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! 

A Blessing...

Being a one-person baker sure have it's up & down moments...Down moment is when there are so many things I want to do yet couldn't due to my limited sources, like my hands! :-P Though I'm not complaining ( as I love every baking moment ), I do wish I have an extra set of octopus hands :-) Maybe a device of some sort where I can strap it on whenever I need extra hands to do my baking & much more :-P There are also times when I simply had ( this always break my heart! ) to decline an order/request due to my full baking schedules. Believe me, I would always, always try my best to fulfill all requests but sometimes a girl ( ermmm, maybe I should say woman ) just don't have enough time in a day, another down moments :-( Being sick/unwell is another down moment for me...If I could bake from my bed when I'm unwell, I would definitely do it :-P

Nevertheless, despite all those down moments I have to go through, I'm so blessed with much more up moments :-) One particular blessing I'm always & forever will be grateful for is the love, support & understanding of all my loyal customers & supporters. Hugs! No matter what down moments I'm facing, they were always there supporting me in every way. For this I thank you my dears :-x

Another blessing I'm ever so grateful for is the constant streaming of new customers & friends that I've been receiving lately. No words can ever express my thanks & appreciation to each & every one of you who took 'a leap of faith' in trying out my goodies :-) Much love to you!

One such person, who turns out to be such a loyal customer & definitely a friend, is Ms. Hasnita from Puchong :-) To tell the truth, I wasn't sure where or how she heard of me, but I'm just grateful that she was willing to try out my goodies when she placed her first order with me :-) I remembered how nervous I was when receiving Hasnita's order :-P Yup! I always get so nervous when fulfilling orders for new customers, you know those hands & legs shaking kind of nervous :-P Thankfully Hasnita was happy with her first order & has ever since ordered countless of goodies from me :-)

Here are some photos sent in by Hasnita...Thanks so much for sharing dear :-) As you might be aware, all my photo folders in my laptop was 'swallowed up' & couldn't be recovered till date :-( A major down moment for me :'(

Red Velvet Cake With Edible Image Deco

The Birthday Boy, Humaam Ajwad. Happy Birthday Dear!

Hasnita's 'Leap Of Faith' Order :-P Her Very 1st Order - Red Velvet Cupcakes

To my dear Hasnita, your love & support means the world to me :-) Thank you so much & I do hope I'll be getting much more love from you :-)

To all my loyal friends & customers, you all are my blessing & will always be my up moments :-) From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for everything - for the encouragements, supports, recommendations, understanding, patience, compassion & most of all for the love you've showered me with *teary eyes* Hugssssssss!

Technology 1, Me 0

It's official - I lost to technology! Erghhhhhh! Despite using various software to recover my lost photo folders ( yup! my laptop had a glitch recently & 'swallowed' all my photo folders ) and staying up till the wee hours running those programmes, my files are no where to be found...Sob...Sob...Okay technology, you definitely won! Raising a white flag now! Sigh!

Image Taken From The Wide World Of Web

As much as I hate to accept the fact, I'll guess it's time for me to move on ( with much sobs nonetheless ) & re-start another portfolio of my goodies...Yeah, I've always considered my goodies photo my portfolio...I was never a baker @ a cook before, so those photos are actually my own personal 'proof'...Ha...Ha...Hence why I was sooooooo OVERLY distraught over the lost photos :-P

Distraught apart, I'm sending my sincere thanks & love to both my heroes ( my darling honey bunny & my dear 'son' ) for being so supportive & patient enough to hear all my moans & groans eversince the computer glitch :-P Yea, I know I might be the 'lousiest' person to be with during those time but both of you prevailed & stood by my side & even tried your best to retrieve the folders...To both of you, muahhhhhhhhh!! You're such an angel & I'm lucky to have you in my life :-) On another note, err, guys, any other program we can use? Pleaseeeeeeeee...*just trying my luck - begging* :-P

Well, I guess for the next few posts, I'll have to make do with posting 'borrowed' photos of my goodies which thankfully was sent in by my friends & previous customers :-) Thank you so much dears for being kind & supportive enough to attend to my pleas :-P You're a life saver! Much love to each & every one of you! Hugssssssss!

Extra love to my darling Ira for being so supportive through-out my 'ordeal' recently :-P She knows how 'erghhhhhh' I am with computers, hence her constant encouragements & supports means the world to me :-) Much love to you sis! Muahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Here's my longgggggggg overdue post on her goodies which she ordered from me a while ago...I was so wrapped up rushing out orders & with the computer glitch and all, I didn't manage to blog about it, until today :-( Sorry dear for the delay...

