonialisation, please Google it or Wikipedia it for more accurate History.)

This super long colonialisation era brought about culture assimilation between the Dutch and the Natives. One of the very obvious things is food! Whee.. ^^v. I believe that the “Dutch food” I’ve tasted here is slightly different from the original ones. For instance, I tried baking Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Cake) last night. The “tempo doeloe” recipes that I had, use 10 eggs! (Wow, I made history yesterday! I’ve never baked a cake with so many eggs before! ) Anyway, the cake turned out to be very light and fluffy, which is what I’ve known so far. Then I went to Google the correct spelling of the cake for I want to update my bakingbee facebook page. To my surprise the original Ontbijtkoek is a variety of spiced bread!!!! BREAD!!! Dense and heavy bread with Rye as one of the most important main ingredients along with spices. In the Netherland, it is served with thick butter to replace toast for breakfast. My oh my!

So what I baked yesterday is the Indonesian version of the Ontbijtkoek because it is so light and fluffy, and eggy! I still don’t understand why Indos really love cakes with so many eggs used in the making. It’s true that you get a very fluffy and fragrant cake, but it’s not like eating a cake! Haha..I myself prefer the English tea cake, but then, that’s probably because I grew up eating my grandmother’s “tempo doeloe” cakes, heavy dense cakes that can fill your tummy up when you’re hungry.
This version of Ontbijtkoek, is not seriously not bad. But I think, the spices are not fragrant enough! So next time, I will put more spices in.
Enjoy!!

marble cake v.1

2010-01-16T14:19:00.001+11:00

When it comes to cakes and desserts, you can’t really judge them by their outer appearances alone. Throughout my life, I have tried countless of sweets that looked absolutely pretty, but tasted so blah! Unfortunately, this first marble cake I baked in Solo is one of them. When it first came out of the oven, I told my mom that the cake was looking good, so I was hoping that it would taste as good. To my surprise, it was very very bland! The sugar is somehow not worthy to be called sugar for it didn’t add any sweetness to my cake whatsoever. Such a shame! 1 kg of Indonesian sugar is now more expensive than that of Melbourne and yet, it fails to deliver its purpose! To make matter even worse, the cake, even though is not dry, is very hard to swallow. *sigh......*

Trial #2 is therefore an EPIC FAILURE !!!

Never fear, I don’t give up that easily. *roll up sleeves... ready to work hard*
Stay tuned for more updates! :)

First Cake of the Year

2010-01-12T14:59:00.002+11:00

My first week in Solo has been..... a tiny bit miserable. :( I got a big ulcer on my throat when I left Singapore. After 5 painful days, that ulcer was finally healing. But my joy suddenly disappears when I found another ulcer cropping up on the other side of my throat!!!!! Argghhh... The second ulcer turned out to be more bad-tempered than its sibling. It caused me fever and practically drained my energy away. Thank God for Panadol, I was able to survive the day. Haha.. ;)

So last night, after being nagged by my boyfriend for days, I finally went to see the doctor. He gave me antibiotics (the first dose after soooo many years) which work marvellously! Wheee ^^v. The ulcer is not painful anymore. I am able to swallow easily and most importantly, I’m not feeling lethargic anymore. Such is the wonder of antibiotics.

Oh, and I miss baking so much!! So yesterday, despite the war I had with the ulcer, I forced myself to bake something. Cinnamon banana bread. My all time favourite cake to start bakingbee’s R&D phase in Solo. : Result is not disappointing. But it is totally different from what I used to make in Melbourne. Different ingredients, different humidity, different oven make all the difference in the outcome of a cake. The one I made yesterday is still fluffy and moist. But it is chewier than the usual one. Nevertheless, it’s not bad for a first try in a completely new environment.

Cinnamon Banana Cake

Stay tuned!! More to come, peeps!!

Adieu 2009 !

2010-01-01T01:50:00.002+11:00

In less than an hour, 2009 will come to an end. As a concluding remark of the year, I would like to share with you what i've been through this year. This is going to be a long post, but I believe, it is worth written and read. Buckle up!

My life thus far....
I started of 2009 back in Indo while having a long 3 months summer holiday. That was my first long summer holiday as I had been taking summer courses for the past 3 years. Early in the year, I somehow had a feeling that this year is going to be tough for me in terms of my spiritual walk with God. I felt that this year was going to be a year of trials for the Lord had grown me in such a way that I never imagined over the past years. After the Chinese New Yea, I was told by one of my relatives that the year of the Ox will bring major bad luck to me, and thus I should be carrying this little charm around to repel all the bad energy or whatever. Of course I don't want to carry that. By all means, i don't disrespect the one who gave me that charm. I threw the charm away because I don't believe in that sort of thing and because I have faith in my God. My God who created Heaven and Earth, who stepped down into time and died to save me from the miry clay. My God who conquered death. My God in whom I solely put my trust. I know He is bigger than anything, I know He takes care of me. I know that if any trouble were to befall me, it is all within His beautiful plans for me and I know He holds me in His mighty hand. Therefore, I do not fear anything for I know I am in safe hands.

2009 is my fifth and final uni year. After four years of hard work at uni, I finally realised that I don't like lab work and researh. I hate that whole-heartedly. I loved learning the stuff I learned in my Science course. Pathology and Physiology is very interesting. Learning human body in closed details had helped me admire my God even more. He truly designs us so wonderfully. Strand by strand, He knitted us together in our mothers' wombs. Science is fascinating!
On the other hand, I found out that Commerce isn't really that bad after all. Being a naive and overly idealistic little girl, I used to think that business is really not my thing. When I was in my teens, I never thought I would be a business woman, an entrepreneur or whatever that is related to business world. I did whatever I could in my capacity to stay away from the business world. It's funny how over the years, as we grow, our perspective changes. I'm not so skeptical about conducting business anymore because I learnt that I can also conduct a business in such a way that honours God.

Contrary to what I was told, 2009 has been a good year for me. Some of the main reasons are:
1. My loved ones.
Family and friends. I can't stop thanking God for giving me awesome family and friends who are always there to support me. I wouldn't be who I am today without them. My inner circle of friends are unusual people. But I am proud to have them as my close friends. I love them to bits and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I thank God for placing me in the midst of these people for through them, I get to exercise Grace and Mercy. I learn to be more understanding, accepting, loving and forgiving. I learnt to serve others, to be patient and to be empathetic. To be kind and not judging. To be humble but still respect and appreciate myself . To be firm and to be able to say no when it is time to say no. I've found friends worth keeping for all eternity. And for that, I am forever grateful.
I thank God for my boyfriend too. He has been my great supporter. A companion who believes in me and loves me for what I am. Someone who shares my dream and helps me to reach it. Someone who makes me want to be a better person. I love you!

