Shiori's Sweet Shoppe

Hip Hip Hooray! Lil' Shiori is turning 1 !! :)

To celebrate her 1st birthday, Shiori's mom (c Yun) organized a sweet shoppe for her and her little friends.Fairy floss, cupcakes, lollipops, gumballs, all sorts of sweet stuff, you name it. Kudos to c Yun for the decor, party hats, and the other pretty little things. :)

sweets table


for the birthday girl


the decor

I was honored to bake the cupcakes for the sweet shoppe! Yay!! :) C Yun opted for vanilla cupcakes with crumbled Oreo chunks frosted with pink and blue vanilla buttercream icing.

cupcake tower

and for now, i'll let the pictures do the talking....

made-with-love cupcake topper

happy birthday Shiori

PS. the not-so-sharp images were taken with my blackberry. The rest of the images are courtesy of Rudy Sebastian and Shiori's mom.

my darling is over the ocean

My best friend ask me a a while ago to make her a cake for Valentine's day. She wanted to give this cake to her boyfriend who stays in Singapore. The idea came from her friend's thumbnail. Maybe you have seen it before. I personally think it's very cute.

As someone who is also in a long distance relationship, I get the feeling of this picture. Being in different time zones and different parts of the world can be exhausting at times. It's not only up to us to keep the love burning and being committed to each other, but God's grace also plays huge part of it. Thank God that we can love each other because He has first loved us and show us how to love, unconditionally.

So, this is the final outcome of the cake. It put big smile on my face when i finished it earlier this morning.

Happy Valentine's to those who are miles apart from their loved ones. May your love keep burning, just as the first time you fell in love with each other. xxo

Oooh! By the way, did you notice that the birds are in Singapore and Java, roughly ?? ;)

the Happy Jungle

It was two days before Chinese New Year. Mom was away, so i was kind of in charge of managing the house.. and let me tell you something, it's not easy! I'm used to living in an apartment where everything is within arms reach. hehee.. but i ain't complaining. Big house do comes with its own bonuses, and to name a few: spacious kitchen, big pantry, and large dining table where i can freely spread my baking tools. :))

Anyway, in the midst of the chaos of preparing things for CNY, I managed to make this cute little cake for my best friend. I entitled it "the Happy Jungle" :)

my fave was the 2 love birds ;)

Pardon the poor quality. I only managed to take the picture with my blackberry...T_T

of egg-tart and pretty pics

Hi there! :)

Thank you for closely watching my blog. I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and a great start of the new year. I myself have had a good break at the end of the year, spending time traveling with my beloved family. We went to HongKong and Macau over Christmas.

Apart from the quality time we had together, food was one of the highlights of the trip. You must eat eat eat in Hong Kong cos everything is just so cheap. What do you eat there? Chinese food of course, proper chinese food. Thank God my auntie lives in HK, so we actually had someone who really knows where to get great food otherwise we would have been lost since most of the menu are written in Mandarin with no English description *lost*. I particularly love the yumcha, especially the chicken feet. heehee.. Some of you might find eating chicken feet a bit disgusting, but this particular chicken feet is so good! They are plump and soft, very easy to peel off the bone too. yumm! Another thing we couldn't get enough of was the pearl milk tea from "Share Tea". They cook the pearl to perfection, soft but still chewy. The tea was also very fragrant. You can pick the level of sugar you want in your drink, that way you don't get a super sweet milk tea.

And if you get the chance t0 go to Macau, you MUST try the portugese tart from Lord Stow's bakery (Located in Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetians). It was the BEST egg tart i've ever tasted! Seriously, die die must try! I usually don't like egg tart because it is generally very sweet and also because of the strong egg-y smell, but this one is different. After one bite, i keep wanting for more! The crust is crispy and yet not hard, the egg custard is velvety smooth. Together with the caramelized sugar coating, they give a very nice sensation in your mouth. hmmm...

Lord Stow's famous Portugese Tart.

And here is something else that i love about traveling, especially with my brother.. ;)

he takes pretty pics :)

Fluffy

Fear not! I haven't abandoned this blog. :) thanks for keeping close watch. I've been busy in my kitchen developing new variant to go the the shelf and now.....

bakingbee proudly presents the newest baby :

Chiffon Cake

orange chiffon cake

Chiffon Cake is known for it's light and fluffy texture. This is achieved by incorporating large amount of air during the beating of egg whites. Chiffon Cake also contains lower amount of fat compared to traditional butter cake and thus making it a healthier option for you. :) *wheeeee*

Flavours selection: orange, chocolate, ontbijkoek (Dutch Spiced cake), pandan, lemon, vanilla, and cheese.
Grab some now for your afternoon tea ;)

B's out to check something in the oven...ciao!

chocolate chiffon cake

My First Love

People say that first love never dies....

