Dear GG Home Biz friends,
I know it's not good to begin anything with a sigh, but I'm going to do it anyway...SIGH...
A week and a half ago I've discovered that we're preggers. Not that it was unplanned, yes we planned it. This will be our last, as I am 21 going on 22 (Hahaha... I wish! My sisters will choke if they read this). My husband and I think two is too little, three is just nice.
As were my two previous pregnancies, the first trimester would be a blurry period of headaches, nauseousness and self imposed isolation. Luckily my darling hubby is always on the lookout for remedies (for nausea), since my first pregnancy, we've tried all sorts of remedies and methods, from eating dry biscuits to wearing acupressure bands - nothing worked. At some point I will have to get myself admitted for dehydration. Hope that won't happen this time round. Yesterday Sham brought home honey ginger candies from the jamu shop, he read about it on the web, so far so good.
Due to this, I will be going on "hibernation" for an unspecified period of time. Hopefully I'll be up and baking by December. I'd hate to disappoint my aunt Mak Ndak, who ordered my cousin Izwan's wedding hantaran and reception cakes in December. It's also a special occasion for me, as I think of her children as my siblings too, we were all childhood partners in crime, you see. Drove my dear late grandmother bonkers, may Allah rest her soul... Ahhh those were the days... :)
In the meantime, I still have 2 orders that were confirmed a long time ago that I have to do. These I will take my time and do slowly with the help of superbibik (yes, superbibik is back! She'd decided to cut her 6 months leave short, thank Allah for the perfect timing!). Guess I will have to apply for leaves to do them. As for new orders, I am very sorry that I have to decline them. I hope you'll be able to bear with me during my hibernation period. I will make the announcement for my "comeback", when I am better. So do keep yourselves posted okay!
With this, I wish you a productive and happy October ahead. Happy Deepavali to our Hindu patrons and happy holiday to all!
Lotsalove,
GG
Baker / Cake Decorator
GG Home Biz
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Buttercream Birthday Cake with Custom Ultraman Edible Image for Haziq
This was an order that was dealt thru my cousin Bang Lili. I didn't talk to the actual customer, all I knew was I was to bake a chocolate birthday cake with Ultraman image for Haziq who's going to celebrate his birthday at school. This was quite a big cake, to feed 60 people. The price was RM85.
Monday, October 3, 2011
3D Thomas the Tank Engine with Tender Birthday Cake for Mrs Wong of PJ
This was a scaled down version from my regular Thomas 3D cake. Chai Ping encountered this blog and called about one month ago to order this custom Thomas cake with a tender (coach) for her 2 year old son Wei Wen's birthday celebration. Wei Wen is such a lucky little guy! His lovely and sporting mom, Chai Ping called several times to confirm the design etc. Seemed like she's planning a fab surprise party for her little boy. I later got a feedback from Chai Ping that the cake was a smash hit, which really made me happy.
Chai Ping, thank you for your order. It was a pleasure to meet you. It was equally fun for me to do this cake, although my son, Imran the avid Thomas fan kept insisting,"Thomas tak ada "barang"lah, Mama... Mama kena buat Edward!". Hahahaha... It was a new experience, I love the extra challenge once in a while. Happy Birthday little Wei Wen, hope you'll grow up to be like Thomas the Useful Engine!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Topping and Fresh Strawberries Ordered by Cik Atikah of Celcom
Atikah who was an intern at Celcom sent me an urgent text on Thursday to order this special RV cake for Monday delivery. I kinda crossed my fingers when I took this order as I knew I was going to have a super hectic weekend. I had Hanis' Thomas 3d cake order, Baiti's Angry Bird and finally my mom's and Imran's respective birthday cakes. On top of that I was organizing Imran and mom's birthday party that Sunday.
Bake the RV on Saturday, frosted it early Monday morning. Atikah requested for the cake to be delivered to Celcom building, as my cakes are self pickup only, I charged her extra for the delivery. Had great response for the cake, which made me glad I did it. :)
My dear customers, please, I need my (one week for regular cakes, one month for custom and wedding cakes) notices. I am only doing this part-time, therefore ample notices help me to plan better at the same time reduces unnecessary stress. Also it will be better for your budget too as the old saying goes, "Time is Gold", I charge extra for last minute orders. Please... Please remember to give notice...
Sunday, September 25, 2011
3D Brewster Chuggington Cake for Son Imran
As predicted, my son Imran wanted another train birthday cake this year. Changed his mind several times as he couldn't decide between Brewster (of Chuggington), Spencer and Hiro (of Thomas and Friends). Thought I'd make a fondant 3D miniature of Brewster this time. Made this cake the morning before the party, carved the dark chocolate cake and frosted it with buttercream before covering it with fondant. The details took longer than I expected, I finished the cake just half an hour before my first guest arrived. Phewwww! The final outcome was kinda cute, glad I decided to use fondant. Ni yang semangat nak buat more fondant novelty cakes in the future. I just love making kids' cakes!
Birthday Cake with Custom Edible Image for Mom
My mom turned 60 this year. To me it's a huge milestone, hence this extra special birthday cake. I looked up old pictures of her and found a picture of her performing in an office event back in the 80's. Edited it and had it printed on edible image. My mom loved to sing, and still does. We've a saying in our family, "Do not pass the mike to Mak, or you will never get it back!".
Mak is a girly girl at heart, she loves all the frilly, flowery, sparkly stuff. I covered the 12" premium butter cake with pink frosting, placed the edible image in the centre and decorated it with white roses as the border.
