The Wedding Cake of Hawaliana Selamat and Khairul Ismadi

It was my dear classmate’s wedding on 15 September 2013. Hawaliana Selamat is now a married woman, Alhamdulillah may your marriage leads you together to the end, InsyaAllah.

Flower Sprays and vines

I was anxious to be given the honor to create her wedding cake which the order was made much earlier. After going back and forth, price and design she finally decided on a 2 tier stacked cakes with separate cake flavors on each tiers. Bottom tier was Moist Chocolate Cake, and the top tier was Lemon Pound Cake.

Finished cake with Royal Icing detailing

The sizes of the cakes were 12” bottom and 8” top in round shape. After the cakes were done sandwiched and iced, they are stacked and secured with enough pillars inside to support the heavy cake. Both cakes were filled with lemon buttercream and chocolate buttercream respectively and iced with basic crisp white fondant and embossed with quilted effects all around. Marzipan tool was used to manipulate the fondant to mimic the pleats and folds at the button points.

Quilted effects Fondant

The sugar flowers were made ahead of time just to spare all the last minutes to the cake. the color pallet for the flowers was not decided in specific but the bride said she wants it in pastel colors. The sugar flowers gathered into two sprays one was larger than the other. The larger flower sprays was put on top and the other was put on the side of the cake.

Top tier Flower Spray

Towards the end of constructing and building up the cake, how I not realize the cake weighed so much that I panic thinking of how to transport the cake in one piece. But I’ve managed to transport it just fine, Alhamdulillah. And as it was really late that this cake finished to be transported, only lousy kitchen lighting been utilized for the pictures hence the darkness in all of the pictures. Apologies for that~ :-)

Bottom tier (side) Flower Spray

Scarlet Rouge - The Love of Syaza and Shakir

Lets start this entry by wishing Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all fellow Muslims in Malaysia and all over the world and Maaf Zahir dan Batin. May Allah bless us with health and wealth through physical and spiritual, ameen.

Yet another complimentary cake for the Butik Kaseh Collection package. The first wedding cake made after a long break from Ramadhan. White and Red were chosen by the future bride and groom and the cake was made especially for them - Syaza and Shakir. Congratulations for both.

The flavor of the cake was moist chocolate cake of a new recipe to replace the older. it is super moist and deep in chocolaty flavor. Enriching its flavor, Strawberry Buttercream sandwiched in between cake layers and crumb coat the whole cake underneath the fondant. Moist Chocolate Cake is by far the most loved cake flavor ever and to accompany that with Strawberry Buttercream, it translates a new dynamic flavor profile of the cake. The choice of Strawberry Buttercream was driven by the red theme of the wedding.

The construction of the cake was a one piece cake without any tier stacked up. the dimension measures 4 inches high and about 8 inches in diameter.

Keeping it simple but yet sophisticated, the cake adorned with Royal Icing detailing. Shells, Scrolls, and Dots embellished the the cake that contrast the crisp white fondant. Polka Dots on the side of the cake while Shells finish the bottom sides neatly.

Piped Little Roses also helped in bringing up the overall cosmetic appeal of the cake as they were also tinted in deep scarlet red hue. Scrolls beautify the top edge of the cake all the way round and layered with a simple swirl of the same royal icing. This gives a little more delicate touch and dynamic to the design.

Brother's Engagement Cake - Did not turned out as planned but enough to fulfill a "Hantaran".

Dated May 26th, 2013, my only older brother, Ishak were engaged to Siti Haida. The engagement ceremony took place at Haida's place in Hulu Langat, Selangor and it went smoothly without any problems arose. The only thing we encountered was the fact that we parked our cars at the wrong flat...lol...Ishak was the one who lured us to park so far from Haida's place...hahahaha...but it was fine and everybody was taking it as a joke...

Standing tall against the rest of the Engagement Gifts.

The Engagement Gifts from the Ishak were 7 items in total consisting of the Engagement Cake, Engagement Ring, Bunga Rampai (Potpourri - Screwpine and Jasmine), Sirih Junjung (Floral arrangement of Betel leaves, Gambier, Areca, and Lime Stone Paste), Assorted Fruits, Bride Clothes, and Chocolate Candy with edible images of Ishak and Haida. There was another Ring with Tepak Sirih as what the Malays said "Cincin Merisik". I volunteered to be in charge of the decoration design of the gifts and there was help from our the aunties also. The overall color pallet was Pink and Off-white and I decided to make it simple but sophisticated with Peony Sprays in corresponding colors.

