Honey Tops by Zoyah

Goodbye, Honeytops! Hello The Last Slice!

2011-01-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hello my lovely foodies!

This is just a post to inform you that I will be leaving Blogger and Honeytops and changing over to The Last Slice on Wordpress!

Why, you may ask?

I feel I have changed, since starting Honeytops and Wordpress gives me a more "grown-up" feel!

I hope you will check out my new and improved (well, at least I think so) blog! I look forward to you commenting and being your usual, supportive and encouraging selves :)

Don't be strangers!

Farewell, Dressew!

2010-09-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

I apologise, summer blogging has been super slow! I'm finally done studying and just when I thought I would get a little bit of downtime, I glanced at my calendar and realised that school starts again, tomorrow! Back to reality!

This year has been full of milestones for me: one of which is my leaving Dressew Supply Ltd. I have been working at Dressew since the age of fifteen...I am now twenty-one! Dressew has been a huge part of my growth and development as a person and I have been so fortunate to be able to work with such amazing staff. I'm also lucky that I've made so many supportive and encouraging friends during my time there!

With all this in mind, I decided it fit to bake for my last day! I made these beautiful double chocolate numbers: chocolate cake with a rich, chocoate buttercream! Just to add a little pizzazz, I added a little fondant flower on each one. They were all gone by the end of the day so I'll take that as a compliment!

My last day at Dressew was definitely emotional. The owners, R and J bought donuts for all the staff and at the end of the day, the staff gathered at the top of the stairs and applauded and presented me with a beautiful gift and card! It was very sweet (literally and figuratively) and the kindess and support definitely brought a tear to my eye.

In closing, I'd just like to say: THANK YOU, DRESSEW!
I really can't put into words how much of an impact the staff and the experience of working at Dressew has meant to me...so as usual, my emotions came out in the form of baked goods!

Alright, foodies!

Till soon!

Raven's Red Velvet

2010-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Foodies!

I woke up this morning, feeling slightly unsure of what the day would bring and unfortunately, not possessing the best of mentalities. Then i opened my window: the trees were swaying in the slight breeze and the sun was shining. I was instantly uplifted. It is days like this that I feel so fortunate to be living in Vancouver. I was instantly in the right headspace to blog!

My latest adventure was Red Velvet! If you've seen my previous blog posts, you may remember me baking red velvet cupcakes last summer - the recipe I used previously was definitely less than perfect. Since then, I had come across a recipe from Throwdown with Bobby Flay and decided to try CakeMan Raven's Red Velvet recipe, which he was kind enough to provide access to, online! This recipe took leaps and bounds from the previous recipe so I would encourage all of you red-velvet cake lovers out there, to give this recipe a try. The way the recipe is laid out is so easy to follow that you'll be making it every chance you get!

The only change I made to the recipe was regarding the food colouring. The recipe calls for two tablespoons of red food colouring - I use gel colours, so I just added the food colouring after the batter had come together until I got the colour I was looking for - as you can see, it's very red but feel free to "say when" before it gets this bright - I think the vibrant red colour just adds to the whimsy of this delectable creation!

Here are the cakes when they came out of the oven. Just a note concerning the baking time of these cakes - it may seem short (only 30 minutes) but rest assured, this is enough time! I have definitely been guilty of overbaking things in the past because they didn't seem "done" - that has lead to a lot of tough cakes. The last time I made the red velvet cupcakes, I think I overbaked them and the baking soda taste really comes out when you do that - so resist the urge to leave them in the oven for "just a minute more"! I may try baking powder next time, since I'm not partial to using baking soda, generally. A quick note: oil and flour your pans, well! My rounds came out, just fine, but my rectangle cake definitely had to be listed as a casualty. I still had enough good cake to work with, but first, do no harm, right?

This recipe makes triple-layer, 9 inch cake. I didn't want to go with a 9 inch since there are only three of us in my house and do we really need to add 9 inches to our thighs? Yeah, didn't think so. So I went with a 6 inch - that's why you see the rectangular cake above, which I just cut a 6 inch round out of.

Now to the best part of the cake - the frosting! I encourage you all to use the exact method that cakeman describes in his recipe. In my experience, cream-cheese frostings can be pretty finicky - they especially tend to become runny, which becomes quite the dog and pony show when you go to ice a cake!