2. bakingbee
bakingbee is really a surprise for me. I never thought I would be doing something like this. Thank you everyone for always believing in me. Thank you for being my supporters and standing behind me to give me motivation and moral support. Really appreciate it. Thank you for all the inputs and critics. You know who you are and I owe you big time. I also can't thank God enough for bakingbee. I guess He is the one who planned bakingbee for me. Thank you for the inspirations and gifts. Without you, bakingbee wouldn't exist in the first place. I hope bakingbee has put a smile on Your face. I hope bakingbee will help to make You even more famous. I hope bakingbee will continue to be an extension of Your Love, Grace and Mercy. bakingbee is all Yours. Do unto it whatever pleases You.

3. Graduation
Yes. I have graduated with a B.Sc/ B.Com. It's nothing compared to some other people who have a series of degree. But still, I'm very grateful for my graduation. These past 7 years in Melbourne, I have really tasted God's goodness, faithfulness, mercy and grace. Now that it's time to go back home, I am deeply saddened for Melbourne has been my home away from home. I practically spend my adult life so far in Melbourne. My friends, my church, everything is back in Melbourne. Stepping away from Melbourne will be tough I reckon. Thank God for internet and blackberry! hahaha.. ;)

So yeah, it's officially 2010 now. I pray that the Lord who have gone before us will continue to shine His face upon us and to guide us through the year. May He continue to bless us all so that we can be blessings to others. May 2010 be a year where the Lord will be glorified in every aspect of our lives. Let us step into this new year together with Him. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus so that we won't stray away from Him and His beautiful plan fo us.

Have a blessed new year !

Bang!!

2009-12-17T18:25:00.003+11:00

HUH, GUNS ?!??!?!?!?!?!
Are you for real ??

YES !!! bakingbee has been commissioned to bake a birthday cake in a shape of two guns. It is indeed a rather challenging project since I have to carve the cake myself. The cake is in the oven at the moment. Hopefully it turns out nicely later on.

Thank God for the heavy rain! It has swept off the sweltering heat from yesterday. The temperature was hovering around 38-39 degree Celcius yesterday! My my! And the bushfire has started too! Oh no!! >.<" Hopefully today's rain spreads out to the rural areas where the bushfires are. Oh and to the water reservoir too. Melbourne (Victoria) desperately needs water. OK! B's out for some dinner with her family. More on the gun later. Stay tuned, peeps!! Ciao !!

Hello again, peeps!
Sorry it toook so long to finish this post. As I have mentioned previously, I am going back for good to Indonesia. So the last 2 weeks, I was busy packing and sorting out stuff that I need to give away to my friends and the Salvation Army. It was a stressful indeed as I have a lot of stuff. Thank God for my family and friends who are always willing to lend helping hands.

Back to the guns, it was trickier than I thought it would be !!! The silver colouring didn't come out as I expected. :( I was a bit stressed that time. But thank God Amy loved the cake.. :) So all is well... :)

Little Miss Sunshine

2009-12-14T23:04:00.006+11:00

Today has been a long busy day. I had to get the last shot of Gardasil, then run around getting stuff for my next cake orders. I managed to bake 2 batches of cake (a white chocolate mudcake and a lemon cake for Amy and Madam Ho), get a graduation present for my cousin, take photos of my cutesy cupcakes and blog. What a day, what a day!

The reason why I baked these cakes is because I've never really made them before , so I have to do some R&D to make sure that the cakes turn out nicely. So, in the pursuit of moist tangy lemon cake, I tried making this.

Little Miss Sunshine
bringing some lemony goodness

Verdict: Not as tangy, I need to put more lemon zest for the actual cake. The cake is quite moist and fluffy. I'll try the regular size tomorrow to see if it's any better. :)

Oh no!! Just remember that I still need to decorate the other cake for tomorrow's dinner.
I think I'll just do it tomorrow. Oh wait!! Tomorrow is gonna be hot!! NOOO !!!
Must decorate now ?!??!?! What a day indeed !!

Okay! B's out for a cuppa hot tea and decorating cake.
I'll blog about the other cake tomorrow.. :)
Stay tuned, peeps!

OH!! turned out that the other cake is an epic failure!! :(
i'm hitting the sack instead!

Can you spot B ?

2009-12-13T00:12:00.006+11:00

B's cupcakes are the current hit! Apart from the usuals who can't stop asking for more cupcakes from bakingbee's kitchen, others who have tried B's cupcakes seem to fall in love with them too.

Today's project is birthday gift requested by Deasy's friends. The cupcake tower is consisted of Red Velvet and Green Tea cupcakes.

For some reason, I still don't really enjoy baking and decorating cupcakes. It requires sooo much work. Oh, and the limitation of my kitchen space, utensils and time, really don't make the baking any better. I think for the upcoming "All-you-can eat Cupcake Day", I will just simply frost the cupcake without piping the icing. More on that later.

By the way, can you spot B ? ;)

Good Tidings!

2009-12-11T05:25:00.005+11:00

I know it's super early here in Melbourne, but I can't help to keep this good tidings from you all.
I've just received my final result and....

I'M OFFICIALLY DONE with uni!! ^^v
*no victory dance this time! I'm blogging from bed*

Praise God for His Faithfulness, Mercy and Grace throughout these 5 long years. Without Him, none of this would've happened. Even to the very last minute (read: my final semester), His grace is always sufficient, His power is made perfect in my weaknesses.

My final result turned out to be better than what I expected. Considering I'm not doing as well this semester as previously, I would be happy with a Pass for every subject. The result I'm getting, would never happened to me without His Mercy and Grace, so I'm giving back all the credit to Him.

Even though I've been anxiously waiting for my result, deep down I knew that I had passed, for the Lord will never put to shame those who trust in Him. So, here's to a God who is true to His words; who keeps His promises; who never forsakes nor leaves His children. *raising glasss*

....and now the journey goes on....

There's So Much To Be Thankful For

2009-12-09T09:54:00.004+11:00

Indeed, there's so much to be thankful for. This morning, I woke up with overflowing sense of thankfulness to my Almighty God because His steadfast Love never ceases, His mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness is never ending.

