The Quest for the Perfect Brownie

I like brownies.  I think a lot of people do.  I have tried a few brownie recipes in the last few years but I have always been a little disappointed.  The results have always been the quite chewy and sweet... oh so sweet!  I think the recipes I have been trying is the American style brownie whereas what I am searching for is the kind that is more cake-like which were the ones my Aunt used to make when I was a kid.  Filled with walnuts and so satisfying!  Perhaps those are English brownies??

Anyway, I got it in my head today that I wanted to make brownies.  So it's 11.22pm and the brownies are in the oven.  I have raided my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook to test yet another recipe with the hopes for a dense but cakey brownie.  I also need to bring something to an Easter Picnic this weekend and I thought brownies might be nice.  I never bake something for someone without trying the recipe first so I had to get a move on.  Last year was cupcakes and I didn't want to be... predictable. ^_*

Another good friend of mine, B had gone on in the past about this delicious brownie that a neighbour of hers made which had white chocolate in it but that neighbour was quite good at evading the request for the recipe.  So I'm thinking, I'll do this for B.  I will bake AND eat some brownies until I can find a good recipe to give her.  Then she can recreate this genius in the bakegoods group and make her kids go crazy with a sugar rush!

The Bundt Pan Survived the Uncaking Without a Scratch

The long title says it all really!  I have never got a cake out so easily before.  I turned it upside down over the cooling rack and felt the weight come off.  I sloooowly (dreaded to see the cakes broke in half) moved the cake pan away and saw 4 beautifully formed cakes.  They were so pretty.  I didn't take a picture as I was too busy ooohing over it and then cutting one of them open to try. Hee hee!

I used a Banana Sour Cream Loaf recipe from a baking book that my friend, Sharon posted to me by White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark called "The Perfect Finish".  It was meant for a 9" x 5" loaf pan but I had all these ripe bananas that were begging to be made into a cake and I wanted to try out the Bundt pans so...

The original baking time was 1 hr 20min and I reduced it to 50min and it was nicely browned.  Because I was putting my daughter to sleep, I wasn't able to check it earlier (first time trying a recipe and all that) but I feel that it could have come out 5 - 10 minutes earlier.  I will post the recipe here soon.

Pam and the Bundt Pan

My MIL gave me a cast iron bundt quartet pan with 4 moulds from Nordicware many moons ago.  I've been meaning to use it but with all the cupcake and caking baking, it was hard to get motivated to bake more cake.  My husband and I are a bit 'caked out' from the leftovers from my cupcakes and cake orders as well as the cakes from my cake decorating classes.  However, my daughter seems quite happy with cake, cake and more cake.  At least someone in my family is benefiting from my passion.

I realise now that the only way to grease a bundt pan properly is with an oil spray like Pam but I wasn't about to pay through my nose for the imported stuff so I have trusted my silicone brush and some flour I threw on top of the pan.  I hope I am not going to have to use a knife to scrape the cake off it.  It would be a shame if I get scratch marks on the pan.

The Giant Cupcake

I am so knackered today and I spent 3.5 hours in class decorating a small 3-tiered fondant covered cake. Need sleep... But probably won't sleep till at least midnight. Stubborn, stubborn brain.

After my witching hour rant yesterday, I am pleased to show you the pics I took of the contest cake, or should I say GIANT CUPCAKE! Mwua ha ha ha!!!

Oh dear... see what lack of sleep does to me?

Anyway, I am quite pleased with the result. The flowers ain't perfect but I love, love, love the colours! They are sort of autumn colours but somehow reminiscent of Spring. I got a lot of inspiration from a huge Tulip Show I went to with my sister last year in Melbourne. I was looking through photos there and picked the sort of colours I like best. It reminded me of the beautiful weather, warm yet not the sort of heat that makes you icky and sweaty, a lovely fragrance in the air and being with family. I tried to incorporate that into my cake.

Although I didn't know how to make tulips I used the colours on different flowers like the Apple Blossom, Rose, Wild Rose and Violet. I was happy with the results but cautiously so. It is a competition after all and my humble entry will likely be drowning amongst all the wonderful stuff the other entries have created out of buttercream. My teacher said it was "Nice" ie. it's passable but not the best I have seen. Whatever it is, I'll take it!