Well, do you still remember yours?

I Do.

In fact, i just met this guy again the other day. In this case, it's true that my first love still gives me an unusual sensation that leaves my heart wonders: Did i really get over my first love?

Turned out that i didn't ...

Let me introduce you to this awesome guy..


Meet CHOCOLATE BROWNIES !
*teeheee...* gotcha!


Yes! you read it right! Chocolate brownies it was. Years ago when i still lived with the GM family back in Melbourne, they introduced me to this awesome chocolate brownies in whom i fell in love straight away. Never before had i consumed such a delectable brownies. It has the perfect level of chewiness and sweetness. I can't stand brownies that are too fudgey. They taste like chocolate bars to me. I prefer the ones with the texture of a cake, but with the right amount of chewiness and density. Just like this one. :)

So after years and years of not making one, (I don't understand why i haven't been baking one even though it was a fave amongst my friends. The last one i remembered was for Evangie before she left for good. Gosh that was almost 2 years ago ? I still owe Juls one batch. :( sorry dear. promise that i'll make you one when i come visit or when you go visit me here.. hehee.. ;)) I finally made it again the other day. They are still the same. This time however, i added orange and rum to give it a twist. Turned out, they were Heavenly!


OK, brownies are ready to go to bakingbee's shelf. :)



PS. On a side note, this particular brownies was also the very first cake I baked. I knew nothing of baking back then. I owe it to the GMs. Thanks for introducing me to this perfect brownies, for the hours we spent in the kitchen and for the unforgettable memories during those 2 precious years. I miss you guys. I miss the Greek food Yia-yia made and her best Baklavas ever! ;) let's meet up when i come back to Melbourne in the future!

Say Hello to Chixie!

Hello again fellow readers.. :)

Apologies for not updating my blog for quite some time. I have been quite busy with my other work at daddy's office. Fear not. I have not forsaken my love for baking and cake decorating. :)
yes yes.. more to come indeed.

This time, I'd like to introduce you all to my new friend. *giggles....*

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to....CHIXIE !

Chixie

This is Chixie, bakingbee's very own mother hen.

Chixie was made out of love and sugar paste ;)

This is the picture of Chixie and her babies.

Chixie and her babies made their debut on my best friend's birthday cupcakes last week :)

Welcome to the family, Chixie!

Newest Addition to bakingbee's cupcake galore

Introducing...... *drumrolls*....

JAFFA CUPCAKES !

Yes you heard it right. Jaffa Cupcakes! This newest addition to bakingbee’s cupcakes brings you a little taste of Heaven. This cake may be small, but once you have a bite, you’ll be surprised! It is full of richness from the marriage of chocolate and orange. The velvety smooth jaffa frosting delivers the final kick and makes this little baby oh-so-irresistible! You’ll be asking for more cos they are finger-licking-good! ;)

So, what are you waiting for? Grab ‘em fast!

Update from B

On the 2^nd of April, I got a very special present; an opportunity to officially sell my cupcakes. *wheeee...* I never imagined that it would be exactly on that date. It was not only my 4^th month of being back home, 2^nd of April was also Good Friday. I believe it was not a coincidence for the Lord works in all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. I believe He has heard my prayers and He was answering it on that day.

My baking journey so far, has not been the best if I may say so. There were soooooo many hiccups and disasters along the way. I’m still learning and adjusting many things here and there. To be honest, sometimes I really am frustrated and feel that my cakes were horrible and getting worse and worse! No joke! Compared to the baking back in Melbourne, this is DIFFICULT!!! But then again, my God is faithful! In my weaknesses, He showcases His Grace and Power. Really, He never puts to shame those who trust in Him. That is one promise that I will never let go. Without Him, this all would reach nowhere, and I, I would have been one depressed girl.

Let me share a few things that make baking a frustrating activity here back in Indo.

