Hanni Collection

Mini Cakes with Roses Inspired From A Cath Kidston Design

My mum and my sisters are all big fans of Cath Kidston. Name it- from diaries to log books, tote, table cloth, tea towel, shopping bag, handbangs, clutch, purse and even holiday bags- they collect them all (the original ones, of course). Now that there are many Cath Kidston imitations products from China, they can collect even the rarest item!

So, with that inspiration in mind, I came out with this mini cake for an engagement gift. I had lots of fun throughout the process. Partially because I’m familiar with the theme and have all the equipment in hands, and mainly because  I got to play with the colours that I love!

I decided to go with the 5 petals roses because they are a lot easier compared to the 9-3-5 version. Basically, I uses 3 different sizes of the 5-petals cutter to achieve the sort-of full bloom roses. The roses weren’t that beautiful before being dusted. I used a few different dusting colours until I was satisfied with the roses. One important tips I learnt about dusting is you have to wait until they have fully dried and harden. It’s a lot easier to mix the colours.

I personally think that it’s best to have the actual flower or picture in front of you when dusting. That way you can refer to the different shades or layers of colour. Initially, this was the final look of the miniature cakes. Somehow, I feel that something is lacking and couldn’t resist piping the dots on the cake. So below is the final look that I came out with.

Stunning aren’t they?



Excuse me for the post title. I couldn’t resist myself. Aren’t they gorgeous? And they are my first too!! My first ever peonies gum paste, and I’m totally rocking it! Hahaha ..

Anyway, this peony, or should I say these gorgeous peonies (vain, I know, but I can’t help it! :*), were made some time ago..can’t exactly remember when. The client requested for a clean and solid cake with only white and gold colour. They didnt specify any type of flower, but I knew instantly that peonies would suit the theme perfectly. And I’m very pleased with the decision made.

I was quite nervous doing them as I had never make one before. Honestly, I get nervous very easily when I’m not familiar with the task. It took me longer than normal flowers or roses to complete the peonies. Not only I had to make sure the peony looked like a normal acceptable sugar peony, I had to come out with a clean and solid one too! Alhamdulilah, I somehow managed my way through it and completed the flowers…Wait for the final cake, I almost cried looking at it. It was, is, sooo cool!

Hydrangeas are a must in all my cakes, and no exception in this one too. To add to the elegant and classical theme, I added the white royal icing stencil. I know there are a lot that I need to work on and improve, but I couldn’t help admiring my own work. Haa! And I’m itching to make another one exactly like this

I’m sssoo loving the hydrangeas. They are live savers! Trust me

Close-up view of the final cake. A few ‘cacat’ stencil, was so nervous applying them.

All in all, it was a really refreshing experience and definitely the beginning of many more peonies to come ..And I’m working hard to improve my stenciling skill too. It may look easy, but it certainly isnt. In case you’re wondering, the petals are there to cover some cracks on the cake

My first try at macaron~ing. Haa!

Macarons are currently the in-thing in Malaysia. If you step in ANY cafe or bakery around KL, you would definitely find them of the shelf or display rack. The bright and vibrant colours are their major attraction. The taste? I leave it to you to decide. If you have super-sweet tooth, you will like it. If you’re not one, then you would probably want to try it only once, or maybe twice .

Personally, I love  macarons on my first bite. But sometimes, the too-sweet taste makes me feel light headed. Having said that, I could have a few in one go if the filling compliments and conceals the  too-sweet taste. Not wanting to be left hand, I decided to try making them. Honestly, I’ve tried making them before and was very, truly disappointed. They turned out nothing like macarons, and the tttttoooo sweet taste was a major disaster. So, I decided that the experience didn’t count as a first try!

So, this is my OFFICIAL first try!

Not to bad isn’t it? Despite the ‘pimples’ and ‘crooked leg’, they are passable to be called macarons right?

I decided not to go with bright colours, afraid that people around me won’t feel ’safe’ to consume the macarons. So, pastel it is. As for the filling, normal and less experimental ones like peanut butter, chocolate ganache and vanilla are the best in my opinion. So, I came out with these

Wicked, aren’t they?

Coming soon, my second try!

These miniature cakes are inspired from the garden theme cupcakes and the rolled ribbon roses mini cakes. They were for my cousins engagement. Truth is, he requested for the 3R mini cakes but I couldn’t find the time to roll the roses. The last two weeks (this week included) was the most crazy ever! With my older sister flying to Southampton for a few months, my youngest sister starting her new job, my mom hurting her back, and datelines for the orders queuing side by side,  it was indeed very hectic weeks. Alhamdullilah, despite all that, I managed to get all things sorted out and make my clients happy

The theme for the engagement was … emm the wasn’t any theme actually. I was free to come out with any cake, any design that I have in mind. Having only a day and a half to complete the miniature cakes, I decided to do a simple decoration but still has that sweet look. Less is more, right?

Anyway, I couldn’t decide on the background. Does orange with white polka look better?

Or this one with white and small roses?

The mini cakes are fruit cakes with strawberry glaze, wrapped in vanilla flavoured fondant. Here are some close up views of the cakes.

And luckily, I managed to snap some photos of the cakes on the fully decorated ‘hantaran’ tray, seconds before they were transported to my aunt’s house.

…and yup, my favourite picture. The mini cakes with bite size hat cookies!

Double the taste, double the glam-ness! haha

I’ve got some nice and close-up pictures of the hat cookies..will be posting them soon, ya!

Happy viewing!

I’ve always wanted to have a go at rolled ribbon rose (what a tongue twister! :p) fondant since I have trouble doing a real looking rose without all the petals going places. I’m not a very patient person, especially when it comes to handling crafty stuff. However, when I came across a tutorial by CakeJournal, I thought of how cute  the roses would look like on a cake. Even better, on a miniature cake! Cute little roses on cute miniature cake, and they have to be pink!

An opportunity came when my uncle’s client requested for a miniature cake for ‘hantaran’. And guess what, the theme is pink and purple! One lucky fella coz when I got the combination that I like, I don’t mind going the extra miles even at a slightly lower price.  Hehe .

The first few ribbon roses that I made were a bit too pastel colour (the one at the top left corner), so I decided to make a few more shades of colours until I got the combination that I wanted.  So the result was this.

This was before I added any leaves and dots on the cake.

Honestly, I didn’t have any idea how the end product should look like. And I never settled on one, IF I have one. I just knew I wanted to have rolled ribbon roses as the toppers and that’s all. But as I worked on the roses, flashes of images  and ideas (wwaaa, now I sounded like a real artist! hah!) came to mind and I slowly geared my work to suit the different ideas.

So, this is how the cakes looked like at the end. I wish I could come out with better looking and decent ribbon roes. But considering that this was my first time ever doing a ribbon roses,  I’ll let it pass. hehe

Have a go at this ribbon roses! They’re easy to make and you don’t need to be too careful or mindful whether you’ve gotten the right size, the right length whatever.  As the name suggested, just roll them and you’ll get the roses  (“,)