Wilton Decorating Basics #4 – The Finale

Posted on September 24, 2012 by K

My Finale Cake

I enjoyed myself in the final test (and passed) despite the fact that nothing really went as planned. I’m moving on to the more advance fondant and gum paste course next. 🙂

Below are some of my key learnings from this cake decorating journey so far–

Good strategy does not mean good execution – I spent significant time coming up with the design before going to the test. I was fairly pleased with my “strategy” but I did not put it to test. The design was way too ambitious and I could not complete it in the allocated time. 😦

Expect the unexpected – I cut my finger during the final test (probably by one of the icing tips). I was wondering why some of the icing was turning pinkish before I noticed the long cut on my second finger.  I had to bandage it as the bleeding would not stop – I could not pipe properly or as fast after that.

Having fun is the essence of everything – Kudos to my fab classmates and instructor. We had lots of fun throughout the course.

Quality vs. Aesthetic  – I finally understand better now why cakes with complex decorations may not taste as good.
– We cannot use fresh cream for the complex designs on cakes. We need a stiff medium that usually contains shortening and A LOT of sugar. These ingredients make the cream harder to melt but at the same time, excessively sweet.
– We cannot use soft sponge cakes as the base for decoration. They cannot hold the heavy cream well.  I bought cheap, heavy butter cakes to use for my decorating practices.

All these reasons explained why I fed all my cakes to the bin. 😛

BTW, Wilton is a great place to start if you are interested in cake decorating – I’m SO glad that I stumbled upon it.

Read Wilton Decorating Basics – The Corelation between Practice & Perfection
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #3
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #2
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #1

Posted in Dessert, Newton, Product, Wilton Decorating Course | 3 Comments

Spruce – Just Another Brunch Place

Posted on September 23, 2012 by K


[LEFT] Spruce flagship restaurant at Tanglin. There is an outlet in the old Bukit Timah fire station as well.
[RIGHT] Spruce is fully packed on weekends – do make a reservation in advance. We were happy with the cooling outdoor seats, the big ceiling fans and surrounding greenery certainly helped.

Crab Cake Benny – A highly raved dish in Spruce and why we came here for. The crab cake was moist and contained a good portion of crab meat.  I also like the accompanying back bacon and wild rockets which added to the “completeness” of a meal. The only gripe here is the eggs were too sour – perhaps too much vinegar was used when poaching the eggs?


[LEFT] The Spruce British Brekkie – Scrambled eggs, bacon, cumberland sausage, baked beans, roasted tomato, mushrooms and focacia toast. If this is how a British breakfast would taste like – I’m not excited to go London anymore. 🙂 The plate of food tasted like a quick assemble of ready cooked items.  Everything was cold and that’s a tremendous no-no especially for eggs!
[RIGHT] Hot Cakes – They tasted like how they looked.


[FROM LEFT] Spruce Lemonade with mint, Asahi Jokusen & Latte. Spruce offers a wide variety of drinks. I like the uncommon Asahi Jokusen (vs. super dry) served in Spruce – very refreshing.

Overall – Spruce offers a crowd pleasing menu in a pleasant setting. The food was so-so from my point of view.

SPRUCE
Tel: +65 6836 5528
Opening Hours: Refer to Hours of Operations
Add:  320 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park Singapore 247980
Spent: $42 per pax

Posted in All-Day Breakfast, Orchard, Restaurant | Leave a comment

Wilton Decorating Basics – The Correlation between Practice & Perfection

Posted on September 21, 2012 by K

Read [LCB] The Correlation between Practice & Perfection.

I could not agree more with P on this topic.

A DOZEN OF WHITE ROSES –  They certainly look better after hours of practice. 🙂

Read Wilton Decorating Basics #3
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #2
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #1

Posted in Wilton Decorating Course | 5 Comments

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh + Cake Over Heels

Posted on September 19, 2012 by K

A BKT shop and a chic patisserie just sound so weird together but there’s a good reason for this…..they are located side by side in Mid View City. 🙂

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh


The new branch in Mid View City is managed by the son of the founder of Rong Cheng BKT. The new place is huge and breezy.


FROM LEFT, CLOCKWISE – Salted Vegetable, Braised Intestines, Braised Pig Trotters, Pig Kidney Soup and Bak Kut Teh.

The outstanding dishes out of the lot were the BKT and braised pig trotters. The other dishes failed to impress – the intestines tasted overly powdery and the kidneys were sliced too thin.

Long Ku Bak Kut Teh –  Rong Cheng nailed this. This is a great bowl of BKT. Two meaty and tender long ku in a clean tasting broth. It would be perfect if this was served piping hot vs. the lukewarm bowl we received.

I like the tea here too – the shui xian tea we had was really fragrant.

Overall – Rong Cheng serves good BKT but i would give the side dishes a miss the next time.

Rong Cheng Bak Kut Teh
Tel: +65 96681412
Opening Hours: 7am to 9pm, daily
Add: Blk 26 Sin Ming Lane #01-114/117, Mid View City Singapore 573971
Spent: $15 per pax

Cake Over Heels

We wanted dessert & coffee after BKT and what could be more convenient than going to the cafe located right beside Rong Cheng.

Earl Grey Strawberry Shortcake & Latte – This is the signature cake and it tasted like one too. 🙂 The latte was from a Nespresso machine.

Overall – Cake Over Heels is an interesting find in Mid View City. It’s worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.

Cake Over Heels
Tel: +65 66592848
Opening Hours: Tues – Sun: 10:00 – 19:00
Add: 26 Sin Ming Lane #01-115 Midview City
Spent: $9 per pax

Posted in Café, Dessert, Local, Restaurant | 1 Comment

Wilton Decorating Basics #3

Posted on September 15, 2012 by K

The decorating lessons are certainly getting more challenging. We learnt multiple complex techniques today that we need to exhibit on our finale cake next week.

Out of the 10+ piping techniques taught so far – Rosette is definitely my favourite.


[LEFT] The Ribbon Rose – Another compulsory technique that we need to use on the finale cake.
[RIGHT] I bought a tub of decorator icing (which is one of the best medium for roses) to practice. I plan to make dozens of white roses sometime this week to perfect the technique!

Cupcake decoration using various piping techniques–
[LEFT] The Shaggy Mum – I so love the messy hair look. 😛
[RIGHT] Rosette & Standup Leaf –  A classic design.

Look forward to my finale cake next week – I’m thinking of a black & white theme. 🙂

Read Wilton Decorating Basics #2
Read Wilton Decorating Basics #1

Posted in Dessert, Novena, Product, Wilton Decorating Course | 10 Comments