Présentation de Crème Brûlée

Next up is.....not a cake. Rather, it's something that I thought was quite impossible to make at home due to the involvement of a torch. The nearest I've been to one was the Bunsen burner back in the chemistry labs in secondary school and I wasn't too keen on using one at home!

But as with anything else, I succumbed to curiosity and began researching for a Crème Brûlée recipe and most importantly, got the torch as well. It wasn't that difficult to get one but there were actually quite a surprising few varieties to choose from...

Once the recipe was chosen and the hardware in order, it was all about getting it done!

Unfortunately, other than having seen this decadent dessert on TV and being served to others in restaurants, I've never had one myself! So in the end, I didn't exactly have a benchmark to base my recreation of this French wonder.

I turned to the Internet once again to see what others would describe its taste, and I got words like creamy, silky, melt-in-your-mouth...along with specific notes (no surprises since it is a FRENCH creation!) on how exactly crisp the caramel on top should be.

Well, in the end I thought it wasn't the best Creme Brulee made by Man, but I wouldn't say it was too bad either. The custard was firm yet a little wobbly, it was smooth and silky yet rich and creamy, and the sugar shell wasn't unappetisingly burnt or too hard. And I had fun with the torch as well. So what can I say...it was a good day!

On A Bed of A Thousand Roses!

I'm not one to follow trends of any sort but a couple of months back, a trend began to emerge in the baking community here in Singapore that I simply could not ignore. It was and still is probably the prettiest cake I've ever laid eyes upon.

Introducing the Hairy Baker's Lana Cake! Or as I'd like to call it - the Thousand Roses Cake!

It wasn't a particularly difficult decoration to do, but it certainly lends an air of classiness and elegance to any cake that's adorned with these buttercream roses. When pictures of this decoration began emerging from all corners of the world and even here, I knew I just had to try it out for myself!

The first try was a little messy but with a couple of minutes of practice on an overturned baking tin, I got the hang of it and soon the cake was all done! 

I was even lucky enough for receiving an order from my colleague for this cake in Tiffany Blue for a birthday! 

Having nailed the pattern, the challenge with this order was getting the colour right...and I was at my wits end to replicate the famous jeweler's iconic colour with tries after unsatisfactory tries. Since the buttercream had a slight yellow tint to it, adding any form of green colouring turned the whole thing a dull purplish yellow colour which was no good at all.

Finally, after many experiments with combinations of colourings, I began edging closer to the Tiffany shade of blue. In the end, I felt the colour could have been a lot better but thankfully my colleague was happy with it...phew!

I had some stale cake left over and Mum suggested I use it to practice some new piping patterns since it was going to the bin anyway. Tried my hand at the basket weave pattern and I have to say...it was quite complex, requiring more concentration than the other designs I've tried so far.

Wasn't perfect but the flower Mum dug out of her cupboard gave the whole thing a more complete look I think!