Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A gift from mummy (Part II)

As I have mentioned in my previous post A gift from mummy (Part I) , I did make a separate birthday cake for my dear daughter just for her birthday celebration with the family. Just like my elder child's birthday, we usually will celebrate the kids' birthday together with the extended family. So I had to come up with the cake fast since I only have 1.5 days to complete it before the event. *Stress* My daughter has gone to and fro with the theme of the cake which didn't help a bit! First she wants Dora, then she says Princess Aura and then Tinker Bell. I had to do some research online to show her a few pictures to convince her what she really wants. After much thought, she finally decided with one and so I made this for her....
Comparing with her last year's Snow White Birthday cake, it was just as "laborious", lol! Not because it was more work, but because I was not as experienced with fondant. With the Snow White cake, I did chocolate icing to cover the cake, but with this Tinker Bell Cake, I used fondant...a lot more "dangerous" if you ask me, lol! Luckily I managed to cover the cake nicely and no visible air pockets trapped inside. ;D Yippeee!! You should check out my first fondant covered cake....quite bad, lol! So experience and luck play a major part here....but if you attended the "W..." course, they will definitely show you how. I didn't attend any class, so all these you see any mistakes or imperfections....close one eye okay? Lol!
One of the "exciting" part about this birthday celebration was to actually move this whole cake to my MIL's house! If you have watch Food Network Channel, they always have this Food Challenge where famous bakers will come to bake beautiful, mostly tall and multi tiered as well. At the end of the challenge the bakers will have to cautiously move their master piece from their work table to the presentation table. Everyone would be holding their breadth every time they do it...fearing that the lovely piece of edible art will topple and gone to waste. Quite fun to watch....but when it was my turn to do something like this, it ain't fun I tell you! Although the trip was only 10 minutes, I was all stressed out, lol!
Thank goodness, I managed to transport the cake to my MIL's place without much "damage" to it. Perhaps the Tinker Bell topper was a little "shaken up" with a few minor cracks, but the rest is all well...I think. :P You can see Tinker is slanting to the left...*sigh* Good thing it didn't topple before the party was over. ;)) I guess my mistake was not adding enough stabilizer so that my topper is hard enough...well I learn something every time. :)Here is a shot of the cut up cake (yes! we cut it up!) You can see there's 4 layers of chocolate sponge cake, sandwiched with chocolate whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries. I have adapted the Chocolate Sponge Cake recipe from Kitchen Corner, a fool-proof recipe I must say, thanks Grace! All along there is this "myth" that we have to use butter cake for a fondant cake...but I am glad that I proved it otherwise. ;) This sponge cake was able to hold my fondant up really well and it was much softer, lighter and with the chocolate whipped cream, it was delicious! I am glad I took the risk else I will never know. ;)A slice just for me...yum! I love the slight tang from the fresh strawberries and the dark chocolate (I used Valrohna..again) cream and cake, a perfect combination. ;) If you wonder why I always use chocolate cake all the time..that's because my whole family are chocoholic! Lol! So it's purely a request from my daughter....and yes the strawberries too. :P
I will leave you with this last shot of the whole not cut up version of the cake....a nicer view I guess. :) Overall I was really happy with this cake and my family enjoyed the cake too, especially my little girl. I am so glad I only have to do this a few times a year....lol! Hope you all enjoyed viewing the cake or perhaps a little motivated to try out fondant? Either way, hope everything went well. ;)

P.S.: There is something wrong with the Blogger image upload, I can't upload larger versions of my photos! Anyway, will try loading them again tomorrow. ;)

Have a good week all!

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Very beautiful and colorful cake ^_^

pigpigscorner said...

woah..beautiful! lucky girl!

E. said...

Great job! The cake is so cute. For the chocolate whipped cream, did you use whipped cream and cocoa powder and whip it up? Also, for the sponge cake, did you use glucose? What pan size did you use? Do you think a 9 inch pan would be too big? Thank you so much. :)

j3ss kitch3n said...

gorgeous cake! lucky birthday girl and even luckier a wonderful mummy who can bake these cakes!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Mum's the greatest! What alot of details and colours! I am getting pshyched up to play with Fondant but it won't be intricate like these..:)

Zoe said...