1. The Inconsistency of the Ingredients.
a. White Sugar: You will find varieties of white sugar here! HAH! From the brownish to the white coloured. From the coarsely ground to the more finely ground. I prefer the finely-ground white sugar because it resembles Caster Sugar closely (as most of my recipes use caster sugar). Caster Sugar is definitely unaffordable as its price is 4x the price of normal sugar. To make matter worse, the finely ground white sugar is not always available. So i’ve learnt to stock up a bit more when they are available!

b. Icing Sugar: Always choose icing sugar that clumps together! I know the clumps can be a big pain when you need to sieve it. But trust me, the clumps indicate that your icing sugar is PURE, not contaminated with STARCH! The shop assistant of my baking supplier alreadytold me that, but I learnt it the hard way today! The green tea frosting that I made became gooey instead of a bit firmer. The lemon frosting is DISASTROUS!! (More on that on the Cream Cheese section.)

c. Eggs: It’s SOOOO HARD to find good quality eggs! Compared to the eggs in Melbourne, Indonesian eggs are soooooo runny, both the white and the yolk. I never use out-of-the-fridge eggs as they are even more runny . When it comes to baking, you really need fresh and firm eggs. The firmer, the fresher, the better your baked goods will turn out. I have yet to try “kampong” (free-range eggs), I’m sure they are better, but that will make my cakes more expensive too. We’ll see later.. J If the result is more consistent, I might switch to it permanently and get my best friend to supply me eggs from her farm (at the moment, they are for whole-sale only)

d. Cream Cheese: NEVER EVER USE clumpy/ crumbly cream cheese! No matter how much you try to squeeze them out, chances are you’ll still end up with slightly clumpy frosting. No good. No one likes eating clumpy frosting! Enough said!

e. Colourings: The available colourings can’t give me colours I wanted! This is frustrating! You can see the slightly odd pinkish red below. It’s meant to be Christmas Red! R E D!! Not PINKish Red!! ARGHHHH.... need to try different brands, or even better, buying the dark colours (red, black, chocolate) from Melbourne. *evil laugh!*

Considering so many inconsistencies with the basic ingredients, I now understand why a lot of bakeries use cake emulsifier, such as TBM, VX, Ovalet, etc, to minimise the risk of their cakes going astray. Regardless, I still say NO to those cake emulsifier! HAH! Will march on to select the best possible ingredients and formulate the best recipes out of them!

2. The Very High Level of Humidity
It is your biggest enemy when you work with fondant/ sugar paste. You need a lot of icing sugar to make it drier and easier to roll out. That’s the key! No need oil, no need vegetable shortening, just icing sugar! Maybe icing sugar is really that good after all *nudge nudge Juls... ;)* Thank you for the tips, Sis!

3. The Unavailability of Some Stuff
To name a few:
Perfectly sized Cupcake wrappers! I can’t find the perfect size! Either they’re too big, or too small, too shallow or just simply not proportional! OMG!!! Thank God I’ve stocked up a lot of those that are quite good.

Brown sugar. Simply said, i’m craving for STICKY DATE PUDDING!

Almond meals

Fresh berries. I miss fresh blueberry muffins! No blueberry sold in this town! Arghhhh...

and the list goes on... X(

Anyway, enough of the complaining. I am still very very thankful. I’ve learnt a lot, and i’ve grown a lot too. It is not the best yet, but I get to witness this over and over again.

And He said to me, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for My Strength is made perfect in your weaknesses.” 2Corinthians 12: 9

Indeed.

Soli Deo Gloria!

PS. Here are a few things to be thankful for

The Favourite
cookies and creme (mini-cupcakes)

Dark Brown Satin Ribbon


Bees and Daisies

Project P

This is not the famous Indonesian band nor is it the ISM’s new international students welcoming project at Federation Square earlier this month. It is Project Profiteroles by bakingbee. Profiteroles are known as “kue soes” here in Indonesia. It has been one of my favourite desserts since I was little. The combination of the choux pastry and rum-lavished smooth crème patisserie tantalize your every taste bud and give you the heavenly sensation.

I first learnt making it around 5 years ago. At that time, a cousin of mine was craving for it, but the profiteroles we found in Melbourne were not exactly the same as the ones we had back home. So, armed with recipes from my mom, I braced myself to make them as her birthday cake. Come to think of it, it was a risky move, mainly because I’d never made them before!! Thank God the whole process went well. The choux pastry puffed up nicely, the pastry cream was also nice. However, when I tried making it for mom back home, it turned out to be catastrophic. Instead of puffing up nicely, the choux formed a blob of eggy substance. Ew! Since then, I’ve never touched that recipe anymore.

