Bake Happy

A Friendly Reminder: Google Friend Connect

2012-02-27T19:00:00.000+08:00

Good news and bad news.

Let's start with the bad one first.
But before I share the bad news, here's a pretty picture of Mini Crab Quiche(s) which is totally not related to the below news. Just wanted to post something pretty to prep you guys up :)

So here it goes... ever since I started this blog, one of the things that fascinated me the most is the cool Blogger feature called "Google Friend Connect". Basically how it works is that you click on "Follow" on the Blogger tab if you want to follow a blog.

And wow, I must have been saying some right, something funny, something noteworthy for you to follow my blog. And that is one of the things that keep me going. And for that, "Google Friend Connect" followers, I thank you for the bottom of my happy heart.

I recently found out that blogger is removing this feature effective March 1, 2012. This surprised me in a sad kind of way. I'm not sure why they are doing away with this but this means if you follow me through "Google Friend Connect", chances are beginning March 1, you won't be able to receive updates from me.

But here's the good news!!!

Don't you worry, there are lots of ways to connect with Bake Happy!
See the nice looking rows of buttons on the upper right hand corner of my blog? Head on over to it and click one (or it would make me happy if you click and subscribe to all).

Bake Happy is currently on:

Facebook: aside from blog updates, this is where I post all cake orders (if you need a "cute cakes fix", then head on over. Outtakes (stuff that didn't make it to this blog), baking tips and Sunday lazy baking pictures are in Bake Happy's Facebook page, too.
Twitter: aside from blog updates, this is where you'll know if I am craving for sugar coated pili nuts, my everyday musings and my penchant for Shaider's Fushigi Shigi song, Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert's It Happened One Night and crime procedural dramas.
Pinterest: Oh, I have to work on this one but all tutorials are on my boards :)
E-mail: Got a question? A cake order? Just want to say, hi? Drop me a mail and let's het to know each other better. :)

So, let's celebrate two things today, (1) Social Media and (2) Bake Happy-ness!

ps. want the recipe for the Mini Crab Quiche from the photo above? If your answer is "yes of course!" ask me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, through mail or comment below and I will definitely answer :)

Have a great day ahead everyone!

Chocolate Lover

2012-02-27T00:09:00.001+08:00

This is the confectionery castle baking dreams are made of.

How do I know of Chocolate Lover? I remember passing by their Quezon Avenue branch while still in college and use to wonder why a big chocolate colored castle is standing proudly in the middle of the metro. I mean, what is going on? Was I missing something? Will an Oompa Loompa greet me at the door while Willy Wonka wait for me by the Chocolate River? I was often tempted to stop and see what all the fuss is all about but I was not familiar with the area. Good thing a friend of mine from college filled me in on the secret. And no... sorry to tell you, no Oompa Loompas.

Anyway, fast forward to a few years later, when the baking bug hit me, I finally stepped into their Cubao branch. I tell you, my baking life was never the same. If want to start a baking business or want to take up baking as a hobby, you may want to visit Chocolate Lovers. Let me be your unofficial tour guide for your first visit. After that, you're on your own. Unless you want to invite me, I'd be happy to tag along.

Okay, just so I won't take the blame, here's the Bake Happy's friendly warning before we browse through the aisles: this place will make you dig real deep into the farthest recesses of your wallet... in pockets you never thought existed. With that out of the way, shall we?

Before, all packaging materials were on the second floor while all confectionary items were in the ground floor. They recently renovated The Castle and literally made it a one stop shop. All items are now on the first floor.

Here are the packing materials. Boy there are lots of them!

Some D-I-Y cupcake towers available in 3 and 5 tiers. There are some plastic packaging too.

Can't get enough of sprinkles? [Like someone I know who buys them all the time even though she doesn't know where to use it yet. {That someone's defense: Hey, sprinkles are like visible version of endorphins, just looking at them makes everybody happy}]

But wait there's more!

How about some sanding sugar? These ones are used for sugar cookie decorating. Something like what glitters are to scrapbooks.

Lots of cocoa powder to choose from! One time, I was really clumsy and dropped a bag of Callebaut and the whole thing split open! I was sooo embarassed! I was fussing over the mess (wow I can still remember the intoxicating chocolate fragrance) and a nice lady approached me and told me not to fuss. I told her I'll pay of course (clumsy me) and she went on telling stories about how they use it to make champorado. Such a sweet old lady :)

Need some pans? You can find virtually anything here.

If you're mission is to add up to your collection (ummm, I mean investment) of tips, cutters and all sorts of cake decorating tools then this is the place to be. But I warn you, their stock flies out of the window fast. What you see there one week may be gone the next.

Did I mention well stocked?

I did mention well stocked? Yes? Yeah they are.

Here are some walnuts, cashew nuts, macadamia and all sorts of nuts. They say you are what you eat, so I try to stay away from these stuff. Just kidding.

Ahh... the confection The Castle is named after, chocolate.

Cool! Here are some pre-colored ones. I will buy some the minute I have the courage to make cake pops. I suck at making them. I wish I live next door to Bakerella.

Candies in all forms, anyone?

Here's more!

Hope you enjoyed the tour everyone! Happy shopping!

Chocolate Lover Incorporated

Locations:

Main:
45 P.Tuazon Blvd. corner
C. Benites St. Cubao
Quezon City
Philippines 1109

Tel. numbers:
724 4964
724 5752
411 7474
email: info@achocolatelover.com

Branch:
2 Kitanlad St. corner
Quezon Avenue
7328576 / 7417487

Cupcake Decorating 101: Cupcake Decorating Tips

2012-02-21T03:18:00.000+08:00

We're talking tips today. The cupcake decorating kind that is.You see, I just noticed that ir has been awhile since I followed up on the cupcake baking posts. I guess weve been caught up in cupcake tutorials, you and I.

So just in case, and this is me hoping, that my blog has recently been a favorite of yours, head on over to the tutorials section for the past posts on cupcake baking. And while you're at it do check the cupcake topper tutorials, I'm pretty sure you'll find one or two useful. But before you click on the tutorials link, please promise me youll come back to this post. Yeah?

