I graduated again!

I survived Course 2 of my cake decoration class! I got a Certificate of Merit! Well, everyone's certificate is the same, hahaha.

For our finale cake, we had to make a basketweave cake. That is the whole intention of me taking course 2 - the basketweave.  While learning the basketweave, there was so much laughter and fun in our class. We made blunders and many times, we just froze in action, thinking what we had to do next.

This time, I was the lazy student. The whole week, I did not have much time to prepare. For 2 nights in a row before that, I slept only 4 hours and my hands ached so much from fulfilling an order and preparing for the finale cake. I planned to have the cake full of pastel pink roses. Only roses. Not the other flowers we were taught. And only in pastel pink, for that romantic, dreamy effect.

I did make some pastel pink roses though, but they were not enough to fill the cake. So, I had to put in my "black" roses. They are made by mixing blue with red, hence the very dark and unfriendly looking colour (ok, I finally managed to get Violet gel colour, so you probably won't see this unfriendly, mysterious-looking colour again).

I saw my classmates decorate their cakes with lots and lots of beautiful and colourful flowers. It was as if spring was in our class! They were really really pretty, and looked like they were the cakes that appeared in our coursebook.

So, I took my yellow rose (the brightest flower I had) and put it on my cake. It looked weird. That bright colour just did not feel like me. I took it off and replaced it with my "black" rose and that made me feel better.

After class, I had to go to the Immigration Department to collect a document. I could not leave the cake in the car which was under the hot sun. So I took my cake carrier, which had transparent sides. The lady at the counter saw it and complimented it. She asked if I made it and YES! It made me feel so proud of myself that day.

But I have got to remind myself not to feel attached to my cake. I should be able to put a knife through it without feeling sad and thinking of the effort I put into it. A cake is a cake. It's meant to be eaten. Now, I'm looking forward to course 3.

How much do you like your bakes?

The other day, I was out shopping and happened to see some earrings. Not any earrings, but cake earrings. I bought 3 pairs although I seldom wear earrings. I was simply ecstatic to see them, they are too cute! These days, everything about me is cakes, cakes, and cakes. Even my husband is infected. His newly-created online gaming name is cake related.

I like my cookies too. I like them so much I made them into fridge magnets. There are other several ones which I could not bear to eat, so I sprayed lacquer over them and keep them. But then, the cookie inside soften over time, and the lacquer kept getting absorbed...so I had to respray over and over again. Not such a good idea to make my cookie into magnets afterall.....better to keep them in my stomach :p

What other crazy things you have done with your bakes??

Organic Oatmeal Bread

I am not a fan of oats and wholemeal breads. I prefer white breads, probably I prefer not having foods which will drop crumbs all over the place. Somehow, they make me feel very dry, and together with cereals drinks, they fall into my category of "unpreferred foods".

So last week, when I baked wholemeal bread, it was not for me. It was mainly for my dad. I know he likes them. He buys 1 or 2 loaves every week. But I told him I would bake a loaf last week, so he did not need to buy.

This bread is partly organic. Why partly? Which part? Only the flour part. Not all other parts.Organic foodstuff are much more expensive, everyone knows. For our own consumption, it is fine. I hope my diet will eventually be at least 50% organic one day. I do not really like my foods processed extensively, and full of pesticides etc.

Does this contradict my love for baking? Baking is not really the healthiest sometimes. Hmmm.....but what's life without some sinful stuff sometime? Besides, I've got a sweet tooth :P

In any case, I usually try to reduce the "chemicals" in my baking. I tend to add less baking powder, baking soda and less colouring than what is required. I shun recipes which calls for emulsifiers and stabilisers. My theory is, if I have to add all these stuff to my food, then I might as well go to the shops to buy them, what will then be the purpose of homebaked?

Oops, sorry I've digressed, back to my bread. This recipe did not require very long proving times, and like all breads, they are best eaten fresh from the oven. I do not know of anyone who can resist the aroma of freshly baked, warm bread. Verdict of this wholemeal bread? It's superdelicious...just because it's baked by me, hahaha! Don't you just feel so happy when you know your family is eating bread without excess chemicals and preservatives? I do.

Check out the recipe here.

I Scream, You Scream.....Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice-Cream!!!...with Oreos

Did I mention that I had graduated? I have attained my certificate for Wilton Cake Decoration Course 1! I'm really happy about it! This week I will be starting Course 2, so at least I can maintain the momentum.

Today, I made my first attempt at making ice-cream! I had extra egg yolks from making meringue buttercream and I had been wanting to try this ice-cream recipe for some time, so everything just fell nicely timed.

For a better vanilla flavour, I also used my first real vanilla pod. Well, I had always been using vanilla paste or extract. I bought this pod because I wanted to try my hand at making my own vanilla extract, but I never got down to it. This has now been put to good use.

I do not have an ice-cream maker, so I have to do it the old-fashioned way (the recipe is named 'old-fashioned' anyway!). It's not difficult, although it takes some patience to churn it every now and then. I added 3 Oreo cookies which I had been wanting to get rid off. It's just not my habit to chomp down 3 biscuits out of meal times, and I cannot only have 3 biscuits as a meal, so those poor fellows have been waiting to be eaten for weeks...or months. So now, I get to have Cookies N Cream ice-cream!

The end result? Creamy and smooth ice-cream with nice taste of vanilla. I love to see the vanilla seeds inside, just makes me feel like I am getting the real thing. I now feel the usual ones sold in the stores taste pretty crappy in comparison, unless you get some of the more expensive and better ones.

The recipe is simple and it is here. The only thing about it is, use the best ingredients you can find...good vanilla, good cream, fresh egg yolks. Why? Because that's the whole point of making your own ice-cream isn't it? Otherwise, you might as well go to the store and grab a tub.

Enough said, my ice-cream's melting...I gotta go!