Bringing on my Emmy bling

It's almost Emmy night, 2 day countdown!

Snacking while watching the Emmys:
> Chocolate Almond Sables
> Sesame Ginger Cupcakes, Ginger Crunch

So many things we love about the Emmys...

Predictable clockwork wins we saw from miles away, crazy audacious losses (McConaughey didn't win Lead Actor in a Miniseries??), remembering insane talents like Robin Williams.

And priceless gems making entertainment history - yes, that Ellen selfie, we're still talking about it.

Oh yeah....

Photo from The Hollywood Reporter

Not forgetting the best value-for-money hosts in Hollywood for the night who have to sing, dance, reel off scripted jokes to make sure the most glitteratti audience on the planet laughs loud and long.

And so much bling!

Gorgeous suits, flawless gowns, the most handsome people draped in bling, all gathered in one room.

I want to live that fabulous life too.

But since I'm not even remotely close to celeb-ship in this lifetime, I'll settle for bling desserts.

Gold and black.
Studded with more gold, dusted with gold flecks.

Sounds almost glitzy fabulous.

Good enough for me, I'll take that.

I'm warming up to gold recently, it's quite a sexy sheen.

Elegant in such an... elegant way.

I used to think gold was 'old'.

Guess I'm getting old, might as well embrace it.

Stay gold everyone, place your Emmy bets and let's hope Adam Sandberg nails it!

Celebrate, woot woot!
> Welcome, 2015
> Fairytale weddings
> A lovely elephant day

Indulgent desserts
> Chocolate indulgence
> Chocolate Pistachio Torte

More Cake Pops:
> Bicycle challenge, accepted!
> Pony pops

Friday logic: Eating chocolate is like eating a salad

This is how it goes: Chocolate comes from cocoa, which makes it a plant.
So that makes chocolate = salad.

I didn't come up with that, but I'm buying it - it's genius!

And with that gleeful thought, let's dive headlong into chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

First up: a good ol' chocolate cake.

Plan, simple.
A slice or two for dessert with the family.



There are so many ways you can go with a chocolate cake.
Light and fluffy, dark and decadent.
I like mine moist and earthy, not too heavy.

The Italian Dish, Food 52 and Bon Appetit have great fail-safe recipes, not too fussy, easy eating.

Nigella does a kickbutt Guinness Chocolate Cake that's my go-to, packing flavor and warm fragrance. If you prefer a super dense version that's really more like a torte, Martha Stewart  does it really well (but of course).

For friends or family who are gluten intolerant, Jamie Oliver and A Girl Defloured have you covered.

All these recipes can have their sugar, butter, creams reduced so experiment and find the right proportion for you.

You can stop right there if you're keeping balanced on a lean-eating week, chocolate cake tastes just fine on its own, and you get to sneak in a few more slices. It's all about keeping the intake even.

But if you're buying the whole chocolate = plant spiel and looking for some frosting to be the icing on the cake, check Williams Sonoma's recipe out, it's da bomb and so easy to make.

Now - on to more chocolate matters.

I love giving little packages as gifts. Small desserts are much more tedious, but so darn cute it's totally worth it.

Chocolate Cake Balls are absolutely gorgeous little chocolate gems, "double-chocolated" in a creamy chocolate coating. YUM.

Use your favorite chocolate cake recipe, roll them into smaller balls of fun and dip them in good quality melted dark chocolate.

If you're talking to an all-adult crowd, I strongly recommend turning them into Chocolate Rum Balls - the same way you'd make regular cake balls, but using rum as your binder when you roll them up.

These little bombs are quite indulgent, so just make sure you run a couple more minutes or keep lunch light so you have some caloric space for these sweet babies. It's all about the balance.

That's it for today's episode of Friday logic, I know it all made perfect weekend-sense ;)

Halloween companions

Most people enjoy a good hair-raising scare.

Which is why Halloween is so popular, and heart-splitting horror movies get more freaky each year.