Still curious with the whole thing, I went to Borders to equip myself with the “how to make a perfect choux pastry” tips. *thank you Borders!!*I then tried another recipe and this time, the choux was perfect! They puffed up nicely; the outer bit is crispy while the inside is hollow. The crème was very smooth too! Whee! B was happy. That particular recipe then went straight to my recipe book. It has never failed me in making puffed up profiteroles ever since.

Today, I finally got to make it again. Well, here’s the long story. Mom wanted to try her old recipe, the one that I used to make my very first “kue soes”. I told her that I haven’t used that recipe for so long because my new recipe yields better choux pastry. We decided to go on with the old recipe, mainly because she’s still curious. Believe it or not, it turned out so messy! The dough doesn’t firm up at all. I was so upset and annoyed to the point that I wanted to throw away the dough! You see, the pastry dough was runny, and i’m 100% sure if I went on and put it in the oven, it would turn out to be the eggy blob again!!! >.<” Not happy! I’m pretty sure there was something wrong with that recipe. I suspect that the old recipe used “kampong/ cage-free egg”. Kampong eggs are smaller; they have big yolks and small egg white. When I first made it, I used caged egg too. But Melbourne’s caged egg also has big yolk! Unlike those found in Indo.

Step 1: Butter, water, salt

Step 2: Beat in the flour

We decided to adjust it to resemble my new recipe. Even then, I was still unsure of the success rate of this dough because when I put them into the oven, they immediately flatten down to form a blob! Surprise surprise! In 15 minutes, they puffed up nicely! And they don’t flatten down after I took them out of the oven. Yay!!!

Step 3: Eggs in


Step 4: Freshly baked. Big ones

The rest of the dough was put in little cups to prevent it going everywhere. They’re über cute when they puffed up. When you look closely, some of them do resemble mushrooms! X) hehee.....

Mini ones

Here they are... Enjoy!!

Profiteroles aka Kue Soes aka Cream Puff

Cookies and Creme Cupcakes

They’re BACK! By popular demand! Haha. Mom and Ella were pestering me to make this yummylicious babies. Well, to be honest, I wanted to make the cookies&crème eversince I got back from Melbourne, mainly because its ingredients are the easiest to find here in Solo. The Oreo biscuits I used for making it have been sitting in our pantry for a while, until today I finally transformed them into a more delectable sweets, The Triple C Goodness!

Back by popular demand

This particular flavour was a hit among my friends back in Melbourne, Jax and Julie in particular. Whenever I made them, Jax always asked for any leftover cookies&cream frosting to put on his toasts, or maybe, he just licked them behind Jul’s back during his “me time”.. X) I bet if he did that, Julie would have fought for the frosting too, cos this darling girl of mine, LOVEEEESSSS sweet stuff! Oh! and the mini soccer ball cake I made for Jax’s business partner’s son’s birthday party was of this flavour too! Yummy yummy goodness.

It took me 6 batches on that day to perfect this particular recipe. Thanks to Julie and Ria for being my loyal cupcake testers. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be able to bake yummy yummy cupcakes. Your encouragement and passion towards cupcakes are worth all the chaos in my kitchen. Xoxo

cookies&creme cake topped with cookies&creme frosting

Today, however, I twisted the recipe a little bit. I’ll try making the original version sometime soon and see which one is better.

OH !!!! and I was upset too! Earlier today, I went to a cake supply shop, only to be greeted by a very RUDE shop assistant. And I feltcheated too! The “spekkoek” (Dutch spiced thousand layer cake) spices I bought there was Rp.4000,- more expensive than other shops while that shop is famous for its cheaper prices.BOOHOOO!!!

PS. i bet you can guess what's coming up soon... ;)

Project O

Hello again! :)

How is everyone doing? I sincerely hope all is well with you. I myself have been happy and well.

Reason number 1: my dear W has just visited me, and spending a few days together with him has recharged me. Although now I have to deal with the post-visit gloomy days, I’m hopeful for the days to come because I believe our Lord has beautiful plans for us. I have to admit that long-distance relationship is not easy to maintain. High level of commitment and trust are extremely required. We’ve got our share of arguments and silly fights, but they strengthen us and help us to understand each other better. I’ll miss you sorely, dear...

