happy NEW YEAR

Mana re-opens on January 8, 2013...

Call 02.8919 0146 to make an appointment!

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Your Favorite Cakes of 2012

Am I the only one that thinks time is speeding up?
Doesn't it feel like every year seems to go by just a little faster? 
  
My personal life has seen some big changes this year, with my return to working full-time
...after being a stay-at-home mom for thirteen years!
Yep, I'm still trying to find the right balance. But there is always time for cake!

Watching the growth of Bird On A Cake has definitely been one my favorite parts of 2012!
It has been amazing to share and connect with all of you wonderful cake lovers. :)
Let's take a look at your Top 3 Favorite Posts from the past year, shall we?

 

 #3 - Perfectly Packaged Rose Cupcakes
Elegant, simple cupcakes that make perfect gifts!

 

#2 - Hummingbird Cake with Petal Tutorial

A delicious recipe + pretty decorating technique = awesomeness!

#1 - Rainbow Tie Dye Cake

 The popularity of this cake just astounds me...it's been viewed almost half a million times!!

Thank you SO much for all your support and sweet comments through the year!

You have made sharing my creations here an awesome experience, 
and I love bringing a little fun & sweetness into your life with my cakes.

Happy New Year!

Are you ready for lots more cakey goodness in 2013? I am!

More about → Your Favorite Cakes of 2012

Ring in the New Year with a Giveaway! {Closed}

Thank you all very much for visiting me and my little blog in 2012!

Congratulations to comment #42, Crissy! You have won the caddy!

I've seen my visitors increase more than 500% between December of 2011 and this past month. I can't believe it!

Photo courtesy wilton.com

I'm sorry, but this giveaway is closed.

To thank you, I'm going to give away, to one lucky reader this awesome Wilton Ultimate Rolling Caddy. I use mine for all of my Wilton classes, and it holds everything I need for all four courses. It's great. It has specifically-sized spots for everything: tips, coloring, rolling pins, spatulas. You can keep all of your decorating things in one place.

The retail value of this guy is $149!! (Please note, it does not come fully stocked. It comes empty- ready to fill with your decorating tools.)

Here's your how to enter and the fine print:
You have three chances to enter. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE MADE IN SEPARATE COMMENTS ON THIS POST ONLY.

#1- Leave a comment telling me: What are you most looking forward to for 2013??

#2- Let me know that you get my emails, or "like" me on Facebook, or are a "follower" of the blog.

#3- Share or link to this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (or all three), and let me know that you did so.

The Info:
This giveaway will be open until 6:00 am (Central Time) Monday, January 7, 2013.
I'm sorry, but it is only open to those U.S. Residents (because other countries have too many rules about giveaways) who are 18 years-old or older.
You must put your name (and email address) in your comments. I can't trace anonymous comments.
I will announce the winner - chosen by a 6-year-old pulling a number out of a hat - by noon the same day.

The Fine Print:
I bought this caddy myself, with my own money. No one gave me anything for this post.

*Note: I can't respond to comments left so that I don't throw off the numbers. And it may sometimes take a while for your comments to appear. I promise to moderate them as quickly as possible.

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And don't forget, if you shop at Amazon.com through my link, you support this blog and its contents. Thank you!

More about → Ring in the New Year with a Giveaway! {Closed}

a birthday and an anniversary

It is the time of the year again...

as the new year approaches, in just a few hours...

I gladly bid farewell to year 2012...

a year filled with wonderful memories and precious moments for me to treasure in years to come...

to mark the end of yet another year of baking and blogging, I will like to share with you this banana chocolate sponge cake.

I first saw this monkey cake a year ago when I was looking for a suitable birthday cake recipe for my son. However, back then, we were away from home, and even though the service apartment came fully equipped with an oven and basic baking tools, I wasn't gung ho enough to give this a try. I am glad that I went ahead to make it ten days ago, and it turn out to be the cake of the year (for me)!

Instead of the usual sponge cake, I baked a banana sponge cake for the layers. Recently, I have a reader who encountered some problem with this banana sponge cake recipe. I really admire her never give up attitude. Although I wish I could show her how I made this cake, but, I am no professional baker and I am certainly not qualified to give any advice especially since I have not even attended any baking class. The least I could do was to bake this banana sponge cake again so that I could at least revisit the steps to ensure I didn't mislead anyone with my instructions. The cake turned out well, with a nice golden browned crust, and soft and moist texture. I am quite certain that this reader has prepared the batter correctly, the only thing I could pinpoint would be the oven temperature, could the oven be too hot?? I understand how disappointing it is whenever I have to face a failed attempt. I sincerely hope she could get it right the next time, all the best!

My child was grinning from ear to ear when I presented the cake to him. Even though he was not born in the year of the monkey, he behaves pretty much like one ;)

The banana cake was so delicious with the chocolate ganache, the only downside was, the coco pops turned soft by the time I served it, and, it was really, too cute to eat, luckily it was quite an easy cake to put together.