Snap some before it's too late...hahahaha

Of all the gifts for Haida, the engagement cake was the one I was most critical about. According to plan, it was supposed to be shaped in a birdcage replica. However, due to the time constraints and other work to be done, the cake ended up with just a 6" tall round Chocolae Moist Cake. The design was just simple with Fondant Icing, Royal Icing detailing, and Sugar Flowers Spray as Cake Topper.

It is much easier to create finer detailing and handle Modeling paste than with Pastillage.

I've made the Sugar Flowers a week earlier as I was trying out a new recipe which called Modelling Paste. Modeling paste can be said to perform the same purpose as Gum Paste and Pastillage. While Gum paste uses edible gum in the recipe and Pastillage uses gelatin (and sometimes egg whites), Modeling paste uses a powder called CMC (Carboxymethyl Cellulose). This cellulose is derived from plants and in food science it is used as stabilizer or viscosity modifier. I have to say that it helped me a lot in defining detail work in making sugar flowers as it is really pliable almost like a rubber. In comparison to Pastillage as I have always opted, Modeling paste is much easier to handle and less likely to break into pieces. However, owning to the fact that Malaysia is a Tropical Climate Land, the humidity prolonged the drying process.

Filigree in teardrops detailing. Floral Vines twirls down the cake.

The Flowers Spray was actually inspired by Alan Dunn's work in his book; Tropical and Exotic Flowers for Cakes. I took the inspirational wire work as floral vines twirling across the bouquet and down the height of the cake. There were Gradient Pink Roses, Gradient Yellow Roses, Hydrangeas and filler flowers in the spray.

Floral Vines using wires and floristry tape.

Closeup shot for the Gradient Pink Rose.

Roses, Hydrangeas and filler flowers.

The body of the cake design was the most depressing part. I was literally iced the cake with fondant 4 times and I still can't get it smooth on its surface (Owh~ I should be ashamed). But it could be due to the hot weather and also I was so stressed out trying to squeeze in everything in limited time frame. Nevertheless, as a Pastry Cook, I should be able to improvise to overcome difficulties shouldn't I? It's all about tips and tricks or as I've learned in my classes; Tricks of the Trade. After all, desperate time calls for desperate measures right?. Royal icing used to manifest intricate filigree designs but with a twist of using continuous little teardrop shapes. Visually, this helped in "correcting" the unevenness of the fondant surface. I was happy with the result then, Alhamdulillah...

In its box for transportation.

A little tip from me for all of you who like baking and pastry work, always be confident to your products and it will turn out good. If it's not, then improvise in the next step. you should never throw your products just because it didn't turned out the way you like it (unless it turned out overcooked Lol!...). Remember, the good thing about cooking always happened by accidents like fungi-leavened breads. Any faults you made in the process may possibly means new discovery that could be acknowledged.

Ma Petite Chérie - Little Darlings of Spring

It has been a long time since the last time this blog being updated. Apologies for that as I have been really busy with my study, assignments and other jobs. Never the less, I have been gathering materials to keep this blog posted. InsyaAllah.

Soothing Turquoise reminiscent of Spring

Just recently I’ve made a wedding gift cake for the client of Butik Pengantin Kaseh Collection as part of the complimentary extras of the package chosen. I have to admit that I had a hard time trying to finish up the cake as I mentioned before that I was busy with other things. But, it went all right at the end. The cake turned out better than I expected. Alhamdulillah

Wedding of Ejan and Ekin - Johan Setia, Klang

The flavor of the cake was Semi-Sweet Chocolate Cake (since it’s a favorite!) with chocolate buttercream filling. I’ve been told that the color theme of the client’s wedding was turquoise and hence to selection. The décor wasn’t much elaborated – Message on cake and just scatters of little royal icing roses. The base fondant is tinted with turquoise color to match the wedding theme and the little roses were inspired by the Spring Season.

Little Darlings of Spring

The overall color pallet chosen was generally primary colors but in slightly off towards soft and muted shades. Pinks replace Red, Turquoise replaces Blue and Yellow. A light Green tinted royal icing was used to make the flowers' leaves just to enliven the overall Spring appeal.

Soft-tonal Primary Hues

Buttery Sweet Treasure - The Golden Butter Cake

Butter cake, also known as “yellow cake” for some people is another well-known cake in Malaysia. It has been around for some time and the buttery and sweet taste of this classic cake has been reformed on and off through a lot of recipe variants. Never the less, the well shared recipe – “same weight ingredients recipe” is a mistake proof and good tasting one, trust me! Talking about being tasty, butter cake always enjoyed as is without any fillings or icing for that matter. Despite of the reverence of classic taste, butter cake can also be flavored easily with extracts, zests, essences, and other concentrated flavorings.

