Animals Cake Pop Class

After contemplating on this idea for months, I finally made it work. Thanks to support from many of my dear friends who encouraged me to do this, and thanks to SC who helped me bridge the link.

Sometime in 2009 I found out about Bakerella, and experimented on my first batch of cake pops with Aunty Lyne. I didn't have the right tools, or ingredients, but with good spirits, lots of laughter and giggles, we made our Halloween cake pops.

I didn't stop there. These yummy bites are addictive! Those who have embarked on a cake pop journey would agree with me :) I tried and tested various ingredients, even got my sisters to bring those lollipop sticks from Australia, had uncountable rejects, but I persisted. And then I started making my first large batch for my nephew's 1st birthday, Reindeers & snowman for Christmas, Tigers for Chinese New Year, Totoro version for Desmond's wedding, Agent Oso for my nephew's 2nd birthday, Spongebob for a girl's party, and a basic one for Irene's wedding, and many more. I won't call myself an expert yet, but I've come a long way.

Friends have urged that I start a business selling cake pops, but I explained that it's not a profitable business because its too labour intensive, and people are not going to pay the price of a cupcake for something that can be eaten in just one bite. And so I thought, why not share the knowledge instead? That's when the idea of having a cake pop class was born. I spoke to the baking supplies shop nearest to my home and asked if they would be interested, and coincidentally they were doing some renovations at the moment, so they don't have any space to conduct a class. SC then told me she knows someone over at Cake Connection and would pass my contact to them. The rest is history.

I'll be teaching my first class over @ Cake Connection, Jaya One on July 23rd, 2011. The focus will be on animal cake pops. So if you're interested to learn something new, feel free to check out more info over at Cake Connection's website.

Update July 2nd, 2011 - Class is full!

SpongeBob Cake Pops

Sometime in September I made Totoro cake pops for my friend Desmond's wedding, and one of his friend s liked it very much :) So she asked Desmond for my contact and wanted to know if I could make a batch of SpongeBob version for a birthday party in November. Unfortunately I had to turn her down because I was really busy that month, and I didn't want to turn something fun into a chore. Ann came back to me later with a new date for her daughter's party in December, and this time round I had to excuse to reject her again. Plus I had never made a SpongeBob cake pops before and it would be fun to give it a try!

Coincidentally SS is back for her holidays, so I have a little kitchen helper. She helped me draw these eyes on the white chocolate, allowing me to concentrate on other tasks. She was also responsible for drawing the collars, helping me speed up the candy-hardening process (you'll have to see it for yourself to understand this part, hee hee) and also helping me wrap the cake pops after QC check :D My sweet sister also helped with the washing up! Isn't she a darling?

Spongebob's eyes on a baking sheet...are you hypnotised yet?

As SpongeBob was rectagularish, I tried a new technique at shaping them hopefully to cut down my production time. Instead of shaping them individually, I had the cake crumbs pressed onto a cake pan after mixing it with the frosting. And then dividing them equally on the cake pan after leaving it in the fridge overnight. It worked! By doing this too I was able to cut them into equal sizes (well, almost...somehow I can't cut a straight line...LOL) before coating them with candy.

Chocolate cake, first crumbled, then mix with frosting, and compressed flat onto a baking pan

Oh yeah, I also added tic tac as the nose before coating, though I think it would have looked better with pretzels as the nose. Maybe next time, if I ever get to make them again! :)

SpongeBob on the back: "Peekaboo!"

Both of us had so much fun making all the different expressions on the SpongeBob. Just looking at them makes us happy. Also we couldn't help stare at those already in the fridge that we forgot to mind the fridge handle that was above us; my sister bang her head against those handles once (ouch!) and yet I never learnt from her mistake and a while later bumped my head on those very same handles too (double ouch!)  ...LOL!

I believe it's time for me to make some Christmas cake pops soon...hehe.... I really liked those reindeer ones that I made last year :)

What do you think?

