back to baking

I just got back from vacation- I spent a week in beautiful Nassau, lying on the beach and exploring the city every day :) It was heavenly. Now it's back to baking time! Here is a cake I had forgotten to post last month- a Christmas cake for a family gathering. I was unsure of how to go about drawing the lion, and in the end, instead of attempting to cut it out in fondant, I used red buttercream with a small star tip to achieve the shape as well as some texture and height.

Vanilla cake layered with vanilla bean buttercream and strawberries

And voila my first cake of 2012, a chocolate cake layered in chocolate and decorated in chocolate! The birthday boy is a huge fan of milk chocolate, so of course I put in as much as I possibly could! The cake was a big success with all the guests.

Dark chocolate cake with milk chocolate chips, layered in a milk
chocolate ganache and decorated with dark chocolate curls and Crisperles 

Holiday madness

This was my first December as an "established" pastry artist. I was pleased to have gotten 6 orders for the holidays... spanning 5 days! Not an easy feat. I was so anxious that I would be missing my family dinner in Ottawa! Alas, 4 full days of baking and decorating later, I was able to put down my tools and enjoy the holidays for a few hours. Here are my holiday (and a birthday) creations :)

Paris-Brest

Pâte à choux with a praline mousseline for an office Christmas party. Apparently it was a huge hit! 

50th birthday

Used my Cricut Cake for the first time! I was very happy with the results- there is no way
I could have ever cut out that shape with such precision

Vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream for a surprise 50th birthday party

Christmas cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes with English vanilla buttercream

Holly on a mountain of snow

Snowflakes and pearls

SO cute- love this one

Chocolate overdose

Vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream and lots of dark chocolate curls

Christmas logs

Chocolate cake with English vanilla buttercream, covered in a chocolate glaze,
decorated with fondant holly and meringue mushrooms

Stay tuned for my last cake of 2011, and a few NYE desserts :) Happy holidays everyone!

the cupcakes I couldn't eat

This year for my boyfriend's birthday, I wanted to switch up his regular favourites (carrot cake and cheesecake) and do something completely different. I found a recipe for maple bacon cupcakes (yup.. bacon) and just had to try them.  Like a typical guy, he loves meat and so would probably freak out over bacon in his cupcakes! I used a recipe I found online but made many changes to it- the batter as is just wasn't right.  My baking skills proved to be sharp when the cupcakes came out of the oven all risen, spongy and moist :) I made a maple buttercream that is to die for, and decorated with a few grains of flour de sel and a piece of bacon. Since I'm a veggie, I couldn't taste them, but they sure did smell good! I got great feedback about them at the party, people telling me it was a surprisingly great combination of salty and sweet. I'd definitely say success for a first time recipe :)

Weddings and thank you's

Here are a couple of my most recent cakes. The first is a wedding cake that I made at school in my decorating class. I made the sketch last semester in my drawing class and had to bring the cake to life last week. It was very simple, but my goal was to make it so, with clean lines and sparse decorations. I was very pleased with the final result, including the look it gave with the columns (it was my first cake using them!). Due to some unfortunate circumstances at school, I was unable to bring it home to share with my family and friends, but at least I snapped a few good pics while I could! Enjoy :)

The product of 6 hours of work!

Also last week, I made a cake for one of my old high school teachers, and the coordinator of Student Council. The kids in Student Council came up with some ideas for the cake and I designed the rest. The cake was pretty big, feeding about 60 people. I received many compliments as I delivered it, and I think some of the teachers were surprised to find out I now study in this field! :)

Various SC committees and events piped in different fonts

SC logo cut out from fondant and outlined in royal icing 

The final product :)

Mo Cupcakes, please!

This year I participated in Movember, a fundraising and awareness campaign for prostate cancer. No, I did not grow a moustache :P Instead, I raised money by soliciting donations and organizing a Mo Cupcake bake sale! As soon as I posted this idea on Facebook, people immediately responded with their orders. It was so popular that I had to stop accepting orders 3 days after I initially posted the event! With a whooping 234 cupcakes ordered, I had A LOT to organize. Timing, ingredient requirements, freezer space, pick-ups, etc. It was manageable but I definitely had to stay organized along the way. Overall, the sale went great! I didn't lose my mind baking for an entire day, nor while making 5 kg of buttercream :) All the cupcake orders were picked up last Sunday, without a hitch. I am proud to announce that I raised a total of $598 from Mo Cupcakes!!! Knowing the positive response I got with this fundraiser, I will definitely use my baking skills to raise money for other charitable causes in the future :)

Here are a few pictures of the process!

I had 7 cupcake carriers FULL of cupcakes! 

A portion of the chaos that was pick-up day 

Dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and fondant moustaches!

As if desserts weren't enough... pre-desserts!

This semester at school is very different in how it's set up as compared to first semester. In first semester, we mostly worked individually, so as to practice our skills and learn to organize ourselves. This semester is quite the contrast; always working in teams, we have more of a business perspective in our baking projects. Our first group presentation was "petits fours", bite-sized desserts that are typically served in assortments for dessert, a fancy luncheon, or a tea. Unfortunately I did not have my camera on the day of the presentation so I will post the pictures as soon as they are sent to me.
[This is where I got the name for my blog obviously :) Translated to Emily's little oven.. I guess it is little when you compare it to industrial sized ovens!]

Our second presentation was "pre-desserts". Yep, literally desserts served before the actual dessert, in order to allow the client to taste a variety of the chef's specialties or seasonal items. Honestly, I've never been to a restaurant that serves pre-desserts. They're usually found in really trendy, expensive restaurants, as they are gratis! Pre-desserts are typically served in "verrines", small glass cups that allow you to see all of its individual components. This being the first time I had worked on verrines, I was pretty pleased with our results.

left: rhubarb-strawberry compoté with a shortbread crumble and milk
chocolate mousse with a chocolate-dipped strawberry

lemon poundcake with raspberry compoté and lemon mousse

white chocolate panna cotta, cherry gelée and pistachio mousse with
a white chocolate and pistachio biscotti

my fave! candied ginger pudding with lemon madeleines and caramel decorations 

coconut rice pudding and lychee "spring rolls" with a honey ginger sauce

mascarpone cream with honey-caramelized pears and pecans with
dark chocolate decorations

Algerian sweet couscous, cooked in honey and mixed with dried dates, dried
apricots and roasted pistachios

our table presentation! 

Emily Chin Cakes is going international!

...well not exactly! hahah i did however, receive a cake order all the way from Amsterdam! a friend's family noticed my cakes on Facebook and contacted me to make their daughter's birthday cake (who lives in montreal of course). we decided on a chocolate and vanilla marbled cake with marzipan decorations. i delivered the cake on the afternoon of her birthday and she was totally surprised! and very, very happy :)

"van <3e" is the slang way to say happy birthday in dutch!

modelled after the birthday girl's pet bunny