I just got back from my hometown and it was my friend's birthday and she was over for tea. This was the best I could do in a few hours! Turned out nice and clean all thanks to Satin Ice fondant and gumpaste. Very nice texture but good price at the same time. I have always been a Wilton fan but I am now sold on Satin Ice.
I have never liked carrot cakes as they are usually quite dense. I like the flavour profile of the carrot cake though, a hint of cinnamon with cream cheese. The solution was to modify a standard carrot cake recipe. The recipe I used called for bread flour and 45 minutes of baking, things that created the dense texture. I replaced the bread flour with plain flour and instead of 45 minutes, I divided the cake batter into 3 equal portions and poured into 7 inches baking tins. I then baked them for exactly 12 minutes in a moderate oven. I also omitted the walnuts called for in most carrot cake recipes and opted for pistachios instead but not in the cake batter. The results - 3 fluffy layers of carrot cake. Now comes the all important cream cheese frosting. Equal amounts of cream cheese to icing sugar beaten together. For the zesty flavour I opted for the citrus fruit that is very uncommonly used in baking - Lime. Most recipes would call for orange or lemon. Well, I love lime. It's one of my favourite acid source when I cook. It is bold and distinct. One lime zest into the frosting. Assembling the cake is to layer the 3 fluffy layers with the frosting and then cover the cake as well and pat the chopped roasted pistachios around the cake. Top with more lime zest. The final product is a fluffy carrot cake with a zesty sweet frosting and a crunchy outer layer of nuts. My carrot cake is definitely one of my most requested flavour amongst friends and family.
I made this for my sister so that she could take it to a Christmas Potluck at her office. Everyone loved the cute figurines and actually ate them!
Temple of Zeus. I made this for my sister's birthday and threw her a party at The Dining Room at the Westin in KL. Needless to say, the inspiration was the Temple of Zeus in Athens, Greece. We had just returned from a 2 week vacation in Europe where we spent a few days visiting the ruins of ancient Greece in Athens and Temple of Zeus was my sister's favourite so I made this cake which took almost a week to complete and could not be a surprise because we lived in the same house!! The pillars are made from gumpaste, hand sculpted onto lollipop sticks. The cake is an orange butter cake with an orange butter cream filling.