Last Friday, I had a deep and meaningful chat with Julie and CJ while making the mini soccer ball. One of the questions CJ asked was "What is your worst characteristic that God changed?" CJ shared his answer, Julie shared hers, then it was my turn to share mine. I told them, "I used to be very bad tempered. Easily angered, impatient and selfish." They were really surprised to hear me saying "bad tempered". Yes my friend, before knowing Christ, I was really bad tempered. My parents, old and new friendcan testify to that. I am a living testimony that the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, really changes lives. He soften shardened hearts and makes it pliable. When we allow Him to work in us, He continually molds our hearts in such a way to reflect His.

CJ's other question was "What would you be now if Jesus was not in your life". hahaha, I think from his questions, you can tell that he is a thinker. Well, personally, i think He is. He was a good debater, he is a good thinker, and he is an awesome writer. Seriously, i can see him as a writer later down the years. :) Aniway, back to my story, that question has made me pondered upon my life journey so far.

What would I be without Christ in my life? Firstly, I wouldn't be who I am today. As I mentioned above, the Lord changes me. He consumes me from the inside out, renewing and transforming my heart and mind into His likeness each and every moment. I think without Christ, I would've been a very evil person. Yes. E V I L !!

Secondly, bakingbee would never exist without Him and His divine intervention. He is the One who gives me this gift. He is the One who taught me the joy of serving. He is the One who gives me the servant heart. He is the One who opens doors and opportunities for me. Without Him, none of this would have happened.

I believe by now, you can already tell why I am very grateful. I am grateful for my Lord. For the fact that He has called me to be His children. There are other many things that I am grateful for. My loved ones, the opportunity to live and study in Melbourne, even the bad and difficult times. You know what? It is actually through trials and hard times that the Lord grows my character. He has taught me a lot of things. He taught me that with each and every trial, He always provides a way out. He has shown me, that when i chose to follow and obey Him, each trial brings about renewal, to the mind, to the heart and to the spirit. There are countless other things that I can't list here because it will take forever. Don't worry, i count my blessings in my heart! ;)

Referring back to bakingbee, I thank Him for making it exists in the first place and growing it. It is only by His grace that I am who I am today. It is only by His mercy that I am surrounded by the people I know today. People who have been very supportive of what I am doing, precious friends and family.

May the Lord be glorified through bakingbee. May the creations of my hand speak of His Love, Mercy and Grace. May bakingbee be a living testimony of the journey of a girl with her Saviour. For Bebe is a sinner, saved by the Grace of God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Cupcake Galore on A Rainy Day

2009-12-08T14:52:00.005+11:00

What happened to Summer ?? This week has been cold for a December. But I'm grateful for it. Given that Australia is very dry, cold rainy day like this is much better than the heat of Summer. When I checked the weather forecast on Sunday and found out that today would be raining, I decided that I shall try new cupcake recipes on Tuesday.

Round 1: Red Velvet
The first time I tried Red Velvet cupcake, I can't help but wonder why people (read: girls) love this particular cake so much. The one that i tried, was dry, the flavour didn't come out. It tasted like very bland chocolate cake. The icing was not good as well. Unsatisfied with what i tasted, I googled up "red velvet cake". This particular cake is originated from Southern United States of America. Supposedly, one should be able to taste a bit of tang in the cake because it contains vinegar, and buttermilk. When mixed with cocoa, the acidity of vinegar brings out the red colour in cocoa and to enhance this, a bit more red colouring is added.

red velvet

My version of red velvet, turned out VERY VERY good. I really like it. The cake is very moist and fluffy. Although i can't really taste the tang in the cake, the chocolate flavour is quite strong. Combined with the smooth cream cheese frosting, this cake is definitely a hit.
*Initially I wanted to make a chocolate velvet (not adding any red colouring whatsoever) but when I made the batter, the chocolate colour is very pale. So I added 1/2 tsp Wilton pink colouring. I was really surprised to find out that that amount was enough to make the whole batter RED !!!

Round 2: Black Bottom Cupcake
Julie introduced me to this cupcake. No, I've never tried it before, but she has! And according to her, this cupcake will melt you because it is really delicious. When I read the recipe, I knew it would be a little sweet with a BIG taste. Imagine rich chocolate base, topped with cheesecake mixture and frosted with smooth cream cheese icing! When I had a bite, it is indeed O M G !!! This cupcake is not for those who don't like heavy chocolate cake as the flavour is quite rich and the cake texture is also thick and gooey.

black bottom

Conclusion: Happy Bee! cupcakes test has been successful!! Whee !!! ^^v
waiting for some review from my testers :)

The Pursuit of Perfection

2009-12-04T19:21:00.005+11:00

I have been baking lots of cupcakes recently. Not because I love eating them (honestly, I'm not a big fan), but because my friends love eating them. On top of that, cupcake is currently the HOT item of sweets. So, there's nothing wrong with trying to perfect my cupcakes. The Matcha cupcakes I made the other day, i believe, have the perfect texture. Very soft, moist and fluffy. But not too crumbly. Following its success, I'm experimenting to get the perfect yellow base cupcakes today. I am yet to try my latest cookies&creme batch that just came out of the oven. My house is very fragrant from the baking. I think, I smell like cookies and cream already! No kidding here!

I shared the previous batch I made with the church office staff for afternoon tea. Sharon, our dear admin assistant who have been patiently dealing with my venue-bookings & key borrowing, will be on leave until next year, meaning I won't get to see her until, God knows when. The cookies&creme icing is yummy. But I think, the texture of the cake is not OK yet. It was still a bit too chewy. I think I baked it for a tad bit too long. >.<" Despite the not so fluffy texture, Sharon still loved it much. She said, "Your cupcake is 10-fingers lickin' good!" ahahaha... Thank you dear! I've made 2 batches after the afternoon tea. I am yet to give some to my official cupcake tester, Ria, and get some review from her. This girl has tried a lot of cupcakes in Melbourne. So I'm looking forward to hearing her review.

the 6th batch of Cookies&Creme

mini Soccer Ball

2009-12-04T12:00:00.007+11:00

Remember the "baking to the heart's content" that I've been mentioning since I finished my final exams? Turned out I really have been baking to my heart's content ever since. I had a few very last minute orders, including this mini soccer ball that I'm currently working on.
Jax messaged me yesterday evening asking for a mini soccer ball for his business partner's son's birthday. phew.. that's long! haha.. I assume it's intended for a birthday gift for the birthday boy. But I have a feeling that Jax will eat half of it by himself. LOL.. You know why ? Because he specifically asked for the super yummy cookies and cream flavour!