Okay, so let's go back to this post's topic. I thought I'd show you the decorating tips I usually use when frosting cupcakes and how they look like when piped. I buy all my tips from Cooks Exchange in Glorietta. Sadly, they are closed for the mall's renovation. But they still have branches in Rockwell and Megamall. All are from Ateco.

Here are some closed star tips. Tip #855 is my all-time favorite one. You can see it used all over this blog. I love closed star tips because of the defined swirls they make. A smaller version is tip #846. Tip #854 has more "teeth" than the other two.

Here is a batch of frosting I prepared so I can show you how they look like piped.

Don't they look pretty? See the well defined swirls?

Now, here are some open star tips. While the closed star tips curve at the top, the open star tips are designed to have more frosting on the center, creating a more stable top for a cupcake. So, if you have a heavy cupcake topper, and you want swirls on your frosting, go for the open star tips instead of the closed ones.

Here's how they look like piped. Swirls are less defined than the what the closed star tips create but are more stable

Lastly, if you want to go for simple effect, here are some plain round ones. Tips with numbers 809, 806 and 805 should be able to do the trick.

Here's how they look like on top of cupcakes. Oh wow! Just looking at these, I just realized (again), by using the round tips, the cupcake to frosting ratio is almost 1 is to 1! Sweet!

Hope this post helps you guys! More to come! :)

Prada Shoe Cake for Kris

2012-02-17T05:26:00.003+08:00

Aparrently, aside from cute, I can pull of chic, too.

This cake has been ordered by Kris for the friend's birthday. She wanted a shoe cake inspired by the book/movie "The Devil Wears Prada".

Cake is an 8-inch red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

I love every part of this cake, but most especially the Prada Logo, I swear, it's 100% edible (and yummy too).

I think I can never wear shoes as high as these. They're impossibly nice to look at though!

Red roses, old school cake decorating. I do hope I am getting better at making roses. Do you think there's an improvement since the last time I made them? See here. I do hope so!

I loved every minute of making this cake. Looking forward to making more of these. Hope you and your friends enjoyed the cake, Kris!

How to Make Eiffel Tower Cupcake Toppers

2012-02-03T14:39:00.000+08:00

February is the only month when it is unofficially okay to have pink as your picture background for every post for the rest of the month. By "you" I mean "me". And while where at it, I'll include April on the list since it's my birthday month and I can practically do anything I want.

But then again, pink is a popular background for all my posts. I hope by now you're used to it, though I try to balance the whole vibe with other colors as well. Sometimes, you see browns, oranges, reds, greens, oh well, you get it. But pink is the closest to my heart. Just saying.

Anyway, since it's the love month and all, I thought I'd show you how I made the Eiffel Tower Cupcakes from this post. And I'm posting it early to give you all the prep time you need. How's that for nice? :)

What we need

Eiffel Tower Template (I just googled "Eiffel Tower Clipcart" and copied the simplest image I can find and tranfered it to a tracing paper)

Knife

Gumpaste (I use Country Kitchen's Gumpaste Mix)

Brown gel food coloring

Royal Icing in piping bag with a #1 tip

Bronze luster dust

Vodka [friendly note: vodka is used to thin out the luster dust and not for drinking while doing this project. After all, friends don't let friends cake decorate while drunk :)] or a clear extract (ex vanilla or lemon)

Brush

Slim popsicle sticks

Here's How:

(1) Roll out gumpaste and cut out the Eiffel Towers using the template. Let it dry overnight

(2) Thin out brown food coloring with vodka and brush onto the towers. Let it dry for about 2 hours.

(3) Using the Royal Icing in piping bag with a #1 tip, pipe the outline and details on the tower. Let it dry (... again)

(4) Thin out the bronze luster dust with vodka and brush onto the details.

Here are some cupcakes I prepped with heart sprinkles. Cupcakes taste so much better with sprinkles, says Fancy Nancy. Oh wait, that was ice cream I think. Same difference.

Assemble towers on top of the cupcakes with Popsicle sticks for support. Oh la la!!!

Moonriver Anniversary Cake for Tom and Bien

2012-02-01T13:53:00.001+08:00

I usually don't post cake orders in my blog. I reserve that on Facebook. So if you want too see some Bake Happy custom cake creations, please head on over to my page. Lots of interesting stuff also happening there. Spa Parties, Angry Birds, Fashionista Cake and Cupcakes, Dora the Explorer, Katy Perry and couple cakes. Like this one.

It is very fitting that the first post for February is an anniversary cake. After all February is the love month. So you and me, let's celebrate.

I made this cake for Tina who wanted to celebrate her parent's anniversary with a Bake Happy Cake.

Here's what she gave me as an inspiration for the cake:

her parent's song is Moonriver (the one Audrey Hepburn sang on Breakfast at Tiffany's) and
they love dogs

Ironically, instead of humming to Moonriver while making the cake, I found myself singing "Misty" by Johnny Mathis. Bet my bottom dollar you are not familiar with that song :) It's one of my favorites :)

Tina's mom, Bien. Soo love her cardigan :)

And Tina's dad, Tom.

Happy anniversary, Tom and Bien! Hope you enjoyed your cake! :)

Banana Bread {Like How Ma Used to Make}

2012-01-27T03:40:00.002+08:00

Shhh.... I'm using my good old fashioned whisk while making this classic (read: I'm doing some late night baking and I'm hoping not to disturb my nice and friendly but already sleeping neighbors while I whisk the batter away.)

You see, it's bad enough that I torture them with the scent of freshly baked banana bread at an ungodly hour. And much more so if I use my trusty mixer to lull them to sleep (or in reality, wake them up to well... reality). So you see, I am a very considerate neighbor. So just in case you find a box of freshly baked Banana Bread by your doorstep tomorrow morning, you can be 100% sure I am just nearby and that is my peace offering for disturbing your much earned beauty sleep.I am nice that way.

