Shelter's Cake Time

I've been looking forward to Shelter's Cake Time for a while now as I had organised a small event in the office. I signed early this month and got the fund raiser pack filled with posters, stickers, a collection box and recipe suggestions. How cool is that! We decided that one person will bake two batches of cakes/cupcakes for one day of the week. I started first with a batch of carrot cupcakes and orange cupcakes this Wednesday.

[baking late at night]

[I had to take these photos quickly as there were hungry colleague to feed ...Hee! Hee! That explains why someone appears to have poked their finger in one of them...Hee hee hee!]

The carrot cupcakes were all sold out before lunchtime and the orange cupcakes sold out in the afternoon. The little collection box is half full already. What a result!

Anyway today, my lovely colleague and fellow knitter baked a Coffee and Brazil Nuts cake and a Walnut and Date Loaf. The coffee cakes sold out late morning and there is just a teeny bit of the loaf left.

[Left the camera at home so had to use my mobile]

The money will go to Shelter helping homeless people or people facing loosing their home, especially in the current economic situation. I've asked one of my colleague to count the money and will post this later.

Jigglety pigglety

This weekend was a pretty busy one for me, lots of bakes and not enough time !

Mother's day is a wonderful celebration of mum's everywhere! It reminds us all how we probably spend too much time taking our mother's for granted - and allows us this reprieve to show our unspoken gratitude on this one day in March. How easily we are let off for the other 364 days of our careless offspring behaviours... ;)

Mum was treated to the beautiful displays at the orchid show in Victoria this weekend. It was a lot of fun with us girls, me mum and Maria... cheekily pointing out some of the less obviously attractive breeds of orchids in a very childish fashion - think mum enjoyed the day!

Bakes - mum got one of my Swiss apple pies. I have no idea if it is at all swiss, though it got it's name, as it is my version of an apple pie my dad used to get at the old Swiss Centre in Leicester Square. Baring in mind I was pretty young- I don't even remember if I was even 10 when they used to have them - it was always going to be a bit hit 'n miss to see if I could recreate this old gem. It has taken a couple of refinements, though it's not a bad interpretation, considering it is based entirely on a childhood memory. Chunky apple, topped with an almond meringue crust and toasted flaked almonds and lovingly presented on a suitably retro plate.

Alex's mum got something a little different - a little more ornate. I didn't have time to think up a new cake combo, so it was a mixed berries and white chocolate mousse cake for her. Topped with juicy berries... Not a big leap from previous offerings, but it's still kind of pretty, though those darned strawberries - just won't stand up straight and created a slightly wonky border... :)

What's baking...?

It has been a while,though still been busy baking... 

A few new experimentations, many first times, molton chocolate soufflé, pear and almond frangipane. mochi and even tried my hand at sugarpaste roses. :) These made very cute decorations for my citrus cupcakes, not really a fan of sweet sweet icing, though I figured the lemony citrus would cut through the sugar, I think it works... 

Mochi was a different no-bake experiment, I have made them before with varying degrees of success, as the sticky sticky glutinous rice flour is just too fiddly and sticky to handle, though I was hankering for the delicate soft

 texture, so soft and satisfying when you bite into freshy made mochi. Yummy! My fillings: the usual red aduki bean filling, and also made the chinese variety - fresh toasted peanuts, sesame and coconut.

 The contrast of the fragrant crunchy crushed nuts and sesame against the squidgy soft mochiness... mMMmmm...