Pantry Magic Competition - March 20th, 2011

 

Cora entered a cake decorating contest last Sunday, here it is what she says.........

"My colleague forwarded me an e-mail to enter a cake decorating contest at Pantry Magic in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Since my birthday is coming up, I thought it'd be fun to make something for myself for once. One of my favorite themes is Alice in Wonderland, so I designed a mini 3-D cake.

I decided on something colorful, since the winner gets featured in Hong Kong's Lisa Magazine.  I'm sooo commercial to a fault.

 So here I am, at the contest.  I've never participated in a live contest, and this is really only my 3rd fondant cake I've ever attempted. When I first received the e-mail, somehow, she thought the contest rule was to complete the decorating in 1 hour.  So a week before, I made a "practice cake" to see if I could finish my ambitious design. 

Of course I couldn't, and it also ended up a disaster in more ways than one.  I didn't use enough fondant (I was being el cheapo), and I thought  I'd skip the support part (who needs dowels?). I was also rushing, and you could see it in the details.  

I was mulling over whether to redesign but work and the sad news in Japan left me sleepless, tired and unable to dwell on such small issues.  I hope this cake brings some distracting happiness to others, and hope all my Japanese friends and family are all safe.

 So I worked into the wee hours the night before the contest, getting a little nervous, but mostly really tired.  I get to the contest and find out we have 2 HOURS!  YAY!  So I got to take my sweet time doing everything calmly, orderly and methodically (which are not my usual traits). 

I was a little displeased that my "teapot" came out a little lumpy, but otherwise was pretty happy with my design.  It was incredibly humid yesterday, and the buttercream melted a little.

  The other 2 contestest had really pretty cakes too, so talented!

 There was also a kid's cupcake contest at the same time, and at times I wished I were over there eating candies and decorations with them over at their table. Their cupcakes were so cute and colorful!  While only one kid won, I wanted to eat every single one of them. The sunflower one won and was made by the sister of my fellow competitor.  Lovely!

I was thrilled to win.  My mom and sister immediately helped me spend 1/2 of the $2000 cash voucher that was the prize.  I also got a free cooking lesson.  Can't wait to see my cake in Lisa Magazine!  Other contestants also got vouchers for doing such a wonderful job. Thank you Pantry Magic!

 It was a really fun event.  Can't wait for my real birthday tea party next week with the girls."

Appearance on "Home Sweet Home" - March 6th 2011

Photo Source: Metro Daily

I have been baking and decocating cupcakes every morning for a famous cafe in Hong Kong since August 2010.  It's name is Holly Brown which is a 2-story cafe located on Stanley Steet in Central.  I am very honored serving this "gossip of the town" cafe where I met a lot of nice people and enjoyed many happy moments with their freshly brewed coffee.  Recently, my cupcakes was shoted at the cafe and appeared on an episode of a TV show, Home Sweet Home, hosted by Mr. Lawrance Cheng.  I am very excited about it!

Spring Wedding

Ahhh, Spring is in the air.  And what better what to start it off with a lovely wedding.  Sally and Tim are good friends of mine, and I enjoyed attending their loverly ceremony at the Island Shangri-la in Hong Kong.

This dessert table is inspired by Amy Atlas -it's our first one, and I couldn't believe how quickly everything disappeared. I had to squeeze my way in just to take these photos.

These little morsels were very tasty. I kept justifying eating them myself by saying "I'm a guest too". Chocolate Cups surround a dark chocolate cake with 3 whipped buttercream flavors: Green Tea, Vanilla Bean and Tart Lemon. These were a pain in the ass to make since I only had ONE chocolate cup mold of 6 cavities (of which I broke one)!

Here's my whipped buttercream tip: Add the flavoring to the buttercream first, while it is still really stiff. Then add whipping cream and whip until you get your desired consistency. To add tartness, add citric acid granules. De-lish!

 

We worked together in conjunction with Graceful Decoration. Hi Ivy :0) It is always a pleasure working with you.

So pretty!

These were done by the hotel, it was massive, but a glorious arrangement.

Enjoy!