Reason number 2: the special project I mentioned in my previous post turned out well. WHEEE !!! ^^v. I called it Project O. Earlier this month I found an Opera Cake recipe. It looks interesting and doesn’t look hard to make. I feel challenged to make one, mainly because the picture that comes with the recipe is pretty! The layers of almond joconde (almond sponge cake), coffee buttercream, and chocholate ganache are beautifully arranged, and when sliced, they look divine! So yesterday I’ve succeeded in making one. It doesn’t look as nice as the original recipe, but I’m quite happy with how it turned out. I was a bit scared because I substituted the almond meal with blended sliced almond. I read a few posts on some forums saying that substituting almond meal with blended sliced almond is not a good idea because the consistency won’t work and such. But yesterday, my almond joconde was nice, only that it’s a bit coarse. Maybe next time I have to blend the sliced almond even more finely. The cake turned out pretty too although I was sceptical when I was assembling it, cos the outer appearance is not appealing at all. Well, I guess you can’t always judge a book by its cover, can you? I was proven wrong when i sliced that cake. The inside was quite pretty, and i was content, feeling that my whole day of labour was justified. Hehee.. Taste-wise, personally I think the recipe is a bit too sweet. Need a bit more bitterness from the coffee. And the joconde needs to be soaked with more coffee syrup and liquor. There will always be a second time, but for my first try, I’m satisfied!

Here's bakingbee's first ever opera cake.
The frontal facing one is the ugly outer appearance.
The other bit is the one that's got inner beauty, said CJP.

PS. Opera cake definition according to my faithful friend, Wikipedia. ;)

Opera Cake is a type of French cake. It is made with layers of almond sponge cake (known as Joconde in French) soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee buttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. According to Larousse Gastronomique "Opéra gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."

Q: What's your favourite donuts ?

A: My Mom's Donuts! :)

I've got some confession to make. First up, I’ve been craving for some yummy donuts, my mom’s donut. Her donuts have been the favourite in our extended family ever since I can remember. They’re chewy but not hard. They’re plump and when dusted with icing sugar, they’re the ultimate donut experience! I’m sure you’ll be wanting for more after every bite of it. Second up, I haven’t had them for more than 2 years. Third up, our heavy duty mixer was broken a while ago, so that’s also the reason why I haven’t been having them. Forth up, I succeeded in persuading my mom to teach me how to make her legendary donuts today. YAY!!! ^^v

The then broken mixer was repaired, and according to the repairer, it could work. But today, we proved him wrong! The mixer was soon got burnt again in 3 minutes into the mixing time. Blah! Poor Mommy had to knead the dough by hand. Hope that her right arm won’t be sore tomorrow. Thank God the dough turned out pretty. It also rose nicely.

Mommy kneading the dough

The Dough

At the moment, we just finished shaping them. Have to wait a bit more before they can be fried.

OK... here is the finished product.

Donuts, fresh from the fryer

I’m drooling over them and can’t wait to finish eating it. Mwahahaha XD

Here are the BESTest DONUTS of all time! Satisfaction guaranteed.

Die die must try! :)

It's Time!

.... to get started seriously!

I really miss baking and decorating cakes! Honestly, whenever I see the cakes I made in Melbourne, I'm sad. It feels like something precious is snatched away from you. Something is just not quite right. I dislike that feeling. Really. So I've promised myself that I'll get baking seriously.

Thank you to those who have been faithfully supporting me, be it kind encouraging words, (possible) cake orders, photography & driving skills ;), enthusiasm in devouring my cakes (both the yummy and the not-so-yummy ones), criticism and advices, and even teaching to bake opportunity. You know who you are. And to me, and of course bakingbee, you are very precious.

Stay tuned! I've prepared a special cake project for mid-March. It's for real! Unlike last year's Christmas Project which I failed to deliver because of time constraint. :( Apologies to you who were waiting for it. Hopefully I'll get to do it this year.