This method seemed to work very well and refrigerating the icing for about half an hour before doing a crumb coat, and then another half an hour before doing the final coat seemed to work quite well in this recipe.

I learned the technique for icing this cake while watching Cakeman Raven do it on Throwdown - he started with a nice, thick layer of icing on the cake, and then with the tip of the spatula, made horizontal lines around the cake. If you have a lazy susan, you can spin the cake, while holding your spatula stationary.

Next, with the edge of the spatula, he made vertical lines up the sides of the cake - this creates the sort of scalloped look you see, here! Super easy and elegant, no doubt.

And finally, here, you see my Southern masterpiece!

I must say, I haven't been this satisfied with one of my own creations in a long while. This cake is so moist and tastes even better right out of the fridge after a couple days.

The longer it sits, the better it gets, so it would be an ideal, make-ahead dessert!

Let me know what you think!

Happy baking, all!

Chicka-Cherry-Cheesecake

2010-06-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

So it was a certain lady's birthday, oh, two months ago...and she never got her birthday cheesecake (yes, that is the kind of horrible, little sister I am). Finally, I coupled her birthday treat with the visit of my wonderful and infinitely kind Mumti Masi and bam: a decadent delight for two equally delightful ladies!

The concoction you see is actually my aunt's recipe! A dense, sumptuous, New York-style cheesecake, topped with a tangy cherry filling.

Okay. So this is embarrassing: I used canned filling. Go ahead, judge me, I can take it. For those of you who have read my post on the cherry pie I make, you'll know: I'm not a filling-making kind of a gal. I've never been that girl, maybe I will be, one day in the distant future. I will make cans of filling between dropping the kids off to soccer practice and pulling my hair out or something. But for now, I modify fillings! I always find that the cherry filling from the can is lacking citrus: the juice of half a lemon remedies that, perfectly.

Sorry, folks! No recipe for this one: family secret! But I hope you enjoyed reading this, all the same.

Just throwing a question out there to all you, foodies: how do you prevent your cheesecake from cracking? Below, you can see that the filling has seeped into the cheesecake (not that I'm complaining!) but that's because my cheesecake always cracks...ideas?

Thanks for perusing this post!

Till soon!

Mamma Mia, I'm Switchin' It Up!

2010-06-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hey lovely people!

For those of you who know me, you know that baking is my thing...but I LOVE cooking, too! Baking is fun because it's all about chemistry - it's a challenge to get all the proportions of everything right -- and when you do, it's so satisfying! But cooking is different - it's all about improvisation: no balsamic vinegar? Use red wine vinegar instead. And because of all this improvisation, you can tailor your recipes to fit your taste and add your own style and flair. A madeline will generally always taste like a madeline, but two pasta sauces can be completely different!

This year has been a whirlwind so far, testing me and my family for reasons that we cannot, for the life of us, figure out. Being in the kitchen is my solace.

My mum and sister celebrated their birthdays in April and so instead of the usual "let's go out for dinner" thing, I decided to make them an Italian feast. There's just something about a home-cooked meal that beats any restaurant.

On the menu: Lasagna with red sauce and layers of creamy bechamel sauce, garlic bread and a fresh, green salad with my famous warm balsamic vinaigrette.

First up, you see the lasagna. The sauce was quite a complicated thing. I find that when I make pasta sauce, it's different everytime. Sometimes, I feel like throwing in some olives, sometimes not. Sometimes it's a bit sweeter, and sometimes a bit richer. In any case, I usually start it off with an onion, which I caramelize in the pot. I then add everything else all at once: ground beef that I pre-cook with salt, pepper, garlic, ginger (yes, ginger - you don't taste the ginger...but you definitely notice if it's not there!), basil and oregano, a dollop of tomato paste and a huge can of crushed tomatoes, brown sugar and vinegar and a schwack of fresh basil if you have it. This time, I also added a handful of chopped up olives.

For the bechamel sauce, it's as simple as a quarter cup of each flour and butter, which I cook on the stove until light golden and then a splash of milk to get your desired consistency. Traditionally a bechamel has nutmeg and a few other spices, but the red sauce was so strong in flavour, I left it unseasoned, and it did exactly what I wanted it to do: added a creamy layer to the lasagna, which melded perfectly with the red sauce.

And then, all it was was layering the lasagna starting off with red sauce, followed by pasta, more red sauce, bechamel and cheese and then pasta again. I did three layers, finishing off with just red sauce and cheese!

