Posts filed under 'Articles'
Monogrammed Cupcakes - cupcakes glazed with shiny ganache with lettering on top. Cake base include devil’s food, banana, mocha, chocolate chip. Price available upon request.
Someone recently inquired if I make cupcakes with letters on top. They would be for her wedding, she said. I have never decorated cupcakes like that before so I though I might as well try.
Doing calligraphy on top of a perfectly glazed cake or cupcake is trickier than it seems — what if I ruin the cake with my awful writing? I am always in awe of the commercial cakes with beautiful writing on them—Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Merry Christmas. Are the staff assigned to this task hired for their penmanship skills or are they trained in the art of fancy lettering? I wonder. As for me, I need to have a cheat sheet of the letters. And I have to practice, practice, practice.
The darkness of the ganache sets off each letter very well. The decorated cupcake looks simple, clean and elegant which is perfect for a wedding favor. For less formal occasions, the lettering can also be whimsical. The icing I used for the letters is buttercream. I initially thought of using fondant and writing the letter on top but as I have said, I am not a fan of fondant. I think chocolate molded letters will also work well.
March 12th, 2010
Have you ever eaten one of those gourmet chocolates which have some sort of printed designs on their tops? I found out that they are done using magnetic chocolate molds and chocolate transfer sheets. Magnetic molds have two pieces, bottom and sides, that are held together by magnets. The transfer sheet is an acetate sheet that has a design on one side This is placed in between the molds which are then locked and when the chocolate has set, you pull apart the mold, peel the sheet and voila, the design (made of cocoa butter) is transferred to the chocolate and you have sophisticated chocolate bonbons ready to be savored. Here is an easy tutorial on how they are done.
I don’t have any magnetic molds on hand and I don’t want to splurge on them yet (price starts at $45), so I just used a 1″x 1″x 1/2″ petit four chocolate candy mold that has been gathering dust somewhere in our kitchen shelf. I cut the transfer sheet to fit each cavity and proceeded to make truffle-filled chocolate confections.
Don’t you agree that the chocolates look awesome? The green and black chocolates didn’t require any transfer sheet but they are spectacular as well. Now if I can only get my hands on that chocolate tempering machine that I so covet …
February 22nd, 2010
a december wedding
I recently made cupcakes for a young couple’s wedding last December 30. The cupcakes were in two flavors as bride L._ likes coffee and groom C._ prefers chocolate. The motif was a combination of bronze and olive green so I incorporated the colors in the marshmallow petals that embellished the cupcakes. I personally do not like fondant and my frosting of choice is ganache. Aside from being delicious (who doesn’t love chocolate?) it is stable enough to stay at room temperature for hours. The small cake on top of the cupcake tree is devil’s food, filled and frosted with bittersweet chocolate ganache.
The cupcake tree I used is made of sturdy corrugated cardboard that I bought here. The beauty of this cupcake tree is that you can embellish it in any way you want to match the motif of an event. This can also hold up to 300 cupcakes and the top tier can accommodate an 8-inch cake.
Embarking on this project was a delight but still it did stress me out when I thought of the delivery. Even though I have safely transported countless cakes before, I still had these thoughts of the cake sliding and collapsing and the cupcakes tumbling out of their containers while in transit. I know it was silly of me to think about any delivery disaster because it can be prevented. Drive carefully preferably with a companion, allow plenty of lead time before the reception, carry necessary tools (piping bags, frosting, decorations) in case the cakes need repair, bring more than one set of directions to the site and have the proper containers for the cakes. I have special boxes that have cardboard inserts to keep the cupcakes in place but a box can only hold a dozen cupcakes so I got these cupcake couriers. Fortunately, no mishaps whatsoever happened on our way to the reception site. And boy did I sleep soundly that night!
Having cupcakes for a wedding is a unique way of celebrating an important milestone in a couple’s life. These miniature cakes are easier to serve and they can come in different flavors and even different decorations, adding a touch of whimsy to a memorable occasion. For those who want the traditional cake cutting ceremony, a small cake on the topmost tier can still serve that purpose, just like what L._ and C._ had in their wedding.
To L._ and C._, thank you. It was a pleasure working with you. All the best to you and may you have a happy life together!
January 10th, 2010
don’t hate me because i love fruitcake!
Odd as it may seem, I am among the minority who love fruitcake. I can empathize with the fruitcake loathers because I have tasted some bad ones myself. But the recipe that my mother got from a former neighbor Mrs. L._ (who have since passed away, God bless her soul) has become a family favorite. Mrs. L._’s fruitcake is neither dry nor brick-like, it’s not overly stuffed with candied peels and nuts and the melding of spices and spirit is nicely balanced. It is heady and moist and utterly delectable. If one uses the best ingredients, there is no reason for a fruitcake to taste like cardboard.
While I was clearing our ref a few days ago for some space to store cupcakes I made for a wedding project, I chanced upon this fruitcake that I had baked a year ago. It was part of a batch I made for my friend M._ who asked me to bake one for her fruitcake-loving husband. To my delight, it was still moist! And it tasted just as it did when it was freshly baked, only better—divine!
Happy new year everyone!
January 3rd, 2010
the midas touch or how my mother turned scrap into gold
Pineapple cupcakes are in my to-bake list. Since we always have fresh pineappple in the house—my father is a devotee—I planned on making fresh pineapple preserves for the filling and frosting. But I never got around to making the cupcakes nor the preserves as procrastination took over. This noon, I was surprised to find a golden, syrupy, sticky, chunky mixture in a pan. Could it be … ? Well, my mother just beat me to making those preserves! And boy do they taste awesome!
It turned out that my mother salvaged some pineapple chunks gone sour and turned them to (edible) gold. Now, if you will excuse me, I will just go and ask her how to do it!
June 26th, 2009
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