Crissa's Cake Corner!: Classic Pooh Cake & Macarons

It has been an absolutely crazy weekend, one that pushed my fridge capacity, challenged my time management skills and tested my ability to function without sleep. It was a record-breaking week in which I had one too many orders and is most definitely not-sustainable as a single baker operation. My problem is I always have trouble saying no, because I know how hard it is to find a baker that can do customized cakes with only a few weeks notice, and also because I do not want to disappoint my dessert table stylist partners and loyal supporters.

Classic Pooh Cake*

So last Wednesday, it dawned on me that I wasn't going to survive the weekend without investing in another fridge. I hopped onto Carousell, found a suitable one for sale, and boom, I had a brand "new" fridge by Thursday afternoon! At least one my problems were solved. ;)

fave Pooh characters

So, day by day, sleeping in the wee morning hours and back at it again the next day for 16 hours straight, I managed to bake and make each and every birthday persons' cake and desserts that I had committed to for the week. By Sunday, I was getting migraines and was really edgy and irritable from lack of sleep. But that's the point. Caking is my passion. And I'm happy to lose sleep to create special cakes and desserts for special celebrations! (Don't ask me to willingly stay up all night for a week to inspect vessels during a plant turnaround or de-bottleneck a hydrocracker.) Having said that, I will be taking it a little easy next week, so I don't get "caked-out" ;D

laid back and relaxing*

Anyway, long spiel later, my last delivery for this weekend was this sweet, pastel coloured Classic Pooh cake. This cake was actually suppose to be for last Sunday, but the birthday boy unfortunately fell ill and had to be hospitalized, so his celebration was pushed back by one week. I am so glad that he made a speedy and complete recovery. My schedule was already jam-packed but I just had to accommodate the change in date and make the cake for him! Didn't want him or his mummy to be disappointed.

fondant grass in the making

A couple of Decembers ago, I got to make the birthday boy's parents' wedding cake and desserts! It's nice to be able to "grow" together and be able to make a cake for the next milestone in their lives - the celebration of their first born's birthday!

The Pooh cake is two tiers of the ever-popular Devil's food cake, filled with whipped dark chocolate ganache.

hello Pooh's bum! ;P

view from the side

I actually found Classic Pooh characters much easier to make than traditional Pooh because they are more "rustic". Just need to get the colours and the general features right, and boom, you've got Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and Heffalump! The in-between pastel & bright shades of colours were a little challenge to mix, but I love the overall tones!

love those little beeeez!*

don't forget Piglet's stripes*

Heffalump and Tigger

Eeyore in the headlights. Haha.

The cake design is originally by Sweet Things in Toronto (whooo! Canada!), which was the design requested by the birthday boy's mummy. I tried my best do to this cake justice.

cute little hunny pots*

My fave part of the cake are the little bees "flying" all around. The dotted lines drawn on the wires (with food markers) on the bees hovering above the cake really add that bit of whimsy to the cake! I had to think twice if the cake was going to be ok with the bees stuck into the cake during transport, so I jiggled the box a bit to see if there was anything funny happening. But, everything looked solid, so I transported the cake fully assembled with all the toppers on, and it was a smooth, event-free 40 minute journey to the east!

hovering fondant bees*

Along with the cake, I also got to make three and half dozen macarons, in coordinating colours with the cake. The macarons were filled with smoked salted caramel, dark chocolate ganache and lemon meringue.

macarons drying*

smoked salted caramel, dark chocolate ganache & lemon meringue*

The Classic Pooh cake went on this lovely dessert table, put together by With A Pinch of Salt café. I love all the blue on the table, since it's my fave colour! The different heights of the display stands and small details really makes for an interesting and pleasant dessert table arrangement, rather than packing the table with quantity.