An Honor Indeed!

I think by now you all know just how much I love baking & decorating cakes :-P Whipping up recipes, baking cakes & decorating it are just heavenly to me! Ermmm, the cleaning part is something I still struggle with :-P Hate it! *chuckles*

Yes, I love baking but wanna know what I love best? Baking goodies for my dear friends for sure! Especially when it's for their little ones :-)

Few years back, when my dear friend, Lilia, requested that I make a special cupcakes for her son, Khayr's 1st birthday, I was beyond excited! So imagine how I felt when I received another request from Lilia - this time for Khayr's 2nd birthday :-) I'm just truly honored!

Khayr's Upin & Ipin Theme Birthday Cake

American Carrot Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese

Baby Khayr & His Loving Parent

Oooo...Is Khayr Judging My Work? :-P

Khayr Picking On The M&Ms :-)

To my dear Lilia, I know this post is wayyyyyyyyyyyy back-dated *blush* Am truly sorry for this ( no thanks to my crazy hard disk! ). Nevertheless, do know that it's written with much love :-x Special thanks to you & Kerol for giving me the opportunity to create yet another birthday cake for Khayr. No words can describe how much I value your support & encouragement! Errmmm, maybe this will give you some idea - thank you...thank you...THANK YOU! 

Many thanks too for sharing your personal photos with me :-) I've always loveeeeeeeeeeee looking at your family's photo! Such a great family you have there. You are truly blessed my dear :-x

Oh oh! Am suddenly lost for words! Think my brain is shutting down already as it's nearing 3:00am!

Time for my beauty sleep dearies :-P Till my next post, nighty nite all! 

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! ♥

Goodies For Dear Mum

It was during one of my busiest time when I received Shima's order...I was already swarmed & rushing out goodies order for an engagement & birthday functions when Shima called requesting for a cake & some cupcakes for her dear mum. Now, how could I possibly not make time for that :-)

Already hyperventalating to rush out my earlier orders, I was at first unsure if I should take Shima's order. Yes, I do love baking & will always welcome any excuse to do so but I'm one particular & extremely meticulous kind of person :-P My family & close friends can vouch for that! Ha...Ha...It's a MUST that all my goodies that comes out from my oven taste & look good - no excuse! Oh! I can be really hard on myself most of the time :-P You could say that I'm the type of person who'll always go for quality rather than quantity. 

After much juggling & re-arranging my baking schedules, I was able to spare enough time to bake Shima's goodies...Really glad to be able to do so too as Shima's a first time customer ;-) Though we never met, her phone calls always delighted me as she's so jovial & easy to talk with :-) It is really a nice feeling gaining new customers. To me, new customers equals to new friends, and it is something I truly cherish :-)

Shima's order for her mum was for a unit of American Carrot & Walnut Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frostings & three ( 3 ) sets of Red Velvet Cupcakes. I decided to make it a bit special & decorated some of the cupcakes to fit the cake's deco :-P Something sweet for Shima's mum :-P Shima also requested that some of the cupcakes deco to be colorful, for the kids :-)

American Carrot & Walnut Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Simple Basket Weave Deco

Red Velvet Cupcakes With Basket Weave Deco

Sweet Deco Goodies For Shima's Mum

Red Velvet With Colorful Deco For The Kids :-) Photo Courtesy Of Shima. Thanks Dear!

To my dear Shima, thank you so much for choosing my goodies. It's such a pleasure knowing you & I do hope to be hearing from you again :-) Much love! 

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 :-)

She Had Me At "Hello"

There are times when it took you a while to start a friendship...and there are times when it simply took you a few second! That's exactly what happened to me & Ms. Eijaa...From her first sweet 'hello' which she sent to me thru my FB account, we somehow hit it off straight away...Really, it's like we've been friends forever, when the truth is we are simply strangers! Times like this is when I really count my blessings...