Totoro Cake Pops

After making so many cake pops just because, a friend commissioned me to make some as wedding favors for his guests. In the beginning I was a bit reluctant to accept because I had another event to attend to on the day of his wedding, and I was simply worried I couldn't complete this in time. He was looking to have either Totoro cupcakes or cake, and it was my big mouth that recommended him the cake pops, LOL. So how could I refuse? He was sweet about it though, he told me I could make more of the easy ones if I was short of time.

And so after he asked, which was only 2 weeks before his wedding, I decided to could start making some samples to see if I could really accept his order, and I got these few versions done.

When I was finally comfortable with the design and I confirmed that I have access to all the ingredients required to make the pops, I agreed. Initially I thought I had to make only about 100-120 pieces, but little did I realise that he had about 150+ guests, and I ended up making 160 cake pops (my largest batch ever!) so that all his guests would have at least one.

And so in a span of a week, I baked 3 cakes, shaped them enough to make 180+ cake pops, and I had about 20+ rejects (due to cracks, out of shaped), and divided them into 4 different designs. My friend managed to provide me with some sytrofoam boards which I decorated to become the display stand :) They were only displayed a dozen at the time, and the rest was kept in a cooler box to keep it nice and cold. Malaysian weather is simply too hot for the chocolate coating :(

Voilà! My Totoro Cake Pops!

Each cake pop was also completed with a tag designed by the groom. Later I found out that this whole thing was meant as a surprise for his wife! I hope she liked the surprise! ;)

I had SOOOO much fun making them although it was tiring. Thanks to Lyne too for helping out in my first half of the cake pop making. But after this, I think I have to take a break from making cake pops for a while, LOL!

*UPDATED OCT 28, 2010 - Some of you have asked how I made these Totoro cake pops. I won't be making a new batch anytime soon, so I can't explain with photos, but here are some guidelines on making your totoro :)

1. Shape the cake balls as normal, just making one end slightly pointy like oval. Sort of like roundish oval, more round than oval...hope I make sense here, LOL
2. I use almond slivers as the ears. Dip them into melted candy first and position it on the top of the cake ball
3. Dip lollipop stick into candy and insert into cake ball.
4. Dip whole cake pop into grey candy coating. Before the candy is set and hardened, add on 2 white confetti for the eyes.
5. Use a shallow dish to for the white candy coating. Just dip the front portion into the white candy coating and tap lightly with the "tummy" facing up to get even surface.
6. Put some melted milk chocolate in a piece of parchment paper that is rolled into a cone (just like what you do for your icing), cut the tip, and use it to dot the nose on the totoro.
7. Use a food marker to dot the eyes, draw inverted "V"s on the tummy and the whiskers :))

Hope this will help those who are interested in making your own totoro cakepops!

Brownies + Cookies = Brookies?

My youngest sis brought me some Max Brenner Dark Chocolate Chunks from Australia. I couldn't think of anything else I could do with it other than chocolate chip cookies, until I remembered about this article from Bakerella.

And so I invited my sis over for a baking session. Told her she didn't need to worry about a thing about getting the ingredients. I should have everything we need in the house. Just when we were about to get started I realised I didn't have any eggs! Bummer. And so I rushed out to get some eggs from a nearby grocery store. And when I got home to continue I realised I didn't have enough brown sugar :S I simply didn't want to go out again and so I substituted the shortage with plain white sugar.

Since I had a nice helper, mixing all the ingredients was really quick and in no time at all it was ready to go into the pre-heated oven. The whole house smelled like heaven while it was baking...*drools*

Anyway, according to Bakerella these are called Congo Bars. I don't mind what they are called actually. I love the crisp top layer and the chewy base. And having it packed with chocolate, nuts, and M&Ms are simply heavenly. I'm also looking forward to making another batch soon :)

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try :)

Congo Bars

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened (or approx 150gms)
1 lb. light brown sugar (I had 2/3 of brown sugar and the rest white)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips (I used 7 ounce of MB choc chunks, and filled the rest with orange flavoured M&Ms)
1 cup chopped pecans (I used hazelnuts)

By hand: (apparently it has a better texture if mixed by hand)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together.
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.
Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

Thanks Bakerella!