There are a few however, who like hanging out with humans more than with ghouls. Those who get chills when the window shutters flap about for no reason.

Like me.

So instead of disguising myself as Frozen's Anna or a sexy vamp bunny wannabe, and getting my wits scared out in a devil's mansion, I've rounded up a couple of desserts to snuggle up to on Halloween night, when the clock strikes 12.

Till Death Do Us Part

Adios and Ciao Ciao, part of the cultishly popular Tokidoki series, are condemned to wander the earth after 500 years in hell. Could there be a more perfect Halloween dessert??

> Get the recipe for Martha Stewart's perfect chocolate cake.

More night-friendly cakes:

> Death by Chocolate

> Guinness Beer Chocolate

> Deep Chocolate Ganache

Darkside Chocolate

Chocolate works really well for a night snack. Maybe cuz it's forbidden (says all the healthy folks!), or maybe it's the midnight darkness of the cacao that lures. Either way, this chocolate cupcake topped with dark chocolate ganache, is a definite walk on the dark side. 

Death by chocolate, anyone?

More darkside desserts:

> Salted Bailey's Mint Chocolate Pie

> Deep Chocolate Crunchy Granola

Nighttime Ice-Cream

I-C-E  C-R-E-A-M cravings. They hit at midnight, and they hit hard. If like me, you're not about to venture out into the darkness of Halloween night even for ice cream, you gotta do the next best thing - ice cream cake pops.

You could do ice-cream cone style, like Bakerella's. I had ice cream sticks lying around, so I did the popsicle version. Pretty much the same way you make all your other cake pops - just make sure the cake pop adheres well to the ice cream stick when inserting, press the pop around the base in a little if you need to.

> What are cake pops?
> Making basic cake pops
> So-darn-good Rum Balls
> Ride away Bicycle Pops

Deep Dark Double Chocolate Trouble

Wash them down with milk. Or good coffee. Or a smoothie. That's how you need to eat these little devils. This soft-baked cookie is so decadently good, you'll be fighting demons to stop at one. Their cracked tops erupt into soft chocolately chews, and these are made extra large - for double the evil indulgence. 

Get Martha Stewart's recipe here.

Not enough cookies?

> Ombre Swirl Cookies

> Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Embrace your midnight companions and eat up, welcome to the dark side!

Color me happy, it's 2014!

I always think it's nice to start something with colors.

Bright, bold, zany.

Pastel, shades, hues.

Greys and darks, too.

Just a really awesome welcome, a nifty way to start and say 'we can rock this'.

So in honor of a big bright 2014, I'd like to share a couple of color-popping desserts we'd whipped up:

1) My Little Pony Party
Since we're nearly into the Lunar New Year ushering the year of the Horse, I thought we'd start with a galloping party of My Little Ponies for a food-adoring little girl (yes, her biggest wish for birthday pressie was... wait for it... a mountain of Kinder Bueno ;).

     Other cartoon characters: 
     > Hello there, kitty
     > Bee-do bee-do, Minion-alert!
     > The very hungry caterpillar
     > Never too much red with Elmo
     > A Rilakkuma birthday
     > Curious George... or is he?

    Love dessert tables?
    > A very lovely elephant party
    > Weddings... such fairy tales!

Gorgeous manes, luscious tails, plumes in all sorts of cheery.  
These ponies have updated (since my time at least!), and gone all fashionable.

Top: Chocolate-dipped marshmallow pops dressed in festive colors,
They keep well - perfect for kids' parties.
Bottom: Pink popcorn, ready to head home with the little guests.

It's a good idea to make desserts at a kid's party
bite-sized. Individual portions keep the mess
down, and it's so much easier to serve.

From top left clockwise: Mini Chocolate Chip Shortbread,
Baby Chocolate Tarts, Pink Popcorn bags, Rainbow Marshmallow Pops.

No birthday party is complete till the cake comes out,
'pony-fied' and rainbow-strewn (inside and out)! 

2) Ever heard of a Marble Race Track?
So we had a birthday boy's daddy, a friend of mine, who went 'let's do a marble racing track cake for Elliot's party'.