Happy birthday to both my little munchkin and this humble blog of mine! It seems almost like yesterday when I went home with my baby boy on a Christmas day....and, it doesn't seems too long ago when I was pondering for a name for my blog. In reality it has already been six years since I published my very first post! I really hope I could still keep it going for another year or two...

or maybe three, or four years to come....

Here's wishing all of you a joyful new year!

And may your kitchen be filled with sweet memories and wonderful aroma of freshly home baked goodies, 

all year round!  

Banana Chocolate Monkey Cake

Ingredients:
(make one 7" round cake)

for sponge layer:
3 large eggs, room temperature
100g caster sugar (original recipe uses 150g)
3 large ripened bananas, cut into chunks
150g cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
80ml vegetable oil
20ml milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for chocolate ganache:
170g pouring cream (I used one can Nestle pouring cream)
170g semi sweet chocolate chips (or use any dark baking chocolate, coarsely chopped)

for peanut buttercream:
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
30g icing sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
about 1 tablespoon peanut butter jam (use more if necessary)

for decoration:
chocolate flavoured rice cereals (I used one mini pack 30g kellogs coco pops)
2 regular size chocolate chips
1 large cookie


Method:

to make sponge cake:

1. Grease (with butter) and flour sides of a 7" deep round pan (Note: original recipe calls for an 8" pan), line the base with parchment paper.
2. Sieve together cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sieve the flour mixture twice and set it aside.
3. Place vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, set aside.
4. Place eggs, caster sugar and bananas in a large mixing bowl. With an electric whisk, whisk the mixture at Low speed for a few seconds (to break up the bananas). Change to medium-high speed, and whisk the mixture till it becomes thick, pale and triple in volume. This should take around 7 to 8 mins. The batter should leave a ribbon like trail when the paddle is lifted. Test by lifting up the whisk/paddle, and draw an '8' with the batter. The number should stay for a few seconds. Turn to Low speed again, and beat for another 2 mins. This is to stablise the air bubbles in the batter. (Note: do not over beat the batter...it is not a good thing if the '8' doesn't disappear.)
5. Sieve over the flour mixture in 3 separate additions. Each time Fold In the flour carefully with a Spatula, making sure there is no pockets of flour being trapped at the bottom of the bowl. Do not stir the batter with the spatula, it will cause the batter to deflate too much.
6. Pour a small portion (less than 1/3) of the batter into the mixing bowl in Step 3. Fold in with the spatula until the oil mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
7. Pour the mixture in Step 6 back into the rest of the batter (Step 5).
8. Fold in the batter with the spatula making sure the mixture is well combined. (By now the batter could be deflated by about 20% or so as compared to Step 4).
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, the pan should be about 75% to 80% full (Note: original recipe uses an 8" round pan, I baked extra batter in two muffin paper cups) .
10. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degC for 40-45mins or longer until the surface turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (The edges of the cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.) Remove from oven, unmold (slide a thin bladed knife along the sides of the pan) and leave to cool (inverted) on a cooling rack.

to make chocolate ganache:

• Place cream and chocolate chips (or chopped chocolates) in a bowl. Set it over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl is big enough to sit over the saucepan).
• Stir the mixture gently with a spoon till the chocolate melts and mixture becomes smooth. Remove from the bowl from the saucepan. Use immediately.

to make peanut buttercream:

• Beat unsalted butter with an electric whisk in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add icing sugar, continue to beat until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. Add milk beat till smooth. Add peanut butter (gradually so as to adjust to the desired colour tone, use more peanut butter if necessary) and beat till smooth.

to assemble:

• Make a simple piping bag with parchment paper (refer here for instructions). Fill the piping bag with about 1 tablespoon of chocolate ganache, set aside.
• Slice the banana sponge cake horizontally into three layers. Place a layer of sponge cake on a cake board. 
• Spoon about 4 heaped tablespoons of the chocolate ganache onto the surface. Spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat with the second layer of sponge cake. Place the third layer and spoon the remaining ganache over the top and spread it over to the sides. Smooth the surface with the spatula. 
• On the cake surface, draw/outline the shape of the face of a monkey with a toothpick. Spread the peanut buttercream on the surface. Smooth the surface evenly. Place two chocolate chips (upside down) on the face to make the eyes. Pipe nose and mouth with the piping bag. 
• Pat the chocolate rice cereal/coco pops on the chocolate frosting. Cut cookie in half and place the halves on each side of the cake for ears. (Note: as the coco pops will turn soft, I will like to suggest to frost the cake as close to serving time as possible.) Store any leftovers in fridge.

Recipe source: monkey cake adapted from here; banana sponge cake adapted from here.

More about → a birthday and an anniversary

Live Fit Phase 3

Last year I started the Live Fit 12 Week Trainer and saw really great results after completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 (the first 8 weeks), then I had a leg injury that prevented me from completing the last phase.  Also, I had gotten pretty lean in the first 8 weeks, so I felt okay waiting to finish.

