Going Turquoise

For a novice baker like myself, apart from still finding my way in perfecting my cake decorating skills, mixing colors for fondant / frosting is still a feat I'm struggling with :-P I can't recall the hundredth of times I've mixed & matched my color gels to get certain color but ended up getting a totally different colour than what was intended! That's how 'erghhhhhhhhhh' my color mixing can be :-P

Sure, it's easy when one request for a yellow, red or even blue fondant deco. I'm totally happy with that...but when someone ask for such colors like maroon, aqua & in this case, turquoise, that's when my knees go weak ( out of fear! )!

Imagine then my nervousness when I received SHAR's ( she's actually ordering it on behalf of her BFF, Wan ) last minute order for an engagement cake with a turquoise color theme...Ngeeeeeeee! I literally did a quick Google search just to make sure I got the right color :-P Boy oh boy! As predicted ( me being lousy with the task! ), I went through some frantic moments adding this & that color gels into my fondant. Not an easy feat, I might add :-P Infact I think I've developed some muscles whilst kneading my fondant during those processes :-P

In the end, I'm really happy with the outcome, much more so when looking at SHAR & Wan's smiling faces when they picked up the cake :-P *patting myself on the back* :-P It's crucial to me that they like the cake as it's actually a special gift from Wan to SHAR's family. SHAR's sister is getting engaged & Wan wanted the cake to be a part of the special occasion. Sweetttttttttt!! :-)

Turquoise & White Theme Engagement Cake

Chocolate Moist Cake With Chocolate Ganache Fillings & Fondant Deco

Yup! Am Still Struggling In Perfecting My Fondant Flower Skills *blush*

To my long time customer & darling friend, SHAR, it's always great seeing you sis :-) Sure wish I could see you more often ;-) Thank you so much for your continuous support & I hope I'll be getting more from you :-) Hugs!

To my new customer, and of course my new friend, Wan...Big, big, BIG hugs to you dear! It's such a pleasure baking your cake & I sure hope you're happy with it :-)

To SHAR's sister, Ain, congratulations on your engagement! May your coming days be filled with lots of love, romance & happiness :-)

Burger, Anyone?

A word of warning to those who's about to read this post...Please be prepared to laugh your heart out the moment you see my photos :-P Just have to warn you as it's my 1st time ( ever! ) to make such a cake *blush* I'm very sure there are so many mistakes that I've done that might tickle your funny bones :-P Don't  say I didn't warn you ;-)

Truth be told...I've always had a soft spot for dear Ira :-) I've known her for a short period, yet our friendship seemed to hit it off nicely the moment we met, which was about 3 years ago ( Gosh! How time flies! ).

Few months back, Ira contacted me & mentioned that she wished to 'book' me to do a birthday cake for her honey bunny. I have to admit that it was pretty humbling to be thought of, what more to be given the opportunity to bake for your good friend :-) Thanks so much dear!

For the first few days after Ira's order, both of us practically had to wrack our brains looking for ideas/theme for the cake...It was a challenge to 'create' the birthday boy's ( I mean man's ) cake as according to Ira, her honey bunny's not the cake type of person :-P

It was not until the last week before the actual date that Ira let slip that her honey bunny's favorite food is burger! Ira actually suggested that I make something to that effect...We were thinking of using edible photos of hamburgers for the cake when it suddenly hit me! Why not make a cake that looks like a burger instead! Making a 'burger cake' is something I've been wanting to try for quite sometime & what better time to make it for my dear friend :-) My only worry is, I've NEVER done it before! Could I pull it off?!!

Luckily for me, Ira was game & gave me the 'green light' to go ahead with my 'crazy' idea :-P

Burger Cake - My 1st Ever! :-P

Vanilla Bean Butter Cake With Vanilla Buttercream/Choc Ganache

& Fondant Deco 

Burger With All It's Trimmings :-P

Yup! That's Real Sesame Seeds :-)

Loving The Lettuce, Cheese, Cucumber & Tomatoes :-P

As nervous as I was 'creating' Ira's cake, I have to admit that I had so much fun doing it :-) Not only did I manage to strike out another item from my "to do" wish-list, I also had the opportunity to do something special for a dear friend :-)

To my dear Ira, thank you soooooooo much for trusting me enough to 'create' your special cake. Your unrelenting support & encouragement means so much to me. I am truly humbled. Hugs!

Profession Of Love

Yup! I'm wayyyyyyyyyyyy behind on my blog's post :-( My apologies as I've been super duper busy of late. Not that I'm complaining as I get to bake lots of goodies during those hectic times :-) Loving those moments! It's just that I REALLY need to catch up on my blog's posts! Ngeeeeeeeee!

Talking about goodies, it is always an honor when my goodies were chosen to celebrate special occasions, especially when it is used to convey/profess someone's love for one another :-)

I'm such a sucker ( always was & always will! ) when it comes to love/romance, hence it was a great pleasure baking Didie's cupcakes in conjunction with her 'Love Anniversary' with darling fiancée, Faisal. Didie wanted to surprise Faisal & opted her goodies to be delivered to Faisal's office on that special day :-) Her order was for a set of Chocolate Moist cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache & edible logo of 'The Zon'. I was a bit curious on 'The Zon' edible request but Didie lovingly informed me that the place has a special meaning to them. Sweettttttttttttt! :-)

Oh! By the way, don't get confused with the dates on the cupcakes :-) It's not that this post was wayyyyyyyy outdated :-P The date actually represent the day Didi & Faisal's first fell in love :-)

A Gift Of Love From Didie To Faisal

Chocolate Moist Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache & Buttercream Frosting

Cupcakes With Edible 'The Zon' Logo

'Love Anniversary' Cupcakes Delivered To Faisal

To Didie & Faisal, 'Happy Love Anniversary' to both of you :-) May all your days together be filled with lots of love & happiness!

