The 400 Cupcakes

Before I start with the cupcakes, I absolutely HAVE to mention that I had the rare honor of meeting up with Food Blogging Legend, Masak Masak aka Boo_licious. For a full account of food and company, and stunning photos, please go to her blog. It was great to finally meet her and see that brilliant food photographer in action. She made it look so easy, taking stunning shots of food. Sigh.

Back to the 400 cupcakes, actually, they turned out more like muffins than cupcakes, for the simple reason I used muffin cases instead of cupcakes, BECAUSE, cupcakes casing require moulds, and if I were to rely on my 2 muffin pans, I'll be baking for 10 hours.

As it is, this was how we proceeded:
6.20pm - Client collected 2 lime tarts which were baked earlier.

6.31pm - Start of the maiden batch. Daughter lines trays with muffin cases, I measure, sift, mix batter, wife & daughter pour batter into muffin cup. First round experiment, too much batter, cupcakes overflowed, stuck together, one big nebulous mess. Salvaged the overgrown ones into cupcake cases.

7.30pm - Break for dinner....cupcake tally thus far, about 66...

9pm - Legs giving way, but I think we probably reached the halfway mark. Sms the Vacation Bible School (VBS) director to ask if he minded if we didnt ice it, as baking alone was a mammoth task. He suggests they ice it themselves. What a brilliant idea.

9.30pm - Check email, send out emails for parents.

10.30 pm - The end is in sight, but made too much batter. Had to use up remaining batter in normal cupcake form, as the 400 muffin cases gone liao. Start mixing the blue mint icing, after maid sifted icing sugar. Turned out quite nice. If they run out they can substitute with toothpaste.

10.45 pm - Last of the muffin casing cakes come out, allowing me to chuck in my lemon meringue pie, which was a commercial order.

11.15pm - My work is done, left wife to tend the remaining few cupcakes. Shower, feel human again.

Batter bowl. Handmixer at rear to give sense of scale

Ready To Bake

Arctic Blue Mint Icing (Theme for VBS is Arctic Edge)

What happens to a woman after 9 months of pregnancy?
READY FOR DELIVERY

Total raw material consumption:
5½ kg flour
2 kg cocoa powder
7 kg sugar
2.5 litres oil
5 litres milk
5 litres water
60 plus eggs
2 bottles vanilla
250 gms baking soda
125gms baking powder
LOTS OF LURVEEEEEE


Forgot to blog about my Thai cooking class, which I sneaked out of office on Monday afternoon to attend, just down the road, with renowned local chef, Azrah Khan. RM250 for 10 dishes, 2 classes of two hours each.

Pros are pros la (professionals, not prostitutes), and in that 2 hours she managed to effortlessly, without apron, and without a stain on her, to whip up, 50 over kueh tacos, (premade pandan casings, though we did learn how to make em. ), Otak otak, Green Curry Chicken, Steamed Fish A La Thai style, and Tom Yam.

Otak Otaks. We learnt how to make the banana leaf casings too.

Green Curry Chicken.

Did you know Tom Jones went to Thailand and became a Buddhist, and even changed his name? It's now....

Tom Yam

I must get myself one of these fish platters, apparently from old town or chow kit.

Ah, yes, the above is my first attempt at baked orange cheese cake, which my mother requested last Monday. Since she raved so much about it, (dunno if it's the blood is thicker than water bias), I've made another one for tonight's family dinner. I didn't get to try it the first time, and it was a bit overcooked, coz I was juggling a family photo shoot (imagine popping in and out of kitchen, checking the oven, in a full lounge suit), and the baking time. It cracked a bit on the surface, hence had to do the make up thing and use some kumquats to hide the cracks.

Will let you know what IIII think of the baked cheesecake. (Actually these days I no longer into cheese cakes. Used to love them when I was younger. Bonton was THE benchmark those days. Their sicilian cheesecake was to die for, and my favourite baked cheesecake is from Park Royal Hotel, the strawberry baked cheesecake. Divine).