Old Fashioned Me

I'm pretty open when it comes to cake decorating ideas but decorating wedding anniversary cakes can certainly bring out the 'pettiness' in me :-P 

Knowing & understanding details about wedding anniversary colours is a big thing for me and being the type A 'meticulous-over-petty-little-things' freak, I always make sure that I incorporate such details when I'm doing & making my goodies...Oh yea, I'm very 'traditional & old fashioned' when it comes to love & romance  ♥♡♥♡♥♡ *blush*

So when one of my dear customer, Ms. Salwa, called me up and requested a 30th wedding anniversary cake for her parents, I immediately did my homework & much to my chagrin, found out that the colour associated with 30th wedding anniversary is green!...Hhmmm, not a colour that I would associate with romance :-P

I was at first put in a dilemma of either sticking to my 'petty self' & go ahead with making a green themed traditional anniversary cake or just go ahead with another colour theme, something with bright or sweet colours. After much debating with myself, I decided to stick to the traditional colour - green :-) Yeah, as usual, my 'petty self' won ( what else is new, right?!! ha..ha...) :-P

I wanted it to be a fun cake & decided to add in some cute teddy bear figurines...A big feat I would say, after my so-called failed attempt the first time I tried my hands at making sugar paste teddies :-P Check out the photo at my previous entry. Oh yeah! My honey bunny called it 'alien/zombie' looking teddy bear! *super blush*

Here's my twist on Salwa's cake ;-)

A Red Velvet Wedding Anniversary Cake

Papa Bear...What Do You Think Of My Bear? :-P

Mama Bear

To my dear Salwa, I am indeed honoured to be given the chance to create your parent's wedding anniversary cake. Thank you so much for choosing Ritz Passion to celebrate your parent's special day :-) Your trust & support is greatly appreciated! Much love to you dear ✗o✗o...

Cutie Pie Syaima

I honestly can't stop smiling ( over & over again! ) each time I thought of this cake :-) Yes, so many sweet memories was made by just this one birthday cake...Truth be told, this cake was one of the fun & exciting cake I've made so far...Not only because of the cake, but because of whom I'm making it for :-) 

This cake was requested by none other than my dear, dear friend and my #1 fan, Ms. Suraya :-) Suraya wanted to make a special cake for one of her nieces, Syaima, who's celebrating her 2nd birthday. If I remember well, Suraya actually put in her cake request a month before Syaima's birthday and all she said to me was, "Syaima loves pink colour, the cartoon character Barney, Cinderella, Snow White and Upin & Ipin ( a Malaysian made animated cartoon characters )...The rest, I'll leave it up to you"....I remembered thinking 'uh-ohhhhhhh' :-P Yup! I was so worried about coming up with the best looking cake for cutie pie Syaima *pressured!*

After much to & fro excited phone calls & mobile messages from Suraya ( Oh yes! Syaima's aunt was super excited about the cake as well...he..he...), both of us finally settled for a Rainbow Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream with edible & fondant decorations :-)

Rainbow Vanilla Cake With Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

My Very 1st Try At Making Fondant Teddy Bear...My Honey Bunny Said

It Looked More Like A Zombie/Alien Looking Bear...

*Sigh!* Guess I Need To Practice More :-P

Isn't That The Cutest Face To See On A Cake? :-P

It was super fun making this cake as not only did I enjoy every moment chatting away on my mobile with Suraya, I was also introduced to Suraya's other family members :-) I especially loved it when I get to share & see Syaima's baby photo. She's one cute baby & still is :-)

Here are some of the fun fact about the cake that I'll forever cherished, thanks to Suraya's feedback & excited smses she has sent to me :-)

• Guess who never left the cake from the moment the cake was collected & even became a 'guard', guarding the cake ever so tightly that others are denied access to come near the cake?...Cutie pie Syaima! :-P

• Guess who was sooooooo in love with the cake that the person can't stand being away from the cake?...Yes, cutie pie Syaima again! :-P

• Bet you can guess who cried at the thought of cutting the cake when others were happily singing 'Happy Birthday' to her...Yes, cutie pie Syaima! I was so touched when I heard this from Suraya...Can't imagine the look on Syaima's face, crying infront of her cake :'(

• Guess who had to be cajoled by her mum & aunts for nearly 20 minutes to cut the birthday cake?...Yes, cutie pie Syaima! Isn't that the cutest thing you've read? :-P

Heck! I'm still smiling right this minute remembering Suraya & cutie pie Syaima :-) Both of you gave me such happiness sweeties!