To recap, here are some pics of the first 8 weeks, unfortunately I didn't get pictures of each week so these are the only ones I have to share.  (Isn't it amazing how much better we can look with a tan?) 

Now that I'm all healed, I'm starting Phase 3, the last 4 weeks of the Live Fit Trainer.  The last phase focuses on high intensity interval training (HIIT) for maximum fat burning while maintaining the muscle you've gained.  Also, there is "carb cycling" to help reduce fat.  Because I'm already pretty lean and don't want to get too much leaner, I will probably continue eating the way I did during weeks 1-8, that is, every 3-4 hours, with "cheat meals" on the weekends and maybe a couple pieces of dark chocolate after dinner.  I will reduce my sugar and caffeine intake, so I'll report back on how that goes.

I copied the information below straight from the Live Fit website so you can see an overview of the final phase of the program.  

* * * * * 

*My calorie range was 1230-1530.  Go HERE to calculate your calories.

I use Myfitnesspal.com to track my food (calories, carbs, protein and fat).  

THE WORKOUTS

Are you doing the Live Fit Trainer?  I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments below!  If you're doing another program, please let us know about that too.  

More about → Live Fit Phase 3

Meridian: Age of Invention

Experience the wonder of discovery as you rebuild a crumbling kingdom in Meridian: Age of Invention, an innovative time and resource management game! To renovate rundown villages, you'll have to hire workers, scour for resources, repair infrastructure, provide food and other services, engage in trade and create machines that will make life easier for the people. To win a gold trophy on each level, you'll have to use your ingenuity to figure out the quickest way to gather resources and complete your other tasks. As you travel through lush grasslands, arid deserts and a village built on the sea, your guide will be Professor Cardano, an eccentric but brilliant inventor. Along the way, you'll meet many other zany characters, all of whom have their own dreams you can make come true. Endlessly imaginative, visually stunning and accessible to players of every skill level, Meridian: Age of Invention will take you to a time and place you'll never want to leave!

Game Size 254 MB

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OR

Screenshots:

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

Recommended for free users: Use Jdownloader to increase download speed!

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Cake Decorating Classes in 2013

You all know that my "real job" is teaching cake decorating classes, right?? This whole blog thing is just my way of sharing some of my favorite recipes and ideas.

Photo Courtesy TwinCities.com

Come join me for a class in 2013. Learn something new. Have a little fun!
Click Here to Read More>>

More about → Cake Decorating Classes in 2013

Getting Fit in the New Year

Hi all!  I hope you had a beautiful Christmas and are ready to ring in the new year!  Many of us have set fitness goals for ourselves and there's no time like the new year to start turning your goals into reality and your plans into action.

If you want to get yourself and your family healthier in the new year, this blog is for you. :)  Last year, I wrote about Getting Started Getting Fit, Making Time to Workout, Time Management Routines, and Waking Up Early to Workout, all of which will help get you started and on your way to a more fit lifestyle.  (Click the photo below to read the entire post).

I've also posted my most current workout routine, the Live Fit 12 Week Trainer.  As the name suggests, it's a 3 month program that provides specific details about what to eat and when, the workouts to do, and proper supplementation.  I completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 last year and am starting Phase 3 now.  I'll share that last part of the program with you later this week.

                            

                          

If you're looking for healthy recipes, click on "FOOD" under my blog header.  You can start your morning with Protein Pancakes (my son requests them quite frequently) or a Breakfast Egg Sandwich. 

To see how I prepare 10 meals in advance so they're ready to go for a quick lunch or dinner, you can read Food Preparation Day and then try out my favorite Tex Mex dish (it's made with extra lean ground turkey and is delicious!).  Making meals in advance is the only way I can guarantee that I eat real home-cooked (not processed or pre-packaged) food every four hours.  My Protein Brownies are a yummy snack with only about 100 calories.  And I'm sure we can all start drinking more clean water.  To make your water more fun, why not keep some Spa Water on hand? 

                            

                               

Finally, I'm so thankful to have contributing food writer Jennifer of The Chronicles of Home bringing you healthy recipes every other Thursday.  I especially love her food photography- so pretty!  Check out her Butternut Squash & Lobster Risotto, Black Beans & Rice with Apple Slaw, and Multigrain Buttermilk Pancakes.

                              

To FOLLOW Honey We're Healthy, go HERE.

To FOLLOW me on PINTEREST, go HERE.

   

More about → Getting Fit in the New Year

Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena

In Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena, archeologist Samantha Swift has stumbled upon one of the greatest archeological finds in our lifetime! Sam`s quest to piece together the mystery and artifacts of the Roses of Athena is not without obstacles - she`ll have to use her keen eyesight to pick out clues, while she out-wits the greedy treasure hunter, Ravena Stryker in this hidden object adventure!
Updated!

Game Size 105 MB

OR

OR

Screenshots:

Games Of This Series:

Have fun and feel free to leave your comments!

Recommended for free users: Use Jdownloader to increase download speed!

More about → Samantha Swift and the Hidden Roses of Athena