Anyway, just in case you need some peace offering for some reason or another, I highly recommend that you make this banana bread. Warm, comforting and oh so familiar. Totally fits the "Just like how Mama used to Make" category... except that yeah... it does. At least for me, anyway. This recipe came from this magical old Merit Notebook.

Banana Bread

325 F / Makes one loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup mashed bananas

Procedure:

(1) Combine all dry ingredients. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar.

(2) Add eggs one at a time

(3) Whisk in dry ingredients

(4) Fold in lemon juice and mashed bananas

(5) Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan.

(7) Bake at 325F for one hour or until golden on the sides.

Here's to rediscovering more recipes from Ma!

How to Make Dragon Cupcake Toppers

2012-01-22T15:58:00.001+08:00

I'm a little time challenged this past week.

You see, all the clocks around the house stopped. At different times. One reads 3 o'clock, another reads 9:50 and another one 11:30. Must buy batteries soon. I don't know if I'm getting enough sleep or simply just been awake too long. I do hope I am not too late to welcome the Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choi everyone!

2012 is said to be the Year of the Dragon. And in the spirit of fun, I looked up what's in store for Bake Happy (the blog, not the blogger) this year. Here's the 411:

Blog Name: Bake Happy
Birthday: July 12, 2008
Chinese Zodiac: Earth Rat

According to ChineseZodiac.com "Earth Rats prefer a sense of stability, digging in and putting down roots early to help ensure a successful future. They believe that slow and steady is the best approach." I like it!

So how will Bake Happy fare in 2012? Let's see -

"Those people born in the Year of the Rat, will see considerable improvement in their energy and luck in the year of 2012 compared to 2011. Events will be smoother this year for all age groups. You will be lucky in love and romance, with even chances of being blessed with babies! It is also possible to settle down this year if you already haven’t. You will do well in business, career, social life, and romance too. However, take care not to indulge too much in the known vices and be cautious about gossip and vile words from others. Wise investments will bring in great harvest as your wealth luck is superb in 2012. Time to rejoice even more this year with favorable stars shining upon you!"

Liking it better and better! 2012 seems to be Bake Happy's lucky year. I don't know about the romance stuff because... well, Bake Happy is a blog and it is just turning four this year. Practically a baby... so yeah.

And on to why I made this post. Let's make some Dragon Cupcake Toppers to usher in the Year of the Dragon.

What we need -

Fondant in purple, orange, black and white

Fondant rolling pin

Medium sized oval fondant cutter

Polvoron Shaper

Knife

Waste as glue/paste

Small brush for the water

Here's how -
(1) Roll out the orange fondant and cut out small triangles.

(2) Roll out the purple fondant and cut out an oval shape. Cut it into two.

(3) Place it one on top of the other and cut the bottom part using the polvoron shaper. This will be the dragon's wings.

(4) Cut out two small triangles for the dragon's ears.

(5) Roll 6 balls using the purple fondant. The two big ones will be the head and body, the four small ones will be the hands and feet.

(5) Shape the small balls to resemble tears.

(6) For the head, shape it as well to resemble a tear but make sure the smaller end is still round.

(6) Do the same for the body but elongate the smaller end as it will become the tail. For the tail part, use a knife to cut out an arrow of some sort for the tail end.

(7) Attached the head to the tail. Still doesn't look much but have faith :)

(8) Attach the ears, hands and feet.

(9) Attach the small orange triangles from head to tail as well as the wings.

(10) Finally, using toothpicks, the black and white fondant, make the dragon's cute face.

And with that, let's welcome the new year with these cute-as-can-be, soon-to-be-fire-breathing dragons!

Miette's Tomboy Cake

2012-01-18T02:24:00.000+08:00

I am pretty sure I am not the only one in the world who mixes up her everyday vocabulary every now and then.

Sometimes I need to say “sinigang” or “sinangag” out loud to make sure I am using the correct term for the dish in question.

Or when eating too much and I have a feeling I need to cleanse my palate, is that “umay” or “uyam”?

And when you surprise me, there’s a time limit or just plain playing with me, I forget my right from my left. Do not ask me for directions, I might just send you to Kota Kinabalu by accident.

Want to know what else I am up to aside from my everyday vocabulary mishaps?

I made a cake. Not just any cake. I made Miette's Tomboy Cake, from the book I told you about last week.

It's the type of cake you'd savor eating straight from the cake plate from the refrigerator at 3AM in the morning then get back to bed then wonder when you wake up if it is you who finished the whole cake or someone from an alternate parralel universe did.

It's that good.

Miette's Tomboy Cake
350F/45 minutes

Ingredients:
1½ cups all purpose flour
1¼ cups cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 oz 70% cacao chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2¼ cups sugar

Procedure:
(1) Liberally butter two 6-by-3-inch regular or contour cake pans and dust with sifted cocoa powder. Tap out the excess cocoa.
(2) Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

(3) Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Whisk until the chocolate is melted. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.

(4) In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.

(5) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs on high speed until foamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour in the oil, whisking until combined, about 30 seconds. Raise the speed to medium and whisk until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds longer.

(6) Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Slowly pour in the buttermilk and vanilla mixture.

(7) Add the sugar and whisk until the batter is smooth and liquid, about 2 minutes.

(8) Stop the mixer. Remove the bowl and add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated, preferably by hand, lifting and folding in from the bottom center. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again just briefly by hand. The batter may still look a little lumpy, but stop mixing.

(9) Pour the batter through a medium-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl to remove any lumps. Press against the solids in the sieve with a rubber spatula to push through as much batter as possible, then discard the lumps. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

(10) Transfer to wire racks and let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. When the cakes are cooled enough to handle the pans but still a tad warm to the touch, carefully run an offset spatula around the edges of the pans to loosen them, then invert the cakes onto the racks and remove the pans. Let cool for about 20 minutes longer. Wrap the cakes tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate to ensure that the interiors are completely cooled before decorating, at least 1 hour or for up to 3 days. To freeze, wrap tightly in a second layer of plastic and store in the freezer up to 2 months.