OH OH !!! and now that i've got a proper internet connection at home, updating my blog should not be a major problem anymore!! WHEEEE !!!!! ^^v

xoxo

Return of the Cupcakes

Dear all,

My baking journey in Indo has been up and down since the beginning of the year. There were good days where my cakes raised to perfection (trust me, nothing beats the feeling of it!!), and there were also days where they turned out to be utterly miserable. I have to adjust my recipes to suit the baking condition here at home. The humidity, quirks of my ovens, and the different ingredients, mainly the flour, the eggs, the sugar, and butter (butter is oh so expensive here!) make all the difference in my cakes. You see, most of the Indonesian recipes use margarine instead of butter, but when i substituted butter with margarine, i get all sorts of funny taste and smell from my cakes! There is this very famous Indonesian margarine brand that smells so funny when it’s being baked to the point that my usually very fragrant banana cake gives out sour aroma from the oven. HAH! Figure that out! I haven’t found a good brand of margarine that can be used for every recipe that I have hitherto compiled. Anyway, after several successful and not-so-successful attempts at various recipes, I’ve finally braced myself to baking cupcakes (again).

I made Red Velvet and Matcha cupcakes yesterday. Those two were the favourites along with my cookies and cream cupcakes. The red velvet were not as red since I used different brand of red colourings (i used to use Wilton’s, they’re good!) The cupcake wrappers were a bit too small too. I can’t find the usual cupcake wrappers here at home! Arghhh.. they’re all not the sizes i want. The mixture itself, were not as thick as it were back in Melbourne. And the cake is not as moist either. Julie!! I need you to taste my red velvet cos you’re the red velvet expert! Oh!! You know what!! Indo’s icing sugar is super duper sweet! I have to halve the sugar content in the icing, and even with that, those who tasted them last nite still complaint that they were a tad bit too sweet.

Surprisingly, the Matcha turned out to be a hit! Everyone says that the green tea one is nicer than the red velvet. In my humble opinion, though the chocolate tastes very very yummy, it overpowered a hint of tea flavour in the cake itself. And yes, the matcha icing is a bit too sweet. I was scared that it would leave a very bitter after taste, so i added in a little more sugar (and for your information, that’s already half of the original recipe. Thanks to indo’s super sweet icing sugar, my recipes are all messed up!)

The matcha is very special too because the Japanese green tea powder is imported from Melbourne (thank you dear cousin for your kind favour). Those of you who think that the green tea icing is a bit sandy, it’s because of the green tea powder. I didn’t use artificial green tea essence for it. Nor did I use any added chemicals/ cake emulsifiers such as TBM, VX or ovalet for ANY of my cakes. Only premium ingredients are chosen for bakingbee’s cakes. I always do my best to bake cakes that are as natural as possible.

These cupcakes are dedicated to my dear friends back in Melbourne who have been very supportive in testing my cupcakes and giving out comments and suggestions. They’re not as pretty or as yummy (in the case of the red velvet) as the ones back in Melbourne, but i will continue my quest for the perfect cupcakes.
Ciao!
XOXO

PS. new photos will follow shortly.

Bee on a lemon cake

Apologies to the related parties, this post has been very long overdue. I made this cake 10 days before i left Melbourne. Back then i didn’t have time to write about it because i have to pack my things up and also because the photos are in my brother’s camera. I have been pestering him for it, and yet up to this very moment, he still hasn’t given me that very file!! See, procrastination isn’t always a good thing.

Anyway, this cake was especially made for Vivienne, a.k.a. Madam Ho. We both are birthday twins and earlier last year, she told me that i must bake her birthday cake before i leave Melbourne for good. Initially, she requested lemony cake for her birthday party. It could be lemon tart, lemon pie, lemon cake, whatever, as long as it’s lemony cos lemony dessert is her favourite. Since I’ve never made lemon tart/ pie before, I settled for lemon cake. The trial cake which I turned into my “little miss sunshine” cupcakes, was a success. I wasn’t quite sure of what decoration to put on the cake. But i was thinking that lemony cake should be in the colour of yellow and yellow would be nice with white and pastel green. So I proposed a yellow cake with white daisies and mickey-eared-bees on top of it to Madam. She was sooo excited to hear the plan and told me that daisies are actually her favourite flower. Wheeeee ^^v.

This cute cake was not a trouble to make. In fact, the cake rose to perfection and I was so happy to see how it turned out. The cake was quite tall and was golden yellow in colour. Pretty pretty base cake. ^^v



Madam was very happy to see the cake. It was a pity that I couldn’t come to her birthday party as it was during my graduation ceremony. I heard that the guests loved the cake, appearance-wise and taste-wise. Happy Birthday, Madam! Thanks for trusting me to bake your birthday cake and also for being a great blessing to many of us! May the Lord continue to be your #1 in everything you do. XOXO

Journey to the Past

Long long time ago, before aviation came to existence, before electricity was invented, men sailed the fierce oceans to do the trading. One of their destinations was the islands in the Equator, which later on became what is now known as Indonesia. This land was so rich, a land flowing with milk and honey. :P No la! Those islands were rich with spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Among the seafarers were the Dutch, who were crazily in love with the spices. Anyway, to cut long story short, in the end, the Dutch colonialised Indonesia for 350 years. (I was actually trying to remember my primary school History subject, but to no avail. So, if you are still interested in the story of Dutch Colonialisation, please Google it or Wikipedia it for more accurate History.)