I thought I'd do a collage of the photos and not make you scroll down and down... I wanted to upload the cake in so many different angles. Hee hee.

Cake Decorating Contest? Who am I kidding?

It's 2.24am and I am knackered.  I have just finished decorating a cake for the Wilton Korea cake decorating contest which I have been sort of strong armed into entering. My teacher 'encouraged' me to enter the contest a month or so ago and I told her on Friday last week that I won't be entering.  Friday was the deadline.  She was surprised and asked me why. So I told her:

"Shi gan obsoyo.  Chegum nomu papawoyoh" which means 'I don't have time and I'm really busy at the moment'.

She wasn't taking No for an answer which is pretty amazing if you think about it.  Her English isn't strong but she persisted in the questions and suggestions eg. you can make a small cake, decorate it anyhow and just enter were the sort of things she was telling me throughout the class.

So... at this point I was thinking to myself, "Why does she want me to enter the contest so badly?!  The entry form wasn't even in English".  

And then all was revealed when she said,"You will be the only foreigner in the contest!"

A big "AHHHHHHH" went off in my head.  I was the novelty.  I was probably the only foreigner taking the Wilton Method course in Seoul.  I was unique so I needed to get my day in the sun.

So... she either wanted me to show how well I am doing after only being halfway through the course (ie. she being a good teacher too) or if I was jaded and cynical, I'd think it was an opportunity to show why 'weiguk saram' should not be decorating cakes.  

Either way, I finished the cake tonight and will be taking the pictures to send in with the entry form tomorrow.  Teacher managed to hold off the deadline for me till tomorrow.  It better still be ok for me to enter tomorrow otherwise someone will be some serious pain!

Pics of the cake will come later.  I need to sleep now.

My First Appearence on the Cupcakes Take the Cake Blog

I was so uber excited to find out that my bridal shower and moustache cupcakes made it on the most popular cupcake blog around, Cupcakes Take The Cake!!!  When I first started to decorate cupcakes, I had always aspired to have a cupcake featured on that blog and I cannot believe it has happened so quickly. 

I ran around the room waving my arms in the air going, "EEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" 

My kids thought I was acting really weird.  

But who cares?!  It's the kind of encouragement I needed.  My husband is probably going to give a big sigh when he reads this as he will probably be thinking, "Great, as if she needs more encouragement.  We're in for even more late nights now".

Giving the Oven a Break

It’s been a tiring few weeks with orders every week (fantastic), replacement cake decorating classes for when I will be away starting next week and making sure the kids are entertained. A few late nights in a row can really wear on a person and I must admit I don’t ‘recover’ the way I used to. Age… can’t run away from it.

I’ve been having good fun and stress (the Thomas cake) baking and decorating. I think the most memorable moments had to have been seeing the first Moustache face come together for the Moustache cupcakes and when we were covering the Thomas & Friends cake with fondant.

I also had my first overseas order. This was from a family friend who heard about my cupcakes from my Aunt. She liked Red Velvet and was a big fan of Coconut so those were what I was tasked with. I am always… did I say always? Yes… ALWAYS happy to bake Red Velvet cakes or cupcakes. I just love the incredible flavour and the deep intense red colour! Paired with Cream Cheese Frosting it’s really a cup of heaven in your palm. I’ve tried several different recipes and tweaked the recipe to get it to the right kind of dense crumb and flavour.

I’m off on holiday soon and I will miss my mixer, oven and the feel of the piping bag in my hand but I will be back mid-October and hopefully be back to baking and decorating for you again.

Found: Cupcake Recipe Box on G-market

Since seriously exploring all things cupcakes, I have found more and more things that have really jumped on the fixation on cupcakes. Yes they are adorable and they are normally designed quite cute and yummy looking colours. From the practical to totally frivolous stuff, I have found a Recipe Box with Cupcakes printed on it on G-market by a rather popular Australian stationery and knick knacs (can't think of another word for it) Christopher Vine Design:

Image Source: Gmarket

Click here to see it on Gmarket.

I remember someone was asking me where she could find an old fashioned recipe box and now that I have found it, I don't remember who was asking!

Finding Inspiration in... Modern House!