This order was made by Ira for her darling son, Mukhriz ( the cutest boy evehhhhhhhhhhh! ) for his 4th birthday celebration. I was honestly all excited & thrilled about the cake from the moment Ira commissioned me to make it :-P Much more so when Ira gave me a 'free pass' to design Mukhriz's birthday cake as I see fit :-P Yeayyyyyy! Simply love it when I get the opportunity to let lose my imagination :-P After much thought & planning, I finally decided to go with a plane theme - something I'm sure a boy would love :-P I also added a surprise in my goodies - a rainbow cake :-P

Mukhriz's Aeroplane Theme Birthday Cake

Vanilla Buttercake With Vanilla Buttercream Frosting & Fondant Deco

Happy Birthday Mukhriz! Ain't He The Cutest Boy?!! Hugssssss!

Surpriseeeeeeeee! A Rainbow Cake :-)

I could not have proceed with updating my blog if it was not for Ira...Too distraught was I over losing my photos, especially Mukhriz's cake photos :-( Thankfully Ira brought smiles back to my face by sending me photos from her personal album. My utmost thanks to her for allowing me to share this in my post...You're such a dear & I love you for that! Muahhhhhhh!

It's truly an honour to me that you've chosen my goodies to grace Mukhriz's special day, Ira...Your continuous support & love means the world to me. Thank you dear! I'm loving your post in your blog as well! Thank you...thank you...thank you!

Till my next post, sending much love to each & every one of you out there...Hugssssss!

Attacked By The Killer Technology!

Image Taken From The Wide World Of Web...I Simply Love Their Clips!

The darkest of cloud came to my shore recently...I could feel the malice that comes with it, haunting me...Hrmmm, how's that for my intro?...Yeah, I'm in my major drama queen moment! If you had gone through what I went through last week, I'm sure you'll be having the same sentiment :-P

Technology, whom I believe was supposed to make life easier, was my main nemesis the whole of last week...Heck! I think I'm still sore with it this week :-P Not sure what it has against me but technology sure 'attacked' me with a vengeance recently :-( First my laptop simply crashed ( much to my dismay! ) as I was goggling a project I was working on...I was pretty sure I'll be okay at first as I did back ups for my folders, only to realize later on that all folders were intact, except for my photo folders! All my photos ( yup! I meant ALL! ) including those of my goodies ( plus those I haven't uploaded to my blog! ) went missing! Despite my swollen eyes ( yup! drama queen cried her eyes out okay! ) for the past few days & various attempts by my darlings, it simply couldn't be recovered :'(

I really can't describe how it felt like, losing all those photos...It's just so frustrating as those photos were simply priceless to me, especially all those photos of my goodies. Some were even photos of my 1st trials goodies such like the Burger Cake, House Cake & a lot more cupcakes...*sobs*

Oh! It didn't stop there...As if it's not enough to make my life a total chaos, technology went a bit further by 'attacking' my mobile phone! Yup! It too went haywire & is now at the service centre for some TLC...Sigh! Not having a mobile phone is nearly the same as being stranded in the jungle - ALONE! *drama queen moment!*

Anyway, on a serious note, I am sending out my sincere apologies to all my friends & customers whose goodies photos were lost during my 'attacked by the killer technology' moment :-( Extra apologies to those goodies order I did not managed to upload to my blog :'( I do hope you managed to snap some photos of it for your personal keepsake...

To be honest, part of me is wishing that this is all a nightmare...That I'll wake up soon & my photos are all there :-P No such luck & I've pinched myself sore!

I'll leave this post with a few photos of the cupcakes which I did for Suraya & Maini. It's a gift for their cousin's engagement recently. These were taken from another one of their cousin's, Intan Norzalizawati, Facebook account. I'm looking forward to receive more photos from Suraya & when I do, I'll definitely share it here ;-)

My Cupcakes As Part Of The Engagement Gifts

Engagement Cupcakes - Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes

With Lemon Cream Cheese & Fondant/Sugarpaste Flowers Deco

To Suraya & Maini, what else can I say other than my sincere thanks for all your support & love! You have been one of the strong force behind Ritz Passion & I thank you from the bottom of my heart...Keep the love coming kay :-)

To the newly engaged, Fazira & "Jebat", my congratulations to you both :-) May your coming days be filled with lots more love & happiness from each other :-)