For the salad, use any vegetables and greens you like. I just went with lettuce, tomatoes and olives: go simple, because it's all about the warm, balsamic vinaigrette.

For the dressing, dice up half an onion as small as you can manage and slice a garlic clove and sautee them in olive oil until caramelized. When you reach this stage, pull the pan off the heat, and add a generous splash of balsamic vinegar. I usually put it back on the stove on low at this point, just to bring everything together and add salt and and a generous amount of black pepper to taste. Let the dressing cool a bit and then toss with the salad before serving. Make sure that when you add the balsamic vinegar, though, not to inhale the fumes! The vinegar is really pungent. You'll thank me later!

The onions and garlic absorb all the vinegar and melt into the dressing - it's divine. If you try anything from this blog post, please try the dressing!

Finally, the easiest garlic bread you'll ever make: and the tastiest. Just toast slices of baguette in the oven (or even the toaster) and while still warm, rub a raw garlic clove over them. The crusty bread breaks down the garlic and the bread gets a hint of garlic aroma and taste, without being overpowered. If you toast them in the oven, I like to spread some butter on one side. If you do them in the toaster, just rub the garlic on them when they come out, and then you can spread some butter on top.

And that's all she wrote, folks! I hope you'll try at least some of these recipes! And I hope the change of pace from baking was welcome!

Till soon!

Happy eating!

Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Spice Blondies and Masala Chai!

2010-04-29T18:38:00.001-07:00

Last post of the day! And this one is dedicated to Sabera of One Life to Eat (on my "Sweet Blogs" list) and one of my very best friends, Kendall.

My poor sister is sick: so instead of the traditional soup or tea or whatever, I decided to do for her what I do best: bake! I asked her what she felt like and she picked these blondies! I've never made blondies before, and let me tell ya, I have no idea why. They are from Cakes and Bakes, a very thoughtful Christmas gift from Kendall. This book is awesome. The recipes are quick and easy for the most part and heartwarming, to boot.

I did make a few modifications to the recipe, though. I am not a huge fan of self-rising flour. It's more expensive than regular, all-purpose flour, and it it's not called for in very many of the recipes I use. However, I have noticed that in a lot of the new cookbooks I have gotten as gifts, many of them are calling for it. I tried a conversion where you take regular all-purpose flour and add baking soda and salt. Needless to say, whatever I made with that conversion just wasn't quite right. It always tasted salty and baking soda-ey. So for this recipe, it called for a cup of self-rising flour and I thought, why not try just adding a teaspoon of baking powder to all-purpose flour? Well, it worked! These blondies turned out fantastic! I'm still going to try a few more recipes with my own sneaky little conversion and I will definitely let you know when I'm sure it works! I also added chocolate chips and nutmeg to the blondies (they originally just called for cinnamon) and they were a hit in my house!

I have been on the quest for the perfect cup of masala chai for a few years now. I had some amazing chai in London at my aunt's house but the mix she used was a homemade gift. I tried to emulate those flavours in my own version but somehow, the chai was never perfectly satisfying. Then, Sabera came along with her recipe, which I tried out this morning and it was exactly what I was looking for: super simple, and absolutely soul-satisfying.

Please, please, please try out this masala chai recipe! You won't taste a better cup, unless you go to India to get it! I didn't have the specific tea she mentions so I just used my orange pekoe, and for every one mug of chai, because I didn't have fresh ginger, I added 1/2 teaspoon of powdered ginger and a splash of vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean, which I rarely have kicking around! If you have all the authentic ingredients, though, use those!...I intend to go out and get them and give it another go!

That's all for now, folks!

Happy eating!

Cakes Cakes Cakes!

2010-04-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Foodies!

Some of you may remember my venture into Cake City a long time ago and how overwhelming I found it – fondant and buttercream and decorating - oh my! Well, I think that since then, I have come very far - or shall I say we, my mother and sister included! I feel like the fondant covering on the cakes has gone leaps and bounds from before! What say you?

This is one of the cakes we made for Darbari. It is a dark chocolate cake with mint-chocolate-pieces baked right
into the batter. The cream in between is just a vanilla buttercream - the cake was pretty rich in flavour, so we thought that a simple buttercream would let the mint-chocolate really shine through. The cake was then covered with fondant and decorated with a mehndi design! It was a total hit!

