my baking diary #35 randomssss....

in a blink of the eyes, the month of May seems to slipped past me without me noticing it... there were many ups and downs, and too many for me to list down in details...

upon S's request, i baked cookies and cupcakes for her son, J's, 1st birthday... i dun think it was very well done as i did not realise i ran out of Valrhona cocoa powder, and had to use Van Houten... I did not managed to taste the cupcakes as they were snatched up rather quickly by the guests... Also, my estimation was wrong, and filled up the batter a bit too much... resulting in the cake overflowing, and making the cups looks messy...

it was a rather last minute request, and S asked for Elmo themed cupcakes - other than a set of sesame street cupcake rings i bought previously, i din have another sesame street related stuff... tied up with work and all, i din exactly had time to go sourcing for nice toppers and even a bday present! so the thick-skinned me told S these will be my bday present for her son :P

other than chocolate ganache, i dunno of other frosting i could use as i dun really like the idea of using buttercream... but now wanting all my cupcakes to be all chocolatey, i chanced upon Wilton's ready icing at PH and hence bought one to try... here's the cupcakes i frosted with the ready icing, topped with cupcake rings :) feedback from the guests - icing was too sweet... only then, did i recall i could have used cream cheese frosting! but i though the color combination turned out rather well...

the rest of the cupcakes were coverd in chocolate ganache... again, my piping were not successful, hence, i could only spread the ganache on the cupcakes... but this helped to cover the 'ugly' mess i made of the cupcakes... i save the 'overflowed' cupcakes by pressing them into the cups... and topped the chocolate ganache with cherries and sweet sugar decos.... and of coz not forgetting, a msg for the b'day boy!



S was showing the cupcakes to most of her guests, and even told them to book me 1 month in advance if they wanna order! some guests (who were ex-colleagues) did ask me if i could do something similar for their kids' b'day! but i dare not take up the orders coz i might not have time to do it... so told them to check with me when the date approach...

here's the cookies i baked... S wanted a mix of characters in each cookies bags, and i had to bake these cookies over a spread of 2 days (with my niece sneaking into the kitchen and taking them from my rack!!)

during that week when i did all these baking, i had to work late and possibly due to the earlier antibiotics i was taking for my infection, i ended up with some form of indigestion... for a whole week (coming to 2), i had to put up with a bloated stomach... repeated visits to the co's GP doesnt seem to work, and finally, the doc referred me to a Gastro doc... i m heading to Mount E to see the doc this coming Wed, hope things will be fine... as usual, my parents attribute this to the bakings i did... so basically after the cupcakes i baked, my oven had been on hiatus... i hope all the things around me will settle down soon - work, my health, etc etc, so i can start baking again...

i m looking forward to an enjoyable June, coz its my bday month! short getaway at bintan, more cupcakes baking with my new book - Beautiful Cupcakes by Chef Kevin Chai, and lots more!!!

signing off now, coz am experiencing some discomfort in my stomach again...