Raspberry Hearts

I love raspberies, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, all sorts of berries. Except for strawberries which can be locally cultivated at Cameron Highlands, obtaining the rest can be quite difficult as it is not only imported, but also seasonal. And then when you can find them, they are usually quite expensive :(

Just last week I saw some strawberries and raspberries at the Jusco supermarket that was newly opened at Bandar Mahkota Cheras. I couldn't resist and bought a box each. I also bought some mangoes and apples to stock up my fridge :) Gotta love them fruits! Unfortunately last weekend I had to attend a wedding in JB and completely forgotten about those berries that were in the fridge. Got home late last night but was simply too tired to check out the fridge.

It was only this evening that I remembered I had some berries in the fridge and quickly took them out. About 1/3 of the raspberries were already moldy :( I quickly sorted out the ones that were still good, but its already too close to bed time to munch on them. I didn't want the rest to turn bad, and so I decided to turn them all into ice lollies.

Raspberry, Strawberry, Mango and Lime Puree, ready to go into the freezer

You'd probably be wondering how I managed to get so much pulp and puree from a small box of raspberries. I actually added the strawberries and one whole mango into the whole mixture as well, with juice of one lime and some sugar to taste. I stole a taste while making them and it tasted really good!

If you look at the photo you'll notice that I still have some balance in the pouring jug, but I didn't have anymore ice lolly moulds available *yikes*. I used up my other moulds last week to make some azuki bean ice lolly for mom (it's her favourite :)). And so I was frantically searching through my cabinets for an alternative to container to keep the balance and I found an Ikea ice cube tray! It was heart-shaped... JUST PERFECT! When they are frozen they would be lovely red raspberry hearts that I can pop into my mouth whenever I need a quick raspberry fix! ;)

Oooh, I can't wait to eat them!!! *drools*

*Update 25 May 2010 - Here's how the iced raspberry heart looks like! Yums!

Rodents

Was going through my camera's memory card and found this forgotten picture. Can't believe I hadn't uploaded it yet. Found this little "cutie" here in my backyard about 1.5 months ago. It was the second time in the same week that a dead rat/mouse was found dead in my backyard. Pixie must have given this particular one a heart attack as I can't seem to find any teeth marks to prove that she has bitten the rodent to his death. (yeah, I did a little post-mortem on my own :P)

By the size of it he was probably a young one. Frankly speaking I would say that he is actually quite cute if they weren't such a pest. Big ears, pointy nose, dark round eyes, tiny feet. He reminds me of the movie Ratatouille.

Once, when I was much younger, a rat actually tried to nibble or played with my toes when I was asleep. Being a deep sleeper, I didn't actually bother about it until the guy actually came up to my face (EEEUWWWW!). With my eyes still closed I simply brushed him away and only realised that it was a big black (could have been brown, lights wasn't on so I couldn't really tell) rat was on the same bed with me! I jolted out of bed (nope, no screaming) and ran to my parent's room. By the time they came to my room again it was gone. We probably caught him several days later, I'm not quite sure. And then I found that my bedroom door had been gnawed - and I didn't even realise it because I was in deep sleep :P

I don't have any rodent problems at the moment, but those pesky household geckos are driving me crazy. We have a good supply of mosquitos and flying insects in the backyard because we leave the lights on at night and these pests come to have a feast, then leave their droppings on the walls, ceiling and floor.

If anyone has got a suggestion on how to get rid of them, I'd be very grateful.

Max Brenner!

This post is a little late, but I still need to thank my 3 lovely sisters who are in Brissie at the moment! Last week mom went to the Land Down Under to visit them, and look what she brought home for me! A chocolate fondue set from the Max Brenner shop!!!

A packet each of dark and milk chocolate chunks and a fondue tower for 2

I still haven't decide when I'm gonna devour them yet. Well, I'm suppose to share it with my hubby, but I think I might just hoard it for myself and worry about that ill-fitted pair of jeans later.

Thanks Sis!!!