This super long colonialisation era brought about culture assimilation between the Dutch and the Natives. One of the very obvious things is food! Whee.. ^^v. I believe that the “Dutch food” I’ve tasted here is slightly different from the original ones. For instance, I tried baking Ontbijtkoek (Dutch Spiced Cake) last night. The “tempo doeloe” recipes that I had, use 10 eggs! (Wow, I made history yesterday! I’ve never baked a cake with so many eggs before! ) Anyway, the cake turned out to be very light and fluffy, which is what I’ve known so far. Then I went to Google the correct spelling of the cake for I want to update my bakingbee facebook page. To my surprise the original Ontbijtkoek is a variety of spiced bread!!!! BREAD!!! Dense and heavy bread with Rye as one of the most important main ingredients along with spices. In the Netherland, it is served with thick butter to replace toast for breakfast. My oh my!



So what I baked yesterday is the Indonesian version of the Ontbijtkoek because it is so light and fluffy, and eggy! I still don’t understand why Indos really love cakes with so many eggs used in the making. It’s true that you get a very fluffy and fragrant cake, but it’s not like eating a cake! Haha..I myself prefer the English tea cake, but then, that’s probably because I grew up eating my grandmother’s “tempo doeloe” cakes, heavy dense cakes that can fill your tummy up when you’re hungry.
This version of Ontbijtkoek, is not seriously not bad. But I think, the spices are not fragrant enough! So next time, I will put more spices in.
Enjoy!!

marble cake v.1

When it comes to cakes and desserts, you can’t really judge them by their outer appearances alone. Throughout my life, I have tried countless of sweets that looked absolutely pretty, but tasted so blah! Unfortunately, this first marble cake I baked in Solo is one of them. When it first came out of the oven, I told my mom that the cake was looking good, so I was hoping that it would taste as good. To my surprise, it was very very bland! The sugar is somehow not worthy to be called sugar for it didn’t add any sweetness to my cake whatsoever. Such a shame! 1 kg of Indonesian sugar is now more expensive than that of Melbourne and yet, it fails to deliver its purpose! To make matter even worse, the cake, even though is not dry, is very hard to swallow. *sigh......*

Trial #2 is therefore an EPIC FAILURE !!!

Never fear, I don’t give up that easily. *roll up sleeves... ready to work hard*
Stay tuned for more updates! :)

First Cake of the Year

My first week in Solo has been..... a tiny bit miserable. :( I got a big ulcer on my throat when I left Singapore. After 5 painful days, that ulcer was finally healing. But my joy suddenly disappears when I found another ulcer cropping up on the other side of my throat!!!!! Argghhh... The second ulcer turned out to be more bad-tempered than its sibling. It caused me fever and practically drained my energy away. Thank God for Panadol, I was able to survive the day. Haha.. ;)

So last night, after being nagged by my boyfriend for days, I finally went to see the doctor. He gave me antibiotics (the first dose after soooo many years) which work marvellously! Wheee ^^v. The ulcer is not painful anymore. I am able to swallow easily and most importantly, I’m not feeling lethargic anymore. Such is the wonder of antibiotics.

Oh, and I miss baking so much!! So yesterday, despite the war I had with the ulcer, I forced myself to bake something. Cinnamon banana bread. My all time favourite cake to start bakingbee’s R&D phase in Solo. : Result is not disappointing. But it is totally different from what I used to make in Melbourne. Different ingredients, different humidity, different oven make all the difference in the outcome of a cake. The one I made yesterday is still fluffy and moist. But it is chewier than the usual one. Nevertheless, it’s not bad for a first try in a completely new environment.

Cinnamon Banana Cake

Stay tuned!! More to come, peeps!!

Adieu 2009 !

In less than an hour, 2009 will come to an end. As a concluding remark of the year, I would like to share with you what i've been through this year. This is going to be a long post, but I believe, it is worth written and read. Buckle up!