To Suraya & her lovely family, my sincere thanks for choosing my goodies to grace Syaima's special day. I am indeed honoured to be a part of it :-) Suraya, many..many...many thanks to you & Maini for the continuous support both of you had showered me with. Big hugssssssssss to you dear!

To the cutest birthday girl, Syaima, you'll forever have a special place in my memory :-) I still can't get over the fact of how cute you are :-) Sending you a big wet kiss! Muahhhhhhhhhh!

Cutie Pie Syaima With Her Cake...Photo Courtesy Of Suraya :-)

Thanks So Much For Sharing Dear!

It's All In The Wrist

Hurmmm...Ever had a bad day? You know, when everything just don't go the way you wanted it? When even the simplest of tasks turns out to be a pain-in-the-*toot* ( minding my language here ) ;-)

Honestly, giving my best when making my goodies is what I live by...It has always been a belief of mine that my goodies is an extension of myself, thus with each order, I'll definitely strive for the best :-) Yet at times, as much as I hate to admit it, I do have my 'off moments' :-P You know when sometimes things just won't go your way, no matter how hard you tried...I hate it when that happens ( really hate it! ) :-( 

One such moment is when I'm icing this cake, which was ordered by dear Ms. Haireen from Puchong...I could say that I usually make a pretty decent job in producing a smooth looking cake but somehow this time, my wrist sort of have a mind of it's own & choose to show a 'tantrum' instead :-( No matter how I tried and after so many attempts to make it right with the icing, I just can't get it done smoothly. You should really see the frustration look on my face! I actually cried! :'(

True, any cake baker/decorator would say that it's quite normal to have an 'off moment'...Hhmmm, a fact that I'm still not okay with :-P Yes, I was totally having a major 'off moment' that day, even snapping decent photos was a huge struggle :-( I had trouble looking for a good photo to post here as most of the photos I snapped didn't turn out well ( it was THAT bad! )...Here are some of the decent photos I managed to salvage :-P

Red Velvet Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Truthfully, even after all these time, I'm still a bit sore over the outcome of the icing of this cake...Yup! I can really be hard on myself :-P

To dear Haireen, many thanks for your order...My sincere apology for the 'not-so-perfect-looking' cake *guilty* I do hope that the taste made up for it's look ;-) *blush* I'll definitely do a better job the next time around...And yes, you'll get a further discount for your next order as well ;-) My way of saying "I'm soooooooooooo very sorry"....

I'm praying for a much better moments & good days ahead - for myself & for the rest of you out there...Amin :-)

Much L♥ve To Those Who Shared...

As a novice baker who know zilch about cake baking & decorating, having others acknowledge my goodies is the best feeling ever...What more when it's being shared around the world by other bloggers & goodies lovers :-) 

To those of you who shared & highlighted my goodies, you have no idea what a huge deal this is for me *mushy moment* Not only does it strengthen my desire to excel in this new found passion of mine, it also encourages me to be a better baker, one who'll find ways to produce & create much better goodies in the future :-) 

'Mickey & Minnie Mouse' Cupcakes As Highlighted In

http://www.thecupcakeblog.com/pastel-mickey-and-minnie-mouse-cupcakes/

Lollipop Cupcakes As Highlighted In

http://www.thecupcakeblog.com/rainbow-lolipop-cupcakes/

A Surprise 'You Tube' Video Made By A High-School Friend...A Nice

Surprise Indeed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7XVgmYgFgc

From the bottom of my heart, my utmost thanks to each & every one of you...I am truly humbled by your kindness. Much love & hugs! ♥♥♥

♥ Grateful ♥

Having the support & love from my customers/clients is something I'm so grateful for...It is indeed a nice feeling when others enjoy my goodies :-)

This order was made especially for one of my loyal customer, Ms. Hasnita, all the way from Puchong. She's such an ardent fan of my Red Velvet & baking for her is something I always look forward to :-)

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings

Hasnita dearie, thank you so much for your order. I am indeed grateful for all the support & love you've given me all these while. Hopefully I'll be blessed with more love from you :-) Hugs!

