Back in business!

Hello fellow readers!

I have tons of good news to share! Before I get down to the juice stuff, I just want to explain my utterly long absence. I've just completed an exhausting, and mentally draining year of studies! It occupied so much of my time that I hardly had the energy to bake. Even if I did, it was for personal consumption to relieve myself of stress. So.... now that all that is over... I'm free to bake! That brings me to my first piece of good news.

** Salts & Sweets is BACK to take orders once again! Now till 17th Dec 2011 in Melbourne and from 19th Dec 2011 to 30th Jan 2012 in Singapore **.

The other piece of good news is regarding a cook book that has been published in which my Pandan coconut macaron recipe has been featured in! I was ecstatic when I saw the book sitting on the shelf in a bookstore that I frequently go to. The cookbook features other recipes from various people of all ages and occupations, making it a community cookbook project. To find out more or to purchase it, click here!

hehe... and yes thats me in the picture =P

Happy Holidays folks!

Oxfam loving.

I was fortunate enough be asked to bake for an Oxfam event, the Antea Povertea Tea Party at Monash Uni. The party was held to raised awareness about the importance of fairtrade and labour rights. I felt so lucky to be part of such an event!

In going with the themed of fairtrade, I used organic fairtrade chocolate and cocoa powder in my macca-cakes (cupcake + macaron on top). I decided to stick to flavours people would dive in for rather than my quirky flavour combinations such as strawberry basil or nasi lemak! haha

I made fudgey chocolate cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese buttercream frosting topped with mint chocolate macarons that have the oxfam logo stenciled onto them.

The stenciling of the logos were more time consuming than expected but it was all worth it in the end as they added a personalized touch for the event! So glad they were well received by the crowd.

Don't forget to check out Oxfam's website for more info:

Start here for a bit more information about the rationale of Fairtrade and other issues relating to food access and food justice: http://www.oxfam.org.au/ex​plore/trade

See here for more information about the GROW campaign:http://www.oxfam.org.au/grow/

And see here for news about Monash becoming Australia's fourth Fairtrade university:http://www.fsd.monash.edu.​au/environmental-sustainab​ility/news/monash-becomes-​fair-trade-university

Birthdays of Besties.

If you do not already know by now, these two lovely people beside are my girly besties. Can't believe one of them is going to UK and the other will be moving to the suburbs soon. =(

I knew that the next time I were to bake birthday cakes for these girls (Prim at least) would be a long time to come and plus they were both turning 21! Therefore I put in much more love and effort in planning and executing these cakes! I hope it shows =S

Prim's birthday came first. I knew I had to put blue flowers in somewhere and she specially requested a pont neuf cake. A pont neuf cake is a cake that has layers that run vertically and not horizontally when you cut into it. How did I make it?? It's a secret. Unfortunately, pictures of the inside turned out really dark so I didnt post them up.

This was the first time I made a two-tiered cake! successsss! =D I tried to practice my decorative piping skills as well by doing ruffles, roses and what nots.

Pont neuf chocolate sponge cake filled with chocolate baileys buttercream and topped with earl greymacarons.

Christine is the baby out of us three, even though she acts most maturely :O

I remembered her having a liking for apple and cinnamon flavours so I made that into a birthday cake. I made a Apple Cinnamon sponge tower cake with cream cheese buttercream frosting and topped with salted caramel macarons.

Loving her happy face in this picture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN GIRLS! <3

Macaron tower!

I have never really liked the thought of someone leaving. About 2 weeks ago, a close girlfriend of mine, Prim left to study in the UK. =( so in order to show how much we love and will miss her, Mr Poasm and I invited her and a couple of other friends over for dinner. Mr Poasm focused on cooking, while i baked. I wanted to make something super special, something that would make Prim scream and shout and maybe go, "I've decided to stay cause I want to eat your macarons!!" hahaha. It was just a thought.

So... to increase the probability of that happening, I made..... A MACARON TOWER. Something I have never attempted before. It took me quite a while to find a styrofoam cone of the correct height. I made milk chocolate macarons (Prim's favorite) and passion fruit ones too. I figured that my stacking skills wouldn't be too great for a first timer at macaron towers, so I made yellow icing roses to fill in the gaps or cover any unsightly accidents just in case.

I was so proud of myself after assembling it. All the macarons stayed in place for a few hours till dessert time! Oh by the way the lovely photos of the macaron tower are taken by my talented friend Bryan Sun.

Dinner was fabulous as usual. Mr Poasm never fails to impress =) His first dish was a crispy parsnip and brie slice.

This picture doesn't do the second course justice. It was a slice of sticky pork belly with turnips and pear puree. After eating the last bite of the pork, I immediately wanted more. It was melt in the mouth deliciousss.

The main course was my favorite. Roasted quail with pea puree and berry reduction and mash.

The flavors complemented each other so well. I want more!! *hint hint*

When it was dessert time, I was practically shaking in my chair. I was so excited to see how prim would react to my masterpiece. ahaha. and impressed she was!

Awwww. Prim, I miss you already! Hope you have a good time in UK and don't forget that Christine and I are always here for you =) loveee.

Food therapy.

School has been really exciting so far. I'm starting on my research project and I'm looking into using video modelling as an intervention for autism. I have been filling up my days with readings and volunteer work, hence the lack of blogging entries. My sincere apologies... looking after a 4 year old boy with autism is pretty challenging. He's just the cutest thing ever. He has trouble talking but its okay as he likes t

o hold my hand and hug me from the back. Oh and he likes to play with his ipad. O.O

Apart from that I'm also volunteering at the Anxiety Recovery Helpline. Which means that if you suffer from any anxiety problems and call the helpline number.. I might be the person on the other end of the phone?

Oh Oh! I'm also expecting a new member in the household, a kitty. ^.^ She's too tiny now but in about 2 weeks shes MINE. muhahaah

Despite all these programs in my life, I never fail to find the time to bake! It just helps me to de-stress and relax. A week ago, I made some macarons. I wanted to make them extra special due to my long break from making new flavors. In the end I decided to make something i craved, and at that moment, my tummy beckoned for berry cheesecake and so berry cheesecake macarons it was!

I made purple shells using my trusty basic recipe and whipped up some raspberry cream cheese buttercream filling. I filled the macarons with the buttercream and buried a whole blueberry in each macaron. Which means, once you bite into the macaron, a burst of raspberry and fresh blueberry flavor will explode in your mouth! In order to make it a cheeseCAKE macaron, I ground up some digestive biscuit crumbs and coated the macaron with it, adding some crunch and biscuit flavor.

I also made birthday cupcakes for my friend's birthday party. They were chocolate fudge cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese buttercream frosting. I decorated the cupcakes with blue sugar pearls and chocolate buttons dusted with gold dust.

I cant wait to show you what else I have made! That will be up in the next post! Heres a hint. ;)

Extension of online orders.

Hi all!

If you are in Melbourne and would like a taste of my macarons, I will be taking orders in Melbourne from 15th to 27th Feb. This is a once a year affair. Hurry, before it's too late ;)

Love,
Clara

Last valentine.

Hey to all you lovers all there!

Order some valentines day macarons now before it's too late! <3