It's almost 2am and I should be asleep like the my son who is in dreamland next to me. However, I have to tell you about the kick I got today browsing through a homeware store and just getting inspiration and ideas from all the cool stuff I saw... and bought (Oh dear! Hope my husband is not reading this).

I love looking at dinnerware, bakeware, cookware... are we starting to see a trend here? Oh and furniture too. Stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Habitat and The Conran Shop are like art galleries for me. Art that I can afford too! So when I found Modern House (think Ikea but much less mass produced with more variety of styles) in Times Square, there was a little current running from my toes to the top of my head and I just gravitated to towards the entrance.


I am sure there are more stores like this but this was conveniently located (they have opened a new store in New Core Shopping Centre, Gangnam) like a 'high street' store... I know, I know but in a mall. They have all kinds of home furnishings for the home from furniture to soft furnishings and things to beautify your garden. In fact a lot of their garden equipment/furniture can be used in the home!

I especially like their version of a storm lantern that you can hang which is made in a widely spaced wire mesh. They also have a lovely collection of aromatherapy oils with scented sticks (KRW25,000) per box, very cute kids bedding collection (rather expensive though in my opinion), storage options, furniture for every room in the house and lots of lots of dinnerware. Their collection ranges from retro to modern with a bit of shabby chic thrown in. Some things are 'dare I say' cheap and others overpriced.

There were many cupcake related things you could get from a plate with a cupcake print on it, to mugs and boxes. I didn't succumb to all but one. It's a little cupcake cup (get it? clever ain't it?!) with a straw. I could resist and happily parted with KRW5,900.


I find lots of inspirations in stores like these and found a set of colourful tumblers and I got a fabulous idea on how to use them. Keep your eye on my blog and they'll appear soon!

Look at the shocked look on Mei's face (Mei is one of the characters in Totoro) when she see's the 'giant' cupcake! Medium Totoro and Small Totoro is just along for the ride.

Click on the links above to find out more about their store. You won't be disappointed.

* I wrote this post 2 nights ago and only managed to post it today. Had to sort out the pics. : )

Why are There Only 24 Hours in a Day?

I have decided to make this blog more... personal. I think that's the point of blogging. So here goes.

It's a beautiful day today in Seoul. We had some threats of rain with some looming black clouds reminding me of scenes when Frodo was nearing Mount Doom, but they soon passed. Now the sun is out in full, bathing everything is a beautiful early evening light. I want to be outside and I want to do a million other things like respond to some emails, design a flyer, read a magazine (the US July Vogue is calling out to me) and take the kids for a walk. But here I am in bed, knackered as anything and wanting to take a nap. I've developed a bit of a cough and the cough syrup I took half and hour ago has kicked in and making me feel like I've just climbed Soeraksan.

It doesn't help that I had friends over yesterday and I cooked Roast Pork which took awhile and this morning I had a playgroup so I got up early, baked Magic Pudding (oh this was sinful) and a couple of lunch-friendly dishes for the Moms. I didn't really know what to do for the kids so I cheated and made a run to the Grand Hyatt's bakery (next to The Terrace restaurant) and got some of their freshly baked chicken pies (KRW4,000 - they are baked at 10am) and pizzas.

It's also not easy to get some shut eye when the kids are whining or complaining about something beyond the bedroom door. Thank goodness for my Nanny (no, I am not going to apologise for having one, people say they don't know what they would do without theirs and I am fully of the same club) who is currently looking after the two Koalas. Without her, this blog and my cupcake baking venture won't be happening.

It's also not easy to get things done in the speed that I want to when one of the kids always needs some attention. And... time management, what's that?? You're probably wondering why I'm blogging if I am complaining (yes complaining) that I need some shut eye? Well it's 'cos my brain won't rest. It's just churning and churning away. I can think of 5 posts I can do right now!

I am also quite excited about 2 new orders that I have. One's for a bridal shower and the other is for a doljanchi or dol for short. A Dol is a Korean tradition that celebrates a baby's 1st year birthday. The order for the 1 year old's party could have an added interesting element. I need to plan a bit with the mother first and see how special we can make it. I really should write down the ideas I'm coming up with for both these designs.

Alright, I am going to try to those yoga breathing techniques that I learned and see if they are going to work. Till later...