The Story behind Anya’s 6th Birthday Cakes
[Kids happily helped out with the sifting and whisking]
So this is what I’ve been trying to write since last week.
Get ready for a REALLY LONG post!
Here goes.
Three weeks before Anya turned six, I sort of decided that I’d try and make her birthday a special and personalised one this year.
I guess it was rather ‘ambitious’ since I’ve NEVER baked a cake before.
I don’t know. Somehow I just wanted to give it a try and make something special for her.
I mean, we wouldn’t have known about anything if we hadn’t (at least) given it a go, YES?
[Anya tested out my Steamed Brownies]
So I shared my little ‘mission’ with the kids, and we went to buy some basic baking necessities and ingredients, like, plain flour, self raising flour, baking powder, a whisk, cocoa powder, a measuring cup, a sift and a round baking pan.
(I know, it may sound shocking to some, but no, I had NONE of those prior to that ‘shopping trip’)
[Shopping trips with kids can never be dull. Captured with my Nokia phone.]
…
I was clueless about SO many things.
I didn’t know which flour I should get. I mean, there’re so many different ones! Cake flour, bread flour, self-raising flour, plain flour, etc.
I didn’t know the difference between ‘baking soda’ and ‘baking powder’.
I didn’t have any baking scale, and so I tried converting ‘grams’ to ‘cups’ using an online conversion formula
Everything was just TOTALLY new to me!
(In the end, I did buy a baking scale one day before Anya’s birthday! YAY!)
[My first ‘Steamed Brownies’ experiment]
And, I did a few ‘tests’ before attempting to make Anya’s birthday cake.
I made a chocolate cake. And I thought it was too sweet.
I tested out a friend’s ‘Steamed Brownies’ recipe, and I thought it was a little ‘too dry’.
I found a ‘Steamed Banana Cake’ recipe from the internet, and in my first THREE attempts, the cake tasted more like ‘sandals’!
(And I think, the fact that I cluelessly used ‘baking powder’ instead of ‘baking soda’ had a LOT to do with THAT result!)
[The ‘sandal-like’ Steamed Banana Cake]
…
And since we have NO ovens at home, I STEAMED all my cakes.
And this is how I did it:
– I poured some water into the wok and turned on the stove
– I used a metal stand (see above picture) and placed my baking pan on it.
– I closed the lid when the water’s boiling
– To prevent ‘water droplets’ from dripping onto the cake mixture during the steaming process, I ‘wrapped’ the lid with a clean cloth (and I just tied the top with a rubber band, heh).
When you steam a cake, I learned that :
– the baking pan must be ‘low enough’ and NOT touch the cloth on the inside as the cake could ‘stick’ to the cloth when it ‘raises’
– you need to roughly gauge WHEN you must quickly open the lid and pour ‘MORE HOT WATER’ into the wok (ie. before the water’s all dried up!)
[DO get an electric mixer, if you can. I didn’t have one at the time, and I manually ‘whisked’ everything, including the cake’s cream!]
…
Finally the day came.
It was Saturday night and Anya would have her birthday celebrated the next day, at Sunday School.
I decided to use a cake mix (where you simply add eggs, butter and milk to it) to lessen the possibility of seeing Anya’s little friends go, “Eeewww… the cake tastes funnyyy!’
I mean, we all know kids openly express their frank opinion.
If they don’t like the cake, well … to the bin it goes.
And I sure don’t want THAT to happen on Anya’s special day.
So that was my solution, ie. have the ‘cake mix’ ready and STEAM it.
Right until then I had never tried icing a cake, whipping a cream or decorating a cake though.
So, I watched a few ‘How-To’ videos online and went to the kitchen when everyone’s asleep, armed with sheer determination to make it WORK for Anya’s special day!
(read: If I tried my best and I totally failed, well … I could always go and buy a simple cake tomorrow, I told myself that night!)
But then.
Of course, there’s a little drama in store.