Currently, the 1st half of the soccer ball is in the oven. I think it's a little bit too sweet. But then again, I'm not that much of a sweet tooth. hopefully it turns out well. :) Fingers crossed!

OK, the cake is finished by the way. It was a bit stressful at the beginning because the smaller templates that I prepared didn't fit as expected. It looked very messy and ugly. So Julie and I decided to just use the big ones that I've been using for my previous soccerball cakes. Oh in case, you're wondering why Julie was with me when I'm doing my cake, she was giving me some moral support.. :) How sweet!!

So yeah, last night/ early this morning I had fun working on a project accompanied by special friend and Michael Buble's singing at the background. Julie insisted on a little bee on the cake because she hasn't seen it in real life. So I made one specially for her and stick it to the ball. Haha. It makes the cake cuter and more colourful. Afterall, it's a birthday present for a 2 years old boy.

Oh and by the way, Jax didn't get to eat the cake at all during the party this afternoon. They said it's too pretty to cut out. LOL. But i just got an update from him, his friends (Harry's parents) said that the cake tastes as good as it looks. And all photos are courtesy of Julie, an aspiring photographer! :) Thank you dears!

White Choc Raspberry Mud Cake

2009-12-04T00:42:00.005+11:00

People say that December is the Festive season with Christmas and New Year just around the corner. But for us, international students, December can be a very depressing month. Many of us have to go back to our home country upon finishing our studies here in Melbourne. I too, will be one of them very shortly. As i said previously, leaving Melbourne will be very hard. It is not so much the city that I will deeply miss, but rather the people. The friendships that have grown through the years, the many good and bad times we've shared, the ups and down, the teasing and bullying, the laughter and the tears.

This cake, is to farewell her dear friends. Yu Ying messaged me yesterday morning and asked for a cake if possible. A few of her cell group members will be leaving Melbourne very soon and she specifically asked that the writing of the cake be "May God bless you and lead you in your onward journey." So sweet. We may be on different journeys now, but when God is the one who leads the way, everything will be OK.

No picture this time. It was very rushed since i have to finish Jo's cake too.
It's white choco raspberry mud cake with white choc ganache and choc collar.
I leave it to your imagination to picture the cake! ;)

DiRaffe in the Love Jungle

2009-12-01T01:16:00.007+11:00

If chocolate is the food of love, then this dark chocolate orange gateau is the celebration of love. As I said before, chocolate and orange are perfect match made in Heaven. They complement and bring out the best out of each other. The sensation of chocolate melting in your mouth, combined with the freshness of orange deliver the X-factor that leaves you on the 7th Heaven. You can't get enough of this cake.

I just finished making some deco for my next cake. I have once again been commissioned to bake another DCOG. This DCOG is for two very special friends of mine who happen to be big fans of Jaffa (and my DCOG too ;) hehehe... ) I'm praying hard that this cake will turn out nice, taste-wise and aesthetic-wise. Fingers crossed!

.
.

Cake: check! Jaffa mousse: check! Figurines: Check!

They all look alright at this point. I can't wait to assemble the cake later tonight.

.
.
.

Cake board is too big! Can't fit to container. :( need to go get another one tomorrow.
Tasted the quality control portion of the DCOG. It is THE BEST so far! Very nice texture. Thick mousse. Dark Chocolate. Orange. Rum. Heavenly!!! ^^v

.
.
.

Tadaaaa!!

Dino + Giraffe = Diraffe!

I was VERY VERY VERY happy with how the figurines turned out! They are ULTRA CUTE! hahahhaa. I had to restrain myself from pinching and poking the cheeks of my babies! When i finished assembling the cake before, I felt like dancing around because of the Joy that blossoms in my heart. It is a very special cake indeed, and I poured my heart out making it. Thank God the figurines and the cake turned out well. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I decided to change the cake design very last minute yesterday. Personally, I think this is even better than what I had in my sketch book. WHee!! ^^v

I've received messages from my happy customers. Ivan said, "Terimakasih bebe, kek'nya lucu bgt, enak sekali. Terimakasih bebe!" Wow dude! You even wrote 'banget' as 'bgt'. not bad not bad. LOL :) It turned out that Jo was the one typing the sms. So all credit goes to Jo. X) Joanne said, "SOOOOOOOOOO CUTEEE!!! Ivan loves the dino.. he was so happy to see the spikes. and he said the leaves look so good. I'm happy of course. yummy, cute and meaningful..and handmade by you! Thank you Jo for ordering the cake. Of course the leaves look good. I'm now better equipped, thanks to your very precious gift ;). Thanks for trusting me to make your special cake. I get to try making figurines :) xoxo

Ms.Giraffe & Mr. Dino (a.k.a Jo&Ivan)

Matcha Cupcake

2009-11-30T00:39:00.006+11:00

b's mini cupcakes
photo courtesy of Andrew Soetiono

In all honesty, I'm not really a cupcake kind of girl. I don't deny that they are cute and pretty, but I just don't enjoy making them as much as I do making cakes. I don't mind trying recipes because I know my friends will be more than happy to devour them for me. There's another thing to be thankful for. Without them, I wouldn't be able to experiment as much. Thank you dear friends for volunteering to be my guinea pigs. XOXO

Green tea has sparked my curiosity. I'm a big fan of a cup of green tea, so I would like to be able to make green-tea flavoured desserts. Not everyone will like it, because I think the taste of green tea is an acquired taste. You need to get used to it before you can enjoy eating green-tea flavoured desserts. There are few more that I want to try making.

I recently bought Matcha (powdered Japanese green tea) and this is my first trial at making Matcha Cupcake. I love it! :) My friends also loved it. Even Julie, who doesn't like green tea-flavoured dessert (except for Il Dolce Fredo's green tea gelato), loved it much and said she can eat a million more.

Ria said, "It taste.....UTTERLY FANTASTIC & UNBELIVEABLY GOOD ! ! ! The green tea topping at the top compliments the green tea cupcake in the bottom & vice versa... You can eat them separately, but combining both elements will give you a COMPLETE satisfactory...It's T H E B E S T Matcha Cupcakes I have ever tasted ! ! ! ! :))"

It is my personal favourite so far because the cake is very fluffy and moist. I feel that this is how cupcakes should be. The combination of the icing and the cake is just perfect, delicate, right level of sweetness, and not overpowering. It passed the quality control, and has been added to my bakingbee menu.