Miette’s Vanilla Buttercream
makes about 6 cups
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
5 large egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
3 cups unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure:
(1) In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and water. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Cook the mixture until it reaches 248 degrees F, 5 to 10 minutes, keeping a constant eye on it.

(2) Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees F, whisk the egg whites on medium-low speed until soft peaks form. Slowly pour in the syrup, raise the speed to high, and whisk until soft peaks form.

(3) When the sugar syrup reaches 248 degrees F, immediately pour into a heat-proof measurer. Reduce speed to low and very carefully drizzle the syrup into the mixer bowl, away from the whisk so the hot syrup doesn’t spatter. Be careful because the syrup is very hot. When you have added all of the syrup, raise the speed to high and beat until the mixture is cool to the touch (an instant-read thermometer should register 65 to 70 degrees F), 5 to 10 minutes.

(4) Only when the meringue is cool enough should you begin adding the butter. Reduce the speed to medium. With the mixer running, drop in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding another. The mixture may deflate and begin to look curdled. Raise the speed to high and continue to add tablespoon-size pieces of butter, making sure each is completely combined before adding more. When all of the butter has been added, the frosting should be smooth and thick. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

To frost a Tomboy Cake, you'd only need 3 cups of buttercream.

To make raspberry buttercream, for every cup, stir in 3 tablespoon of raspberry juice until well combined and smooth.

Assembling the Tomboy Cake
(1) Divide cake into layers. Mine produced four but I used only three layers as it will look impossibly tall if I use all.

(2) Using a 1M tip in a piping bag filled with buttercream, pipe frosting on top of the first layer.
(3) Repeat twice until all 3 layers have been topped with frosting.

(4) For the top layer, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge, leaving a 1/8-inch margin. Fill in the center with slightly more frosting than the inner layers. Using a small offset spatula, smooth the center first by rotating the cake stand, then gradually work out to the edges, pushing the frosting out very slightly as you go.

(5) If desired, in the center of the cake, scoop out a little hole in the frosting to make a setting for the rose. Nestle the rose in the hole and arrange the leaf next to it at a 45-degree angle. Very carefully transfer the cake on the board to a presentation platter.

Meg suggested that the cake is best eaten at room temperature. However, I much prefer to eat it cold, when the frosting just melts silky smooth in your mouth and the almost absence of sugary sweet flavor makes you focus on the chocolatey goodness.

How to Make Thomas the Train Cupcake Topper (2D Version)

2012-01-13T13:10:00.001+08:00

Hi there!

Nope. No deja vu here. It's Thomas again! Yeah, I know I featured him several times already.

I gave Thomas and Friends Cupcakes to my friend's little boy here. My friend even wrote a sweet post about it here.
I made some with Amie here.
And I even made tutorials for the 3D version here.

This time, let's simplify things a bit and make 2D versions of Thomas.

What we need -
Fondant in light blue, gray, red, white, yellow and black
Fondant rolling pin
Round fondant cutter in three sizes
Tip # 61 or a Rose Tip
Knife
Waste as glue/paste
Small brush for the water

Here's how -
(1) Roll out the three colors of fondant thinly. Cut out light blue circles using the biggest round fondant cutter. Cut out black circles using the mid round fondant cutter. Cut out gray circles using the smallest round fondant cutter.

(2) Using water and brush, place the fondant circles one top of the other.

(3) Cut out small black rectangles and paste it on top.

(3) Cut out leaner black rectangles and paste it vertically on top of the small black rectangles.

(4) Cut out thin gray and red rectangles and paste it at the bottom.

(5) Roll small yellow fondant and paste to become the train's lights.

(5) Add the face details, eyes and smile (using the tip)

Now we have the colorful cupcakes

Plus the toppers. Come to think of it, instead of light blue, you can use red and green fondnat and you can also have James and Percy (the train, not Jackson) :)

Sugarcane Chai Tea Cupcakes

2012-01-11T21:15:00.000+08:00

Would you like to play in the Bake Happy Kitchen with me?

Yeah, play. Nothing serious. Just you and me, an oven and a recipe.

I'll let you do the mise en place if you let me choose what we'll bake today.

So, is that a yes? I'll even let you operate my cherished (as old as me) hand held mixer while I sift the flour and spices.

No? How about we watch Xian Lim in My Binondo Girl while baking?

What? Still a no? Yeah, that might distract you (not me).

How about if I tell you, we will be baking with Chai Tea?

Can I see a gentle nod there? Yes!

I got it from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. Her recipe is paired with a Condensed Milk Icing, I decided (I mean.. we) we decided to pair it with another flavor. Sugarcane buttercream sounds interesting don't you think?

So shall we start?

Chai-Tea Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

350 F / makes 18 (or so - I forgot to count) cupcakes

3/4 cup milk

2 bags chai tea

1 bag black tea (such as Ceylon)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon course salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground crdamom
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutment
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

(1) Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners. Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat; add tea bags, and let steep, covered, 15 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing the bags over the pan, and discard. Allow milk to cool completely.

(2) Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, pepper and spices.

(3) With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.

(4) Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low.

(5) Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of tea-infused milk, and beating until just combined after each.

(6) Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.

(7) Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops spring back when lightly touched and are pale golden, 15-18 minutes.

(8) Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Cupcakes can be frozen up to 1 month in airtight containers.

Sugarcane Buttercream Frosting

I used Italian Buttercream as base. The rule is for every 2 cups of Italian Buttercream, mix in 1/4 cup sugarcane juice.

Italian Meringue Buttercream
from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and 2/3 cup water to a boil. Continue boiling until syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).

Meanwhile, place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry; do not overbeat.

With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes; beat in vanilla. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth.

Aren't you glad you spent sometime in my kitchen? Erm... now who will wash the dishes in the sink? :)

Miette: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop

2012-01-09T22:25:00.000+08:00

Want to take a peek into one of my baking cookbooks? Here is one of my favorites.

Miette is a compilation of recipes from the pastry shop of the same name owned by pastry chef Meg Ray. If the shop is charming the book is definitely even more. The pastries featured seem to be waiting for the readers' go signal to jump right off the pages.