You see, just before dinner that Saturday, we bought a few things, including a spatula (to help ‘flatten and neaten’ the fresh cream’s surface) and a set of ‘decorating tools’ (you know, that thing with a metal tip that helps you make those decorations on the sides of the cake)
AND.
When I was ready to start on the cake’s cream, I looked EVERYWHERE for the spatula and the decorating tools. But I could NOT find them anywhere!
We probably have forgotten THAT particular plastic bag on our back home or something!
And I was like, BUT I NEED THOSE THINGS NOW. Anya’s birthday celebration is due in A FEW HOURS!
Then, I told myself, ‘Look! People in the olden days probably didn’t have any of those tools when they made cakes! And YET, they managed! So just think of something!’
And so this was what I did.
I used the back of my CLEAVER to neaten up the cream’s surface!
AND, I rolled a piece of baking paper, used a scotch tape to tape the front end together, filled it with cream, twirl the end to push the cream forward towards the tip, and used THAT to decorate the cake and do the ‘writing’ on the cake!
And it WORKED!
Sort of.
Well, anyway … I was SO happy!
And when I saw the look on Anya’s face when she spotted her cake in the fridge the next morning, and how she enthusiastically shared the cake with everyone at Sunday School … it all felt so REWARDING!
It was SO worth the time and effort!
Which was why I happily did it all again on Sunday night, and made another birthday cake for Anya’s little celebration at school on Monday (March 8th), her actual birthday!
And since we had a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake on Sunday, we had a little Hello Kitty birthday cake for Anya’s little celebration at school on Monday!
*smile*
…
Really. I must say, this whole experience felt more like an adventure to me. A rewarding one filled with ups and downs.
And I’m thankful to God for a hubby who supported the whole idea from the very beginning (read: He didn’t comment nor make any discouraging / questioning gestures, body language or facial expressions upon hearing my ‘make-own-birthday-cake-though-I’m-totally-clueless-about-it’ plans)
I’m glad too that I went ahead with the birthday-cake-making decision although it was something that I’ve never done before.
Because, when I now share with my little ones how we should NOT say ‘I can’t do it!’ simply because we’ve NEVER done it before, they themselves had seen me walk my talk too.
…
Anyway, here are MORE birthday photos!
[Anya helped and sprinkled ‘more colours’ onto her birthday cake on Sunday]
[Anya: ‘Have you had a piece of my birthday cake?’]
[Anya’s Hello Kitty Birthday Cake for her little celebration at school on Monday]
[Time to cut the cake. Btw, the cakes were gobbled up by everyone on both occasions! YAY!]
[My half-eaten chocolate and Butter Cake, with a layer of fresh cream in between! Good thing I remembered to stop eating and take a shot of the cake first before finishing it all up! Heh]
52 Comments »
Leave a comment!
Kudos Leonny! I am truly impressed..and I am sure Anya will remember it for a long time to come!
Cheers.Carol
BB:
Hi hi .. sorry for the late reply to the comments ya … (btw, I always read the comments as soon as they come in though)
Anyway … the brand name for the whipping cream is ‘Red Man’, and the brand for the Ready cake mix I used was ‘White Wings’. I know a friend of mine said ‘Betty Crocker’ ones are really nice too, but they’re errr … more expensive hehe … Have yet to check those out …
All the best ya !!
And please do share with us how it all goes for you 🙂
hi leonny,
paiseh, do u mind to let me hv the brand name of the “ready whipping cream” and the “ready cake mix”?
i went supermarket, but i think im overwhelmed by too many different types.
tks!
BB:
Hi, for the cream, I used a ‘ready whipping cream’ where it comes in a 1L carton, and all you need to do is mix it till it’s really fluffy.
Given that I had more time next time, I’d LOVE to try and experiment on making it myself from scratch. Looking at the recipe available from the net, it “should not” be too complicated *err… i hope* 🙂
as for the chinese enrichment, it’s conducted by Han IP centre 🙂
Jillian:
Yay! So happy to hear that!