Candylicious Cupcakes

It always amazes me what one can learn from a child.....One thing I always tell myself, never brush aside a child's idea, no matter how bizarre it seems :-) I learnt one such lesson when my dear BFF, Rozie, called me up & told me of her daughter's, Myra, special request for her birthday cupcakes :-)

Here's what Myra wanted in her cupcakes - lots & lots of chocolate, candies & marshmallows. Not forgetting a lollipop to go with each cupcake :-P Myra even hand-picked her choices of candies & marshmallows :-) My 1st initial thought was, 'Oh dear! I wonder how that's gonna taste like' :-P

Thankfully I was given some ample time to come up with a new flavor for Myra's birthday cupcakes :-) Boy! I do love it when I get to play around with recipes :-P After several trial & error, I finally came up with the perfect cupcake flavor ;-) A vanilla buttercake as a cake base with splashes of colors in it...Something I'm sure kids will be delighted to see in their cupcakes :-) I then top it up with a layer of chocolate ganache & finally decorate it as per Myra's wish - lots of gummy candies, Skittles, marshmallows & a lollipop :-) Truth be told, I loveeeee the taste! :-P It just reminds me so much of my childhood, you know those times when you're just so crazy over candies & chocolates ;-) Myra, you're such a genius! :-)

Candylicious Cupcakes Inspired By Myra

Vanilla Buttercake With Chocolate Ganache Frosting &

Topped With Loads Of Gummy Candies, Skittles, Marshmallows & Lollipops

A Child's Dream Cupcakes...

A Nice Burst Of Colors I'm Sure Kids Will Be Crazy About :-)

Hopefully I'll Bring A Smile To A Kid's Face With These Little Wonders ;-)

I have to admit that this is one project that I've enjoyed making :-) Makes me feel anything is possible where cupcakes are concerned :-) Extra special as I'm making it for my dear god-daughter, Myra...She's such a joy to be with, all cheeky & so lovable! Muahhhhhh! Love you sweetie!

To my dear Rozie, thank you so much for choosing me to make Myra's dream cupcakes a reality. I'm so humbled by your trust & confidence :-) Much love to you dear!

To my angel, Myra, happy birthday to you dear! Love you tonnes!

Cooking Itch

Wow! It had definitely been a hectic week for me :-P Too hectic to even prepare a home cooked meal, not even to fry an egg or cook instant noodles! That's how busy life was for me lately...Been wishing I have more than 24hours a day :-P Even then, I doubt that I can get everything done *sigh*

For the last few days ( or was it weeks? ) I've sort of put my cooking session on 'pause mode'. So many errands to run, orders to fulfill, appointments, yada....yada...Yet, as hectic as I was, I just couldn't ignore the 'cooking itch' that has been bugging me mostly everyday :-P I just need ( yup, NEED with capital letters! ) to whip up something, anything. Seriously, when my baking/cooking bug hits me, it really hit me bad! 

I was sooooo in the mood to cook something local...I'm not sure why the sudden itch for local dishes, as honestly, local dishes aren't really my forte *blush* Just ask my family & friends. I'm sure they'll agree...Ha! Ha!

After much deliberation ( with myself! ) on which local dish I wish to cook, I decided on Nasi Lemak with Sambal Udang Petai...Just feel like eating something spicy :-P To those wondering what this dishes are, Nasi Lemak is actually rice cooked in coconut milk, which is usually served with other accompaniments, such like Beef Rendang, fried chicken and more. Sambal Udang Petai is a local dish where prawns ( udang ) are cooked in chili paste & mixed with stinky beans ( petai ).

Okay..okay...Less babbling & get straight to the photos, rite? :-P

Nasi Lemak ( Rice Cooked In Coconut Milk ) & It's Accompaniments

The Accompaniments ( From Left To Right ) - Hard Boiled Egg, Cucumber,

Blanched Kangkung ( Water Convolvulus ) & Sambal Udang Petai ( Chili Prawns With Stinky Beans )

A Spicy Dish Indeed - Chili Prawns With Stinky Beans

I Think Andrew Zimmern Of Bizarre Foods ( TV Show )

Should Really Give These Stinky Beans A Try :-P

Ohhh! I unintentionally cooked quite a large quantity of rice ( enough to serve 6 person I think! ) & was cursing myself what a waste it's gonna be :-( My worry was short lived as to my surprise & delight, my honey bunny finished everything! It's just so great seeing others enjoy what you've cooked & it sure felt great seeing my honey bunny enjoying his meals :-P

Verdict for this dishes, think I'll say 'mission accomplished'! *patting myself on the back* ;-)