It started when Eijaa sent me sweet...sweet messages saying how she loves my products ( Note to Eijaa : Muahhh!! Thanks dear for your kind words! ) and from then on, our friendship blossomed...She's such a sweet person & really, it's not hard to like her! Bubbly & jovial, always laughing...That's one thing we have in common & I guess that's why we clicked ;-)

This order was actually done by her during the Ramadhan...She was dying to taste my Carrot Cake and finally decided to order it for her berbuka puasa ( break fast ) reunion with some of her ex-colleague...So excited was she with her order that I could not help being nervous....Just worried that I don't live up to her expectation...Ngeee!!!

For her cake deco, she requested for a 'black & white' theme...and make it nice, she warned me...He...he...

Wanting to create something special for her, I decided to try out my chocolate deco...Trust me, I've never done any chocolate deco for cakes before...What more, I've never attended any classes on making chocolates @ cake decorations...So this was really a challenge...I guess  I had one of my daring moments while doing Eijaa's cake ;-)

"Black & White" Themed Carrot Cake

Chocolate Alphabets

Eijaa, I do hope you've enjoyed the cake...My sincere thanks for your purchase...but most of all for your friendship...Hugs!!!

Happy 8th Birthday Harith!

Boys will always be boys :-P

When one of my besties, Mona called me & wanted to order a football theme cake for her son, Harith, I was a bit unsure on how to go about decorating it...Further more, Mona mentioned that Harith's favorite football team is Manchester United...Being a life-long fan of Chelsea, I know how special Manchester United Team is to their fan, what more to an eight year old boy...

After a great talk with Mona to get all the details, I went about wrecking my brain thinking of ways to make the cake special for Harith...I really want him to have the greatest smile when he sees his cake ;-) Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to mull over the deco as I was given kind of a last minute notice by Mona :-) Mind you, I'm still just a novice and my imagination is still quite limited, what more when pressed for time...Ha..ha...

Mona had ordered from me several times before & this time around she requested for a carrot & walnut cake with cream cheese topping...

Manchester United & Football Theme Birthday Cake

Carrot & Walnut With Cream Cheese Topping

Mona, you had been one of my greatest supporter all this time & I truly appreciate it...Thanks so much for allowing me to bake the cake for my god-son, Harith...I do hope you have enjoyed my baking ;-) From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!! Muahhhh!!

P/S - In one of her smses to me, Mona mentioned that Harith actually sleeps with his footballers toy...Ain't that so cute :-P

Ritz Comfort Food

After years of baking & cooking for friends, I recently received a non-stop urging from family members & friends about posting details and photos of food that is available for them to purchase...I have to admit this request is a bit so nail-biting for me as I've only been baking & cooking for my own consumption all these while...These days, each time I meet up with my friends, they keep asking me the same old question - "when will I post the details?!!!" I simply can't run away from their 'chanting' any longer and so, to fulfill their request, here it is, an introduction to "Ritz Comfort Food"...

Carrot Cake With Walnut & Cream Cheese Toppings

As everyone who knows me, I HATE VEGETABLES!!!! When I first heard about carrot cakes, I simply rolled my eyes!! It was my late mum who practically insisted ( several...several times!! ) that I try it & since then I'm hooked!!! But the one I tried didn't have the frosting that I like, so over the years, I have created my own version of carrot cake & cream cheese toppings...And here it is - a dedication to my mum ;-)

Almond Brownies With Chocolate Toppings

To those who is as crazy about chocolate as I am, this is the food that I crave for especially during rainy days...Imagine having a very chocolaty & nutty brownies with a hot cup of coffee...Yummy!!!

Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over cupcakes but honestly, the one I usually purchase, somehow is always so plain...As usual, I decided to try make my own twist & I came up with this...It's something orangy & the frosting is a bit lemonish...I love having this when I'm feeling down...A real booster for me!

Moist Chocolate Chip Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache & White Chocs Toppings

A real treat to those chocolate lovers - very very chocolaty indeed!!

