Mickey Mouse Cake

I knew that eventually someone would order a Mickey Mouse cake. In fact, the ever popular Mickey was what got me on this journey of decorating cakes in the first place. When my daughter was about to turn 1, I went to many bakeries to look for a customised Mickey or Minnie cake. I got a lot of blank looks and a lot of Korean which I did not understand. I was frustrated and annoyed. I mean, it should be a simple thing right? Ordering a cake that is personalised with a favourite cartoon character? Or it should be!

But my inability to communicate to the bakers assistants and my lack of knowledge of Korean cake decorators at that time forced me to go for a more expensive option a friend recommended: The Hyatt's bakery. When the Executive Pastry Chef came out to take my order and instructions, I knew it would be expensive. To this day, my husband still does not know how much the cake that feeds 30 really cost. All he knoww is "It was very expensive, it's better you don't know... don't ask!".


Anyway, here's a cake story that turned out well. A wanted a Mickey Cake for her son who was turning 1. After several emails we established that the cake needs to be BIG. Enough for 50 people. So I suggested using my biggest pan (note to all, I am not a commercial bakery and can only access certain sized pans that are readily available at the baking stores here, should you require a cake that feeds more than 75, please give me ample notice) 15" x 11" and made it tall.


The flavour was Chocolate Buttermilk with Vanilla Buttercream frosting. It was really fun seeing Mickey's face take shape. I used gum balls to create the border at the bottom of the cake to give it that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse feel and added a red border at the top as I always imagine Mickey with red pants. Well allllright!

The Surprise Cake

Back in November, I gave my Mom a big surprise by going home for her birthday! I took the 2 kids in tow and we had this elaborate plan with my sister who was arriving the same day (although earlier) to get home at the same time. Boy was she surprised! We followed that with a number of surprises on her birthday including a spa treatment at Hammam Spa in Bangsar Village which was quite an experience as I had never been to a Turkish bath before, then followed by afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton with 2 surprise guests.

In the evening we went for dinner then the birthday cake. She saw me working on the cake which I told her was for a customer. She believed me... LOL! It all went without anyone letting anything slip. This was months in planning mind you. Our Aunt's from US and Taiwan also coincided their visit with my Mom's birthday and they knew about it too so there were so many chances for someone to let something slip but I am glad that nobody gave the plans away and she had such a happy Birthday.

As for her cake, I made the gum paste roses in advance. I chose the colour after seeing a gorgeous... did I say gorgeous gum paste flower online. I no longer have the link to the website where I found it unfortunately as I only saved the photo as a reference. Here's what it looked like.

I made the mistake of putting too much colour into the fondant when I first did the mixing and I didn't want to end up with too much of that colour as it would just go to waste later so I stuck to it and so I had more dark petals than light petals. Really it should have had more pale coloured petals, I think that would have turned out more delicate.

The cake flavour was Red Velvet. She isn't a big fan of chocolate but she really likes the moistness of the Red Velvet cakes/cupcakes that I make. I have tried several recipes to get it right. I covered the cake with Buttercream frosting and piped flowers along the edges with the Drop Flower tip. Well as long she was happy, then I am happy.

Here are my parents with the cake that's been cut. Looks like an earthquake split.

Mini Cupcake Tower for a 1st Birthday Party in Seoul

2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to be a part of a little boy’s (Super J) Doljanji (1^st birthday party). Instead of just the traditional Korean rice cakes for the occasion, his mother wanted some mini cupcakes to be a little different.

Since it was a kid’s party, I wanted to go for something colourful, so we worked out the colours of the cupcake liners and frosting colour to pair it with so that it would compliment the colour theme for Super J’s party. The cupcakes were Vanilla with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting then topped with sprinkles or 100’s and 1000’s. I also made fondant letters spelling “Super J” which I planned to put on top of 6 cupcakes on the top most tier.

When I got to the party with my Mom and my 1 year-old, I quickly got to work assembling the 3-tier dessert stand and arranging the cupcakes. While I was trying to do s, my daughter was being very unco-operative and insisted on having a cupcake. She already had 6 the night before and 5 that morning!!

To appease her, I had to give her one and my Mom had to try to distract her with the balloons (that lasted a minute) so I could get back to the cupcakes without toppling the whole display. It looked very attractive when it was all set up but I must admit I was a little nervous arranging the cupcakes. The pressure was on as there were already some guests there and they were watching. I was chanting in my head, “Don’t drop the cupcake. Don’t drop the cupcake”.

These little babies are just nibbles. I saw several people having 3. They just pop into your mouth and they’re gone. We erred on the side of caution and more then doubled the amount of cupcakes to the number of guests and I think we estimated well.

Cupcake Flavours: Classic

Cupcakes can be enjoyed even if it's not for a special occassion. They can be a simple morning treat, to be enjoyed with an afternoon cuppa or a sweet ending to dinner. To begin the flavour selection, we have to start with the classics which are general crowd pleasers.

Vanilla
This is the le grande dame of cupcakes. It's subtle flavour goes well with any frosting.

Chocolate
This is pop classic is a crowd pleaser. Especially popular with kids, they will even tease a smile out of a non-chocolate lover.

Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yellow Buttermilk
Sunshine never tasted better. Yellow buttermilk cupcakes have a delicate crumb and are the best choice if you have a crowd who aren't keen on vanilla or chocolate.

I will gradually be adding more flavours, however if you don't see what you have in mind here, speak to me and let's see what I can whip up.