Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Great Opportunity : A Challenge to Prove My Skill

Ok, so i had this crazy idea last Friday (Jan 16, 2009). I thought of making about 3 dozen cupcakes ala Valentine's Day look. This was like an introduction and at the same time, advertisement so I get to book orders from my officemates before Valentine's Day. And of course, another excuse for me to bake in my little kitchen and give it to my friends who are forever asking for a (another) sample of my works.

So, last December, I received this great recipe book from a friend. It was a totally great book because there are recipes on how to make fondant icing, chocolate ganache, buttercream icing, and the best chocolate cake (so far) I have made. I was (and still am) totally grateful to Chai for it!

Anyway, I brought them at the office & with God's blessing, I was able to get a few orders. 2 box of cupcakes from TL Joan Cavan, 2 boxes from Madam Arlyn, 5 boxes from Jen, 1 valentine's cake & leche flan (custard) from Dessa. Here are the cupcakes that I made that day...


Php 165.00 / box (8 cuppies)

But the best part is yet to come. I gave one to my TL and he suggested to give one to Ms. Joanne Rivera, our Account Manager. Hmm.. not a bad idea, BUT I went totally shy and said so. So my TL (Ritchie) and Dessa escorted me to Ms. Grace's workstation (near Ms. Rivera's station) strategically first and then offered one to Ms. Rivera after Ms. Grace took one and ate it. Ms. Rivera suddenly said she's going to order. (OMG!) She ordered 40 cupcakes! It was for Mr. Jeremy Lim's birthday, I believe one of the oldest and most respected Account Managers in the office, this coming Tuesday night. Came Monday, I already baked & decorated the cupcakes in advance. The next day my previous TL, Ms. Elle Genosolango, ordered a cake. At first, she wanted a chocolate cake with a heart-shaped icing on top. Later, she called me and asked me to make the biggest possible cake I could make! Of course, I was excited! I almost choked and for a second, forgot to give her an answer . A big cake for Mr. Lim! I agreed immediately. She wanted all chocolate, with blue icing, and a MAC icon on top of the cake. It took me the whole day to finish it. I was only able to sleep for 2 hours and then got ready to go to the office and deliver them. The real suspense came. I was waiting.

Later, an hour before my shift ended, Mr. Jeremy Lim approached me and thanked me for the cake. Oh, I almost forgot that I wrote him a letter thanking him for hiring me last 2006. He was the last interviewer at that time (after the nth interview for the week) and asked me about networking. He told me that he remembered that interview with me. Oh, joy! I was really thanking God for everything. *whew!* What a day.

To God be the glory and honor for the success of this day. I am sure it wouldn't be possible without Him. So I thank you, Lord for being always kind to me. You are always there, faithful, and true. =)

Oh, here are the sweets, guys! Hope you like 'em!

P.S. Thanks Ms. Elle & Ms. Rivera for the orders! You really gave me the opportunity and the challenge to make this a very good cake. I was able to prove myself as a cake decorator and baker. Hope to get more orders like these!

I would also like to thank Zybone because he assisted me in everything. He made the MAC MMFondant icon, the box to put the cakes in. Of course, washing the equipments and cleaning up my kitchen. *grin*

7 comments:

  1. Hello! I'm Halley. I love your cake, it looks so chocolatey.. by the way, I'd just like to ask, what's your trick in making your chocolate icing pipable? I've been trying to make a glossy, chocolate icing like the ones in goldilocks but I can't make it thick enough to pipe borders with it. I've tried several recipes online but most of them turned out starchy or sugary. It actually frustrated me until I decided to just get over with it. Until I browsed your blog today, and am curious as to how you did it. I hope you can help me out with this. Thanks! :)

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  2. Hi, Haley! I had this same problem before and I am sorry for the late reply.

    I used two kinds of recipes to make a chocolate ganache.

    Chocolate Icing :
    50g Dark Chocolate
    25g butter
    3 teaspoons icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

    *Put chocolate & butter in a small heatproof bowl or the stainless steel bowls we use in the kitchen. There should be another bowl or pan with simmering water in it to place your bowl of chocolate&butter on it. Stir until mixture is smooth & melted. Slowly add the sifted icing sugar/confectioner's sugar, stirring until icing is smooth.

    ==========================================

    Ganache
    200g dark chocolate, chopped (or any chocolate you'd like to use - sweet, bittersweet, dark)
    200g butter

    *Put chocolate and butter in a pan.
    *Put the pan over low heat & melt them while stirring until smooth.
    *Remove from heat & stir until spreadable.

    NOTES :
    **You can use this for piping.
    **Add more icing sugar if you think it is too soft to hold it's shape.
    **Make sure that you do not overheat the chocolate or let any steam/water/liquid to come in contact with it or else the chocolate becomes unworkable.
    **Oil-based flavorings are best to work with chocolate because it combines with it.

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  3. Hello! Thanks for your reply. Can I use cocoa as an alternative for chocolate? -Halley

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  4. I haven't tried it yet but you can use the usual buttercream recipe and put cocoa in it. To make it stiffer, just add more icing sugar. To make it a bit softer, add a teaspoon of milk.

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  5. u're welcome judz! karon ra nako na basa ni.. hehehe =)

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