Look very pretty! Very lucky birthday girl!

Anonymous said...

hi, this cake is beautiful, may i know how long it takes you to complete this cake? i always thought fondant can only go with buttercream,is yours a non-dairy or dairy whipping cream for the topping?
Sem

busygran said...

It's lovely! I love tinkerbell! So apt for a sweet little girl!

DG said...

Fabulous job on the cake, Honeybee! I am so impressed with your talent.
And happy belated to your daughter!

ReeseKitchen said...

Hey my dear fren, if you ask me...this is definitely a PERFECT cake! You are so daring to try on sponge cake...I'll try next time, but must get advice from you first..;)

Kitchen Corner said...

Hi Bee,
I almost speechless! That's really a nice work! Very pretty, clean and happy looking cake! I really don't have this kind of great passion! Very nice work indeed!

Passionate About Baking said...

Ooh...this is a wonderful mum who would spend all her time baking for her girls!! Who is luckier? The girl or the mom? Hahaha...I think both are truly fortunate. It's such a lovely cake with so many layers! I've not tried making a cake with >3 layers so far. :P

Edith said...

Happy Birthday to your little one. A very well done cake.

Bakericious said...

Bee Bee, you did a fantastic job, the cake is perfect! This is definitely a "WOW" cake when anyone see it, both thumbs up.

I can imagine your "gan cheong" during transportation of cake to your MIL's house, I experienced it when I transported my daughter's 2-tier castle cake from home to her sch. So afraid the cake will break into 2 pieces hahaha...

WendyinKK said...

Tinkerbell was tilting naturally, with the way she was seated, so I don't see anything wrong with that.
This cake is a nice execution, I love the colours used.

But one question, how did you make the cream stay on? Non dairy cream?
No referigeration, right? Cos I heard chilling the cake will cause the fondant to sweat. So far, I haven't step into the fondant world.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks neyeeloh!

Thanks Ann!

Hi Esther, thanks for your compliments :) I used non dairy whipping cream and melted chocolate, don't ask me how much each... I estimated everything, lol! I used light corn syrup, not glucose & 2x8" pans. Hmmm...9 " would flatter I guess. Are you making a chocolate cake too?

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@jess: hahaha, thanks! After you said that I feel kind of lucky that the cake didn't topple :D

@Shirley: I would love to see your fondant work! You are always so detail to attention to your bakes and photos... It would a piece of edible art to look forward to!

Thanks again Zoe!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@jess: hahaha, thanks! After you said that I feel kind of lucky that the cake didn't topple :D

@Shirley: I would love to see your fondant work! You are always so detail to attention to your bakes and photos... It would a piece of edible art to look forward to!

Thanks again Zoe!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Sem, welcome to my blog! Thank you very much! Yeah, I have proven the buttercream thing a myth, lol! I used non dairy. :) it took me 1.5 days to complete this cake.

Thanks busygran! Actually I asked my little girl why she has chosen tinker bell vs all the other characters, she said she can fly, far better then the rest, lol!

Thanks for dropping by DG. :) No talent... Just lots of passion, that's all. :))

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hey Reese, thank you thank you! No larr, there are imperfections, just that you didn't notice only, lol! Daring horr, I was surprise with myself too, hahaha! But I always thought butter cake & buttercream then fondant is such a 'heavy' combination.:p Sure, let me know what you need, u know I will answer your questions anytime.

Thanks so much Grace! I love doing this but hate the cleaning part, hahaha! I am so sure you can do it too, but it takes quite a lot of time though. :p

Thanks Jane! Actually I baked 2 sponge cake and slice both both into 2 disc, thus yielding 4 layers. I was really taking my chances with this cake...so lucky everything turned out well.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Edith! But I still have much to learn, especially from experts like you. :)

Thanks Jess! You know my daughter is so into pink colour, so when she saw the cake, she asked, "Why is it not pink mummy??" *sigh* So not exactly a wow from the birthday girl. :p Wah, 2 tier castle cake... Can imagine quite scary! The thing we mummies do for our little ones nowadays.... What can I say!?