Thanks for writing in and sharing it … 😀
hi,
can i know how did u make the cream?
and which sch ur kids go to for chinese enrichment?
thanks,
Hi Leonny, I used a recipe for a steam chocolate cake that I found off the net and it turned out perfectly. Was so pleased with the end results!
Rachel / 4malmal:
Thanks so much …
What you said goes to all moms out there who strive to give their best for the family … including you … 🙂
PS: continuing from our FB discussion on ‘enrichment class’, so far Anya only has Chinese and Ballet … Vai only has Chinese … 🙂 I honestly don’t think you’re ‘lazy’ though for sending Mal to Gym only 🙂 To me, what’s more important is how we spend our time with them each day … coz that’ll be more treasured by them later … (so, well done Mommy for ‘going against the norm here in Spore’ 🙂 Will send Anya and Vai for music classes, but … ‘later’ 🙂
Andrea:
THANKS so much! Appreciate your comments especially since they come from someone who brought along her baking tools all the way across the globe 😀
(Thanks for the Phoon Huat info too … I checked out the place and got a few things from them! 🙂
Hope you’re having GREAT FUN in Texas right now!
Pepin:
Hi hi … THANKS for sharing your photos and baking stories too!
Stay in touch …
PS: Love her big eyes!! 😀
Julie Taidy:
Now that’s something I didn’t know before! So your mom bakes ALL you guys’ bday cakes! That’s soo nice of her! Impressive! 😀
I’m even more inspired now … 🙂
PS: Yet to find that ‘passion’ for cooking though … hopefully one day it’ll “click” for me 🙂
Yunita Lie:
Hello Yun! 🙂 Thanks for the humbling comment …
(so nice to hear from you!)
Once you’ve tried making your own bday cake for the kid, perhaps you too – like me! – will want to make ‘more’ cakes after that 🙂
All the best ya …
LZMommy:
Hi hi … 🙂 Yup, do give it a go too yeah! And since you have three kids yourself, it’d be fun baking more cakes each year 🙂
(now that I’ve tried making a cake for Anya, I think I’ll make birthday cakes for my family from now on. It’s so fun! 🙂
Jillian:
Hi there … yes, it’s only recently too that I tested out steaming cakes using a wok! 🙂
As I myself am a beginner too, for the bday cake itself, I used a cake mix … something you can easily buy off the shelves at supermarkets. You can find ones by White Wings or Betty Crocker.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/
One of these days I think I’ll write a blog post with the recipe I tested out too there 🙂
Do share with me when you’ve finally tried steaming the cake yeah! Would love to know how it goes 🙂
All the best!
Ally:
Hi hi … welcome to the blog! and THANKS heaps for the kind words!
Yup, you can steam cakes … (recently discovered by me too hehe)
Levine:
THANK YOU ! 😀
Siska:
Thanks Sis! 🙂
Eh btw, lucu deh tuh kuenya Caleb! 🙂
(kalau disana yg bikin model foto2 gitu itu bykan bule / asia?)
Rachel:
Thank youuu … 🙂 and hey if you do get to make a cake too, do share with me the pics ya ! 🙂
hey Leonny u r one incredible mum. Really 🙂
I am so impressed!! You definitely used your imagination and put so much effort into this. It’s such a cute cake and looks delicious! You’ve inspired me to try steaming a cake! I just know Anya will remember this birthday cake forever. How special! Good job, Mom!
Congrats on successfully baking a cake on your first try!
I baked some cupcakes for my baby too, but she’s only 4 months old. So she can’t really it them yet. Anyway, we really just wanted to celebrate her 4th month.
I’ve got some photos here: http://sierraisobel.blogspot.com
Gwen:
Yes, totally will remember those treasured moments 😀
(will also remember Marc Anthony haha … His CD accompanied me throughout the night when I was baking away 🙂 )
Grace Koay:
Thanks Grace … appreciate it a lot, esp. since it comes from such a baker like you! 😀
(still am always amazed at the cakes you’ve made!)
