7 birthdays and a farewell

after mcqueen, another one... whew!

every month, FAB (filipino association in bratislava) gathers to celebrate birthdays. this month, i was organizer and... thanks to our other resident baker who was too busy these last few days, i was the baker too. peace cathy! :)

for this month, we celebrated birthdays plus we had to bid our dear tita betty farewell.  hence, the luggage cake.

chocolate banana cake

with chocolate fudge frosting

as usual, i got inspiration from the internet.  i just (intentionally) missed the buckles because it was getting late, and,....  i was already tired from the swimming trip with the kids and,... i still had to do the names with so many letters... and,... and,.... and, you get my drift?  ok, ok, i was already too lazy to do them. :D  and as expected, i had hard time with the letters. why?! oh! why were there so many august celebrants?!

happy birthday august celebrants!!!

happy birthday karol

it's easiest to make cakes for karol.  i don't have to knock my brains out to think of themes for him. whatever occassion.... lightning mcqueen always works ;)

banana chocolate cake 

with chocolate fudge frosting and rolled fondant

this cake made me realize that i like marshmallow fondant more.  the rolled buttercream fondant is too sweet for my taste. it's way too sticky, hence i had to add a lot of sugar.  unfortunately, plain white marshmallows are hard to come by here.  to top it, recipe calls for mini marshmallows, and all i can get (when i get them) are those big, as in bonfire bbq, types.

anyhow, i worked my ass off for this one. got the idea from the internet and executed it almost to a T. it has some hidden "disasters". but in the end, me and my customer were very satisfied i think.  i still have a souvenir from this cake. my point finger looks like the elections came early. good thing i'm not fond of nail polishes.

happy birthday my dear karol. i'm glad you enjoyed your day.

summer is here!!!

i was commissioned to do cupcakes for a summer party for boys. couldn't think of anything better than lady bugs and bees.... and it paid off as later i was told that the boys love bugs specially lady bugs (or lady birds as they call it).

i really enjoyed making the bugs, specially the little ones. the ladybug ideas i got from the internet. but the bees, i improvised myself.

it was also my first time to make "grass" using the multi-opening tip. i think i need more practice on that one.  but all in all, i was happy with the outcome. this is my favorite so far.

choco banana and banana cupcakes

happy birthday tita lucia!

choco banana cupcakes for tita lucia's birthday

baby shower cupcakes

banana walnut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting 

for a friend's baby shower honoring.

was so happy to get my fondant tools just in time for this one.  got most of them from ebay with free shipping.  and now i learned that those letters are one of the hardest things to do with fondant.

flashback on april

so! i looked back into the previous month's photos and found these two baking projects.

the original recipe is called banana sour cream bread. but i made it into cupcakes. but since alex doesn't like nuts in cakes, i just added the walnuts on top so she could easily remove it. :D

here's another attempt at making my own fondant. sadly, it was quite soft, but made it work somehow :D good thing, i tried a new cake recipe... chocolate banana cake. hubby gave it 5 stars. that's saying something because he doesn't like such kind of "birthday cakes" in general.

happy mothers' day!!!

haven't posted in a while. either i haven't been baking or i just was too lazy to upload pix. honestly, i can't remember :D

anyways, to all the moms out there... here's a chocolate banana cupcake with chocolate fudge frosting, topped with a fondant rose. ;)

twinkle, twinkle little star

cupcakes for baby janka's first birthday.  wasn't able to take decent pix. but here's a glimpse:

chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

banana cupcakes with buttercream frosting

made the cutout fondant stars and moons 4 days in advance.  i was so afraid to make mistakes that i still have lots of leftover stars in stock. :)) but i used up all the moons.  there was supposed to be some text with the words "twinkle, twinkle little star."  however my quality assurance tester (named alex) didn't approve of it, so it was scrapped out.  it worked out well as it is anyways. ;)

fab's first anniv with the ambassador

red velvet cake with buttercream frosting

outrageous brownies

another FAB get together (february 26, 2012).  as usual i volunteered for desserts :D  i'm not so good at it, but it's better than my cooking. hehehe.  this is another one of my fondant practice creations ;)

chocolate cupcakes for dedko

march 10, 2012

made this for tatko's belated birthday and name's day.  alex decorated the ciupcakes with sprinkles and chocolate candies.  sadly, i forgot to take pix of the finished product.