The look on my dear mom's face was priceless when she saw the cake. I just knew the nostalgic picture would be spot on!
As usual, the "fire brigade" (the grandkids) was summoned. The youngest, Qaliff is not in the picture, think he hasn't arrived then.
My only hope that my mom would live a long and healthy life. There were times when Mak was away on her travels, I would think to myself, "If only Mak is around...". Things just aren't be the same without Mak who always fuss about everything, making everything dramatically "eventful". To me, she is the most essential "appliance" in our household, life will just be "bland" without Puan Siti Noriah Abdul Manaf. We love you Mak!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ocean Breeze Blue & White Hantaran Bertunang Cake for Pn Morni of Wangsa Maju
Ahhh... This cake was such a joy to make. Everything went smoothly, from baking the cake, to frosting and covering it with fondant. Baked the 8" choc moist cake the evening before, since it's the weekend and I had all the time in the world, got up at 3am to deco the cake to meet Acik Morni's promised dateline at 8am that morning. Could've done it earlier (Saturday), but I was exhausted from Friday's open house in Serendah, and rushing home to finish 2 birthday cakes back to back for Saturday noon pickup. So I took my own sweet time to do this cake.
Loved the stillness of the wee hours. Inspiration quickly came. I've done royal icing embroidery designs once before on sister Elin's hantaran nikah cake. Thought it would look nice on this cake, saw some romantic embroidery designs in one of my cake decorating books. Acik Morni wasn't fussy about the design, as long as it's blue and white. I used storebought flowers for this cake. Looking at the rainy weather lately, handmade flowers would've been problematic as they easily break in humid condition.
I used my latest favourite tool, the serrated crimper at the edge of the base, and added more detail with little embossed bouquets on the base surrounding the cake. I piped royal icing shells around the base of the cake before drawing the embroidery designs freehand. After arranging and fastening the gumpaste flowers on the cake, I pasted the cut-out names. Finished this cake way early than expected, Acik Morni arrived right on time to collect it. I was very pleased with myself, loved the cake (still patting own head as I'm typing this, for a job well done... hehehe...). Loved the fact that it's Sunday and I can sleep as long as I want after doing this cake. What a joy! :)))
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Dora the Explorer 3D Cake for Pn Nadeema of Keramat Permai
I am hugely satisfied with this cake. Felt a little guilty for making Nadeema wait 15 minutes for the cake. I was working as fast as I could, while at the same time making sure that my "drop-stars" are neat and consistent. Nadeema ordered this for her princess' first birthday celebration. It's kinda last minute, but couldn't refuse Nadeema who was kind and warm when I spoke to her on the phone.
With my fingers crossed, I squeezed in Nadeema's cake for Saturday 2pm pickup. Baked the choc moist cake on Thursday evening. Friday was a busy day, my parents had an open house in Serendah. Started decorating the Dora cake after I completed Gda's Upin Ipin cake, scheduled for Saturday a.m. pickup. Got home from my parents' and retired at 2.30am and was up again at 6.00am to finish both cakes.
I was nervous the whole morning (I'm a Capricorn you see, we drive ourselves to the brink of insanity for perfection - especially in times like this where time is limited), wished there were 48 hours a day. I've always been particular about meeting customers' datelines. To me it's the most important essence of customer service.
Which is why in order to avoid unnecessary stress, I always ask for at least one week notice for my cakes. For me at least, decorating cakes need a certain amount of "inspiration", if they're rushed, the whole process will become stressful and things will go wrong. I always set aside ample time according to designs, 5 hours for 3D cakes, 4 for fondants and 2 for regular buttercream deco. These does not include baking time. I have my trusty planner to help me schedule and keep track of my orders, which I will check daily to make sure everything's on track.
I decided to use lime green for the background this time. Glad I did, added some leaves and brown border to give it a "jungle" feel. Love the final outcome. Nadeema arrived as I was finishing up. We had a nice chat while I pack the cake, it's always nice to get to know my customers, and about the little girls and boys whose cakes I made. I was told that the birthday girl resembles Dora, hence the Dora party theme.
I am happy that Nadeema liked the cake. I hope little Adeelia had a fantastic 1st birthday party which her adoring mom had meticulously planned. Looking at the cake pictures, I am glad I took the order. Thank you Nadeema for your order! :)
Upin Ipin Birthday Cake for Puan Gda of Ukay Perdana
Gda has become one of GG Home Biz's frequent customer. Since it's Raya season, she planned to celebrate little son Riezqi's 2nd birthday, when relatives come visiting. She ordered this Choc Moist Cake with buttercream frosting and custom printed Upin Ipin edible image to surprise Riezqi who's a big fan. Wish I could see Riezqi's face when he sees the cake!
It's always nice to see parents nowadays are more understanding and dote on their kids. I often get orders like, "my son is crazy over Thomas", "my daughter loves pink and purple", "the princesses must only be Ariel and Cinderella because they are her favourite" et cetra... These often made me smile and want to do my best to please the little celebrants. Talking about special requests, my son Imran's 4th birthday is just around the corner. He loves trains and still hasn't been able to decide between Spencer (from Thomas & Friends) or Brewster (from Chuggington). He'll have to do so soon coz mama's gotta start preparing for the cake! Shall we pick by drawing straws? Or "innie minnie miny moe"? Arghhh... And I thought only girls are fickle minded... :)))
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