The ‘missing’ spatula was the ‘frosting spatula’ (hmm, or is it called something else). Well, it’s that metal one anyway. Was thinking of even using my metal ruler or Anya’s plastic ruler (washed first, of course hehe) to help smoothen the cream’s surface! haha. Anything that works will do!
Oh yes, Lavinia is her full name actually. It’s Latin and it means, ‘Purified’. As for Anya, it’s Slavic for ‘Grace’ 🙂
We love those names and their meanings! 😀
Rafi:
Ya, very ‘old-fashioned’ approach to baking … 🙂 Just make-do with what we have has been my motto and approach to life … It does help a lot when I encounter different challenges so far 🙂
btw, today’s cake is not as ‘colourful and sweet looking’ like Anya’s cake hehe …
SamuelGoh:
Thanks for the bday wish and for the compliments! Sure was nice to share something that she knows was made ‘especially for her’ 🙂
SH:
Hi 🙂
Great to hear that you’re thinking of baking something for the family too!
As I’m a total beginner with no oven at home, I went for a cake mix for the cake, but instead of putting into the oven, I stemed it.
For the cream, you can go for ready whipped cream, the one you need to only ‘mix’ until it ‘raises’ and becomes very creamy. Another option, I was told, you can just apply ‘Nutella’ on the cake 😀
Overall, this was what I roughly went through:
1. Pour cake mix into bowl, add in the extras that you need to mix together with, eg. eggs, butter, milk/water
2. Mix well (if you have an electronic mixer it’ll save you time and energy:). For Anya’s bday cake, I manually mixed it as I didn’t have any electronic one at home.
3. Spread butter onto the baking pan, place baking paper, and pour the mixture
4. Follow the steps I explained in the blog post for steaming
5. As for ‘how long I should steam it for’, look for the direction on the cake mix’s box. If it says ’40-50mins’, then it should be around that time too. Poke with a skewer / chopstick to find out. If skewer comes out clear, it’s all good and ready.
6. Once done, I removed the baking pan from the wok. Put aside, let it cool for at least 10 mins. I then place it in the fridge for a few more mins, before bringing it out and applying cream on it.
…
Roughly that’s about it 🙂
If you’re applying cream, well, that’s the time consuming part, to me. Making the surface smooth, decorating it, etc.
I find this part the most fun though. The result is not perfect, but it’s fun to make 🙂
All the best ya in making your very own personalised home made cake!
If you’re on FB, I’d LOVE to see your cake! Do add me on FB and when you’ve uploaded a pic of the cake, tag me pleaseeee … 😀
Lisna & Imelda:
Thank you sooo much for the kind words ya …
Samantha:
Thanks Sam! And yes yes … go for it! Especially when you have such a great help to get you started with Caleb’s cake! 😀 All the best!!
Yin:
Ooo … reducing cocoa powder will make it less dry! THANKS!
No lah … it’s sharing info from your own experience mah … nothing to be ‘payseh’ about hehe … Appreciate it a LOT! 😀
Ling-Ling:
Thanks ya … 🙂
iya … icing will be tougher than ‘cream’, I guess? Making and applying icing on cake will be one of my next ‘experiments’, may be 🙂
Ling:
Hi Ling! Thanks for the kind words … 🙂 The kids loved the cakes! (so glad I decided on using the cake mix instead of starting from ‘zero’). It really helps to ensure that the cake itself is ‘good to eat’, especially for such a total beginner like me! 🙂
Doris:
Hi hi … thanks! Somehow the cream and decorating part was fun 🙂 Vai is btw already asking me that he wants a ‘spiderman’ or lightning mcqueen on his birthday cake when he turns 4 this year haha …
Hi ci! I totally can relate to the baking process, it is like a whole new world. My mom used to make all our birthday cakes but I don’t think I inherit her baking talent! I much prefer cooking! Anyway, the cakes looks delicious!!! It inspired me to try steaming! =)
Wow, what a great mom you are. Indeed…. I would like to make one for my son as well on his b’day. JBU u and yr fam.