This second concoction (last picture shown) was made for another Darbari. The theme the girls were going to be wearing was coral, so we did our best to try and incorporate that into the cake we made. We coloured the fondant for the flowers a sort of coral pink.

Some of your may remember the triple-layer, rectangular cake from a previous post that was covered with light pink cherry blossoms...since then, we got a bigger flower plunger so this cake has big and small flowers...I think it makes it look a bit less sparse and just a touch more dramatic.

With such a fresh, springy look to this cake, we thought it fit that the inside match the outside. The cake is an orange sponge with cranberries thrown in the mix, and in between the layers is an orange buttercream.

The cake had such a lovely, fresh smell when it came out of the oven, that we baked a half batch of cupcakes for us to try - absolutely scrumptious for those times you don't feel like something super heavy. They went perfectly with a cup of orange pekoe!

A tip regarding cranberries, if you happen to find them on sale, buy a couple of bags and freeze them - then you can just pull them out whenever you want to make a fresh addition to a cake, or anything really! They keep really well in the freezer if you remember to close the bag well when you're done! Just give the frozen berries a rinse before you use them and that'll thaw them right out!

I've got one more post in me for today, so later, gators!

Honeytops! I'm Hooome!

2010-04-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

After an unexpected and unwelcome break from blogging....I'm finally back! I've missed blogging so much....and all of you, even more! It's been a weird few months with a lot of different things going on and unfortunately, blogging had to take a back-seat for a while but now, I'm back (and better than ever, I think!)

That being said, some of the stuff I'm posting is pretty old, but hopefully, you'll enjoy it all the same :)

First up is an apple pie! I have never tried to make an apple pie before...I know, blasphemy, right? For those of you who know me and my pie-baking ways, I'm crust-girl. I make my crust from scratch - it's my thing...I'm crusty. However, fillings scare the pie-eating daylights out of me! We've all had those pies (usually fruit, and even more specifically, apple) that are watery on the inside, which makes the crust soggy and then the whole pie is just ruined. Blech. So that's my fear concerning apple pie: that the apples will let all their water out...which the pie crust will absorb and then the reputation of my perfectly flaky pie crust will be forever marred.

I thought that I might be able to fix this problem by sauteeing the apples first with the sugar, butter and spices (like the apples for my apple crisp) and then putting them into the crust and baking the whole lot....there was a distinct flaw in that...overcooked apples...so it ended up a little bit more like an apple-sauce pie. It tasted heavenly with the cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar and there wasn't a high water content, but the texture of the apples was definitely lost. Must figure out this conundrum....any ideas?

This next, less-than-perfect concoction was made for one of my very best friends, Christy. It's a chocolate cake with my nani's famous dark chocolate fudge poured over the top! I know it looks like it's been through a lot (like maybe a bumpy ride in a Honda Civic...) But I assure you, it tasted very good!

For the writing, I got to use a new gadget, the icing pen, which was super exciting! Very handy if you need to do a lot of writing like on this cake -- thanks to my mother's coworker, Sharon, for this thoughtful gift :)

That's all for this post! But don't think that's all for today, I've got a couple more things to show you all! Till very soon!

Awesome Blossoms!

2009-11-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

So the fam got yet another Darbari! This one was for Friday (a couple of days ago).

We wanted to go with yellow and white. I always find that yellow and white is such a beautiful colour combination, so soft and cheerful! -- As you can see by the pictures, Awesome Blossoms is a very fitting name for this cake.

Awesome Blossoms is a decadent, triple-layer chocolate cake with a coffee buttercream as one of the fillings and a nutella/coffee buttercream as the other. We got the inspiration for these flavours from Brendan's coffee-toffee crisps in the blog before this one.

We weren't sure about the ribbon at first, but I think the polkadots add the perfect whimsy to this dream of a creation.

Here's a funny story about the transport of this cake. Here we all are in the house, totally jazzed about bringing these cakes to the mosque when we hear a loud boom of thunder outside, followed by a flash of lightning. It was like this the whole ride to the mosque and all I could think was, "well, I guess rain is what the flowers need to grow!" Fitting, eh?

As always, let me know what you think!

Till soon...I'm sure the next post will be holiday-inspired, so stay tuned!

Birthday Bonanza!

2009-11-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Whew! Last blog of the day!

