Durian in the news

The infamous durian recently caused a false alarm in Sydney when its pungent smell was mistaken for a gas leak :) Read more here.

In celebration of our nation's beloved fruit, I have baked several fresh durian cream cake for friends and family over the last few weeks. 

The duck pond cake was for my niece's full moon party.  Don't be fooled by the innocent looking pond, for there is an explosive amount of very pungent durian cream lurking beneath :)

Tiramisu Cake for a 75th B'day

Hi all.. Its been a long while since I last updated this blog... so much so that Blogger removed me momentarily for inactivity :(

So, here I am, back again with my overdue reports on some of the bakes I had undertaken recently, in no particular order.

First up is a Tiramisu Cake which I had baked recently for my aunt's 75th birthday.

Berries Layer Cake

A couple of days ago, my mom asked if I was baking any cakes this weekend.  I replied yes, and absent mindedly said that I was going to complete my fruit cake bakes for the coming Chinese New Year.  It took me about 20 seconds to decipher the look on her face after my last statement.  Gosh, it was her birthday weekend, she was hinting for a birthday cake for her birthday party, and her ever so filial daughter had totally forgotten all about it !

Panicked, I started to comb through my recipe books for the world's most perfect and awesome celebration cake.  Such a tall order, I know, but you see, my family can be quite merciless when it comes to birthday cakes.  I was tempted to bake something familiar to be on the safe side, but in the end, I decided to go for something new, which can hopefully put a wow on everyone's face.  And, not one but two cakes ! Madness, I know, but I like to call it insurance, in case one turns out to be an utter failure !

The result ?  I am so glad to have received rave reviews on both cakes.  Half the guests preferred the berries layer cake and the other half, the pecan crunch layer cake, so it was pretty balanced.  I guess it really depends on whether you are a fruitty or a nutty.

Happy Birthday Mom, I hope you enjoyed your special day, your birthday party and your cakes.  They may not qualify as the world's most perfect and awesome celebration cakes, but they came from your most perfect and awesome daughter, so that should count for something :)