Vanilla Corn Muffins

A light snack which I love to have while watching tv @ dvds...A light vanilla flavor muffin with corn pieces inside.

Rock Cookies

A crunchy chocolate base cookies. I baked this for my last Hari Raya & was a hit among family & friends...

Honey & Nuts Cornflake Cookies

My version of the normal honey cornflakes biscuit...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My family's favorite...A crunchy chocolaty cookies packed with lots of chocolate chips & pecan nuts.

Chocolate Cornflake Cookies

Another one of my family's favorite & a 'must have' EACH Hari Raya!!

Apart from the above, I do other kinds of food such like fried @ frozen popia, unfortunately I do not have the photo of it :-(

Well, to those interested to know more, please feel free to drop me a note at the 'comment box' or you can contact me at 012-9251292...If I do not pick up your call, please leave a message @ sms me as I might be in the kitchen - baking :-)

Baking Madness!!

Dear oh dear! To those who's wondering where the heck I've been, my apologies for not updating my blog for quite some time...

Yup! I was 'attacked' & 'possessed' by the BAKING VIRUS!!! You just wouldn't believe the hours I practically spend with my one & only loyal oven...Luv it! Luv it!!!

I practically had to tear myself away from my oven today as I have been receiving lots of 'complaints' from friends & family for not updating my blog...Sorry guys for being off radar...

Well, to make it up to you ( actually as proof that I WAS really attacked by the baking virus!! Ha..ha..ha.. ), here are some photos for your pleasure...

Remember I told you about the birthday cake that I made for my dad?...I went for a 'child' concept thus the free-hand childish kind of writing on the cake...Ha...ha...ha...

Then I got into this own 'home-schooling' thingy on how to decorate cakes...So, seriously, those 'off radar' moment, I actually was bz practicing decorating cakes...Remember that basket-weave pattern I tried to learn? Here's the result after several batches of wasting icing...Ha..ha..ha...

Come to think of it, you should really thank your lucky stars for not seeing me during those time! What a sight!!! Me with my hands full of icing, trying to figure out which tip does what pattern...The mess I did on the table!! Thank god my house wasn't attacked by antssssssssssssssssss!! Here's the latest photo of my carrot cake...Believe it or not, I actually received orders for it ;-)

As for my latest project - cupcakes ( I call it cuppies )...My, I had lots of fun doing this!! Would you believe it if I tell you that I was soooooooooooooooo into doing this I didn't even realized that I actually burnt the night away 'playing' with my cuppies...Imagine, at 2:00 am I got the urge to make cuppies & by the time I finish 'playing', the sun was already up!!! I wanted to try something new, so I did this orange poppy seed with lemon cheese frosting on it...Since the cake are orangie, I opt for something lemonish for the toping...Result? I think the cuppies turns out yummy - a good combination between orange & lemon I might say.

And as I love to have varieties when it comes to food, I even made myself moist choc chip cuppies with choc ganache & white choc toppings....Ha...ha...ha...Sounds so fancy ehhh?!!

A funny story though, I actually gave some of my cuppies to this Aunty who sells the bakery items...She had been so helpful to me all this years & I thought what better way to say thank you than to give her something that I baked...Guess what I received in the end?....A non-stop thank you, a smile that just warms my heart & 2 bags of Oreo cookies!!! I was practically on cloud nine yesterday...

My boxful of cuppies...

Recently I was invited to one of my close friend's house. It was her hubby's birthday & since I do not know what to get for a birthday gift, I made brownies...Unfortunately, I totally forgot to snap a photo of it :-P I hope they like my gift...

Well, time to start another project - Oreo Cheesecake...Yup! Gonna use that 2 bags of Oreo to good use ;-)

I do have tonnes of stories which I saved in my draft box...Lots of things to update yet so little time to edit it! Hope to be able to post it soon...

Oppss!! My oven is calling me...Gotta go!