A personal note to Didie, it was such a pleasure knowing you dear & thank you so much for choosing Ritz Passion goodies to celebrate your special day :-) Wishing you much happiness! Hugs!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

A different approach from my usual post...Just going to let my photos say it all.

Steamed Fruit Cake inspired by my late mum...Yeah, I'm in my sappy & sentimental mood ;-)

Role Playing In The Kitchen ( Spaghetti Bolognese )

Okay, this might sound weird to some, but I love 'role playing' when I'm in the kitchen :-P It's just sooooo much fun when I can be a hawker stall cook one day & cook up fried kuey teow in my wok...Or be a cafe owner another day & whip up tonnes of goodies like cupcakes, or even a creme brulee. There was a time when I was even a pastry chef & made flaky beef pies :-)

I was in a mood for one of my 'role play' the other day & this time it was as an Italian Chef :-P Ha..ha...It must be due to watching too much cooking programs shown on TV! Anyway, I cooked up my version of Spaghetti Bolognese & even shared my excitement over it in my Facebook *blush* A few followers requested for the recipe & walaaa! here it is ;-)

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE
Printable Recipe

THE INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped finely
• 1 medium bulb garlic, chopped finely
• 400g minced beef
• 410g can tomatoes
• 220g tomato puree
• 1/2 cup ( 125ml ) water
• 1/4 cup ( 60ml ) beef stock
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano
• Salt & crushed black pepper
• 1 pack spaghetti

COOKING INSTRUCTION

1. Heat oil in large pot/saucepan. Add in onion & garlic and cook over medium heat until onion is soft.

2. Add minced beef to pot & stir constantly over high heat until meat is well browned.

3. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato puree, water, beef stock & sugar. Crush the tomatoes using potato masher. Bring to a boil.

4. Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat. Add in salt & crushed black pepper to taste. Simmer sauce, covered, about 30 minutes or until minced beef is tender and mixture thickened slightly. Add in herbs & stir through.

5. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling water, uncovered, until just tender ( I usually add in some olive oil & salt into the boiling water ). Drain the pasta.

6. Serve the pasta with the sauce spooned over it. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese @ cheese powder if you wish.

FOR VARIETIES

* Add sliced button mushroom @ diced capsicum after crushing the tomatoes in Step 3

* For extra zing of hotness, sprinkle chili flakes on sauce when serving ;-)

Spaghetti Bolognese

Well, I'm off for another 'role playing' now :-P Think I'll be a deli owner next & create a sandwich ;-)

Without You, There's No Me

There are just no words that I can find to best describe my thanks & appreciation to those who has supported Ritz Passion all this while. What started out as a blog diary about my cooking trials & errors, Ritz Passion has now bloomed into a full time home-baking business...And I only have my dearest family, friends & YOU to thank :-)

One such person who has been so supportive of my passion is my dear Reen...Though she's newly introduced to my goodies, she has been quite a fan ( especially my cupcakes! ) & went out of her way to share & introduce my goodies to her friends & colleagues.

Thanks to Reen, I was recently honored to bake these cupcakes for her & her friends, Haniza & Azilah. I simply love it when I'm able to bake for others as to me, my goodies are an extension of my love & myself :-)

Reen's only request was for me to make the cupcakes as simple as possible. Told me that she just wanted to bite into the original taste of the cupcakes & the cream cheese frostings, without those extra taste of the sugar decorations & stuffs :-P

Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes With

Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings

To Haniza & Azilah, it was such a pleasure baking for you. My sincere thanks to both of you for purchasing my goodies. I truly hope that you had enjoyed every bite of it :-)

To my dear Reen, much love to you dear! Thank you so much for your support & love. Your love means the world to me. Muahhhhhh!

Last but not least, to all my family, friends & of course, YOU, you guys had been so great in rendering me all the love & support that I so much needed! Thank you soooooooooooooo much for everything! Much love to each & every one of you! Hugsssssss!

Panic Button Activated!

Aina, a dear friend & a very supportive customer of mine, managed to activate my 'panic button' a few weeks back with her last minute cake & cupcakes order. Ngeee! Thanks Aina for nearly giving me a heart attack! *grin*

Truth be told, she actually did inform me of her intention to purchase some goodies to celebrate her hubby & daughter's birthday a few days before. Unfortunately, due to her busy schedules & stuffs, she totally forgot & only managed to confirm her order a day before the intended collection date! Imagine my shock the night I received Aina's text! To top it all, I was already swarmed with cupcakes order during that time...

Relenting to Aina's 'sweet pleas' ( ha! ha! she's good at this! ) & most of all, not wanting to disappoint her, I agreed to bake her goodies. There goes my beauty sleep! :-P

American Carrot & Walnut Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Basket Weave & A Bed Of Roses Cake Deco

The Full Set - Carrot Cake & Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes

I do worry A LOT when I bake/make a last minute order & I was extremely worried about Aina's reaction on her goodies! Being the usual meticulous me, I always strive for perfection...I'm not called 'Monica' ( a character from the TV series, 'Friends' ) for no reason, rite? Ha..ha...

Thankfully Aina gave me the sweetest of smile when she collected & saw her goodies :-P Phewww! All those nerves & worries are such a killer!

To my dear Aina, thank you so much for all the support & of course, your undying confidence in my goodies :-) Despite all the panicky moments, I did enjoy making your cake & cupcakes :-) Another experience I'm taking along in my quest to be a better baker ;-)

P/S -  Aina, I rejoice the day when both your daughters came up to me & said they loved the cake & cupcakes :-) Simply make all the panic & worry so, so worth it! Hugsssss to both of them :-)