I love the book's scalloped edges, definitely adds to the charm.

Here are some recipes on the book, Pastry Cream and Fresh Fruit Tart.

Want some Tomboy Cake? It looks so pretty! I am so making this. As in right now. Stat!

Look, a cupcake, finally I saw one! :)

How about some Lime Meringue Tart?

Look at these chunky looking cookie doughs! Hi there!

What I like about this baking cookbook is that Meg took time to explain cake making basics that even novice bakers could understand.

She lists essential baking tools to help us bakers recreate the charming cakes right in our very own kitchens.

She even illustrated some how she decorated some of the cakes, step by step. For someone (a.k.a. me) who is a very visual person, it is a treat to see a recipe book with step by step pictures instead of the usual one picture per recipe (and sometimes even none, which is a sad thing, at least for me anyway).

Charming, stylish and denitely a keeper, this is one book which will have a special place in my shelf.

Miette: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop

Hardcover, 224 pages ; Chronicle Books

P1,149 at National Bookstore

Baking Supplies Store - SweetCraft Baking and Confectionery Supplies

2012-01-06T18:00:00.000+08:00

Okay, here's the deal. You and me. Let's take the day off from the kitchen and visit one of the baking supplies stores I frequently visit.

Just a friendly warning before we come in: this place will empty your pockets really fast. Don't say I didn't warn you. Shall we?

SweetCraft is located in Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong. It's so near Makati, I can afford to go there everyday (okay at least every weekends) without having to brave traffic. I love this store because it's clean, aisles are well stocked, and the staff are very friendly.

You can find all kinds of flour here - wheat flour, cake flour, bread flour, all purpose flour. You name it and most probably they got it.

No time to make cupcake toppers? Here they have an assortment of royal icing cupcake toppers with different themes. Oh look, dragees in different colors too!!!

Did I mention they have lots of sprinkles? Not yet? Take a look.

This is where I bought my Hello Kitty Cookie Cutter from this post. Too bad they don't have it in stock. But Mickey, Minnie, Winnie and Tigger are waving and saying hello!

Look at those pans!

Here are some fondant cutters and all things related to cake decorating.

See? I told you, they are well stocked. Packaging... lots and lots of it!

The two things I noticed they don't have much are piping tips and Americolor gel colors. But that's okay, their well stocked shelves pretty much makes up for it.

Address: 373 Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines, 1550 Mandaluyong, Philippines
Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Email: sales@sweetcraft.net
Phone: (+63 2) 571 8008(+63 2) 571 7858, (+63 2) 532 1595, (+63 2) 532 6289 Fax: (+63 2) 532 6289
Website: http://www.sweetcraft.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sweetcraftph
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sweetcraftph

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

2012-01-04T22:35:00.000+08:00

Dear Fate,

I broke a cake plate today. Please don't hate me.

Really. There's no rhyme or reason as to why it happened. Sometimes, it just does. That's life. I am sad about it, you know. It was a pretty cake plate, with a curvy base, beautiful cream color, and swirly red side borders - a cake plate every baker is proud to have. So please, no bestowing of bad luck okay? Here's my peace offering, Martha Stewart's Applesauce Spice Cupcakes. Trust me, it's good.

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
350ºF / makes 18

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups unsweetened apple sauce

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. On a low speed, add applesauce and then the flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Fill each cup 3/4 full with batter. Bake 20 minutes.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar

In a bowl, mix cream cheese with 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup light brown sugar until smooth. Spread cream-cheese frosting on cupcakes. Cupcakes can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days.

So, Fate? We're good now, right? Sweet.

Happy New Year! {But Half of the Real Title is on the Picture Below}

2012-01-02T23:30:00.000+08:00

For Bake Happy Blogger's first post for 2012, I am sharing two very important things.

Life changing really. Stuff, that if you wouldn't scroll down, you miss half of your life. Just kidding. But please scroll down. Seriously, please.

First, a tutorial. I want to show you how to make Shirt Cupcakes. Like the ones on the picture above. You remember this Valentine post? This is how I made it plus a little something more to spice it up a bit. We're making Statement Shirt Cupcakes. You know, of the things I wish for the world for 2012 and beyond.

To make statement shirt cupcakes, I used these lettering press that you can assemble to form any word you want. I bought this at Love2Bake in Paranaque. I'm not sure what it's really called so I am calling it the lettering press.

What we need:

Fondant in white and orange

Square fondant cutter

Small piping tip (any type of tip will do) fondant cutters, one smaller than the other Rolling pin

Knife

Water and brush

Lettering Press

Here's how:
(1) Roll white fondant thinly and cut out a square using the fondant cutter

(2) Using the small tip, cut a half moon on top of the square fondant.

(3) Using the square cutter, cut out slender rectangles on the sides. By now, we have the basic t-shirt. You can actually do a lot of things with it. Paint a unicorn, a dragon, a peace sign or how about a cake? Or even a cupcake? In this case, I made statement shirts. Here's how.

(4) Roll orange fondant thinly

(5) Press words into the rolled fondant.

(6) Cut the boarders and paste into the shirt.

Second, I'm sharing my 12 for 2012. I know many will make new year resolutions, many will not. But I... well... I'm sharing my partial and unofficial 12 things to look forward to in 2012. Wanna read through my list?

