Cocoa Powder Coated Cake Balls

Cake balls are often coated with either dark, milk or white chocolate and garnished with colorful sprinkles. Together they make them a little too cloying. The idea to coat the cake balls in cocoa powder struck me. Why not? Cocoa powder tastes sharp and bitter and it will balance out the sweetness. So I did. I was immediately smitten when I took my first bite. Although it was a bit annoying having cocoa powder sticking to the roof of my mouth, the taste made up for it. The combination of the bitter taste of cocoa powder and the sweetness of cake balls was perfect.  Not cloyingly sweet.

I'm not a fan of cake balls. One small bite is enough for me but with this, I ate the whole thing. It was just divine. I was even surprised to hear the locals who rarely pay attention to baked goodies and desserts say that it was delicious. I got the advantage of doing it the easy way too. I saved myself from getting chocolate stains on my uniform. I also was able to finish more task in a day. I would be sticking to this version in the months to come for sure. Farewell chocolate for now.

A Wedding Setup

Table setup

I am  having a short break from wedding craziness. It's only for several days but at least I can get my mind off it. I also am slow with updating my blog. I had been working long hours. By the time I got home, all I wanted was to take things easy. That meant laying on bed and turning on my TV or watching something funny on youtube. Today,  as I browse my blog I noticed something missing.  I remembered I haven't shared a post of this wedding setup  in April. So before another couple says "I Do", let me share with you some photos I took.

Mango Panna Cotta

It's mango season again. It's a good time to take advantage of the fruit's abundance. We have been serving desserts made with mangoes since its' season began.  This dessert  in particular is well received by our guests.

Mango panna cotta is served only at brunch. Since my day off is Saturday, I don't get the chance to make it.  After attending brunch, one family was smitten with this dessert. This week they requested I make them mango panna cotta in bigger portions. Here is my version.

Selection Of Mini Tarts

My, oh my. What a busy week! I did a lot of stuff for the wedding. From the cake to the dessert selection. I squeezed them all in 2 days. At the end of the week, I was physically exhausted. (I still am) I made everything from scratch. Imagine that! These miniature tarts were part of the dessert menu for the wedding party.

The wedding group was kind of big, around fifty people. I could have outsourced the pastry shell for the mini tarts but raising a purchase request must be done a day in advanced, even more if ordering new product. I didn't want things to get complicated so I made my own pastry cases. I only had two 12-hole mini tart pans. I needed fifty. And boy, lining the holes with the sweet pastry dough seemed forever. My fingers got tired when I was only halfway through. I was bored to death.

Rustic Red Velvet Cake With Butter Icing

Red velvet cake iced with vanilla butter cream for the second wedding this month.  The color scheme was white and pale pink.  I tried several times before I achieved the right shade of pink.  I based the design and color specified in the picture sent to me couple weeks back. That really took a load off my mind. It's nice having the freedom to create something special but I had a lot to do for the wedding already.  The fresh flowers were the work of the resort's florist. The arrangement was even more stunning than the original. They really embellished this three-tier cake.

A Rockier Road This Time

Not so long ago, I made rocky road bar for turn down service.  The top did not turn out "rocky" as I anticipated so I decided to give it another go. I wanted to get it right the second time around. This time I strived for an  elegant look to make the chocolate bar wildly enticing. I also didn't add just one type of nut. Instead I used assorted nuts that included cashew nuts, sliced almonds and walnuts for that chunky goodness. I divided the rocky road topping in half. I stirred  half with the chocolate mix and poured it in a lined tray. I then spread the other half evenly on top. I covered the mixture with a grease proof paper and left it overnight in the fridge to set.

Carrot Cake With Butter Icing Is Good Too!

Carrot cake and cream cheese frosting are a perfect combo but I would go over budget if I go for the latter. I didn't want to serve a plain cake for the resort's nightly turn down service. Without the icing, the cake would look  plain and boring and a boring cake would end up in the bin.  An idea to frost the cake with vanilla butter icing occurred to me. Not only would it look better but also enhance the taste of the cake and keep my expenses to a minimum.  I iced the cake with the butter cream and it did not disappoint. It was delish! Thanks to my taste testers for the thumbs up :)

First May Wedding Cake

Most weddings at the resort are held on a Saturday which is my day off so I seldom see the final look of the decorated cake. Thanks to my boss who is kind enough to share the picture of  this cake for the wedding on Saturday. This is my fifth  chocolate cake this year. Pardon the background. I tried to paint it black but couldn't do it right so I would leave this photo as it is.

Khun Muek, the resort's florist did a wonderful job with the flower arrangement. It looked stunningly beautiful. I jokingly said he and I could team up and  start our cake business. There are only a couple bake shops here and the demands are endless. I think in a couple years time, I would be able to hone my cake decorating skills and we could compete with the bakers from around the island. Well,  just a thought.

More pictures of the cake  without the flower accent to follow.