Happy Birthday to you!!! :)

I spent a crazy week baking 3 Birthday cakes for my lovely friends! A great opportunity for me to practise my baking skills... & I am pretty satisfied. :)

 

2 Strawberry Shortcakes made a day apart. They were not flawless but I still love them all the same. Both had a similar problem. I left out Cointreau for the filling cream but forgot to add in an equivalent amount of liquid content to replace it. Haha... only realised it after I did my 2nd cake. I guess that was what contributed to a slightly thicker filling cream. Other than that, my sponges were not perfect. My 1st cake had a dense layer at the bottom which I did not remove & my 2nd cake was slightly overbaked. I also overwhipped the creams for both the filling and topping cream for my 1st cake. I whipped the creams perfectly for the 2nd cake though... coz I was watching it ALL the time...

 

I felt so proud of the cakes when I completed them! Love the topping cream with mascarpone & grand marnier. Despite the imperfections, I am glad the cakes were finished with some compliments from all my dear friends...

 

Next up was a refreshing fresh apple torte. The cream was not light enough compared to the one I made in class. One of the difference made when making it at home was that I used vanilla extract instead of vanilla pod. Quantity of apples & pastry cream was different as well as I did not take proper notes during class and just did an estimation. Too creamy for me and not chilled enough when served. But at least it was still good enough when eaten with the delicious crumb topping. Heh... improvement needed. Anyway, I love the simple presentation of the cake! :)

 

Looking forward to more opportunities to bake birthday cakes for people around me... it can be stressful but it will be satisfying... :D

Bread for Breakfast!

Another attempt at Cranberry & Walnut bread. This time round I decided not to improvise from my previous raisin bread recipe which always turn out too wet. I decided to improvise from the soft bread bun recipe from my recent Course. Actually it wasn't too much of improvisation... just adding in the cranberry & walnuts... heh...

 

This bread was much better than my previous attempts but it was still a little on the wet side. The yeast was also over-excited after my kneading process... Hence, shaping them was a little challenge. More practise needed but I am glad it turned out good enough for breakfast. :P

 

Perfecting my Sponges

Baking sponges at home has always been a challenge to me. Sponges baked in school are always much better! I guess having a good oven makes a difference.

 

My recent sponges baked at home always come out with a dense layer at the bottom, especially when I bake sponge cakes with a higher height. I often get sponge cakes with a cracked and over-brownish top when I do sponges with higher height as well. After a few trials, I can only attribute the problem to my dear oven. My oven comes with a fan and no bottom heat. Hence, I am guessing the temperature is uneven.

 

To get around this problem, I am trying on the following:

1. Bake sponge cakes with lesser height (bake in 2 tins instead of 1 or bake in a rectangular tray)

2. Bake cakes at a lower rack so that the top will not be burnt when the inside is not baked

 

The picture on top shows a rather successful sponge cake with no dense layer and cracked top. However, the specific gravity of the cake was a little high... more practise with my sponges & experiments with my oven needed. :)
 

Finding back my confidence in baking :)

After my disappointing exam bakes & a few failed sponges in a day... I started to doubt my baking skills... until I made these chocolate pear cakes...

Chocolae Poire Torte

 

Chocolae Poire Domes

 

These were nothing near to perfect but they made me feel good and motivated once again! The torte was supposed to be covered in chocolate glacage but once again, they were not frozen enough for me to do it... a re-enactment of my fateful exam day. Haha... The small ones were frozen enough to be covered with glacage though. However, in view of the non-aircon environment, I think the temperature for pouring glacage will have to be lower so that it will cover better... Anyway, I overwhipped the cream and the chocolate mousse for the cakes was a little on the heavy side but I would say the overall taste was still good!

 

On the very same day, I made my usual cinnamon rolls... these were delicious but I think I would want to try a different recipe the next time. I want more fluffy cinnamon rolls....

 

 

Continuing on my baking journey... Happy bakers = Yummy bakes


Not just another Baking Course...

It is the Professional Bakery Course! :) I have finally taken the time, money & courage to attend it... The 14-days course was very enriching, with loads of information and life experience sharings from a wonderful teacher! Although the course was hectic, it was made enjoyable with an extremely engaging teacher, my wonderful classmates and the lovely staff team at the school...

 

I had a practical exam during the course & I made disappointing bakes which left me discouraged for quite a while. I might still not be able to bake that extremely perfect cake, pastry or bread but I know I love baking...  I might not eventually sell any bakes but I will continue baking for the lovely people around me. My simple enjoyment in life - To bake & to share my bakes :)

Here are some of my course bakes which I managed to get a shot (amidst the madness of the busy classes :P):

Cake Decoration: Using whipped cream & chocolate cartoon characters

Delicious Chocolate Banana Roll

 

Refreshing Fresh Apple Torte & Claire Fontaine

 

Chocolae Poire Domes: Never thought I could do such lovely cakes! :)

 

 Chocolae Poire Torte

 

Fruit Mousse Cakes with Jaconde sponge at the side

 

Assorted Puff Pastries

 

My exam bakes