Wear a pink wig - now, where will I wear a pink wig? Let's find out soon.
Watch a horror film in 3D inside the cinema - the last horror movie I watched in the theater was Kevin Costner's Dragonfly. I swear, in my books it is a horror movie but Wikipedia insists it's drama movie. What?!
Find someone with my exact same real name - Ma gave me a really beautiful name, Marie Lette, now how did my nickname become Aikko? I might tell you the story sometime.
Eat all the escargots I can get hold of - cooked in coconut, I can feast on escargots all day.
Learn how to make balloon animals - When you know how to make balloon animals, you know magic.
Watch all Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert movies - I know there is only one, but I am begging you to prove me wrong.
Organize all my baking cookbooks - I have some under my bed, in the bathroom (but you really don't need to know that), in my closet, some still has the store plastic cover screaming to be opened. Care to organize it with me?
Get to watch that I-know-will-be-awesome Avengers movie
Do nothing once in a while - my aunt once told me, "Kay Aikko walang nasasayang na oras" that's because I hate to be idle. I always have something to do, so I look forward to doing nothing once in a while.
Attend a culinary school - I have been putting this off for years!
Meet all of you dearest Bake Happy readers - last year, I met Amie. This year, I want to meet all of you. Okay, that might not be physically possible but nothing's impossible, right?
Turning 30 - yeah, the big three oh on April 2. Is it really this year? Oh wait, I have to check, I stopped counting when I turned 21.

What are you looking forward to in 2012? Care to share? :)

How to Make Clock Cupcake Toppers

2011-12-31T11:07:00.001+08:00

Is 2011 really almost over?

How come times flies so fast nowadays? Has anyone invented a time delaying contraption yet? Or has anyone suggested a 30-hour day? I was originally writing only 25 hours but a few extra hours into a day won't hurt. So 30 hours a day it is. Uh... anyone? Anyone at all?

Okay, so I know these things aren't possible right now so I better start this tutorial before time flies again and before we know it it's already 2013.

What we need:

Fondant in white and brown

Two small fondant cutters, one smaller than the other Rolling pin

Edible food marker (black) or brush and a black gel food color

Water and brush

Here's how:
(1) Roll white fondant thinly and cut out circles using the smaller fondant cutter

(2) Do the same for the brown fondant, this time using the bigger fondant cutter

(3) Using water and brush, paste the white fondant to the center of the brown fondant.

(4) Use the edible marker to draw the dots and the hands of the clock.

Happy New Year to my ever dearest Bake Happy friends. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment to my posts, tweet me, like posts on Facebook and most of all, send me the sweetest emails. I read every single on of them. :)

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!

Have a very happy 2012 everyone!

Blackberry Cornmeal Cupcakes

2011-12-27T22:12:00.000+08:00

Up to now, I am still too full to blog. I think my stomach is on strike. We are currently not on speaking terms. It can only take so much.

Remember the cake I made for Christmas? The Lemon Glazed Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Pear Compote? Is it just me or did you notice that the cake name is a mouthful? I am currently rolling it in my mouth right now....

Lemon Glazed Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Pear Compote.

Have I just made the last tongue twister for 2011? I think so!

On to other news, I baked some Blackberry Cornmeal Cupcakes. No tongue twisting required when you say the name. Just perhaps when you take a bite, because it is not overly sweet, chewy, a bit gritty, just how a cornmeal cupcake should be.

Blackberry Cornmeal Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
375 F
makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. fine- or medium-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
7 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 containers (6 oz. each) fresh blackberries

Directions:
(1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 18 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar. Set aside remaining sugar. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Pour over flour mixture, whisking to combine.

(2) Fill each lined cup with a scant 1/4 cup batter. Top batter with blackberries (3-4 berries per cup), then sprinkle evenly with the remaining 2 tbsp sugar.

(3) Bake until evenly browned on top, 20-25 minutes.

Martha said to make sure oven is set at 375F before baking the cupcakes, or else the berries will sink. Perhaps I wasn't closely watching the oven, that Bones episode where Bones and Booth were trapped in the elevator was on Fox. The berries did sink. But nevertheless, the cupcakes were good!!! I finished two even before they cooled.

Lemon Glazed Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Pear Compote

2011-12-25T19:11:00.000+08:00

Want to see the Christmas Cake I did for this year? Here's a slice of a Lemon Glazed Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Pear Compote.

I think you can never go wrong with cream cheese. It's like magic, it enhances all flavors paired with it. Whether be it in cake or in a frosting recipe.

So I guess it's only fitting to make this pound cake for Christmas. I love how it turned out, especially the crust and crumbs. This year, I promise to leave some for Santa to munch on when he comes to our home to deliver our presents. Hope you'll like them Santa!

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Pound Cake

325 degrees/60 minutes

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 1/2 cups butter

2 1/2 cups white sugar

6 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla pod

Directions:
Remember the time I bought this Cascade Pan from Gourdo's? I have only baked in it twice. The first one wasn't a sucess... it's so dense, it doesn't look like a cake at all! And we'll, this is the second time.
(1) Heavily grease a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan or in this case Cascade Pan

(2) In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla beans from the vanilla pod.

(3) Add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy.

(4) Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.

(5) Add the flour all at once and mix in.Then add the vanilla extract. I swear, this is one cake batter which tested my willpower. It's finger lickin good! Swear, I can't help but lick the bowl clean.

(6) Pour into the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 1 hour. A toothpick/cake tested inserted into center of cake will come out clean.

(7) Let the cake cool and carefully unmold the pound cake.

Lemon Glaze
Adapted from SouthernFood.About.com

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp lemon extract

Directions:

(1) Melt butter in a saucepan or microwave.
(2) Sift powdered sugar into a medium size bowl.
(3) Add the melted butter to the powdered sugar.
(4) Add 2 tablespoons of milk.
(5) Add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract for flavor.
(6) Beat until smooth and creamy, adding a little more milk if necessary.
(7) Drizzle over a cooled cake.

Cinnamon Pear Compote
adapted from WholeFoodsMarket.com

Ingredients:
2 ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup seedless raisins
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons butter (optional)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put pears, raisins, juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter into a small pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

Add vinegar, salt and pepper and continue to cook until juice is thickened and pears just begin to fall apart, about 5 minutes more. Set aside to let cool for 5 minutes, then serve.

To assemble, cut a slice of the Bundt cake, add whipped cream and place the compote on top.

Happy holidays everyone!

How to Make a Christmas Tree Cupcake Topper {Two Ways}

2011-12-24T11:20:00.000+08:00

Hey guys!

It's the day before Christmas! Are you done with your shopping yet? Currently in transit? Prepapring for Noche Buena? Doing some holiday baking?