Matcha is powdered Japanese green t made from shade-grown tea leaves also used to make gyokuro, unlike other forms of powdered tea, such as powdered sencha.

The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the production of amino acids that make the resulting tea sweeter.

Only the finest tea buds are hand picked. After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be gyokuro (jewel dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (碾茶). Tencha can then be de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as matcha. It can take up to one hour to grind 30 grams of matcha.

Note that only ground tencha qualifies as matcha, and other powdered teas are known as konacha (粉茶, lit. "powder tea").

The flavour of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The highest grades of matcha have more intense sweetness and deeper flavour than the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year (Wikipedia).
Matcha Cupcakes

Awesome weekend getaway with special friends, successful recipe trials, and pretty photographs of my babies make me one very happy girl! :)

Stick around for more updates from my kitchen!

Cupcake Craving

2009-11-29T23:56:00.004+11:00

I am very encouraged that my friends do come to me and ask, "Bebe, if you have time, can I please have some more of this or that??" It is always my pleasure to cook/bake for them. I love the feeling of watching them eat, I love to see their smiles and satisfaction that they get from eating what I make for them. It is just very very rewarding.

A month ago, Andrew messaged me and said that he wanted some more Cookies and Cream cupcakes. I gave him some samples when I first made it. And you can guess the rest, it was love at the first BITE! ;) So yeah, i made him some more "Triple C Goodness" (that's how i call my cookies and cream cupcakes, in case you are wondering ;)....) This time around, he got to share it with his cell group friends and guess what? they all loved it too!! Andrew told me , "Rio ate so many of it and mind you, he's actually not a big fan of desserts..but in his words, (or somewhere along his words), Bebe made him like desserts!" AWWW.... *teary eyes*

Triple C Goodness

I love the icing. It tastes like Connoisseur's cookies and cream ice-cream. My fave ice cream!
The cupcakes itself still needs improvement. It's not as fluffy as how it should be, but I think I've found out how to make them fluffier. Whee... ^^v

2 more sleeps!

2009-11-22T18:05:00.003+11:00

YAY!! 2 more sleeps til the end of my final exams.

after that... it's baking time!!
Along with the special Christmas Project I mentioned in my previous post, I have a few other things I want to try making. Oh, and some cake orders too!
Stay tuned!

Oh oh! I'm very very very happy today! I got a surprise gift from a dear friend. It's a 10 pieces Gum Paste tool set! Awww *teary eyes*... She did tell me that she wanted to get the things for me and I said the 5 pc will do. But today when she passed it to me, it was the 10 pc!! I didn't know that it will be this soon. And I didn't expect it to be the 10 pc!! awwww...*more teary eyes*
Thank you so much Jo!!! xoxo. I opened it already, but I promised I won't play with them until after 24th. ;) XOXO

B is out for some serious studying.
ciao!

bakingbee on facebook

2009-11-18T00:42:00.001+11:00

bakingbee has set up a fan page on facebook.
Here's the link.
Do visit and be a fan. :)

What B has been up to lately...

2009-11-17T22:17:00.003+11:00

studying hard!!!

B has been studying hard for her FINAL final exams. Yep, that's right! FINAL final exams! After 5 long years of sweat, blood, and tears (OK, I'm a bit exaggerating here, but you get the point.) I finally come to the end of my uni life. I actually still have one more paper to do next Tuesday, but at the mean time, I'm giving the sponge inside my head a rest.

Thinking about life after uni can be scary sometimes. You need to go out there and get a job, you need to be an adult who is fully responsible for your own life. To make matter even scarier, people have been telling me that it's a tough world out there. They tell me to enjoy my uni days as best as I can for before I know it, I will start to miss my uni days again.

Well, in a way, I did enjoy my 5 years of uni. Not all the time, because there were subjects that I just hated and dread, there were long-hours lab and mountains of scientific journals to read, essays, report and mini thesis to write. But hey, I survived! In all honesty, I am very thankful for these 5 long years. It is through these years that I found myself and my passion. I found friends worth keeping for eternity, I found love. I laugh and cry, rejoice and mourn.

So here I am, almost at the end of my uni days, ready to take myself to next phase in life. I'm scared of what lies ahead, of going back for good to Indonesia, and that shortly, I will not be able to physically be around my beloved friends. But one thing I know for sure, the Lord will not abandon me. And knowing that He holds my tomorrow somehow gives me assurance and peace to close my chapters in Melbourne.

PS. I have prepared a very special Christmas Project. Stay tuned! *giggles with excitement !! can't wait for it!*

ichigo. fragola. fraise

2009-11-06T23:21:00.012+11:00

It's summer time! it's strawberry time! I love strawberry because it is such a pretty fruit and it smells so fragrant. One thing I don't really like about strawberries is that sometimes, they are sour! >.<" But but...when they are big, and red, and sweet, they are oh-so-heavenly! The sweetness and the strawberry-fragrance can leave a delightful sensation on your palate that will leave you happy for the rest of your day. There you go, another thing to be thankful for. Big juicy red strawberries!

something to be thankful for!

Another thing to be thankful for, CJ'! This strawberry cheesecake would never come to existence had it not been for him following my blog. How is that so ???

B received an sms from Yu Ying on Monday, saying that she found my blog and likes the cake and asked if it's ok if she ordered a cake from me. After the nitty gritty bit was settled, I braced myself to ask her where she found my blog from. Well, I guess by now you would've known the answer, eh? Yep! It's from CJ's blog. :) Oh how I love online social network!!

She doesn't want chocolate cake! So this is what I came up with...

Strawberry Cheese Cake

This is a prettier version of the Indonesian Cheesecake. Victoria sponge cake layered with fresh strawberries and cream, topped with shredded cheese. This time around, I managed to temper the chocolate a bit more properly. It was glossy, and it snaps! :)
Hope they enjoyed the cake.

B's out! Getting some study done while waiting for Yu Ying's feedback.