This has been a busy month for birthdays. Two of my very close friends recently celebrated theirs, so of course, my gift was baked goodies :)

Pictured first, are Brendan's Coffee Toffee Crisps! They consist of a chocolate coffee cake with nutella coffee frosting, topped with crushed almond and hazelnut toffee bits!

For Kathryn, I made a plain cake with fresh cranberries thrown in the mix. It was a triple-layered concoction with a fudgey chocolate frosting in between each of the layers!

Kathryn is like me: you can't go wrong with something ultra girly. So I decided to go with a design similar to the Darbari cakes in a previous blog and added a lovely heart border on the bottom.

Happy Birthday, you two!

May the year bring lots more goodies!

Wedding Bells!

2009-11-08T09:52:00.000-08:00

Back again to report about one of the most exciting cakes I've ever done!

My very first wedding cake! Well, actually it was a 35th Anniversary Cake for Sheila and Jack Watson -- Congratulations!

Sheila and my mum used to work together and are now very dear friends so we were over the moon to be able to do this cake for her.

The cake is a coconut cake, layered with a pineapple frosting (the same as those pina colada cupcakes a couple of blogs ago.

Sheila had requested a snowflake theme for her cake,

and so we came up with the idea of making a sweep of

snowflakes coming from the top of the cake all the way down to the bottom. What you see here, is the "front" of the cake and since the sweep takes a 360 around the cake, the back of the middle tier is where it continues.

Jack is fond of yellow roses so we decided to finish off the cake with a lovely yellow satin ribbon. We thought that the silver dragees added just the right amount of sparkle to this cake without taking away its delicate look!

That's what we thought...so what do you think?

I am very happy to report that Sheila, Jack and the whole family loved it! (And we're so happy they did!)

Purple Rain

2009-11-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

Guess who's ba-aack?

This is one of the twin cakes we made for A and S's mijalis Darbari.

We wanted to make the cakes whimsical and what better way to do that than to make them purple?

These are lemon cakes and they are filled with raspberry jam! The icing is also lemon flavoured. And the answer is yes: they do taste as good as they sound and look.

We made a little batch of cupcakes with these same flavours to try out and if I do say so myself, they were pretty scrumptious!

Onto the next post!

Till very soon!

Oh, Snap!

2009-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

So today is going to be a blogging extravaganza. It looks like I have been stockpiling baking pictures, lately...I have been baking (really! I have!) but I just haven't had time to blog about it (curse you, exams! curse you!)

I baked these cupcakes one day, when I just decided I needed to exercise my creative right to avoid studying for a bit! First, we have Mehnaz's Ginger Snap Cupcakes! These are for my sister since she's so spicy, herself!

I adapted these cupcakes from a recipe for ginger snaps from Alton Brown . These babies are so special because instead of just the usual powdered ginger, we've got candied ginger pieces in them, which give a lovely bite! (Very Christmas!)

The second batch was pina colada inspired. It is a coconut cake with a pineapple buttercream and a little candied pineapple on top, placed just so.

If you are looking for a quick trip to the tropics, these cupcakes will surely do it for you!

That's it for this blog, but i will talk to you all again in about 30 seconds! Till then, I hope these tide you over!

Hey, Baby!

2009-10-07T18:47:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

It's been a while! I've been super, duper busy with school so I've been waiting for an opportunity to bake...and voila! My mum's coworker is a grandpa to another lovely, baby girl as of just last week!

Congratulations!

So as a welcome to the world, and a little treat for mummy and daddy (and the whole family), mum and I decided to bake up a batch of what we like to call, our "Hey, Baby" cupcakes: decadent chocolate-orange with a vanilla buttercream, coloured blush-pink!

We decorated them with all things pink to welcome the little one into the world!

So welcome baby, and to the rest of the family, we hope you enjoyed the treat!

Well, back to studying!

Hopefully, it'll be sooner than later, y'all!

Cupcakes and Cakes and Awards! Oh My!

2009-09-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Boy does it feel weird to have been away from the blog for so long! It's been less than a month but it feels like eternity! That's a compliment to my talented and supportive fellow foodies -- definitely missed you all!

So while I've been away and getting into the spirit of being back to school, which is proving to be much more stressful than I'd anticipated, I baked! (Surprise, surprise!)