So how about me? I am writing this post while eating brunch - chorizo fried rice with salted egg and tomatoes. Thanks so much, Cielo for the delish chorizo!

Many have asked me how I made the Christmas Trees from this post. So I decided to make a tutorial for it.

But wait there's more! I made a tutorial of how to make Christmas Trees another way.

Marissa, I hope you're reading this post. This is for you :)

Christmas Tree #1
What we need:

Royal icing (mint green) in a piping bag with a small star tip

Parchment paper cut up in squares

Fondant (Yellow)

Rolling Pin

Small star fondant cutter

Sprinkles in yellow and red (or whatever color you have)

Here's how:
Before we begin, I made a guide on how to pipe the royal icing into the parchment paper.

(1) Get a small square of parchment paper, pipe a "shell" in one end.

(2) Pipe another one beside it.

(3) Pipe a third one. This is the base of the Christmas Tree.

(4) In between the three base shells, pipe two more shells.

(5) Then pipe one last shell on top. We now have the basic Christmas Tree.

(6) Now, we can decorate the tree with sprinkles.

(7) Roll out the yellow fondant and cut out stars

(8) Place on top of trees

(9) Let it dry for at least a day and a half before placing on top of cupcakes.

Christmas Tree #2

What we need:

Fondant (in yellow and sky blue)

Sugar (colored in electric green)

Round sprinkles (I used just the pink ones)

Polvoron shaper or round fondant cutter

Water and brush

Here's how:
(1) Roll out blue fondant and cut out round discs using the p

olvoron shaper or round fondant cutter

(2) Shape white fondant into a ball. If there are creases formed, don't worry.

(3) Shape it into a long tear drop or a vampire's tooth or an ice cream cone (whatever it looks like)

(4) Flatten the base to make sure it can stand up

(5) Brush the tree with water and roll into the colored sugar.

(6) Roll the tree into your hands to secure the sugar into the fondant. If there are empty spots, roll in again in the colored sugar and make sure everything is covered.

(6) Using water and brush, attach pink round sprinkles into the tree.

(7) Attach trees onto the round flat discs. Pretty simple huh?

Here are the trees on top of red velvet cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!!!

Cupcakes for the Katy Perry Purr Fragrance Launch

2011-12-23T23:05:00.002+08:00

Andi of Prestige Brands Philippines has commissioned Bake Happy to make the cupcakes for the launch of Katy Perry's first ever fragrance - Purr :) Andi approached me a few weeks back and after a flurry of email exchanges, we decided on making edible cupcake toppers fashioned after the Purr by Katy Perry perfume bottle.

When we walked into the Fragrance Section of SM Makati, we can immediately hear Katy's hits blasting through the speakers! I could have danced right then and there but the cupcakes I am about to deliver might slip through my fingers. I guess dancing is out of the question.

After completing the set-up, I have to baby sit the cupcakes for a while. Young ones and young once have more than once attempted to touch, get a few or all of the cupcakes. :)

All toppers are fashioned after Katy Perry's perfume bottle, the head and body are brushed with purple luster dust for the added sheen. And when I was setting up the cupcakes, I have been asked a lot of times, yes, the "perfume bottle" is 100% completely edible. Pinky swear.

Cupcakes are chocolate flavored with butterscotch frosting. Yummy!

I should have had my picture taken at the event! Too bad, Bake Happy baker a.k.a me is camera shy :)

Purple lights!

Katy Perry's posters are everywhere!

The stage set-up? It's sooo Katy!

Bake Happy Cupcakes and a camera, perfect combination! :)

I'd like to thank Pops, Ma and Mommy and of course my sister Lisa for helping me out!!! Love yah!!! I could not have done it without you guys! hugs! :)

For more on the event, head on over to these wonderful sites! :)
Beauty Junkee
Miss Pop Quiz
Earthling Georgeous
Paul the PR Guy
The Fashionista Commuter

Chocolate Almond Torte

2011-12-16T19:07:00.000+08:00

Every year, I promise myself to shop for Christmas presents early so I won't join other Christmas shoppers' hustle and bustle. But then again, things come up left and right and Christmas shopping always gets done the last minute. But then again, again, it won't be Christmas if there's no Christmas shopping rush!

To help celebrate the holiday rush, can I interest you in eating a slice of Chocolate Almond Torte? Dense, chocolatey and nutty. Every bite will surely start a symphony of chewy, chunky and chocolatey goodness. Maybe I'll just share a slice with you, I'll save the rest for me... kidding!

Martha's recipe calls for pistachios but I still have a lot lonely looking almonds begging for my attention so I used them for this recipe instead.

Chocolate Almond Torte
350 degrees/60 to 70 minutes

Adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients

For The Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

3/4 cup shelled, unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

For The Chocolate Ganache And Topping

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup shelled unsalted almonds, coarsely chopped

Directions:

To make the cake:
(1) Line 8-inch round cake pan with parchment or waxed paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
(2) In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bowl from pan.

(3) Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs, buttermilk, and almonds.

(4) Fold in flour mixture just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

(5) Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; run a knife around edge, and invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper, and let cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days).

To make the ganache:

In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer; remove from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Let cool until mixture falls back in ribbons when lifted with a spoon, 2 to 6 minutes.

Spread ganache over the top of the cake. Decorate the cake with almonds and for the Chrismassy feel, sprinkle the cake with red and green sprinkles. For added sparkle, add some gold dragees too :)

How to Make a Fondant Dress Topper (and an early greeting)

2011-12-12T03:35:00.000+08:00

Wow! How time flies, it's just 13 days before Christmas. If you ask me, I don't know how that happened. It still feels like July to me, except that everywhere you look there is proof that it is indeed December.

So for my first post for the merry month, I'm going to show you how to make a simple dress topper then let's see where that'll take us.

What we need:

Fondant in black and white

Rolling pin

Heart fondant cutter

Polvoron Shaper or Round fondant cutter

Yellow Sprinkles

Royal Icing or water (to paste sprinkles to the dress)

Here's how:
(1) Roll out black then white fondant. Cut out the small heart from the white fondant, then cut out the round polvoron shaper (or round cutter) from the black fondant.

