50th Birthday Cake

I was all excited over the making of this cake.  Why so special you may asked.  This cake is special as it is for Amy whom I have known for a long long time; more than 25 years.  I met her through hubby and then she met her hubby through my hubby.  We even got married in the same year.  We both have only daughters, she has 3 and I have 1.

During courting days, we went for countless double dates together.  We spent long hours on many Saturday nights in PJ Hilton yakking over unlimited free coffee refills.  Yes, those were the days when most hotels served unlimit refills for coffee.  I supposed with so many people like us who took advantage of the hotel atmosphere, hotels have not choice but limit the refill of coffee to only 1 these days.

We even went for holiday trips together to Langkawi, Cameron Highlands, Genting Highland and Singapore. 

As we progress in life, we found similar hobby and interest.  We both love to bake.  So it was no surprise when we both signed up for the same Wilton cake decorating course organised by ICAC.  Our plan is to sell cake when we retire.....ha..ha..ha...

Being a cake decorator herself, I was a little apprehensive when the time comes for me to make her birthday cake.  I wasn't sure will the cake be good enough for her.  I felt relieve when Amy's daughter, Monica gave the thumbs up when I sent her a picture of the figurine to be placed on the cake......phew.

This is a 2 tier cake with the lower tier in chocolate cheese swirl and the top tier in Orange poppy seed cake.  Both the top and bottom tier were covered with fondant.  The figurine is also made of fondant.  I attached bead to the end of flower wires to place on cake top to create an explosion effect.

Pavlova

Pavlova is a true devil in disguise.  Innocently healthy, displaying lots of fruits but under these fruits are tons of unhealthy calories.  But who cares, we often tell ourselves we don't eat this everyday.  Indulgence once in awhile is acceptable (wink). I am one of these people...ha..ha..ha.. 

My maiden pavlova turn out better than I expected.  Besides a little sweet for my taste, the other set back of this recipe is the baking time.  Though the recipe stated the baking time as 1 hour, I had to bake mine for almost 2 1/2 hours to get the right colour and texture.  Will reduce the sugar to 1 cup the next time I bake this, otherwise, this is PERFECT as a dessert after a good meal or as a replacement for birthday cake as what my colleague and I did.  The birthday girl was pleasantly surprised coz' we noticed she was grinning from ear to ear.

To the birthday girl.....Happy Birthday, Hami.  We enjoy your company as much as you enjoy this pavlova.

Ingredients

4 egg whites

1 cup of castor sugar

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp corn flour

1.  Preheat oven to 180C.

2.  Whisk egg white until stiff.

3.  Then  gradually add in sugar; a tablespoon at a time and beat well after each addition.

4.  Whisk for 10 minutes after adding all the castor sugar.

5.  In a small bowl mix corn flour with vinegar, vanilla essence and 1 tablespoon of egg white mixture.

6.  Add mixture to remaining egg white mixture and beat for 5 minutes.

7.  Place mixture on a tray covered with baking paper, spreading mixture into desired shape.

8.  Place tray in the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 100C.

9.  Bake for approx 2 1/2 hours.

Topping

Whipped cream and fruit of your choice.

This is what the pavlova look like before dressing up.

Angry Bird Cake 1

The Angry Birds phenomenon has grown big enough that people from all walks of life are aware of these little, well, angry birds.  This is definitely not surprising as shopping complexes are packed with these birds in various sizes.  Besides owning the plush toy, you can also get them on t-shirts, slippers, hats, pencil cases, etc. Some people may not know the origin of these Angry Birds: they are based on an electronic game where they have to rescue their eggs from pigs. Imagine that, pigs stealing eggs.

To be honest, I wasn't at all that surprised when a friend's friend called to request for a cake featuring these birds for her son's 6th year old birthday.  I've been wanting to try my hand on making Angry Bird figurines. I mean, not that I play the game or anything. ;P

The cake made was chocolate cheese swirl and covered with buttercream icing. The figurines were made from fondant.  As for the rest, I will let the photos speak for themselves, courtesy of Sydney.