I am so impressed! You have inspired me to try baking for my kids’ birthday! 🙂
Hi, I’ve always wanted to bake a cake for my kids as well but we don’t have an oven. Now I know steaming one is possible. Thanks! Will give it a go, though I’m sure it will be a steep learning curve for me since I have never baked! Would you mind sharing the recipe that you used?
You are one GREAT MOM! I just discovered your site from the ad on Nuffang, regarding the upcoming workshops.
I really wish to bake a cake, but no oven or any baking equipment. Now, I know we can steam cakes from wok. 😀
the cake is soo pro!
well done, Le!!! bagus banget kue-nya. ga kalah sama yg di toko2 jual.
*whistle* such an adventure for you!
And, a big pat on your shoulder for all your hard work!
Now you inspired me to do the birthday cakes for my boy =)
What a story! I’m sure though that because it was challenging and filled with so much drama, it will remain a wonderful and heartwarming memory for years to come.
Wow!! From someone who loves baking, and has made many cakes for different occasions: birthdays of my sons, friends, anniversaries etc. I do salute you!! To come up with such great results, with not much baking equipments… and steaming your cake!! WOW!!! hehe…. You’re amazing.
Anyways, to answer your earlier question… no, I’ve never used a “turn table” and I don’t even know what it is! hahaha…. I guess its term is self explanatory. But I’m also pretty basic when it comes to the tools and baking gadjets. I would’ve also used the home made piping bag (but I don’t know about the back of a cleaver!! hahaha) How innovative.
And oh, I never knew Anya is short for Lavinia. My husband loves that name! He wanted to name our daughter that if we had one…..:) Such a lovely name….:)
hey.. I got a jaw drop to see the way u steam even though you already told me last time! That’s something that people already forget and rare to find nowadays.. so traditional where people now usually will find a proper cookware at hand before they want to make a cake.
Wonderful le..! will looking forward for this Wednesday he..
thats an amazing choc cake!!! (esp for a first timer)
Belated happy birthday to Enya and its so nice that she has learnt to share 🙂
What a great job you have done there! Can you please share with us a step-by-step procedure on how you made the cake? Like you, I also dont have an oven at home, I am really inspired to bake something for my family, just half as good will do!
My comment is succinct: amazing mom! 🙂
http://www.kidsnus.blogspot.com
Wow..I can’t say anything…I’m totally speechless…U’re such a wonderful mother..your kids are so blessed to have you.. I really envy you 🙂
Wow Leonny, I am so proud of you. It get me so motivated for Caleb 1 year old birthday next month, I want to ask my sis-in-law (who is a pastry chef) teach me how to bake a cake for him.
bravo, le.. using cake-mix is a good idea to save all the hassle..
btw, for the ‘dry steamed brownies’, try to cut down the cocoa powder. i tried it some other time, and it became more moist. or u can totally replace the chocolate & cocoa powder with cheese.. rachel obviously prefer cheese cake over brownies.. 🙂
look at me.. talking like an expert.. aiyooo… paiseh.. 😀
Wowww..looks yummy!!
icing are really hard to do…i tried to do icing on a cupcake and i failed 🙁 and the thing about icing is they hv to be thick which means super sweet too. dunno what to do about that??
anyway….THUMBS UP!!
Amazing! I salute u for the courage, effort!!! With a few more practices, u can start a online cake biz! I wil b ur 1st customer! So did the kids love the cake?
Wow Leonny, what sud i say? I mean, I’m impressed with the result for someone who doesn’t bake before. I do bake whenever I’ve time but to finish it off with those creams & decors, it does takes some talent, isn’t it. And frankly, for all the cakes I’ve baked bf, nvr did i try an actual cream topping like yours. Now u set me thinking about trying 1 out for Jamie’s coming 4th bday. Anyway, a job well done, ha, just wish tt Anya would not buzz you with more challenging requests next yr since u’ve set such high standards this yr!