First up, the cake I baked for Lail t'ul Qadr at khane. It's triple-layered and pina colada inspired. I decided to try and convey the whole pina colada idea through a pineapple cake with vanilla buttercream and coconut layered in between. Next time, I think I will try to switch it up with a pineapple filling and coconut cake. I suspect that since pineapple is not quite a stand-up kind of a flavour, that it might have gotten lost in the cake, though I didn't get a taste!
Next up, inspired by my dear uncle and therefore, aptly named "Alnoor's Spicy Apples". The name is quite fitting since my Alnoor Masa has quite the spicy personality, himself!

I had a talk with Alnoor Masa the other day and he ran the idea by me to create an apple-crisp inspired cupcake just for him: so here it is! The Spicy Apple consists of a plain cupcake with a spicy apple filling in the centre, topped with my famous apple crisp topping! Since the cupcake is so decadent, I decided to cut the sweetness with a spiced cream cheese (idea courtesy of mum) for that little bit of contrast. They are garnished with an extra bit of the spicy apple topping.

Finally, I would like to thank fellow blogger Shabs (shabscuisine.blogspot.com) for my first set of awards! (look, mom!) I'm so honoured!

Since the stress is mounting as the semester progresses, I'm sure I will be blogging soon so, till soon!

Cake City and Pie Town

2009-09-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

I have ventured into Cake City twice in the past (with the Quilt and Polkadot Cakes) and found it not too much to my liking.

I now realize that the frustration that ensued from that positively harrying experience could very well have come from doing too much, too fast!

I decided to venture back into Cake City a couple of days ago since we had planned a barbecue at my cousin, Al's, house. It was a housewarming of sorts since my mum, sister and I visited his place for the first time, today.

Since Al always takes interest in my baking, I thought I would make a cake to bring over there! (Can't ever go anywhere empty-handed when people know I bake!).

I went with a simpler design, since this is only my second cake fully covered with fondant, so cherry blossoms bonanza it was. I found this cake way less stressful since I split the work up over a couple of days. That definitely made for more patience and a better outcome, I think.

I went with Al's favourite flavours for the cake. The top and bottom layers are a chocolate orange and the middle is a coconut cake. Between each of the layers, I spread a deep, dark chocolate orange ganache. For a clean finish, I went with a rope border (covers up any messy edgework...hey, it's still only my second cake!)

Why don't I ever leave well enough alone? Oh yeah, because I'm a baker. This morning (before the barbecue) I decided to whip up a pie! I made it with a cherry filling (my Mumti Masi's favourite) and it ended up hopping right in the van somehow and got taken to the barbecue, too!

Cake and pie for dessert, anyone?

Seriously, best.vacation.ever.

Christmas in August!

2009-08-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

I.love.Christmas.

Seriously, in my opinion, it is the best time of year (primarily because of presents and baked goods!)

So when my aunt had a recipe for what is called a "Dundee Cake" (essentially a fruit cake) I jumped at the opportunity to try it out!

This is the product of my foray into Cake City. What makes it particularly delicious is that the fruit was soaked in whiskey and orange juice :) Mmmm! This cake is definitely one of those items that just gets better the longer it sits around. I, however, wouldn't know since there is scarcely a slice left in the tin!

That's all for now, folks!

Later Days!

A Garden of Cupcakes

2009-08-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone!

Don't you just love those midnight ideas that end up turning into some of your loveliest creations? That's the story behind a cupcake I like to call "Zoyah's Chocolate Orange".

This melt-in-your-mouth cupcake is chocolate with orange rind and juice for a real infusion of orange flavour.

We injected the cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting infused with orange and lemon rind.

For the sake of ease we used the fondant cut-outs and dragees for decoration. I think the colours really sing summer (so fitting for such a beautiful day!).

We are going to take this plate of cupcakes to khane tonight and since we had a couple of the coconut lemon flutterbys left over, we put them in the centre and the plate instantly screamed garden! Love it!

I will blog again soon, folks!

Have a happy, sunny day! :)

Seeing Red

2009-08-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

Good evening, all!
Decided to try red velvet cupcakes, today. I've been toying with the idea for a while, and finally decided to give it a go.

The cupcakes definitely need to be perfected and I think I will try them again but at a later date.

I decorated them with a cream cheese frosting and decided to go the simple route with some fondant cut-outs and dragees.

I went a little more complicated on one below with a red dress on it. The name "red velvet" reminds me of velvet dresses that little girls wear and so that's where that idea came from :)

Anywho, that's all from me today! If you can believe it, I'm cupcaked out for the moment. Maybe I'll attempt something tomorrow!