My life thus far....
I started of 2009 back in Indo while having a long 3 months summer holiday. That was my first long summer holiday as I had been taking summer courses for the past 3 years. Early in the year, I somehow had a feeling that this year is going to be tough for me in terms of my spiritual walk with God. I felt that this year was going to be a year of trials for the Lord had grown me in such a way that I never imagined over the past years. After the Chinese New Yea, I was told by one of my relatives that the year of the Ox will bring major bad luck to me, and thus I should be carrying this little charm around to repel all the bad energy or whatever. Of course I don't want to carry that. By all means, i don't disrespect the one who gave me that charm. I threw the charm away because I don't believe in that sort of thing and because I have faith in my God. My God who created Heaven and Earth, who stepped down into time and died to save me from the miry clay. My God who conquered death. My God in whom I solely put my trust. I know He is bigger than anything, I know He takes care of me. I know that if any trouble were to befall me, it is all within His beautiful plans for me and I know He holds me in His mighty hand. Therefore, I do not fear anything for I know I am in safe hands.

2009 is my fifth and final uni year. After four years of hard work at uni, I finally realised that I don't like lab work and researh. I hate that whole-heartedly. I loved learning the stuff I learned in my Science course. Pathology and Physiology is very interesting. Learning human body in closed details had helped me admire my God even more. He truly designs us so wonderfully. Strand by strand, He knitted us together in our mothers' wombs. Science is fascinating!
On the other hand, I found out that Commerce isn't really that bad after all. Being a naive and overly idealistic little girl, I used to think that business is really not my thing. When I was in my teens, I never thought I would be a business woman, an entrepreneur or whatever that is related to business world. I did whatever I could in my capacity to stay away from the business world. It's funny how over the years, as we grow, our perspective changes. I'm not so skeptical about conducting business anymore because I learnt that I can also conduct a business in such a way that honours God.

Contrary to what I was told, 2009 has been a good year for me. Some of the main reasons are:
1. My loved ones.
Family and friends. I can't stop thanking God for giving me awesome family and friends who are always there to support me. I wouldn't be who I am today without them. My inner circle of friends are unusual people. But I am proud to have them as my close friends. I love them to bits and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I thank God for placing me in the midst of these people for through them, I get to exercise Grace and Mercy. I learn to be more understanding, accepting, loving and forgiving. I learnt to serve others, to be patient and to be empathetic. To be kind and not judging. To be humble but still respect and appreciate myself . To be firm and to be able to say no when it is time to say no. I've found friends worth keeping for all eternity. And for that, I am forever grateful.
I thank God for my boyfriend too. He has been my great supporter. A companion who believes in me and loves me for what I am. Someone who shares my dream and helps me to reach it. Someone who makes me want to be a better person. I love you!

2. bakingbee
bakingbee is really a surprise for me. I never thought I would be doing something like this. Thank you everyone for always believing in me. Thank you for being my supporters and standing behind me to give me motivation and moral support. Really appreciate it. Thank you for all the inputs and critics. You know who you are and I owe you big time. I also can't thank God enough for bakingbee. I guess He is the one who planned bakingbee for me. Thank you for the inspirations and gifts. Without you, bakingbee wouldn't exist in the first place. I hope bakingbee has put a smile on Your face. I hope bakingbee will help to make You even more famous. I hope bakingbee will continue to be an extension of Your Love, Grace and Mercy. bakingbee is all Yours. Do unto it whatever pleases You.

3. Graduation
Yes. I have graduated with a B.Sc/ B.Com. It's nothing compared to some other people who have a series of degree. But still, I'm very grateful for my graduation. These past 7 years in Melbourne, I have really tasted God's goodness, faithfulness, mercy and grace. Now that it's time to go back home, I am deeply saddened for Melbourne has been my home away from home. I practically spend my adult life so far in Melbourne. My friends, my church, everything is back in Melbourne. Stepping away from Melbourne will be tough I reckon. Thank God for internet and blackberry! hahaha.. ;)

So yeah, it's officially 2010 now. I pray that the Lord who have gone before us will continue to shine His face upon us and to guide us through the year. May He continue to bless us all so that we can be blessings to others. May 2010 be a year where the Lord will be glorified in every aspect of our lives. Let us step into this new year together with Him. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus so that we won't stray away from Him and His beautiful plan fo us.

Have a blessed new year !