The Cuddlies

Okay...how these aliens are "cuddly", I really don't see it. Cute, yeah...a little. The Cuddlies?? But never mind what I think. What matters is that toddlers love them, apparently and they're shown on Disney's BabyTV- a channel dedicated to babies and toddlers. I read up a little about them and I must say, the programme sounds quite educational. Each character here represents an important part of a toddler - hunger (that'll be the orange one with the sandwich?), sleep (obviously the yellow one?), fear (the blue one with the bulging eyes looks scared enough?) and contentment (the silly purple alien?). Little Zoe turned 2 and she's smitten with these little fellas. She could even name them all when mum and dad brought her along to pick up the cake. Impressive! I also decided to model a little Zoe for the cake (trust me, this is a poor representation of her. Zoe looks waaayyyy much prettier and is simply adorable). I saw an episode of them celebrating a birthday and the birthday ummm...alien had a grass-daisy tiara on it. So, I added that on her head. Young Zoe also has a interesting palate. She's one who enjoys Coconut Cake (this one finished weighing 1.8kg). Yeah, I can practically hear some of you groaning. Not a favourite among adults, what more a 2-year old right? Gotta love this girl! Well, I have 2 recipes for this cake and much prefer the one with the booze but hey, though she's well-trained to handle exotic cakes, think it's too early to introduce her to Malibu ;-p

20 Times Champion

Two Manchester United fans (coincidently are best friends, too) were celebrating their 29th and a newly-engaged fiancée thought it'll be a great idea to surprise the birthday boys with themed cake. ManU-themed, of course and a tribute to the retired Sir Alex Ferguson (AF) - after 26 years managing the Red Devils. I thought it was a fitting theme for not only were the boys die-hard supporters of ManU, the team also finished with a high winning their 20th league title- the last league led by AF. I'm no football-know-it-all but I read the news. It's hard not to know anything about the Reds. Fiancée wanted some humour attached to it, so I suggested one with AF holding a red hairdryer (like a pistol) at the 2 fans, solemnly kneeling in front of him. If you don't know what the hairdryer means in soccer, well...it's basically having your coach chewing you out right at your face really loudly. AF is known to do that A LOT. I don't know how the term "hairdryer treatment" came about but I suppose these lashings are done mostly in the locker rooms? Really loudly? Making the hair at the back of your neck stand when you're embarrassingly shouted at? All relates to a hairdryer! But, fiancée thought that was a bit much, so we settled for something simple like the boys smooching up AF. So, I worked on the birthday boys' body language for the humour. Poor Mr Ferguson. I doubt he's ever allowed anyone to be this chummy with him! Not even his players I think.

I also added half a soccer ball on the cake. Used the new Nike design for Manchester United. The Marble Cake finished at 2.3kg.

The Arabian Bride

Malam Berinai is one of the mandatory Malay wedding customs to be held prior to the marriage solemnisation ceremony. Usually held at the bride's home, both bride- and groom-to-be will be dressed in pre-wedding finery and a simple ceremony of (temporary) tattooing their hands with designs using henna. There are many stages of this ceremony I believe, but these days most just do with one ceremony. During this kenduri (feast), the bride usually decides to have a theme night (and a hen night as well, since most of the attendees will be the bride's closest pals and female family members. The popular themes I keep hearing of are the Arabian and Bollywood. I guess these two are fitting because both cultures do henna inking (also known as bindi for the Hindi). So, for this wedding, the bride decided on an Arabian theme and her girlfriend decided to wish her well with a cake. No Princess Jasmine palace or flying carpets, but a simple tassled satin pillow (Lemon Poppyseed Cake) as the base and the bride-to-be dressed in a beaded caftan.

Yes, I spent a looooong time putting on those tiny sugar beads using a surgical pincer. 

The back.

Cake finished weighing 1.6kg.

TMNT Donatello

COWABUNGA DUDE!!!! Yeah, that pretty much stuck in my head together with Teenage.Mutant.Ninja.Turtle tune the whole time I was working on this cake. These sewer-turtles have been around for ages and glad to know that they are still popular today. Sure beats a lot of those tv twits who guise themselves as some kind of hero with moral relevance when everything that spews from their mouth are filth! Yes, pains me to hear rubbish on the telly with children idolising them the same time. I can go on and on about this and frankly, it's tiresome so, FUN FACT! These Ninja turtles were named after great Renaissance artists- Leonardo (Leo), Michelangelo (Mikey), Donatello (Donnie) and Rafael (Raph). They are all trained in Ninjutsu (a Japanese warfare martial art). See? So much to learn from these dudes! And don't forget those weapons they use -the katana, nunchaku, bo (as seen here, used by Donnie) and the sai. Little Hamzah's favourite character is Donatello, and he's the one featured on his Orange Cranberry Cake (2.2kg). I was cracking my head in trying to figure out how to model Donnie in a battle stance and I couldn't do it without wires and a dense cake. The two things I avoid at all cost...especially in cakes for children. Then a lightbulb moment. Sewers! These boys live in storm sewers and often surface via manholes across New York City. With that, Donatello came up via a manhole to Hamzah's party with his bo (you can never be too safe in KL!) and a present- what else? A box of pizza. 

Calienté!

Sweet Natalie turned 10 in May with this 2-tier Chocolate Cake and a hot salsa party with her friends. Lucky girl! I had initially wanted a busier cake depicting all-things South American but after doing Natalie in her salsa garb, I decided not to. I didn't want the focus to shift from the Natalie figurine to 20 tiny chillies, sombreros and tacos. She had to be the centre of attraction and she was -in the party and on the cake. Mission accomplished! Pssttt....the initial cake design was supposed to be of Furby!! Errr.. mummy, I think at 10, Furby should be classified information and not for show'n'tell....kekekekekeke.  The cake finished weighing 4kgs and fed about 40 people I think.

TOMS

Has it been 3 months since I last posted?? Gosh, time flies when you're playing (trying-to-be) perfect mum. With the endless school-runs which started early this year, I am dead to the world by 9pm every day and after this weekend of cake orders, I realised how much I miss working on them. I wish I had more time in my hands to receive more commissions but I just don't have them.... Unless I have a bakeware-equipped truck with all my tools in it, I can actually do a couple of sugar figurines while waiting at school gates! Hmmm...cake for thought.
Anyway, this cake - let's back-date it to April 12th. It was a 2.7kg Chocolate Cake designed for a young lady who's been loving my cakes and design since she was 11 in 2010. And by her my mum's account of her every year, I can see her growing up to be a successful sportswoman, scholar as well as a responsible young woman. The last observation revealed in her choice of shoes. For many years, she'd wear her Converse everywhere and her mum said that her collection could rival any grown-woman's shoe collection. But of late, she found these shoes- TOMS. If you check them out, you'll see why I say she'll be a responsible adult. I've never heard of them before until then and totally support this cause...if they can be found sold here (and also because I simply love the fabrics!). So, mum suggested I attempt to do a pair of her favourite "vegetarian" TOMS in pink. I was pretty nervous at the thought of modelling a pair of shoes but it turned out better than expected. The birthday girl loved it, of course.. ;-)