Till then, happy cooking/baking/eating!

PS - Angry chicken representing the Southern origin of Red Velvet courtesy of my aunt :)

Mumti Masi's Coconut Lemon Flutterbys!

2009-08-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the best kitchen in the world! Man, I love it here in Calgary!

To thank my Mumti Masi for her kind heart and infinite generosity, we decided to bake up a batch of cupcakes dedicated especially to her! Thanks for everything, Mumti Masi!

That's how these light-as-air coconut lemon flutterbys came to be. They consist of a fluffy coconut cake topped with a tangy lemon buttercream (courtesy o' Mehny). I decided, since they are so light, to top them with a butterfly piped with white chocolate (some of it I coloured purple).

Okay, off I go! Today, I'm planning on baking another two batches so I'd better get a move on!

I'm sure I'll post, again, in a few hours!

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Farhan, Dabir and Al

2009-08-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Today is a good day! The sun is shining, the kitchen is spotless and I will soon be off for another shopping adventure!

I woke up this morning and decided that no Bake-ation would be complete without a batch of my famous chocolate-chip cookies :)

Instead of the usual plain chocolate chips, I added half milk chocolate and half white chocolate chips and threw in a handful or two of chopped walnuts for a treat that anyone would love to enjoy with a tall, cold glass of milk!

I also decided to make these cookies jumbo for my cousins Farhan, Dabir and Al to enjoy!

Till soon, I'm sure!

Strawberry Gateaus (Ghettos) and Giftboxes

2009-08-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hello from Calgary, everyone!
I must say, the lack of humidity here is definitely helping with the baking! No sticky fondant!

These strawberry gateaus are a tribute to my sister, Mehny's blog (Strawberry Ghetto...or Gateau). They are a plain, white cake with strawberry jam and coconut in between the layers and a strawberry jam cake glaze on top. I topped them with some fresh strawberries!

Something you must know about me is that I do not tell lies. With that being said, covering square cakes for the first time after a day of shopping is not the best idea in the world! It was, however, quite a humbling experience (there is so much I have yet to learn!). These gift boxes are the same plain cake as the strawberry gateaus and have a layer of chocolate ganache in their centre, a gift I think I would be quite thrilled with!

Well, off I go to do some more shopping! (Only one tax is shopping heaven!)

More treats to come as Bake-ation 2009 continues :)

Tea-Time Treasures

2009-08-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

We've been busy packing and baking all at the same time (headed to Calgary to see the fam, tomorrow).

Last night, we decided to bake instead of packing (surprise, surprise).

When better to try something tedious and difficult than when you clearly have more pressing matters at hand, right? With that in mind, I decided to try my hand at making fondant roses!

Here's the product! They still need some work, but not bad for a first try. What say you?

I call these cupcakes my tea-time treasures! They are English Toffee cakes (ah, memories of London) with peanut butter cream. My sister (who is quite the peanut butter aficionado) likens the butter cream to the inside filling of a Reese’s Peanutbutter Cup!

We made these as Sufro for Beej so we decided to make them really delectable with the roses on some cupcakes and a quilt pattern similar to the Quilt Cake on the others. We think the quilt cupcakes would be perfect for a Christening, Bayat or even a wedding!

Well, I should be off!

Keep checking the blog, though. My aunt in Calgary has the best kitchen known to man (granite countertops, people!) so Calgary is going to be my dream Bake-ation! I will be updating frequently!

Till cowtown!

Cabana Boys

2009-08-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

There's nothing I'd rather do on a rainy day than bake!
If the weather is not going to bring the sunshine, I might as well do it myself with what I call my Cabana Boys!

A true representation of any sunny island, these chocolate-coconut cupcakes bring with them the feeling of being on a beach when you eat them.

All you need is a pina colada and a real cabana boy to bring them over, and you're all set! (Anyone have one of those?)

As a special punch of flavour, I toasted the coconut on top and doing this really brings out its nutty flavour!

Enjoy, everyone, a virtual cupcake for you all!

Coconut Vanilla Cupcakes are the Best Medicine

2009-08-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Marvelous Monday, everyone!

You know that saying "Laughter is the Best Medicine"? Well, I would like to petition to change it to "Coconut Vanilla Cupcakes are the Best Medicine". Too long?