(2) Remove bottom part of the heart, this will give the top of the dress the sweetheart cut.

(3) Divide black fondant into two, with one part more than the other. This will be the skirt part of the dress.

(4) Position the white fondant on the top part of the black fondant.

(4) Cut out the sides of the black fondant using the white fondant as a guide as to where to cut. And just like that we know have a simple dress cupcake topper. Easy huh? :)

We can then jazz it up a bit (and hide the line that divides the top from the bottom part of the dress) by adding some yellow sprinkles (to serve as a belt) with the help of some water or royal icing.

And now that we know the basics, the possibilities are endless! Here are some of what I came up wtih.

I went to Gourdo's a few months back and saw these dessert designs on sale. I didn't know what I would like to with them then, they just look so pretty not to be bought. So glad I did.

They are like stickers, only that they're edible. Just remove the design from the paper and place it in your cake/cupcake using water as glue. Pretty simple, yeah?

Pink, white and black looks like a good color combination.

In one design, I used the pink design on top, and on another, I used it on the skirt. Then I used royal icing to make the belts of the dresses.

Remember this post of Salvacion Lim Higgins' Iconic Terno made into a cookie? I can not get enough of Slim's designs. They transcend time, such a classic works of art.

And when I say, I can not get enough of her designs, I made cutie-fied versions of two of her dresses. You remember the terno of course and a flowy blue and yellow dress.

And since where on -
(a) the subject of dresses
and
(b) it seems Christmas is just around the corner...

why not make a dress for Mrs Santa?

Okay, make that two dresses for Mrs Santa. Here's another dress with a pencil cut skirt.

Hope the Mrs would love these.

And so, as the post title says... here's an early Christmas greeting from Bake Happy!

Bake Happy's Got a New Look!

2011-11-25T10:14:00.001+08:00

I have been meaning to give my little corner in the blogosphere a facelift for sometime now. It took me too long enough since I wanted to be sure I reached out to the right designer who'd be able to help me. And so I searched and searched and searched for someone who'd be able to translate the look I had in mind for my blog.

Then I found her! The very creative Liz Barber of Sweet Simplicity Designs did a great job of giving Bake Happy a pretty make over. Head on over to her site to check out the wonderful blogs and designs she has created. She's very patient, giving me lots of options to work with until we found the right look I am aiming for the blog.

I wanted a very clean, simple look, should scream "happy" and something that would wonderfully complement the posts I have in my blog and she has given me just that and more. Thanks Liz! It's a pleasure working with you.

If you're reading this post through a reader or an e-mail alert, head on over and check out Bake Happy. I am pretty sure you will love it as much as I do. :)

How to Make Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night Cake

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000+08:00

For a shoot Bake Happy did recently [you can watch it here :)], I made a cake version of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night.

Unfortunately, it did not make the cut. So I thought of doing a proper post for it. Hmmm... let's kick it up a notch shall we? How about I show you how I made it? But let's kick it up a higher notch! If you scroll down below, you can see a video of exactly how the cake came to be.

Now now... I am not a Van Gogh but I got the idea from Karen Tack and Alan Richardson's Hello Cupcake. It seems to be a very challenging project so In the book, their canvas are cupcakes but this post my canvas is a Lemon Raspberry Cake wtith Lemon Buttrcream Frosting covered in white marshmallow fondant.

What we need:

Cake covered in fondant

6 grass tips (#133)

1 leaf tip (#66)

1 round tip (#4)

1 open stat tip (#17)

Buttercream in 9 colors (navy blue, electric blue, sky blue, forest green, mint green, electric green, golden yellow, lemon yellow, electric yellow)

Royal Icing

Large Tip (#855)

Here's how:

You can watch it here or you can look it up on Youtube because I can't seem to figure out how to make the video larger in size :)

Once the edible painting is done, using the royal icing and large tip to pipe a border to resemble a frame.

As an option, you can brush some gold or silver luster dust on the frame to give the cake a authentic frame feel.
Hope you like it!

How to Make a Typewriter Cupcake Topper

2011-11-19T16:35:00.000+08:00

I am a NCIS fan. I have watched the whole series (whole 8 seasons, season 9 on-going) four times, excluding the times I catch the show on Fox and Jack (which is a lot) . I decorate cakes while watching the show which is kind of ironic and contradicting because cakes are all happy, cheery, endorphine enducing cute little things while I watch a show which investigates not so good events every episode. My favorite episode is the first one from season seven because I'm a girl and I'm rooting for Tony and Ziva. And also when Abby found evidence linking Gibbs to Paloma Reynosa. Then there's McGee who loves to his write his novels on a typewriter which got him into trouble because an obsessed fan used the typewriter ribbon to act out the not so good events of his soon to be published second novel.

That intro took so long. I'm pretty sure you just scrolled down to get down to business. So here it is, a tutorial based on McGee's typewriter.

What we need:

Fondant in black, gray, white

Bronze luster dust

Fondant rolling pin

Small rolling pin or round chopsticks

Fondant smoother

Pasta stick

Knife

Brush

Water and Brush (to glue pieces together)

Here's How:

1. Roll gray fondant into a cylinder.

2. Using the fondant smoother, shape the fondant into a rectangular box.

3. Press the fondant rolling pin into one side.

It should now look like this

4. Cut the excess on the despressed end.

5. Press the higher end of the typewriter using the small rolling pin or chopsticks.

It's coming along nicely now, don't you think?

6. Using popsicle sticks, press it to the curved side to make space for the keys.

7. Roll a small amount fondant thinly and cut out the typewriter keys.

8. Paste the keys into the typewriter.

9. Cut up a rectangle out of the remaining white fondant.

10. Roll out a black fondant into a thin cylinder.

11. Fold the white fondant into the black cylinder and place on the higher end of the typewriter. Paint the typewriter keys with bronze luster dust to give it the "old-school" look.