Wedding Cake Project 2: Orange and Ivory Fondant Cupcakes.

These are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, covered with orange and ivory fondant at the top.

A friend of mine ordered these cupcakes as a wedding gift (gubahan hantaran) for her groom. I spent almost the whole day yesterday making these, and my back still hasn't recovered from the strain of sitting up straight for long hours while trying my best to decorate the cupcakes as prettily as possible. And.. i don't know why the heck it took me so long to decorate 16 cupcakes only?? Gosh, i work at a speed of a freakin' snail.

To be honest, i'm not satisfied with the design of the cupcakes. I wish i could do better than this. You can tell from the picture that i ran out of ideas for the design and hastily rubbed silver glitters all over the fondant to make them look less dull. Fail.

When i delivered these cupcakes to my friend, i was so darn nervous to show her my work, afraid that she might suddenly turn into a huge bridezilla and start throwing the cupcakes to my face, or eat me alive or something. But thank god that she's so easily pleased! The second i opened the lid of the box, she started jumping up and down, hugging me, complimenting how pretty the cupcakes were and contemplating to keep these cupcakes to herself and scoff them down on her bed when midnight strikes. But she discarded the idea in the end. Seems like her love for the groom is bigger than her love for cupcakes.

Gasp! Rejecting cupcakes over a man??? Is she even human???

Just kidding folks.

But seriously.

XD

So all is well in the end. I'm really happy to see that my customer is happy with my work. But i know that i have to keep on practicing on the design.

By the way, I used Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever recipe for the chocolate cupcakes and All-recipes creamy chocolate frosting for the chocolate buttercream frosting. And oh my, these cupcakes were totally divine!!! =)))

Banana Bundt Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting.

My grandaunt would chase me around the house with a huge wooden spoon if she ever finds out that i put cream cheese frosting on an old-fashioned banana cake. We Malays do not normally eat banana cake with frosting on it, as it tastes good on its own. So it's only fair that my grandaunt may think i've totally gone bonkers if she ever finds out. =D

My favourite banana cake has always been my grandaunt's, as hers is light and fluffy and has intense banana flavour. The light and fluffiness of her cake is achieved by beating egg whites until peaks are formed. And to tell you the truth, i haven't been good at beating egg whites. The last time i tried to make meringues, i failed miserably. White eggy bubbly mess all over the mixing bowl. *Shudders*

(I'll be back, Mr Egg-Whites. Be very afraid.)

So i skipped grandaunt's recipe and searched for a good banana cake recipe (which doesn't involve any egg-whites beating) online, and came across 'Best Ever Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting'. Sounds promising enough. I'd always wondered whether banana cake and cream cheese tasted good together. And i'm glad that they do!

This banana cake lives up to its name. Not exactly The Best of The Best of all Banana Cake. But at least one of the best that i've ever tasted (of course, my grandaunt's banana cake is still at the top of my list). Everyone at home loved it! It's light, super moist, moderately sweet with intense banana flavour, and the mild tanginess and sweetness of the cream cheese frosting complemented the flavour of the cake. But the cake tasted good without the cream cheese frosting too.

Rating: 8/10

 Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/8 cups sugar (I cut it down to 1 3/4)

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

Garnish

Chopped walnuts or pecans

Method

Preheat oven to 275°F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. (I used a 10" bundt pan)

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (For 10" bundt pan, it will cook for 1 hr 30 mins)

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.