Awesome Blossoms!

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

Henna Tops

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

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!