Birthday cupcakes

Last weekend I got an invite to a relative's daughter's birthday party. Still tired from my trips to the hospital for my medical exam I couldn't make up my mind what to get her so I decided to make cupcakes for the birthday girl.

The recipe is based on Martha Stewart's vanilla summer cupcakes. Instead of using the Swiss-meringue buttercream, I opted for a much simpler  frosting. I substituted half the amount of butter that the recipe called for with shortening. I creamed the butter and shortening mixture with 4 tablespoons of milk and added pure vanilla extract. When the mixture became fluffy, I added melted white chocolate and icing sugar alternately. I added 4 TBSP of milk again when the frosting became dry. I piped the frosting on each cupcake and topped it with chocolate and colorful sprinkles.

I wasn't expecting the party to be big. I didn't eat any cupcakes because there were not enough for everyone! I could tell the guests liked them just by the look of their faces.

Bread and Butter

One night a few weeks back, I was browsing the net looking for a good whole wheat bread recipe when I chanced upon this video on youtube. The show was all about healthy bread. I went to the main website and hurriedly searched for whole wheat bread and found it in a snap. The demo was done by this guy who has been baking for 35 years. I watched the baker in awe. My tummy growled as the flour began to take shape. For each procedure , he gave a thorough explanation. And that made every step easier for me.I am not a bread baker but a pastry chef who wants to develop and refine my skills in baking bread so all minute details are essential to my learning process. I had this itch to try it right away but I couldn't as I didn't have the ingredients needed. I took the trip to a nearby supermarket as soon as I had my breakfast the next day.


Here's what you need for the recipe. Olive oil, sea salt, dry yeast, whole wheat flour , warm water and syrup.

Parsley and Mickey

My niece Parsley turned 2 on Sunday. I volunteered to make her favorite Disney character Mickey cake. I baked the chocolate sponge cake in advance and kept it in the fridge for three days before carving it. Chilled sponge cake saved me a lot of effort in carving.

I used a different frosting this time. The main ingredient I used was white chocolate. I melted it with a half cup of butter and a quarter cup of cream and milk mixture. I chilled the mixture ( I monitored it all the time) before I whipped it. I added a bit of cream and milk mixture while whipping until I got the right consistency. The result - everyone asked for second helping. Twas a hit!

Lightning Mc Queen

My friend asked me to make Lightning McQueen cake for her son's 2nd birthday.

I used two kinds of cake. Sponge cake for the base and pound cake for the car because pound cake was easier to carve even without chilling it first. The frosting was Wilton inspired. First, I coated the base with white icing. Then I made the "road" by covering almost the entire surface of the cake with black icing, leaving a small part on each side for the "grass". I piped the "grass" on the sides. I placed the 3D car cake on top and coated it with red icing.

It was my first time to make a 3D cake. I would say it wasn't easy. Took me 6 hours to finish, (well I'm an amateur cake decorator). Except for the smudge due to poor handling (not my fault) I was delighted it turned out good.

My Birthday Celebration

When a family friend learned of my birthday last weekend, he didn't hesitate to take my family to eat at his favorite restaurant he'd been raving about. I can't remember how long ago I had Mediterranean food. But I do remember how good it was. So when he said we're gonna go to Beirut Restaurant in Ploenchit, I did not protest.


We started with Greek Salad - Lettuce, black olives, tomatoes,cucumber, and Feta cheese.