Minecraft Cake

Each year, I endeavour to make a cake for my son. This is his 6th birthday and my 6th cake for him. As his age progresses, his request for his birthday cake also gets complicated. This year, he requested for a Minecraft cake. In case you are in the dark, Minecraft is actually an online game (which makes no sense to me at all).

When I first googled for information, I was apprehensive. It was complicated. I was not confident I could do it. Worse of all, it involves fondant, which I have not ventured into and have no interest in doing so. But I have to at least try. I initially planned a very simple cake with purchased figurines as topper. Unfortunately, I have forgotten to purchase the figurines and therefore, it didn't come in time. I have to use fondant to make the figurines. Even that, I chose the easiest figurines, ENDERMAN and CREEPER. I had no choice but also make STEVE as he is a trademark in Minecraft afterall.

Vertical Layer Cake/ Drip Cake

Today, I tried to cramp three techniques into one cake. This cake marked my first foray into Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMBC), first vertical layer cake, and first drip cake. Although the taste was good (as I am using my previous tested recipes), the artwork is mediocre at best. I have much to learn on making a smooth frosting and applying the dripping glaze.  I think my greatest enemy is my lack of patience. Making such cakes is a long process to say the least. It involves layers and layers of work. By the time I was at the decorating stage, the novelty sort of fizzled out. I was then left with a messy frosting and an urge to just abandon the endeavour. I am happy to say that I followed through to come out with this wonderful piece of art.

Strawberry Birthday Cake 草莓生日蛋糕

You don't think I am going to leave you in the lurch with just a sponge cake recipe, do you? Well, here's the final product - A Strawberry Birthday Cake. As I have mentioned earlier, this cake was intended for my niece. She adores strawberries. So this is what I came out with - loads of strawberries and cream. If you like strawberry cakes as much as she does, this one is for you!

Birthday Chocolate Cake 巧克力生日蛋糕

Gosh! I think I just overdosed my three-year old with chocolate! And he loved every bite of it! It started when he requested a chocolate cake as his birthday cake. I did not plan on making a chocolate only chocolate cake but as it went along, chocolate seemed to be the best choice, be it for filling or glaze, or even the wording.

I started off with a moist chocolate sponge, cut into three layers (recipe here). For the filling, I couldn't think of anything more appropriate than whipped chocolate ganache. Why whipped chocolate ganache? Because it is more stable than just whipped cream or meringue. I crumb coated it with the same whipped ganache as well. My birthday chocolate cake was plain looking after the coating so I made some ganache and pour over it to get that dripping effect. I was glad I did because that was the highlight of the cake. Its intense chocolaty flavour really complemented the cake well. And the glaze looked tempting. I wrote the name in melted white chocolate and put it on the cake for contrast. I then added M&Ms for colour but it was a disaster as the colours came off due to condensation. If you like M&Ms on your cake too, make sure you put it at the last minute. It was a lesson well learned.

I was not really satisfied with the look on this cake, what more with the melting M&Ms. In fact, my hubby gave me a thumb down when I sent him a photo of the cake. I did not want to post this initially. However, this was one of the best tasting cake that I ever made. It was moist, light, not too sweet and smelled amazing. And those who ate it concurred. Therefore, I feel compelled to journal down the recipe. I would definitely to make this birthday chocolate cake again, with some changes in decorating perhaps. Just excuse my amateurish decoration this time.

Birthday Chocolate Cake 巧克力生日蛋糕

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

300 g whipping cream
125 g baking chocolate (chopped)/ semi-sweet chocolate chips

Simmer whipping cream in a saucepan. Once the cream starts boiling, remove from fire and pour onto chocolate. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Using a whisk, mix until chocolate is melted. Put a cling wrap on top of cream and let it cool at room temperature. Once cooled, put into chiller to let it chill completely before whipping.


Chocolate Ganache

110 g baking chocolate (chopped)/ semi-sweet chocolate chips
20 g evaporated milk
1 tbsp butter

Put everything into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in microwave (high) in 30 seconds interval until the chocolate is thoroughly melted. I microwave twice to get the chocolate to completely melt. Do not overheat. Set aside to let it cool off a bit.

Cake Assembly

1. Fill and coat sponge cake with whipped chocolate ganache. You can get the sponge cake recipe here. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

2. Make chocolate ganache and slowly pour on top of cake. The ganache should be slighty warm and not hot or it will melt the cream.

3. Add M&Ms and other decoration of your choice (M&Ms should be put last).




My last year Teddy Bear Cake for my son's 2nd birthday:

Basic Chocolate Sponge 巧克力海绵蛋糕

Baking sponge cake is my nemesis. More often than not, I would get a cracked top or a shrunken middle. I always marveled at those who could get that perfect crease-free puffed up top. No matter how hard I tried, somehow the recipe would fail me. Oh well, maybe I failed the recipe. After rounds of trying, I have finally found something that worked for me. To cut the story short, I managed to come out with a decent chocolate sponge this time and I am utterly ecstatic about it.

My First Birthday Teddy Bear Cake 泰迪熊蛋糕

It all started with my son. He loves teddy bear. Somebody suggested that I buy him a teddy bear cake to celebrate his coming second birthday. My initial response was, "Great idea!". But something inside me was dying to do something different than just paying for a cake. Call it a mother's guilt or pure stupidity. Somehow just paying for a cake is not good enough. It must be one of a kind. Then this crazy idea of making my own cake began to form subtlely in my mind, like an irritating fly that wouldn't go away. The next few days was madness as the lunatic in me researched and purchased almost everything needed to make a mere cake.

A Basic Sponge Cake 海绵蛋糕

This is not my first attempt at a sponge cake. However, this is my maiden attempt in making a birthday sponge cake. And I tried not once, not twice, but thrice! My previous encounters with sponges were softer and finer. I tried using the same recipe but somehow, it was not strong enough to hold its shape. Therefore, I had to reduce the amount of moisture in the cake and whisk the egg whites more. It turned out very good in my first experiment but falter in my second bake. I attributed it to faulty techniques. My guess was underbaking and too much moisture.

Birthday cake with meaning - Longevity Bao (sau bao) 寿桃包

My mother's birthday is coming. This is a first year we are giving her a surprise party. And I am hoping to surprise her with some longevity baos. Longevity bun or bao is an old chinese tradition that symbolises long life. It is normally presented to elders on their birthday just as a cake is presented on our birthdays. As my mom does not really fancy cakes, making this bao for her would be a great idea.