*update from Yu Ying*
"... Everyone loved the cake. It was really pretty & good. It tastes just nice and very fresh. So don't worry. Thanks very much for the great cake. Hugs :)... "

Hugs back too!! ^^v

BC's Blueberry Muffin

2009-10-28T22:25:00.007+11:00

Guess who's back ?!
Yes it's me! Alive and well.
I was down with flu last week. This time around, it hit quite badly, even right now, I still got traces of the illness. *cough cough.. sniff sniff...*

Anyway, I've been craving for some blueberry muffins. When I told Ms. Oriana that, she said, "Try Betty Crocker's blueberry muffin. It's quite yummy! It's fluffy and moist." Honestly, I usually don't trust instant cake mix. Some of them taste quite artificial and the texture is just weird. But this time around, I brave myself to follow Ms. Oriana's suggestion. Being a baker herself, I trust her judgement. ;)

I've got the packet 2 weeks ago, but only got the chance to making it tonight.
Surprisingly, it's quite yummy. She's right. it's very fluffy. The texture is also not bad. For a lazy baking, this one is quite good. You just add milk and egg, stir stir stir.. transfer to muffin tray, bake it for half an hour, and you get fragrant muffins. Given the option, I'd rather follow my own traditional muffin recipe. This one is a bit too sweet for me. :)

Betty Crocker's Lite Blueberry Muffins

B's out. Enjoying her blueberry muffin and Yorkshire tea.

Lulu the Sound Engineer

2009-10-20T22:19:00.009+11:00

Every birthday is special as it is a celebration of you. Yes, you were wonderfully and fearfully made. God knitted you carefully together in your mother's womb. His eyes saw your unformed body. He even knows the number of your hair. You are indeed very special.

Lulu the Sound Engineer turned 25 last week. To mark his 'quarter of a century' birthday, he requested a special cake. A not-so-sweet cake in the shape of Sennheiser HD 201. The inside is Victorian sponge with shredded cheese and strawberry.
Sorry Lulu, the cake is no way near the real Sennheiser you wanted. :( I should have listened to Mom and put the headphone as a cake topper instead. It would have been much nicer that way. Another lesson learnt the hard way.

This cake is another attempt of the Indonesian Cheesecake. It turned out very nice. The texture is quite different from the one in Indo, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. It was golden, fluffy, and fragrant. Simply yummy!

Victorian Sponge
Layered with Buttercream and Fresh Strawberries
Topped with Shredded Cheese

Since I baked a big cake, this is how the left over turned out. Very minimal decoration as it was already way past midnight and I had an early class the following day. At least it was yummy...

Happy Birthday, Lulu! Many happy returns to you!

New Commissioning

2009-10-15T14:34:00.005+11:00

B is back!
After finishing up all uni assignments, I'm ready to bake again. No, it's more like.. I need to bake again. I guess it has become a part of me, so deeply ingrained, that when I don't do it for quite some time, I miss it very much.

Oh oh! I have been commissioned to make something unique. A very special one because it's quite rare. Its existence is not easily found in Google or Youtube. So exciting!

Stay tune for any update about this cake. :)

Every Girl's Dream

2009-10-10T00:01:00.009+11:00

Still remember Mr.Strong from my previous entry?
Right after tasting Mr.Strong and loving it, Madame Ho order this cake I'll be talking about.
So once again, thanks to darling Mrs. Citro who ordered Mr.Strong!! XOXO.

Madame wants a cake for her sister's birthday by 9th of Oct. So I asked her what sort of cake she would like to have, a cake with external beauty or one with inner beauty. Cakes with external beauty refer to the fondant cakes, which are very pleasing to the eyes. For me personally, taste wise, cakes with inner beauty are more satisfying to eat. That is because you can get more variety in flavours and textures. On the other hand, fondant cakes need a firm base to support the heavy fondant decorations. Then I told her that if she wants a very satisfying cake, then she should get the dark chocolate orange gateau. My quality controllers say that the DCOG was really a perfect match made in Heaven! Nothing beats that cake so far. As Madame was actually looking for a very chocolatey cake, the DCOG would make a perfect choice.

I was a bit unsure about the deco. I put a slice of orange in the previous DCOG, but this time, the ribbon was pink. So orange, won't do good to the overall colour of the cake. While I was assembling the cake, an inspiration perched on my mind. Why not do a fondant butterfly! PINK butterflies!

Premium Chocolate + Ribbon + Pink + Butterflies = Every Girl's Dream

The birthday girl was very happy. She messaged me on msn,

vanessa says:
BEBE!!!!!!
the CAKE is FANTASTIC! oh my goodness!
thank u soooooo much!! =D
my sis refused to let me see it till it came out
then i saw the cake
SO PRETTY!!!!! (cos i love that shade of pink)
then after blowing out the candles n all, i served the rest first
then their reaction all "WAH!!!!"
hahahaha
so i had my bite...
WAHHHHHHHH!
the base is so nicely textured, n the mousse!
fuyoH!!!!

I'm very happy to find out that they loved the cake, that they enjoyed eating it as much as I did making it.

Happy Birthday, Vanessa! Hope you've had a great time with your loved ones!
Thank you guys for allowing me to be a part of your special day.

In case you're wondering what's with the title, my dear Joanne said this after seeing the photo on Facebook, "Waaaahhh...chocolate, ribbons, pink, butterflies. Every girl's dream!"

the perfect winter comfort food

2009-10-05T01:10:00.007+11:00

Those of you who have been to Melbourne or are currently living in Melbourne will definitely know for sure that Melbourne is famous with its "4 seasons in a day." It may be Spring at the moment, but cold weather still occasionally pays a visit. Last Friday was one of those cold Spring days.

Earlier in the week, I got Sticky Date Pudding request from dear friends of mine (thanks to Lala who publicly promoted my Sticky Date Pudding and even rated it as one of the best she had ever tasted so far ;) XOXO). Considering I will be leaving Melbourne soon *sobs*, I better squeeze it in between my schedule. After checking the weather forecast (Yes, you need to do this when you live in Melbourne), I found out that Friday will be a gloomy day, with the temperature topping of 16C. So last Friday, i made the sticky date pudding.

I have to say that Sticky Date Pudding is one of my favourite desserts, especially during Winter time. The warmth and the fragrance of the pudding, combined with the sweetness of the butterscotch sauce ... hmmm... it is just oh-so-Heavenly! Top it up with vanilla ice cream and voila! You get a perfect winter comfort food.

That is the picture of the very first Sticky Date Pudding I made last year.
Still remember Esther's expression when she tried it, her eyes just lit up with happiness. She gave that pudding two thumbs up and a big "super yummy" ;) (thanks for the photo!)

