Alright then, Happy Chinese New Year, it is the year of the horse...neigh!!
Just before the old year ended, my mum did her annual clean up. A boring and tiring job but it has to be done. We were tidying up the cupboards in the kitchen and we came across many things, some haven't seen the light of day of a while! One of the more interesting finds was a heart shaped baking tin.
Corny huh? It belongs to my mum. She bought it way back when I wasn't even interested being in the kitchen, least of all baking. Yep, that loong ago.
Anyway, it's big, about 10 in and still in good shape. Not only ingredients but especially good baking tins are expensive so I gladly welcome it. Mum said suggested I bake a cake using it. I nodded and put it aside totally forgetting about it.
About a week ago, an old friend of the family called to say that he was finally getting married. A joyous occasion deserves a cake right? I immediately volunteered to bake his wedding cake. Hmm... everyone knows what happens to decisions made in haste, kan?
For a trial run of sorts, I first baked, using the heart shaped baking tin, a simple moist chocolate cake.
Sometimes it is difficult to remove the cake when a baking tin is new or rarely used. But thank goodness it came out nicely, I was a bit worried about the part where the heart slopes and meet in the middle.
Macam mana entah, not quite sure what or who but there was a little mixed up about the actual wedding date! So I found myself rushing out to buy some of the ingredients, papan cake and box on the afternoon of the wedding day itself!!
Thank God I managed, barely, to bake and decorate the cake by 8.30 pm and my brother rushed to send it to the groom's house. I wished I had more time but its over and done. It was my very first attempt at a wedding cake and I had all sort of glorious deco planned in my muddled head and I must admit I only accomplished half of it. I wished I had done a better job, but I did my very best. I hope to do another wedding cake.
I apologize to Joe and Maythu but I also wish them all the best. Congratulations on your wedding!!
 |
| The bride and groom is merely a prop. Can't be eaten, made of plastic! |
As requested the wedding cake is chocolate. I used butter cream for the icing.
Plain white with just a hint of pink roses covered the cake.
For contrast and a better effect the bride and groom are perched on a stage, a thickly cut ready made swiss roll bought from Kings.
Moist Chocolate Cake
source: Mama Fami - thank you Mama!
2 cups flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
2 cups castor sugar (I used 1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (I cup milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar, let it stand for about 5 min before using)
1 cup oil (cooking oil or corn oil can be used)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling hot water (optional : add 1 Tbsp of coffee for more flavour)
Method
Mix everything except hot water in a bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed.
Then add hot water and beat until smooth and glossy.
Pour batter into desired tin.
Bake for 45 min to 1 hour, depending on your oven at 150 C.
* you can also make cupcakes with this batter. Use paper cups instead and bake for only 25 min.
Fudge topping
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup of condensed milk
1-2 Tbsp melted butter or oil
Method
Mix everything in a bowl to form a smooth paste. Sift the cocoa powder to avoid lumps.
Pour onto cake.
Use less milk if you want the fudge to be thicker.
For the butter cream on the wedding cake, I improvised a few recipes.
Butter cream
250g shortening
250g butter or margarine
250g icing sugar (sifted)
2 tsp strawberry or vanilla essence
a few drops of red coloring.
Beat the shortening and butter first until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in the sugar until it turns pale and light.
Dribble in the essence, mix well.
I put aside about 5 Tbsp of the icing and colored it pink, the rest I left as it is.
In a pipping bag I put in the white then just a little bit of pink then topped up with white again.
When piping the flowers, hues of pink would appear here and there. I preferred this to all white or all pink roses. But you can do as you like. I used a star tipped nozzle no 84.
Happy Baking.
Moist Chocolate Cake
source: Mama Fami - thank you Mama!
2 cups flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
2 cups castor sugar (I used 1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (I cup milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar, let it stand for about 5 min before using)
1 cup oil (cooking oil or corn oil can be used)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling hot water (optional : add 1 Tbsp of coffee for more flavour)
Method
Mix everything except hot water in a bowl and beat at medium speed until well mixed.
Then add hot water and beat until smooth and glossy.
Pour batter into desired tin.
Bake for 45 min to 1 hour, depending on your oven at 150 C.
* you can also make cupcakes with this batter. Use paper cups instead and bake for only 25 min.
Fudge topping
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup of condensed milk
1-2 Tbsp melted butter or oil
Method
Mix everything in a bowl to form a smooth paste. Sift the cocoa powder to avoid lumps.
Pour onto cake.
Use less milk if you want the fudge to be thicker.
For the butter cream on the wedding cake, I improvised a few recipes.
Butter cream
250g shortening
250g butter or margarine
250g icing sugar (sifted)
2 tsp strawberry or vanilla essence
a few drops of red coloring.
Beat the shortening and butter first until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in the sugar until it turns pale and light.
Dribble in the essence, mix well.
I put aside about 5 Tbsp of the icing and colored it pink, the rest I left as it is.
In a pipping bag I put in the white then just a little bit of pink then topped up with white again.
When piping the flowers, hues of pink would appear here and there. I preferred this to all white or all pink roses. But you can do as you like. I used a star tipped nozzle no 84.
Happy Baking.
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