What's Smart Baking?

1. Simple baking
This starts from the recipe. There shouldn’t a tedious 20 ingredients list or steps to get to the final product. Having to plough through every supermarket aisle to buy ingredients then prepare and weigh 20 ingredients is quite a task. If it takes more than 10 steps to get to the final product, it’s too complicating...the chances of me baking this recipe more than twice will be minute. It’s definitely more enjoyable to bake recipes that are deliciously simple and fast.

2. Blissful baking
We don’t always have to leave a trail of mess or an overflowing sink after baking. There are many tricks in my chef hat to make baking enjoyable and hassle free. I love sharing shortcuts, tips and smart ideas on how to make baking a breeze. Being able to enjoy the process of baking makes it a ‘sustainable hobby’.

3. Healthy baking
This is me in my nutritionist mode- I love collecting recipes that taste fabulous and doesn’t go straight to the hips. That’s why i spend loads of time ‘discerning’ then creating healthier version of many all time favourites. I will share many of these ‘healthier’ recipes in my workshops.
I simply have to spread this love!

Smart Baking Demo and Hands-on workshops are held on most weekends.
Demo workshops will include:
- demo of 2-4 recipes
- recipe handouts
- tasting of final product and drinks to enjoy your treat with
- a sweet treat to bring home

Hands-on workshops will include:
- demo of 2-3 recipes
- quality ingredients, equipment and recipe handouts
- group hands-on session
- tasting of final product and a freshly brewed cuppa to enjoy your treats with
- tupperware because there’ll be some treats to bring home

If you need to more info about the workshops, pls email me at sylvia_kang@hotmail.com
Here are some pictures of the actual bake-site, it’s air-conditioned and fully equipped for Smart baking!

Naughty Cakes

The "Bare' Stage


'Top down' view


Side view


Frontal view


Here's happy Keith, dressed in his smart office attire and fixing my pipes


I’m happy to share about my naughty cakes. Some cakes are ‘naughty by nature’ (ie; high in calories) and some just looks naughty.

This Bikini Birthday cake was customised for my interior designer Keith. What can i say...cheeky cakes for cheeky mates ;)

I first started with making a basic chocolate sponge that’s moist and firm enough for sculpting. I have the chocolate sponge sandwiched with lush dark chocolate ganache and placed in the fridge to get ready for ‘carving’ (chilled cakes are easier to carve). The torso is ‘carved’ out from a cake baked in a square tin and the ‘assets’ are carved from round bottom moulds. I used simple white non-dairy whipped frosting to ice the cake as Keith has pretty strong objections on icing the ‘body’ with dark chocolate ganache... he prefers ‘white’ babes.

There are others ways to cover the cake, for example marzipan or gum paste which have a dough-like consistency and can be rolled to a thickness ideal for covering the cake. The bikini is made with whipped cream icing tainted with pink colour and ‘laced’ with colourful silver beads.





This other cake is a 2 tier chocolate mud cake made for a children’s party. I think the unwritten rule for all children cake is that it has gotta be colourful and captivating. I have carefully placed chocolate Hersey kisses, walnuts and sugar beads sparsely around the cake just before the dark chocolate ganache sets. It’s such a simple deco but the result is awesome.
Any new baker can deco the cake in less than 5 minutes, no worries!

The 1st Smart baking workshop

I conducted the 1st official Smart baking workshop last Saturday. We had a great time baking all things chocolate.

The aroma of dark chocolate mud cake and brownies filled the entire kitchen, i guess that's why everyone of us ladies felt a sense of serenity and bliss. All of us enjoyed the stress-free baking and some of us even have time to strike a pose for some photos.

Once the treats were out of the oven, we enjoyed them with a cuppa. What a heartwarming day!

Let the pictures do the talking...

Smart baking workshops anyone?

Calling all friends, cake lovers, budding bakers and domestic goddess-wannabes!
Join me for relaxing & fun baking. Learn to make gorgeous treats such as ice-cream cakes, Mud cakes or chocolate fudges and mousse cakes in less than 2.5 hours!
All workshops are conducted in small groups so you’ll receive all the guidance you need. Well the aim is not to load you with many tedious or complicated techniques but for you enjoy stress-free smart baking!

September 29th
(i) Fudgy brownies
(ii) Mini chocolate mud cake
(iii) Basic chocolate coating for cakes
You wouldn't believe how simple these recipes are, i've made sure that it's absolutely fail proof. The only skill needed here is 'Stirring'!

October 6th
(i) French Apple cake
(ii) Fruity Sugee cake
(iii) Basic fruit cooking
These 2 cakes are traditional favourites! Learn to cook fruits and add into the recipes so that we can 'indulge with a cause'. Light in texture but heavy on taste, it's perfect to enjoy these treats with a cuppa.