So last Friday, I re-lived the same scene.. ;)
Sharon said, "Wah Bebe, this is SOOO SHIOK!!! I can have this for my dinner too!"
Carilyn kept hmmm-ing satisfactorily and putting big smile on her face while keep digging on the plate. She was satisfied!
John said, "Very nice! Enak!"
Ivan said, "Enak banget, Be!"
and
Bebe said, "I'm very happy!!"

Hahaha.. yes! Indeed, I was very happy, to be able to share my baked goodies with my friends.
Nothing beats the joy that comes from seeing people happily eating what you bake/ cook for them*. When their eyes light up with satisfaction, all the effort and hard work of creating the goods is paid off. It warms your heart up and leaves you excited and joyful for quite some time.

Oh, and yes, I do put a generous amount of love and tender care into my cakes. It makes a huge difference!! ;)

*(except for things that comes from my Creator. I won't discuss that here for my baking cannot be compared to His greatness. The joy that He gives is indescribable, far greater than this joy I am talking about. And when you get to know Him, all the things of this Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace).

Happy Birthday, Mr.Strong!

2009-10-03T10:44:00.013+10:00

Bebe is still WIP-ing!!
3rd batch from last night turned out to also be a major failure.

3rd batch
-The Pseudo Dark Chocorange Cake-

She still can't believe what happened last night.
Never before in her entire baking experience she encounters something like this!
On the brighter side of it, the pseudo dark chocolate orange cake tastes good. :)
At least 3rd batch is not going to the bin. Her 'quality controllers' will be more than happy to devour it tomorrow.

So after a quick run the the nearest convenience store, she managed to secure a 4th batch of the same dark chocolate orange cake in the oven!
Half baking time has elapsed. It looks good at the moment.
Be good, baby!
*fingers crossed!*

...@12.25pm ...

Delivery time..
Baby #4 came out of the oven... NICELY !!!
HALLELUJAH!!
hohohoho
It is currently sitting on the table.. cooling itself down...

....@5.00pm...
Mr.Strong is DONE !
Bebe can't complain at how Mr.Strong turn up considering there were so many things that went wrong at so many level.

So.. here's Mr.Strong...

Happy Birthday, Mr.Strong!

(photo by Jojo)

Work In Progress

2009-10-03T01:30:00.003+10:00

Bebe is upset!!!
It seems that tonight, all the evil forces is working up against her and her chocolate orange cake!
ARGHHHHHH !!! ><"
Bebe is frustrated!!!
It seems that tonight, the brain, the hands, and the ingredients don't want to cooperate well. ARGHHHHH !!!! >.<"
So many wrong things at so many level.
Bebe feels like crying now!!! >.<"

Problem like this has never cropped up before!
The chocolate was clumpy.. the butter didn't blend in well...
2 batches went down the rubbish bin!
It was ULTIMATE disaster!
Look at this!! Ugly brown thingy!!

Bebe has however managed to whip up the third batch which currently is sitting in the oven.

OH!! the red fondant Bebe bought last time doesn't have nice consistency. Hopefully it will work out fine tomorrow.

Bebe is scared.
Bebe is praying hard.

*Dear Lord Jesus, please help the cake to set nicely. Please don't let anything go wrong again. I'm tired but am thankful for everything that has happened today. including the 2 batches down the drain. May this lesson always be imprinted in my mind that i won't repeat the same mistake in the future. Amen."

Money Bag Cake

2009-09-30T23:43:00.007+10:00

bakingbee proudly presents............. *drumrolls*.......

THE MONEY BAG CAKE !!!! *echoing applause*

I have to say, this is the master piece so far! :)
Once again, big thanks to Mrs. Citro for trusting me to bake cakes for her. :)
Thank you for always believing in me and for giving me opportunities to practice and improve myself. You are an angel sent from Heaven. XOXO

When she ordered the cake, she said, "I want a money themed cake, the cake is for an accountant. The design is really up to you. The birthday is on bla bla bla...."
Honestly, i was blank. Got no idea. Money themed cake is not a usual theme for a birthday cake! >.<" Thank God for my dearest brother, who suggested this idea to me.

This cake is also dedicated to all of you, professional accountants out there. May the Lord continue to pour out His abundant blessings so that your money bag will be overflowing with Heavenly riches. But don't forget to share it around, for you are blessed to be a blessing! :)

I was extremely happy with how this cake turned out. Very very pleased! :)

Triple C Goodness

2009-09-30T23:38:00.002+10:00

Cookies&Cream Cupcakes = Triple C Goodness !

^^v
Coles was having massive sales of OREO. This is the sole reason of the Triple C Goodness.
Note to self:
1. Don't over crush the OREOs. Chunky bits will give nicer texture.
2. Need to R&D excellent butter cream recipe.
3. The cupcake base was too sweet. Add a pinch of salt perhaps. :)

D*** loved it anyway. :)

Disastrous Experiment

2009-09-30T23:24:00.001+10:00

I've been craving for the Indo-style cheese cake.
It's just vanilla sponge cake garnished with grated cheddar cheese. So I decided to give this recipe which i got from my mom's recipe book collections back home, a try. This recipe used TBM, which is "a stabiliser used in baking sponge cakes. It helps the eggs to rise rapidly and stiffly. As it is acidic it also helps the beaten eggs to remain stable and not lose the airy and voluminous texture. It makes sponge cake softer and smoother".

Well, since i never used this kind of substance for my cake (Yes, all my cakes are made of natural ingredients, no preservatives, no artificial flavouring), i didn't put that TBM thingy in. I have a prejudice against this substance because whenever i ate any cake that has this thing in, the cake has "soapy" taste. :( I tried adding more egg yolks and decrease the flour to make it flully to no avail!! >.<" On a side note, Blueband margarine is BAD BAD BAD for making cake! The cake turned out like a stone!!! ARGH.. total failure! It was very dense, hard, and not nice at all! What a waste of eggs!! :(

Just watch out! I'm not giving up yet! The pursuit of the perfect Indonesian Cheesecake still goes on!

Perfect Match Made in Heaven

2009-09-30T23:17:00.002+10:00

I say, dark chocolate + orange = perfect match made in Heaven.

