The Unorganized Cupcakes

I always aim for perfection whenever I do something and when it comes to dessert presentation, I take it seriously.  It's not always possible though as there are people around me who don't share the same principle as me. Take these cupcakes for example. I took a lot of effort in preparing these  but a little mistake  ruined the overall  look of these beautiful creations.

A Double Birthday Celebration

Throwing a joint birthday celebration for people whose birthdays fall on the same month is just reasonable and less expensive. Like I said in my previous entry, we had a big group staying with us for couple of weeks during which the little boy and his dad's birthday were celebrated. For this occasion, preparations were easy. They booked a dinner with us and the restaurant and kitchen crew did the rest. They went ala carte and had two cakes for desserts. What a stress free celebration!

Cake Design Failure

The resort I work at go all out for guests staying for extended period of time. We provide  them complimentary services and great restaurant deals. This month, we had a large group staying for more than two weeks. During their time at the resort, we found out that one of the guests and his son were both having their birthdays. For this special celebration, they requested I make two kinds of cake. Three pound carrot cake iced with cream cheese frosting for the little boy. Another three pound chocolate cake frosted with vanilla butter cream for the dad which I will talk about in my next entry.

Helen's 40th

For some, turning 40 is a big milestone and  meant to be celebrated. Just like a female guest of the resort who marked her 40th birthday with a huge bang (not literally). She started her celebration in the morning, from the time they came down for breakfast. The restaurant crew had set up tables for her and her friends complete with a small flower arrangement and balloons. I made a two-tiered red velvet cake which was served to her at breakfast.

Premixes make my work easier

When things get crazy and tough, I turn to premixes to make my job less of a hassle. Working non-stop with only a quick break for a meal (5 minutes when it's extremely busy at work), I learned to change my perspective on how to get things done. Whatever I do now would definitely disappoint my patisserie instructor but I need to adapt to  ever changing situations.

Pink Vanilla Cupcake

Having a big group with kids coming to a party? Why not serve cupcakes? You can't go wrong with it. For the last three years, I have learned what to serve to different age groups attending the resort's famous brunch.Cupcakes are especially popular among kids so I make them as pleasing as possible.

Never-ending demand for chocolate cake

I have finally gotten an assistant after three years! It may seem that my workload has been reduced but it's the opposite. Since I got somebody to help me, the resort has stopped outsourcing other bakery goods. The demands have skyrocketed and the requests for cakes are never-ending. Good thing the guests always request for chocolate cake, so frequent that I no longer turn to my recipe when I whip it up.

The Bazaar Turkish Restaurant

I don't get to see old friends living in Bangkok so often. When they came to the island for a relaxing getaway, I was more than ecstatic. Having friends around means one thing -  a lively chat over dinner. We hit The Bazaar Turkish Restaurant at The Wharf Koh Samui on our first evening together. Our decision to dine there did not disappoint.

This is what happens when I don't have a particular design in mind.

My mind goes blank when it's slow at work and there aren't new challenges to face. This month is quiet. Not much is going on except for a handful birthday celebrations.

This cake I made for a guest on her birthday was simple.  It's a chocolate cake frosted with vanilla butter icing.  I couldn't  decide what to do with it as my mind was still unfocused as a result of over-resting during my two-day off.. Then I thought chocolate butter cream would do the trick so I played it by ear. I started piping around the cake until all the sides were covered and here's the result. I didn't think of it as a beautifully decorated cake but others thought the opposite. It was elegant, someone remarked. I was one happy baker.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Do you eat sweets at breakfast? Even after five years of baking, I still have not acquired the habit of having sweets in the morning. Sugar only does have an appeal to me later in the day or after dinner. But people are different. Some could have them early just like the guest who requested that  red velvet cupcakes I made for  her birthday be served at  breakfast.

Cake For A Joint Birthday Celebration

In the beginning of June, I was requested to make a four-pound chocolate cake for fractional owners of the resort. They were all turning the big 5-0 and wanted to have a joint celebration. This was a last minute request and I didn't have enough time to decide on the design. I thought a simple decoration would do.

Edible Centerpieces

These eye catching  centerpieces from  past Sundays never failed to amaze the resort's guests, both young and old. Thanks to the new sous chef's artistic skills, everyone got to enjoy his edible creations.

Number Cake For A Three Year Old

The resort I work at has a good number of loyal customers.When someone chooses to hold birthday party at the resort, he gets a good deal on food and drinks. On top of that, he gets to enjoy a delicious treat free of charge.

For today's birthday celebration, I made a chocolate number cake for this little boy whose family are frequent guests at the resort.

Passion Fruit Mousse Topped With Diced Mango

Thailand is at the height of mango season so I thought I should take advantage of the fruit's abundance. Recently,  I introduced passion fruit mousse garnished with  ripe mangoes as a new menu item on my long list of Sunday brunch desserts.