I said," Sure, sounds like fun!"

Of course at that point, I had absolutely no idea what marble racing was.
Not a clue.

I ran to my Mac and checked with The All-Knowing Oracle (some call it 'Google').

Ohhhh... there was a whole universe out there with tracks made just for racing marbles, kids had been playing with these for ages.

Learnt something new.
And like I always say, baking makes me smarter. Lol.

    Read more on little boys' birthdays:
    > Busy day at the construction site
    > Dinosaur roarrrr!

Always a good idea to start with the easier elements
like molding names, we all need a confidence-booster.

So that you're still somewhat sane by the time you move onto the
killer parts - in this case, the rainbow that had to stand on the cake.

Top left: I tried piping royal icing, it was a terrible idea. It stuck
to the baking paper and broke into a million pieces when I peeled it off.

So I experimented with fondant on a cardboard base arch, and it worked
beautifully (top right). Attach the arch (with base support) to cake board
with royal icing, and pipe over top to conceal arch with clouds.

Tada - another rainbow cake full color and cheer, inside and out
(yep, underneath all that white is a happy rainbow cake!)

3) Time to... Say Goodbye

This little project took quite a bit of time, and by the end my fingers had curved into a witch-like grip from piping countless names and little messages onto the personalized sugar cookies (recipe for cookies here too).

Not my most bewitching look.

But the zing-zang cheeriness of the cookies went great with the happy-colored cake pops, and was just what Iris wanted to say goodbye to her colleagues with as she left our sunny island for Hong Kong.

It was worth all the unglamorous hand-cramping. 

Customised cookies: trickiest part was getting the royal icing
consistency just right, so it pipes nicely and the words stay in place.

Cake Pops doing what they were meant to do - putting a smile on.

    Check out more cake pops:
    > Bicycle pops
    > Hole-in-one

Have a glorious 2014 everyone, fill the year with color and life!

The most wonderful time of the year!

It's officially Christmas season! 

I'm not crazy (yet)... 

I know it's only November, but if you've been to town, you'd have seen the first Christmas lights strung up along Orchard. Yes I did realise they're not lit yet, but honestly guys, we gotta make the most of the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

What we lack in wintery celebration, we make up for in Christmas decadence... especially the desserty sort. 

Time to start making that list, checking it twice (there's still time to be nice!), and making sure you don't miss spreading the cheer. 

> click on our Christmas Bake List picture above for bigger pop-up

We can't wait for Christmas!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

One of the best thing about kids' characters and books are the eye-poppin' colors.

I love the splashes of fun and the cheery bright hues. 

No excuses, no space at all for the blues. (ooh, that rhymes!)

Check out more cheery day bakes:

> Busy day at the construction site

> A happy present cake

> A very lovely elephant day

> Can oranges grin?

> Stars on trees

Anyone who's spent half a day with a toddler would be well acquainted with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

He chews and chomps his way through an impressive 10 different foods, teaching kids about numbers and the days of the week. 

        More kids' fun:

       > Hello there, Kitty!

       > Tanjoubi Omedetou, a Rilakkuma birthday

       > Never too much red with Elmo

       > Curious George (his distant friend rather!) cake pops

So when the request came for a Hungry Caterpillar cake, I jumped at the chance. 

And the caterpillar's long segmented body was perfect for a wavy line of cake pops.

Double Fun!

I begin with the fun parts (always!): cheery slices of
chocolate cake, apple, watermelon, strawberry, muffin, pear,
ice-cream and of course - a lollipop.

All with their signature holes.

Phew, that Caterpillar can put it away!

While the fondant pieces set,
I get the red velvet cake started

After 45 min in the oven, the batter loses its
bright red for a coat of rusty chocolate -
red velvet's signature color

Caterpillar's food meets red velvet cake - happiness.

Guess what these are? 

Bingo - cupcake toppers! Can never get
enough ice-cream. especially ON a cupcake.Thrilled to
find matching cupcake liners with ice-cream prints all over.