Hearty Bakes said...

wow...impressive details on the beautiful cake! You did a fantastic job HBS!
May i ask where you bought your fondant? How about the sweetness? The more i look at your cake, the more i'm itchy to try fondant hehe...

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Bee Bee, you are a good mom, your daughter is lucky to have you!! This cake just look perfect and nice!

Bakertan said...

hey bee bee,

your fondant cupcakes and this fondant cake are very beatifully done! Can start selling liao =] I cant believe you have not attended any lessons on fondant decorations. darn pro la!

Not only is the fondant decoration good-looking, the interior also loooks very appetizing with the choco sponge, choc cream and strawberries.

your daughter is so lucky. Happy belated birthday to her!

petite nyonya said...

Wow, this is just so pretty and impressive, Bee! your daughter must have been extremely proud and happy that her mummy made this for her. well done, just gorgeous!

Finla said...

Wowo they look so beautiful, how i wish i could make and decorate a cake like this.

Pei-Lin said...

Bee Bee, I think you've done a great, great job!!! Seriously!

Yea, sometimes I do make myself watch those Food Network challenges ... I think your case was WAY more challenging than theirs! Why? Obviously, you had to transfer the whole cake into the car, then off to another destination further apart, which isn't within walking distance! HAHA!

I don't need to close my eyes lar ... No imperfections have been detected by my four eyes so far. =)

Still you haven't had convinced. I'm still not a fondant person.

Btw, Grace's choc sponge recipe is damn good! I bought liquid glucose/light corn syrup in Malaysia just to try that recipe! Will do again once my new kitchen is fully ready!!! It's MOIST, MOIST cake indeed!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Wendy. :) Too bad my daughter was asking why the main color wasn't pink, lol! Yes, I used non dairy cream and the fondant just stayed on nicely. Yeah, no refrigeration..shill it before the fondant is place on it.

Thanks again Heartybakes! Hope you have read my email...sorry for being so slow in replying. ;P Anyway, I do hope you will give fondant a try. Fondant is pretty sweet, no doubt about it, so usually only kids eat them. But there is also chocolate fondant, which taste much better. ;) Looking forward to your post!

Thanks so much Sonia!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hahaha, thanks for your compliments Zhou Yuan...you made my day! I like to play dough mah, lol! I strongly feel that a cake whether on the inside or outside, should both look and taste as good. No point having a beautifully made cake and it taste bad right? That would be a failure for sure.:P Thanks for your warm wishes...Happy Birthday to you too! ;)

Thanks Joslynn for dropping by and leaving me a nice comment. :)

Welcome to my blog Happy Cook. :) I am sure if you start playing with fondant, and with much practice, it's possible to make a nice fondant cake. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

@Pei-Lin: Thank you thank you my good friend! Your encouragement is the fuel for me to be better! Hahaha, I guess only people like just that used to stay in States likes to watch food network channel, lol! You know my daughter will sometimes automatically change the channel to FNW for me to watch knowing that is the only thing I enjoy watching, lol!:D Anyway, thanks for dropping by!

lena said...

wow, this is even more stunning..yeah, good attempt in using the sponge cake..the cake looks fantastic..no imperfections to me..want to close one eye also cannot..

Aimei said...

wow this is so impressive! I have not made a fondant cake so far. Your girl is so lucky!

Anonymous said...

Hi Honeybee,

Saw your cake and I'm drooling! Very very nice and beautifully done!

I'm trying to attempt this cake with fondant too. May I know if you have to chill the cake after filling it with strawberry and cream, before you cover it with fondant?
Cos I know the fondant will sweat if the cake is cold right?
If I don't chill the cake, will the cream turn watery when I cover with fondant?

Sorry for being long winded, hope you can advise me, thank you very much.

Have a nice day,
Hannah

Anonymous said...

Hi
Do u accept orders for cake? Looking for someone to do my dughter's 1st bday cake. Tinkerbell theme. Email me pls. baby.tel@gmail.com