Golden Treasure

Texture and consistency wise, butter cake is slightly firmer and heavier cake (as compared to regular sponge cake), it serves well as base in designing and constructing tiered wedding cakes. It can hold its shape when covered with heavy icing like fondant and stacked up without collapsing.

Buttery Sweet and Moist Decadent

 Some people argued the controversy of a butter cake when it is made from substitute fat, namely margarine. As we all know, margarine is a plant derived fat and butter is dairy derived. They can differ greatly in taste and texture and to some extent, the aroma of the baked cake. For me personally, butter-based will always win out the title of being a butter cake as it will hold true to the taste of pure butter – sweet, mellow and creamy. On the opposite, margarine based butter cake can taste a little bit off – bland and oily. Either way, the decision is in clients’ hands and I must say that pure butter will need you to fork out some ringgit just because butter is priced higher than the other.

Butter cake always reminds me of a high-tea treat (lol… how nenek-nenek is that?).

It's a Collab

Crèmeuss has teamed up with a wedding boutique named Butik Pengantin Kaseh Collection as being part of the Kaseh Collection packages. Packages offered ranging from RM1200.00 to RM4200.00 and with every package worth RM2000.00 and above, you will receive a free cake by Crèmeuss. The profile of the cake designs will be selected by the Kaseh Collection and Crèmeuss in accordance to your overall wedding theme.

Crèmeuss

Butik Pengantin - Kaseh Collection

 A little bit about Kaseh Collection, it provides assistance in your wedding events or any other functions with makeup services, wedding dresses with accessory rental, and ambient décor for your wedding ceremonies. The owner of the boutique has now changed and licensed to Mrs. Sherry as when she bought the boutique from its previous owner in late 2012. So far, the boutique services have reached clients from Kepong, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and the adjacent addresses in Banting. Mrs. Sherry herself is a warm-hearted, dedicated and helpful individual in assisting the needs for the events. Any consultation to your events will be taken seriously from Mrs. Sherry.

For those who are interested in visiting Kaseh Collection, please do so and check through the Kaseh Collection Blog or their Official Facebook Page. Should you have any further inquiries or booking a date, please get intact through the address and contact numbers published on the pages.

Never the less, Crèmeuss still take any personal orders from clients. Any personalized and custom designs will be taken and special requests will be taken into consideration.

Trusty Ol' Fondant

Fondant is a well-known and widely used icing in wedding cake industry for over the years. It gives a velvety matte surface showcasing untimely wedding cakes a sophisticated appeal. It’s not harsh to say that fondant has been the most trustworthy and fool-proof icing for wedding cakes. Why? Because of its pliability and easy to mold ability creates multitude of eye appealing designs. Almost as versatile as buttercream, fondant can be used to ice cakes, embossing textures on, cut-out into pieces, mold into figurines, lace work and also creating ruffled effects. As long as it’s external cake décor uses, fondant serves all.

Miniature cake iced with Yellow tinted Rolled Fondant. Other samples of fondant cakes can be found here

Little that we know, fondant actually can be divided into two types, which are “Rolled Fondant” and “Poured Fondant”. Rolled fondant is the type that we all know and excessively seen. Its main use is to cover and decorate cakes and other pastries. Rolled fondant made mainly from sugar, more specifically icing sugar, and other ingredients like gelatin, glucose syrup, water, and some fat. The additional ingredients lend themselves to the quality of the rolled fondant – pliable but firm enough to hold shapes like clay. Its pliability stands for a period of time allowing for some room for it to be worked with. Although however the exterior of fondant will eventually dry a little (but never crusts), the overall fondant that’s underneath will stay relatively soft to be cut through with knife. Contrariwise, poured fondant is made with just sugar and water, boiled together to a certain temperature read and will be left off-heat until the syrup cools down. After that it will be agitated and kneaded continuously until it forms into a white opaque mass almost like dough. Despite the same purpose of poured fondant to the one we are familiar with – rolled fondant, the use of poured fondant can be traced mostly in candies and other confectionery products.

 

Proper technique and tools will help getting the smoothest result with fondant. Pastry Wheel, Rolling Pin and Fondant Smoother (not shown in picture) combo is always a great help.

 

Options in acquiring rolled fondant are left for the decorator to choose. Store bought fondant is a convenience because of its ready-to-use eminence, but for a domestic use, you’ll get bang for your buck with home-made fondant. Either one works equally the same although store bought fondant wins over having the smoothest texture to the home-made one. Through my experience, home-made fondant isn’t as workable to be reused from previous scraps as compared to the store bought fondant due to the fact that it will be slightly dry and crumble apart. Store bought fondant seems to work fine always in retaining its elasticity after kneading it continuously.

Leftover fondant will crumble apart. Simply knead it continuously to revive it to its pliable consistency.