Simple And Uncomplicated

Thinking of designs gets harder when there are demands for birthday cakes one after another. There are times when I have a spark of an idea and creating a nice looking cake seems like a piece of cake. Take this one for example. It didn't take long for me to come up with this design. The whole process from baking to decorating was completed in no time.

Chocolate Custard With Fondant Carrot Topper

This chocolate custard in a cup was an added Easter treat. It was so quick and easy to prepare except for the fondant carrot cupcake topper which took  forever to make. From tinting the fondant in green and orange to creating the model, it took a good two hours and a half to complete. The topper didn't need an advanced skill to accomplish. It was just laborious to mold fondant into fifty carrots.

Easter Cookie Cups

These Easter cookie cups are made with a cup of peanut butter,  caster  sugar, brown sugar, shortening, a teaspoon of salt and vanilla, two eggs, a quarter cup of milk, three and a half cups of flour and couple teaspoons of baking soda. You start by creaming the first four ingredients with salt and vanilla. Once the  mixture is well blended, the eggs are added. The flour mixture is added last. The  dough is rolled  into a log and cut into pieces of equal weight (30 g each). Each piece is placed into a well-greased muffin tin. To help mold the dough into the muffin tin, the dough is pressed with a fondant rolling pin to make indent into each scoop. The cookies are baked at 350F for 10-15 minutes. They are cooled completely before decorating.

Carrot Easter Nest Cake

Ever heard of carrot cake frosted with dark chocolate butter cream? The idea popped into my head the last minute I was prepping for the big Easter brunch. Carrot cake was on the menu. I wanted to create Easter treats without jeopardizing what has been planned. I decided to turn carrot cake into an Easter nest.

My Chocolate Cake Collection II

Nothing beats a rich, moist and decadent chocolate cake for a birthday celebration which is why my chocolate cake collection is  growing fast. Since the new year began,  I have made countless numbers of birthday cakes and I'd say chocolate is still the most requested flavor of all. I made more than what is on this list but the picture quality is not blog worthy. So, here's what the resort's guests indulged on on their birthdays.

Clockwise:
1. Chocolate cake in chocolate butter cream with colorful M & Ms candy
2. Chocolate cake in dark chocolate butter cream decorated with white dots at evenly distance and  chocolate fan on top
3. Chocolate cake in chocolate butter cream. The side is decorated with white chocolate fan
4. Chocolate cake in chocolate butter cream, decorated with sliced almonds and topped with strawberry coulis

Less Is More

Here's another birthday cake requested by a male guest. I was informed that the cake would be for two people.  I figured a one pound cake would suit them just fine. The flavor? The person in charge of guest relations let me decide. That was easy. My go-to chocolate cake recipe has gotten rave reviews. I thought it would be the best option.

Fruit Centerpiece

This tall fruit centerpiece stands on our dessert table next to the fruit section at our famous Sunday brunch . The eye-catching carved fruit whets the appetite of guests for some nutritious food.

A Woman's Wish

You can't go wrong with chocolate cake. It's the perfect treat for every occasion. When a female guest came to the resort for her 50th birthday celebration, I thought chocolate cake would be ideal. My decision did not disappoint. The serving plate came back with nothing left on it.  

Watermelon Masterpiece

We have a new member in the kitchen, a sous chef who never ceases to amaze me with his talent of turning an average looking fruit into a masterpiece.  He has only been with us for a few weeks and has done a handful of  fruit carvings  and let me say he does a more elaborate and painstaking work among his peers. His impressive creation now graces the dessert table at our famous Sunday brunch.

Chocolate Overload Cake

Many children are naturally chocolate lovers. When a guest's son celebrated his sixth birthday at the resort, I made a cake that I thought would best suit this little boy's birthday celebration. I baked a cake loaded with chocolate. It was a hit!

Strawberry Jelly Topped With Strawberry Mousse

I ditched the chocolate cream and made this simple strawberry jelly topped with strawberry mousse as an added treat for the resort's guest on Valentine's Day.

Strawberry Cheesecake For Valentine's Day Celebration

This is the classic New York baked cheesecake with strawberry coulis topping  and adorned with fresh strawberry. It's not a regular part of our Sunday brunch dessert menu. I wanted  something new and special for our guests on Valentine's Day and this came to mind.

Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year)

With the number of Chinese visitors to Samui growing, hotels and resorts on the island have organized their own festivities to commemorate Chinese New Year.  Since the resort I am working for is best known for its brunch, it offered  Chinese- inspired dishes in honor of the occasion.

And of course the whole  event would not be complete without Chinese-themed desserts. The  chef wanted me to create a treat in a shape of a dragon. That's a big challenge but I said I'd try. I've never done such a complicated dessert.  I turned to Google for ideas and found the strawberry shortcake dragon. I clicked the link and directed me to Pinterest. I am not a registered Pinterest user so I had no chance of knowing the recipe and procedure. As I was looking at the picture, I came up with the idea of using choux pastry dough to make the base.  I needed a curve shape. Choux pastry dough wouldn't have any problem  holding its shape. Problem solved.