Baking: March 2012

apple pie

march 8, 2012

as per alex's request! after so many days, i was able to make it at last. i thought i perfected the lattice top, but boy i was wrong.  the dough was the perfect consistency and thickness (doesn't happen too often you know).  i was able to make a perfect lattice on the mat. however, when it was time to put it on top of the pie... well that's another story :D

happy name's day daddy!

cappuccino cheesecake 

with oreo crush and white chocolate garnish

february 24, 2012

first time to make this kind of cheesecake. and first time to use white chocolate.  the name was scripted using white chocolate buttercream frosting. or at least what i tried to do :D

happy valentine's day!!!

february 13, 2011

combined simple white cake and strawberry-flavored red velvet cupcake recipes.  tried to do some technique with 3-colored cupcakes.  unfortunately, i didn't succeed, not with the colors nor the layering.  i would have to try practicing more.

christmas cupcakes

chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting

december 10, 2011

made this ones for the fab december get together.  tried to make christmas tree shapes in line with the spirit of christmas.

gingerbread cupcakes with buttercream frosting

december 24, 2011

our christmas dinner dessert.  this time, it's not just the decoration, but the cupcake flavor tasted of christmas.  first time i ever made it.  it was a very interesting and unique taste.  

asian lunch cake

chocolate cake with choco buttercream frosting

december 4, 2011

thanks to another friend for trusting me with this one.  as you can see, i'm not good at scripting yet.  made this order for the end of year asian lunch.  unfortunately, i wasn't able to attend the gathering.  however, i was told that people raved about it. ;)

karol's name's day 2011

november 4, 2011

i painstakingly tried to follow the instructions to make this cake look like a race car.  again, me and chocolate cakes have a hard time agreeing with each other. notice the crumbs in the frosting?  oh well, i tried my best and karol was happy... somehow... after telling me, it's not like this and that, he liked it anyway.

halloween treats

october 20, 2011

crazy attempt at decorating cupcakes :D  made these for the bratislava mom and me playgroup, halloween costume party.  nobody wanted to touch them at first. :))

made these mini butternut squash pies for the same party.  putting the crust in each muffin hole was so time consuming.  the fact that my crust was breaking didn't help either.  getting them out from the mold was another problem.  anyway, i managed to do all those only to be crushed at the end. they all broke apart when i made a sudden brake while driving and the box fell to the floor. :(  they still tasted great though.

at last, fondant!!!

marshmallow fondant cake for adrian's bday

september 11, 2011

now that looks much better.  it's the first decent fondant work i've made.  still need more polishing though. those seaweeds are there for a very good reason :)) just note that i didn't make the fish.  

it's a pool party inspired design for adrian's birthday. this is my first ever order for a birthday cake.  thanks to a friend for trusting in me. ;)

fondant 2

chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and fondant

august 28, 2011

very messy. now i know, i have to be really careful when working with fondant and chocolate. sigh! learned that thie hard way. this was done for the FAB august get together.

karol is 3

chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting

august 22, 2011

a cars inspired cake, with lightning mcqueen and mater.  both biglets knew the green thing was grass. nobody else did :))

strawberry pie?!?

august 2, 2011

a new pie flavor.  also tried doing lattice work on the top.  let's just say, practice makes perfect. :D

mini oreo cheesecake

july 7, 2011

made this for daddy's birthday.  i used the whole oreo cookie as a base for this cheesecake.