To my other customers/clients, if not for all your support & love, I won't be here doing what I love most - baking all sort of goodies...You are my inspiration & there are just no words that I can express to show/tell you how much those support & love means to me. To each & every one of you, I'm sending you my love & my sincerest 'thank you'...*mushy moment*

Photo Taken From The Wide World Of Web

Came Full Circle

It was during my teen years when I first got hit by the 'baking bug' :-P Not understanding any of the baking terms like folding, kneading etc, I simply dump all my ingredients in a bowl & did my very first donut balls...Which of course, as you can imagine, turned out a disaster! *blush* Ha! Ha! Till this day, I still remember that day like it was only yesterday *lol*

Let me just share with you what happened...Being a daddy's girl, I wanted to show my baking skill ( so I thought! ) & presented those goodies for my dad's teatime. You know, cheering him up after he got back from a hard day's work...I remember how excited I was when I brought a tray full of those donut balls to my dad. I didn't even try it as I really want to have the first bite with him...In my mind, I was already imagining his proud smile & telling me what a delicious donut it was :-) The moment of truth finally came & with a beaming face, I had my first bite...CRUNCH!!!!

Oh dear! One could just break a tooth eating those donut balls of mine! I was really mortified & Daddy, being a joker himself, threw one donut ball to the wall & when nothing happened to it ( and yes, no dent on the wall! ), looked at me & told me, 'don't worry, at least it will make a good golf ball'....Huwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Those memory stayed with me till now & honestly, after that incident, baking is the last thing on my mind during my teen years!  Years had passed & so many things had changed...I'm no longer a teenager & I now ( thankfully! ) understand all the baking terms :-P Yes, baking is now a passion of mine...but truth be told, I still get pretty nervous when baking  for my daddy. Phobia, I guess :-P Ha...Ha...

Imagine my nerves then when dear Daddy requested that I make a big birthday cake that he wish to present to his golf buddies...I can't help but flashing back to those donut balls incident! Erkkkkk! Really?!! My dad requesting a cake from me? :-P Can't help having all these mixed feeling inside me - happy, nervous, proud, scared...yada...yada...

Still being a daddy's girl, I wanted to make the best cake ever & yes, I still crave for one of those proud look from my dad :-P It actually took me quite some time to mentally prepare myself & come up with this golf themed cake...

Golf Themed Birthday Cake

American Carrot Cake ( Bottom ) & Red Velvet Cake ( Top )

With Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings

Seeing my daddy's face when I presented him his cake, I can't help but feel that I've finally made up for those disastrous donut balls I did years ago :-P Yes, his beaming smile & proud face tells it all & it was indeed very priceless to me...A look that I'll remember for as long as I live :-)

♥ Note to my dearest Daddy - Thanks Daddy for trusting me to create your special cake...Thanks for the encouragement...the support...and most of all, the love you've showered me with. Muahhhhhhhhh! I love you so much Daddy! ♥

Practice...Practice...& Practice!

Speechless ( serious, I was just lost for words! )...

Jaw dropping ( my jaw spent most of the time being on the floor, literally! )...

Over the top excitement ( and I mean, REALLY over the top excitement! )...

Yup! That pretty much sums up what I'm feeling for the past few days. Thanks to the magic of internet & Facebook, I had spent most of my time admiring the work of so many great cake artist/maker from all around the world. I was even blessed with the opportunity of making friends with some of them, much to my delight! A big thing when you're a newbie like me *glee*

Honestly, I just can't find the word that best describe their talent other than EXCEPTIONAL! Their goodies are just sooooooooooo incredibly superb that I can't help feeling envious ( in a good way of course! ) of their skills. It's just awesome! Heck! Even thinking of their goodies now STILL leave me speechless!

I would really, really, REALLY love to be able to make such beautiful goodies like them. Yet being a newbie in cake decorating, I know I still have a longgggggggggggggg way to go before I even have half of their talent :-P As the saying goes, practice makes perfect & I guess that's where I'll start ;-) Practice...practice....& lots of practice ;-) Wish me luck!