My workoholic, accountant uncle (he's such a suit!) has been under the weather for a little while now and I have decided to take his recovery into my own hands!

I decided to bake him a batch of coconut cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream frosting to induce a speedy recovery (or a speedy weight-gain, whichever happens first...). I aptly decorated them with all things accounting (even the name of his company!).

So feel better, Nakoo Mama! <3

My Botanicals

2009-08-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Happy Rainy Sunday!

So these cupcakes were a Saturday morning-before the exam inspiration. What better way to alleviate exam stress than to decorate some cupcakes?

I am dedicating these blueberry botanicals to two special people:

1. Krystyna

Thank you so much for the lovely blueberries! I am generally not a blueberry person but I love these ones!

2. Sikina

Since it would be really hard to ship these babies all the way to the UK, I hope you enjoy your virtual birthday treat! :)

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

For a Good Cause

2009-08-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

So these are some more of the infamous henna tops that we made for a family friend! We decided to make them a little more special than usual and went the extra mile to do these reverse henna tops. We thought it fitting to go the extra mile for him since he frequently goes the extra mile for others!

And on another note, I always feel that I forget to thank my ever-talented mother who can whip up a batch of these cupcakes before I can say, "fondant". So thanks, mum! And for those of you who know me, you know that if I was taking pictures of these decadent confections, they would always have the omnipresent thumb-on-the-lens. For these pictures, I have my wonderful technology-savvy sister to thank who gets into the most awkward positions to "get the shot" so thank you, Mehny...and she also makes a mean buttercream!

Polkadots!

2009-07-29T13:15:00.001-07:00

On Saturday night, I decided to stray from my little cupcake-filled bubble and venture out into the big leagues, the big time, Cakecity USA ( I mean, Canada..but it really doesn't have the same ring to it...). So this is what my mum and I came up with. A dark chocolate/coffee cake with mint ganache on top and polkadots placed just so. The ribbon is courtesy of Dressew Supply Ltd.

At the start of this cake, I felt pretty darn with it. And even at the end. It was at the point when I placed that little mesh umbrella of terror on top of the cake that my bubble got popped (or should I say our cake got a hole right in its very centre). That lovely cake full of my blood, sweat and a few tears that leaked out (well, not literally, thank God) had a puncture marring its glossy finish. Alas, after a few patches, it was okay.

This experience humbled me and taught me two things:

1. I still have a lot to learn before I can attempt to make more cakes (so I think I'll stay out of Cakecity for a while)

2. I think after that emergency repair job, mum and I would be excellent surgeons!

PS - the cake you see before you is avant hole. I just didn't have the heart to put up a picture of the wounded cake (poor baby).

Bob's Big 8-0

2009-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

We have the sweetest next door neighbours known to man! Bob and Doreen are amazing! We share a garden with them and frankly, thank God for that! Bob has the greenest thumb this side of the Fraser River. Thanks to them, our garden always looks lush and green with all the bells and whistles (we even have a little fountain...cute, no?).

So here's a story about Bob.

My mum and I left the house on Saturday morning only to glance over and notice that there were balloons framing Bob and Doreen's door, streamers everywhere, and a sign in our garden that said "Honk for Bob's 80th!". After talking with our lovely neighbour, we found out that on Friday night, Bob's two daughters visited, made sure him and Doreen were asleep and crept out into the garden at 1:00 in the morning to decorate the mother out of Bob's door and the garden! So Saturday was filled with car horns galore and exclamations of "Happy Birthday, Bob!"

Being the bakers that we are, my mom and I decided to whip up some birthday cupcakes for Bob.

What you see below are what we like to call our "After Eight" Cupcakes. They are the darkest chocolate cupcakes with a mint chocolate ganache and a few green sprinkles (and a flower, to boot)!

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Coloured Henna Tops

2009-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Another Baking Frenzy at the house. These would be perfect for a baby shower, don't you think?

Henna Tops

2009-07-20T14:48:00.001-07:00

These are perfect, scrumptious, little treats for just about any occasion! I call them henna tops! (Though, thankfully they definitely do not contain henna :P)
80% cake, 20% icing and 100% yummy!

Quilt Cake

2009-07-20T14:39:00.001-07:00

I recently made this cake for a special occasion for July 11th. It was my first time working on a whole cake with fondant. I think it turned out pretty well. And now I'm brimming with ideas!