Sitting pretty in summer Caterpillar colors

All ready to meet the birthday boy's friends

Can't wait for my 11 month-old nephew to be old enough to meet the Hungry Caterpillar. They're both tubby and cheery, I'm sure they'll hit it off.

Sugar & spice

It's been a girly couple of weeks, filled with sugar and spice, and all things nice.

Little divas love being princesses for their birthdays, and big divas too - we had a mommy turning 60 with her sparkly best.

It's lovely making pretty dreams come true, and I wanted to share some of the pearly pops we made.

Never too old for sparkly birthdays

Ringing in 60!

Birthday mommy's full of life, lovin'
the spunky colors of life pink, red, purple!

The magic of 'pretty' - applicable and accepted all
across the world. Enquire with your favorite baker
for your very own 'pretty'.

Desserts: the perfect way to celebrate life

> Baked with love

> I love birthdays

Fairytale Princess

I made these little sweetheart cake pops for my physiotherapist's
daughter who was turning 4, and at that age when she wanted
EVERYTHING to be pink and pretty

She especially loved the teeny butterflies!

More pretty in pink desserts: 

> Sweet, sweet strawberries

> Pink rabbit cake pops

> Pony cake pops

Razzle Dazzle!

A forest of green & pink cake pops for a birthday princess

Behind the scenes: just half an hour before the
serene picture above - the unruly bunch running amok!

Jimmies, confetti, dragees, sprinkles &
pearls - the stuff of princess dreams

Sparkle, sparkle, toil & trouble... that's what little
girls get up to, especially on their birthdays

Read about A Very Lovely Elephant Day

Never stop dreaming everyone, never stop feeling like a princess, carry that sparkle through life!

Get on daddy's sweet side!

It's a myth that women like desserts more. 

According to our highly-reliable in-house research done in the Petite Pops kitchen, men have that same secret dessert compartment in their stomachs. 

They may scoff at us girls. But really, they have a space for dessert. Even after a full meal. 

That mysterious kangaroo dessert pouch exists. 

Even for men. 

Especially after they become daddies. 

So get on daddy's sweet side with our Father's Day bakes, leave the neckties and tool kits to the rest of them. 

> Click above mailer for clearer pop up

Related stories:

> A golf-y birthday

> Bicycle pops... challenge accepted!

> I love birthdays

> Sweet, sweet strawberries

Happy, Sweet Father's Day!

Hello there, Kitty

I'm not at all a fan of cats.

They strike fear in me. I don't know why...

Hello Kitty is probably the only exception to my lifelong nemesis.
Perhaps it's the lack of a mouth and fangs (yes, they DO look like fangs to me).

Her cute little red ribbon perched askew might have something to do with making her less feline scary, too.

Check out more of our red desserts:
> Sweet, sweet strawberries
> Rich red velvet cake
> Red Santa hats
> Poppin' red cherries, even the jackpot ones

Whatever the case, she's the only kitty I'm gonna be friends with.

Ever.

I drew inspiration from cake pop goddess Bakerella, with just a few minor modifications. She's got the most amazing imagination, and has the superhero power of visualizing uses for any piece of candy.

Start off with regular cake balls, shape them into ovals and flatten them a little.

Then it's off to the details:

Minute oval balls for her  black eyes and pert lil' yellow
nose - these were barely 1mm each, soooo teeny tiny!

Uh-oh... she has SIX whiskers each... that's a whole of
ant-sized rods to make by hand. I lost count of how
 many I broke along the way, they were so fragile.

Just make sure you make tons of extras, they'll break
every step of the way. Oh. and don't freak out if they're not
perfectly shaped, animal parts are never symmetrical anyways :)

I had these sweet little confetti hearts that
were perfect for her signature bow

A cheeky lil' Hello Kitty towel to top the birthday basket off

Mission completed - my kitty litter is born!

More character cake pops:
> Never too much red with Elmo around
> A Rilakkuma birthday
> Curious George... almost!