Practising On My Rose Swirls :-P

Made This Red Velvet Cake Just So I Have An Excuse To Practice My Icing Skills :-P

Red Velvet Birthday Cupcakes

Oh dear...oh dear! I'm lagging wayyyyyyyyyyyyy behind on my post - AGAIN! Bahhhhhhh! :-( My bad! Juggling between my daily house chores, attending to goodies orders, baking and not forgetting my 1001 other routines, at times it feels as though I'm running a non-stop marathon :-P I do feel bad about putting my blog on hold while I rush out other more important stuffs but I do try my best to keep it as updated as I possibly could ( which obviously I'm failing! ) *blush* Good news though, I'll be taking a two week TLC ( tender, loving & care ) break soon ( yipee yeay yeay! ) & hopefully during those time I could catch up on my blog's post ( or should I say postssssssss! ) *wink* 

Ohhhh! I'm already imagining myself by the beach typing away on my laptop :-) Okay...okay...I'm getting dreamy-eyed already! Back to my post....

These Red Velvet cupcakes was an order I made for a new customer of mine, Ms. Hamiza. Truth be told, I owe Hamiza thousands of apologies :-P You see, she first contacted me to order a birthday cake for her son's birthday but due to my knee deep goodies order at that time, as much as I wanted to, I was unable to take in hers. I really felt bad about disappointing her that day but thankfully she understood my situation. I was indeed excited when she contacted me again & gave me another chance to bake my goodies for her :-) Thank you so much Hamiza for your understanding & patience. I sincerely appreciate it :-)

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings

To my dear Hamiza, thank you so much for choosing my goodies to grace your special occasion. It was indeed an honour to meet your acquaintance :-) I do hope you had enjoyed every bite of it :-)

Till my next post ( which I hope I'm able to update soon! ), take care everyone! Much love!

Weird Yet Comforting

Friendly @ unfriendly...If you were to ask me which one am I, I would definitely say 'friendly' :-P Sometimes to the brink of being over-friendly! That's when you'll see me yapping away! He...he...he... :-P Something about meeting people just thrills me, though I'm not sure if the other party feels the same when meeting me :-P *blush* Yes, I love meeting up with people & making new friends. A fact that I'm so very sure those who have met me will vouch for :-P

Meeting new people is like an adventurous experience to me & I simply love ( love...love...love! ) the process. I've met various kind of people throughout my venture in cake baking...Some are very shy and it usually took me some time to break the ice :-P Some are reserved and makes me feel like I'm standing in front of a teacher when I did something bad *lol* Some are as friendly as I am & we would just hit it off, like two pods in a pea :-) How or who ever they are, I love them all & we usually end up as friends, much to me delight!

Yet....*jeng...jeng...jeng*....

I've never experience something which I did with Dida...Never had we known each other before this & she was only introduced to me by her cousin via word of mouth, thanks to my Red Velvet cake ;-) The first time Dida contacted me was through my Facebook account, when she commissioned me to make her a Red Velvet cake for her hubby's birthday. 

As you all know, I always get nervous when making goodies for new customers *blush* I have to admit that I was pretty jittery yet excited about meeting Dida for the 1st time. Then the weirdest thing happened....You know how when you meet new people, you'll usually reserve yourself first ( as in my case, I did not want to scare the person away...he...he... ). You'll start by making small talks & gradually start to get to know the other person, right? Well, not in my case with Dida! The moment we met each other, we were like two lost sisters who just found each other! Honest to goodness, I felt like I've known her for ages & the funny thing is, I've never even met her before this! It's just so weird yet very comforting :-) So excited were we about meeting each other that we even shared a bear hug(ssssss)! *lol* Till this date, I'm still figuring out what made us hit it off immediately :-P Whatever it is, I'm not going to dwell into it...Instead, I'm just happy I found a friend in Dida :-)

Dida, it was & still is a pleasure meeting your acquaintance :-) I'm just so blessed to be able to call you my friend :-) Meeting up with you is always something I look forward to *word!* ( Yes, Dida is now a die-hard fan of my Red Velvet Cake! Yeayyyyyyyy! ) Much love to you dear!