FAB june celebration

chocolate cake with choco buttercream frosting

june 12, 2011

strawberry cheesecake for my birthday

june 7, 2011

i put whipped cream around the edges of the cake.  however, they already melted away when i served them.  good thing i took a pic first. 

happy 5th birthday alex (take 2)

confetti cupcake crown cakewith almond flavored buttercream frosting

may 28, 2011

positioned the cupcakes to make a crown shape. i think i wasn't so successful. :))  also i didn't know the technique (up to now), how to frost them properly.  i've wasted way too much frosting on this one.  it's not visible, but it's right there in between those cupcakes.

my first ever fondant

rainbow cake with marshmallow fondant for alex's 5th bday

may 26, 2011

there's always a first time. had to put the balls around the edges, to hide (a lot of) imperfections. :D  plus the rainbow effect of the cake didn't come out as expected. it was just too heavy.

fab may birthdays

red velvet, chocolate, and banana peanut butter cupcakes 

with buttercream frosting

red velvet, chocolate, and banana peanut butter cupcakes 

with cream cheese frosting topped with mini kiss and sprinkles

may 14, 2011

a very runny cream cheese frosting :(  used a different brand of cream cheese and it definitely didn't pass. never did i use that one again. :P

happy 6th months andy

confetti cupcakes with buttercream frosting

may 13, 2011

hello there swirls! still not perfect.  :(

this time, i made what is supposed to be a confetti cupcake.  it's not visible, but inside, you should see dots of colors from the candy sprinkles which was added into the dough.  however, mine didn't turn out to be so colorful. they melted into the cake.  not sure if it's the sprinkles or the baker's fault. :D

apple crumble

april 29, 2011

i only had enough dough for the bottom crust.  good thing there's the internet, so i dug in and saved the day.  voila, apple crumble instead of apple pie.

chocolate cookie cheesecake

april 13, 2011

oreo cheesecake, what can go wrong?! nothing!!! :)) this one is topped with sour cream and chocolate ganache. made it for andy's 5th month.

a new cupcake flavor

strawberry-flavored red velvet cupcakes 

with cream cheese frosting and rainbow sprinkles

april 8, 2011

another recipe from maestro connie :)  definitely one of our faves.  the cream cheese frosting came out too soft though, at least compared to my buttercream frosting.  the one in the middle is i think the only one which looked great.  don't be fooled byt the appearance though, because this cupcake is really yummy, no matter how it looks. :D

a quick note: alex put all the sprinkles on top. so pretty, don't you think? ;)

self-frosting nutella cupcakes

self-frosting nutella cupcakes
march 24, 2011

got this recipe from ms. connie veneracion.  definitely a must for nutella lovers.

happy 4th month to andy

simple white cake (butterfly) with buttercream frosting

march 13, 2011

back to my cake decorating projects.  first and last time i did this butterfly, which some thought was a dragonfly.  LOL.  cut up a round cake to form the shape following an instruction video from the internet.  then i used about three barbecue sticks for the body. stuck them together and covered them with frosting.

a very messy project i know.  i'm sorry.  well, it's the very first cake project i made totally covered in drop stars.  and boy! it wasn't easy.  cupcakes are cupcakes, and cakes are cakes.  if you know what i mean.

better than pumpkin pie (butternut squash)

january 19, 2011

just keep the pies coming!!!  my first time to make this kind of pie.  i wasn't so sure about this recipe.  but then again, i was pleasantly surprised that it was so tasty.  tried it more times, even made small versions of them some time. but that would be in another post.

apple and blueberry pie

apple and blueberry pie

december 24, 2010

first and last time i did this kind of pie.  we had it as our christmas dinner dessert.  instead of a whole top crust, i cut up some christmas shapes (tree and star) to cover the top.  i also used the excess dough to make some cinnamon swirls.

apple pie: my first pie ever

november 22, 2010

cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, why not some pie?  i made everything from scratch, including the dough. surprisingly, this came out really great.  

i have never had a real pie before.  watching pushing daisies definitely inspired me to do this.  this baking project made me believe that one person can finish a whole pie by himself. :D

yummy cheesecake!!!

cheesecake topped with mixed berries

october 9, 2010

this time, i had more than enough berries to top the cake.  i still used chocolate shavings for the sides though.

happy 2nd bday karol (take 2)

cheesecake with chocolate shavings and mixed berry topping

post 2nd birthday celebration of karol

i so love cheesecakes!!! unfortunately, this kind doesn't exist here in slovakia so i had to learn how to bake my own.

this was not the first ever cheesecake i made.  but this is the first one i made with toppings.  i made the mixed berry topping from scratch using fresh ingredients.  since it's my first, i didn't know how much was needed to top the whole cake.  i had to save the day using chocolate shavings. :D