A Rose Obsession

The latest book by Alan Dunn, The Wedding Cake Decorator's Bible (2009), a good value for money and definately going to be one of the most refered to in my collection. Twenty three decorating techniques are shown including some rarely heard of like Battenburg lace, using gelatine for cut-outs and flowers as well as cocoa painting.  

There is one section dedicated to sugar flowers which shows 5 types of flowers, 3 types of foliage, and 2 types of "filler" flowers. Dusting methods are also in detail. Above is one of the 3 types of rose shown in the book. This is known as Formal Rose. The other 2 is Open Rose (as shown on book cover) and Modelled Rose.

My attempt at the Formal rose. It is the half rose stage...another step (10 steps altogether as listed in book) before reaching full rose stage.

Frangipani...A Wedding Flower?

Frangipani...a common flower in Malaysia, known to produce a wonderful scent, is also known as Plumeria rubra. It is a tropical flower, native to Mexico, Central America, Southern India, Venezuela and is the national flower of Nicaragua and Laos.

According to Wikipidia, the flowers have no nectar and are most fragrant at night and possesses poisonous, milky sap. Its colour ranges from white with a yellow centre to pink and blood red.

In several Pacific islands, frangipani is used for making leis and indicate relationship status, whereas in Malay folklore, it is associated with ghosts and demons (pontianak) and is known as graveyard flower, as per discussion in forum here.

Elsewhere, it has been a wedding favourite and is also a popular flower used in cake decorations.

I found this rare frangipani in front of a shoplot near my house. This is the second time I've seen this plant in front of shops. Guess it is now a decorative plant with feng shui purposes. 

A close-up of the flower. Compared to the white species, its petals are not as thick.

Gum Paste: Satin Ice vs Wilton

Wah Seng in Ipoh has just stocked up Satin Ice Gum Paste, an alternative for cake decorators to use besides the Wilton brand. Thought I would experiment on both to construct one of the everlasting favourites to have on wedding cakes; the Rose. The price for Wilton is double that of Satin Ice. Both packaging comes with devices to prevent exposure to air which could cause gum paste to harden. 

Let the test begin! On the left is Satin Ice Gum Paste, and on the right in Wilton Gum Paste.

Open up the packaging and pinch them out. Satin Ice is harder and more difficult to pinch. Could be easier using a metal spoon to help. Wilton is rubbery and more pinchable. The big difference is the colour and texture. Satin Ice is whiter and has a clay-like texture. Wilton is skin tone and rubbery and a little sticky. 

It is recommended to mix 50% Wilton Gum Paste with 50% Fondant(Sugar Paste) as shown above.

Here is the result. On the left is the original Satin Ice, and on the right is the kneaded 50:50 of Wilton Gum Paste + Fondant.

These roses are freshly made. There is a translucent effect on the Wilton rose, whereas Satin Ice remains white. Satin Ice petal is also harder to frill as you can see it looks quite stiff compared to the one on the right which is softer (having been mixed with fondant), therefore easier to frill, making the petals slightly bigger. 

These has been left overnight and has harden. One can hardly notice the difference in colour. In term of price, they even out as Wilton will be mixed with fondant, doubling its bulk. 

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Silicone evolved from being used as non-stick baking mats to spatulas, whisks, and now to bakeware like muffin pans, moulds and even baking cups like the one I used to try out a new recipe, Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies. Shown above is one of the Wilton brand of silicone bakeware. They are the Mini-Baking Cups, 2 inches in diameter at a cost of RM36.40 for 12 pieces. The good points of using the silicone cups are:

• bendable (especially when it come to cleaning them) and retains it shape well
• hygienic, be sure no crust left stuck at unreachable corners as is usually the cake with traditional pans 
• non-porous, doesn't retain odours and flavours
• non-stick and easy to remove (instructions on tag says to grease and flour)
  
• adds colour to any collection of baking equipments

Below is a recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies taken from a recipe book entitled Hamlyn Cookery School which has 150 recipes with step-by-step photography from stocks and sauces, to starters, vegetable side dishes, desserts and cakes.  

Ingredients

300 g plain chocolate, chopped

      125 g lightly salted butter

      150 g light muscadavo sugar

  75 g  self-raising flour

   75 g chopped almonds

       4 eggs

     300 g cream cheese

75 g  castor sugar

      1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a medium-sized bowl.

Beat together the muscadavo sugar, flour, chopped almonds and 3 eggs in a mixing bowl to make a paste.

Beat in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a separated bowl, beat the cheese until softened. Beat in the castor sugar, remaining egg and the vanilla extract until smooth. 

Scoop the chocolate mixture into the baking cups, then spoon the cheese mixture on top. Use a spatula to swirl two mixture gently together, lifting some of the chocolate mixture into the cheese topping, until lightly marbled. (Don't overwork the mixture or the flavours will complete merge together.)

Bake in a pre-heated oven, 190 C (375 F) for about 20 minutes or until very softly set in the centre. Remove from cups when cooled.

A word of advice, follow the instructions on the tag to grease the cups before putting in the batter as yours truly here ignored the instructions and had to pry the cake from the cups using spatula.Conclusion, not all silicone bakewares has non-stick properties. 

Cupcake Corner

Here's a look at Cupcake Corner at ICCA. Cupcakes there does look sweet with price ranging from RM3 to RM3.80 for medium sized ones. Mini cupcakes goes for 4 pieces at RM5. On display were: 

• Vanilla Blossom (Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting)
  
• Berry Bomb (Goji Berries with Pumpkin Seed Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting)
• Morning Glory (Blueberry Cupcake with Oat Streusel and Apricot Glaze)
• Death by Chocolate (Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting)
• Black Pearl ( Black Sesame Cupcake with Ginger Frosting and Peanuts)

Look absolutely scrumptious! I like the fact that its well-displayed, clean and comes with informative lables. 

Tea for two, anyone?

Three tables outside, two tables inside plus counter seats.

Make sure to come during opening hours. My next trip will definately be a tasting session! Too short of time this round.

WMI (Malaysia) 2009

ICCA welcomed new Wilton Method Instructors for 2009 last Sunday at the HQ at Damansara. Below are pictures on the event. This batch of WMIs have also create a Facebook group for all WMIs. Its currently upon invites only. I will be working on linking WMIs' sites to my blog. So, drop me a comment if any of WMIs happen to read this. ;) 

Rosalind giving a briefing.

The Wall of Fame is being introduced this year to acknowledge an individual's contribution to ICCA. The first on the Wall of Fame is Joanne Fam who has been with ICCA since the beginning when there were only three in the family. Her efforts and dedication has resulted the ICCA that you see today. Not forgeting dealing and solving problem for the firts batch of WMIs. I would like to personally thank Jo for making a trip to Ipoh with Stephen and helping me get an account with Wah Seng. Thank you and congratulations Jo!

The Wall of Fame...isn't it grand?!

Some of our 2009 WMIs. All equiped to teach!

A Big Happy Family!!

Froot Loops and Koko Crunch Cupcakes

Want to eat cupcakes but too lazy for frosting? Look at my Kiwi Cupcakes baked with Froot Loops on top and sprinkled with icing sugar. This idea is from Gastronomy Blog where Apple Jacks are used. Don't think there's any Apple Jacks in Malaysia. Also check out The Crepes of Wrath and I found that their Froot Loops has brighter colours. Therefore, the colours turned out better than mine. I also made lemon cupcakes with Koko Crunch sprinkled with icing sugar. 

Kiwi Cupcakes with Froot Loops

Lemon Cupcakes with Koko Crunch

Both of the taste good! Soft on the insides and crunchy on top!