Mrs. Citro, my very loyal customer, asked me to bake a cake for Wen and Julian.
I found this dark chocolate orange gateau recipe, and knew straight away that this is an awesome recipe. Turned out, i was right! I personally think this is the best tasting cake i've ever made thus far. Luscious dark chocolate orange gateau layered with jaffa mousse lavished with rum. I just couldn't ask for more!!!

Two thumbs up!!

bumblebees

2009-09-30T23:04:00.002+10:00

I say, "Aren't they cute and adorable? Totally love 'em!!" ^^v

A friend of mine said, "Your bees are sooooooooooooo cute! They're so fat, and chubby, makes me want to squish them!"

What say you ?

Let's Sing Happy Birthday!

2009-09-30T22:36:00.003+10:00

Have you seen a cake that sings the "Happy Birthday" song? Well, if you haven't, you are about to see one! ;)

This baby blue cake was specially made with love for my dear friend who is a music therapist. The initial plan was to paste individual music notes to make the happy birthday song. However, due to the restriction of modeling tools, the plan couldn't be executed well. After glueing some lines for the music stave, i realised that they were super messy and ugly. So i took them off and switched to plan B instead: drawing the happy birthday songs on sheets of white fondant.

Finally i could produced a smooth fondant covering for my cake. WHee !! ^^v

And here's the cake that sings happy birthday !!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Joanne, happy birthday to you!
Mwah! ^^v

Have a soccer-ific birthday!

2009-09-30T22:11:00.001+10:00

My little cousin asked if I could make a soccer ball cake for her boyfriend's 21st birthday.
At first I wasn't sure because I'm still a beginner at decorating cakes with fondant.
After some intensive research, this is what i came up with. Not perfectly neat, but i was pleased with the result. ^^v

After this photo floats around facebook, a colleague of her sister asked me to make another soccer ball cake for her boyfriend. YAY ! :)
This is the second attempt. Smoother, neater, more mature.

Jaffa Cupcakes

2009-09-30T21:33:00.001+10:00

I was invited to a farewell dinner a few months back and they requested that i bring some dessert to share. Initially i wanted to make Orange cupcake, chocolate mousse, and sticky date pudding. In the end, I decided to make sticky date pudding, and Jaffa Cupcake.

What is Jaffa?
Jaffa orange is named after the city of Jaffa in Israel, where this orange variety is largely grown and exported world-wide. Australians and New Zealanders have Jaffas, a small round candy consisting of soft chocolate center with hard shell made of orange flavoured and coloured sugar coating.

OK, so this is how Jaffas candy looks like:

And this is how my Jaffa Cupcakes look like:

the brilliant Peggy Porschen

2009-09-03T00:50:00.000+10:00

Peggy Porschen = pretty cakes!

I bought her new book last month at such a great bargain! ;) (Last time i checked at the shop, the price has increase by $20!!! woohoo!)
The following day happened to be my cousin's, A, birthday. Because i'm just so lousy at looking for gifts, i decided to bake her a cake; and because i just bought Peggy Porschen's new book, i decided to give one of the recipes a go.
This is what i came up with: Pretty in Pink - an adaptation of Peggy's Damask Delight.
The birthday girl loves pink, and chocolate, thus the colour. :)

I'd love to give it another go. This time around I'll use butter cream/ royal icing instead of melted chocolate for piping the pattern.

my very first fondant cake

2009-09-03T00:18:00.001+10:00

After much excitement from looking at other people's pretty cakes, I finally got the determination to do my very own. The cake however came out disastrous, as you can see from the dent at the very front of the orange bit. The other side of it, is just as disastrous. >.<"
This is a birthday cake for Viv and Ivan, two very dear friends of mine. On the way home, Joanne and I successfully convinced Dan that the little pearls at the bottom of the cake were bubble gum *giggle*. Yea, Dan, gum-less bubble gum! ;)
I was quite happy with the outcome of my very first fondant cake even though it's not perfectly smooth.

Oh, and I stupidly tried making the fondant from scratch, without any heavy duty cake mixer. 1 hour worth of kneading sugar paste was enough to leave my hands throbbing with pain all night long. Thank God for my 3rd and 4th hands belong to my boyfriend who helped me kneading the other fondant batch and for the miracle I got that night. After struggling to sleep, I woke up with no trace of muscle pain whatsoever!!! So here's to an awesome God!!

bebe...bb...bakingbee...

2009-09-02T23:34:00.001+10:00

My brother, H, came up with the name! :)
OK, so why bakingbee? Because its initial is bb and that's the same as my name, Bebe, which can simply be written as "bb" in Bahasa Indonesia.

Cooking was not an issue that bothered me much before I came to Melbourne in 2003. Back at home, Mom cooks scrumptious meals for us everyday. When my brother and I were little, she made lots and lots of baked goodies for us. So, thank God for giving me the innate ability to cook and bake through my mom! ;)

Mom baked that cake for me :)

I got familiar to cooking and baking when I stayed with my dear home-stay family, the GMs, for almost 2 years. Since I helped my home-stay mother, X, preparing dinner quite often after school, my love for cooking sparked. She was the one who shared with me that cooking is a way to love your family. No wonder Mom cooks everyday. She just loves us so much! ;) D, X's sister, who came to visit us often, is a great baker. She taught me a lot of things, from making brownies to muffin to chewy chocolate chips cookies! Moving out from the GM's house, I lived with H for a while and cooking suddenly became a necessity! Since he was super busy with his final year project, I got to be the cook.

I still remember the night H said, "Aiya, you got so confused in putting down your university course preferences now ah. Just wait and see, after you graduate you'll open a bakery!"
Come to think of it, I have to admit that he had a great insight! :)
Here I am, at the end of my 5 years Science/ Commerce Degrees, venturing to be a cake decorator!! YAY to great insight! ;)

In the beginning...

2009-09-02T23:01:00.002+10:00

was the word...

Those who know me know that I love cooking and baking, especially for my beloved ones. Earlier this year, I stumbled across a few websites containing pretty pretty cakes. I guess that marked the beginning of my love for cake decorating. So, before I start writing down my journey with my babies, I'd like to thank those amazing cake decorators out there for sharing their work of art and being such an inspiration. Many thanks also go to my dearest family and friends who have always been supportive. Thanks for being my trusted quality controllers. Thanks for giving me the opportunities to create these babies. Thanks for staying up late with me because we were just too excited with the progress of this whole plan. Thanks for believing in me! Last but not least, thanks be to my Creator who knitted me together in my mother's womb 24 years ago. I am nothing without You!