Red Velvet Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings

♥ Dida's Gift For Hubby Dearie ♥

♥♥♥ Last but not least, a sincere note to all....Each & every one of you is a gem in my life & I love you all :-) From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your friendship :-x Hugssssssss! ♥♥♥

♥♥♥ Message from Dida ♥♥♥

"All of my guests 'tergila-gila' kan ur Red Velvet Cake. Sampai I kena sorrokkan kek tu sikit. Hahahahahaha!! Yang ada kencing manis pun boleh terlupa kejap. Ur cake memang classss!!"

Translation:-

"All of my guests went 'crazy' over your Red Velvet Cake. I had to actually hide & save some of the cake. Hahahahahaha!! Even those with diabetic seemed to forgot all about their condition. Your cake is indeed classy!!"

P/S : Honestly, this is the most memorable message I've ever received by far! I remembered laughing out so loud when I read it :-P It's just so plain funny & yet so sweet :-) Thanks Dida for sending me such a cheerful message :-) Muahhhhh!!

Sugary Sweetness

It's really a nice feeling when people acknowledge you, don't you think? It can be in a form of a smile, a pat on the shoulder, a nod or even a boxful of goodies :-)

This sugary sweetness was ordered by Ms. Fida to show her thanks & appreciation to her office colleagues. Ain't that just the sweetest thing?

Fida's order was for a mixture of vanilla bean cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frostings & chocolate moist cupcakes with chocolate ganache frostings.

A Boxful Of 'Thank You' Cupcakes

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes With Vanilla Buttercream Frostings

Chocolate Moist Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache Frostings

To Fida, thank you so much for choosing my goodies to express your thanks to your dear colleagues :-) I am indeed honoured to be able to bake for them. Hope they had enjoyed every bite of the goodies :-)  

♥♥♥ Message from Fida ♥♥♥

"Thank you for your gorgeous cupcakes! We're in awe coz lawa sgt...He...He...Thanks a lot! :-)"

Translation:-

"Thank you for your gorgeous cupcakes! We're in awe coz it's sooooooo beautiful...He...He...Thanks a lot! :-)"

P/S : Fida, thanks so much for taking the time to send me this sweet message :-) Much love to you dear!

Like Oil & Water

Yessssssss! That's exactly how I'll describe myself with flowers :-) Don't get me wrong, I do L.O.V.E flowers. Should see the look of glee on my face whenever I receive flower bouquets! You would think I've just won the lottery!

What I mean here is any activity concerning flowers...Even the simplest task of arranging flowers in a vase takes me hours & still the end result is disastrous! Hhmmm, come to think of it, maybe that's the reason my honey bunny seldom buy me flowers :-P

My bad streak in flower decorations even extended to my sugar craft flower making *blush* Just the thought of making fondant flowers ( yes, any kind of flower! ) is enough to make my palms go all sweaty. Must be nerves, worry & fear. Seriously, flower & me don't get along :-P

So when dear Ms. FH called me & requested for a set of cupcakes with flower deco on it, I got kind of panicky...Who wouldn't?!! Especially with my history of bad streaks with flowers :-P Moreover, I don't even know how to do sugar craft flowers...Erkkkkkkk!! Oh! A fact that I DID warned Ms. FH about & somehow she still ask me to proceed with her order..He..he..

After much restless thoughts, I decided to just have a go & make my own version of flower deco...Now, don't ask me what flower it is as I've no idea :-P All I did was take some dough & just go with the flow. Pretty sure no such flower existed in the world, only in my mind :-P

Here's the set of cupcakes which Ms. FH ordered for her BFF's engagement ceremony :-)

Attempting Sugar Craft Flowers :-P

Pink & Purple Themed Cupcakes

Engagement Gift Cupcakes - Chocolate Moist Cake

With Chocolate Ganache Frostings & Fondant Deco

To Ms. FH, you've been so great! Even when I frankly tell you of my inadequate skill in making sugar craft flowers, you still put your trust in me & urge me on...I greatly appreciate your support & encouragement :-) My sincere gratitude to you, always! Hugs!