Tip: Piping without using coupler

When I do whipped cream cakes, my decorations have always been very basic and simple. Thus I hardly ever use coupler although I have them in 2 sizes. This is usually how I do mine (I do think this is not a new thing though). You can see that this method uses more piping bags, but I like it because it also makes the cleaning of the tip easier. To change tip, just remove the outer bag, change the nozzle, put it back again and you are ready to pipe again.

I got this tip watching one cooking show at one Indonesia channel and find it useful so now I am sharing it with you.

The very last minute cake

This was made for a small celebration at my parent-in-law's house a few weeks ago. It was a celebration for 3 people, my youngest, her aunty and her grandma. It was supposed to be an ice-cream cake but unfortunately the cake could not set in time !! I had to come out with something fast and this came about. I made this from scratch in 2 hrs, fortunately it came out alright. I was very stressed while the cake was baking :-p

The sponge I used is a very simple sponge which was taken from one Periplus book. Actually it is a victorian sponge recipe. This cake doesn't use any other fat except eggs. The texture is soft but on a slightly dry side. You can add about a tablespoon of oil or melted butter to make it a bit moist. I used my 8 inch tube pan (chiffon pan) for this.

Never-fail Sponge

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

5 tbsp milk (original 3 tbsp water)

1 tsp vanilla paste/essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C

2. Place egg whites in a clean, dry bowl and beat till stiff peaks are form

3. Add sugar and beat until thick and glossy (remember not to overbeat the white)
4. Add egg yolks and beat well then gently fold in flour followed by the milk
5 Pour batter into greased and floured 8inch pan

6. Bake for 10 - 15 mins or until cake springs back when touched
7. Remove from tins and cool on a cake cooler

8. Once cool, decorate it to your liking

For my decoration, I used non-dairy whipped cream and mini m&ms .. Sprinkle the m&ms after your chilled the cake as the colour will bleed.

Happy trying!

Barbie Swan Lake cake for my daughter

For my first baking post, I am sharing with you a cake I did recently for my youngest baby who turned 3 14th November. She loves watching Barbie movies and I had quite a hard time deciding which Barbie character I should make for her. Her initial choice was 3 musketeers - to troublesome .. then I convinced her to go for Odette from Barbie Swan Lake. She agreed and this is the outcome ! The cake is chocolate sponge covered with fresh cream and dark cherries fillings. I did spread a layer of strawberry preserves for extra taste. Piping gel was used to fill up the portrait.

I used purple fondant to emboss the birthday wordings and her name. I am very glad that she adored the cake.

Welcome ...

This site is the baking spin-off from my other site - quickneasytreats. I have decided to move all my baking adventures here since majority of them do not fit the 'quick and easy' category *LOL* I will try my best to update my bakings and findings here and hopefully we will be able to learn from each other and exchanging of ideas.