October 13th
(i) Rich chocolate mousse
(ii) Caramel crunch (cake deco / garnish)
(iii) Dark chocolate crunch cups
These simple recipes are perfect for a party. 30 minutes is all you need to ‘melt’ some hearts, so you'll have plenty of time to relax and dress up for your dinner party. It's definitely a keeper for any 'domestic goddess' wannabe!

Do email me for details and more info on Nov and Dec workshops. It's gonna be exciting as we'll be baking lavendar cream puffs, 'alcoholic' ice-cream cakes, scones, 'deliteful' Christmas cakes etc!

Hang on! I think you should know that all classes are conducted in a comfy air-con kitchen and includes;

• loads of fun of course!
• demo and recipe handouts
• quality ingredients and equipment
• group hands-on session
• a warm cuppa to enjoy your treats with
• tupperware (because there'll be treats to bring home)!
  
  Bake with you soon!

"Life is still sweet without sugar"

I recently worked with a client who requested for me to create pastry or dessert recipes that doesn't call for sugar or honey. For a minute or two, i thought it's almost 'mission impossible'. Sugar has a significant role in the 'success' of any pastry or cake. It gives the cake a moist and fluffy texture, the bread a nice tan after baking and most importantly sweet bliss for all dessert lovers. I eliminated almost 99% of all my recipe collection and was left with not many recipes to choose from... I'm sharing my 'incredible' 4 recipes here. The secret is using ingredients that already contain natural sugar, so addition sugar is not necessary.

Caramelized apple tart is the easiest to bake. All you need to do is to brush some margarine and apricot jam on the sliced apples and bake them for about 10 minutes in a hot oven. Serve with a crisp puff pastry.

The chocolate banana bread & butter pudding is my favourite. Rather than adding sugar into the custard mixture, i add sweetness by throwing in some sliced bananas and chocolate chips, and coat the bread with a layer of chocolate spread before baking. The custard mixture still set perfectly without any sugar. One bite into this pudding, i tasted the sweet fruity taste of bananas. I am so glad i choose to use bananas as it's strong aroma is absolutely well infused into the custard mixture!

Dark chocolate and apricot crunch, a rich fudge slice. I used 65% Valrhona sugar free chocolate in this treat. It's one of the only sugar free chocolate i can find in the market. This time, i borrowed the sweetness from dried apricot to give this melt-in-the-mouth treat it's sweetness. The chopped biscuit bits also adds texture to the fudge and can be replaced by other biscuits.

Mango yoghurt parfait. This treat is a 'deliteful' one. I used fresh mango juice and yoghurt to give this dessert it's flavour. Mango always does it's work, a special touch to any plain dessert!

Be convinced it's definitely possible to enjoy "No-Sugar Added" desserts. My client is right, "Life is still sweet without sugar'.

Wedding cakes galore

I'm in a 'honey-mood' and thought why not post all the wedding cakes that i've bake for my friends and love ones. I love baking wedding cakes, because it's truly an expression of love. I ensure each cake is a reflection of the couple... their character, the wedding theme, colour and even the gown!



Jason and Woon Hee’s wedding was just last weekend. These 2 lovebirds wanted a traditional white and red classy 3 tier cake. Hence i finished the cake in pure white fondant (a sugar paste dough made from icing sugar). Red English lace matched Woon Hee's red gown, ribbons accentuated the outline the cake and small tiny 3D heart shapes were hand pipped onto the cake to give it a classy look.



My girlfriends Wiyah and Salwiyah are fellow chocolate fanatics, needless to say chocolate cake is their only choice. I bake a light chocolate sponge to complement the ‘full-force’ rich chocolate ganache. It takes a little more effort to ensure a dark coloured chocolate cake looks romantic. Pearls, bear figurines, flowers and satin ribbons matching their wedding gown will definitely do the trick!




My little sister Meiru is so precious to me and i wanted to ensure she's blessed with her dream wedding cake at her ROM reception. This 3 tier wedding cake is made of fudgy brownie, covered in pure white royal icing. The hand-made pink sugar flowers gave the cake an even dreamier feel.

My girlfriend Munah is not a cake person (she ‘missing out’ in this world!), only a coffee flavoured cake gets her going. I baked her a mocha mud cake, coated the cake with white chocolate before decorating it with some delicate hand made white roses, ribbons and chocolate dipped strawberries. This cake is a little tough to slice thru, but once you get through it, pure heaven!



My wedding treats starts from $200 for a 2 tier cake. Price depends on the flavour and design of the cake. Do email me at sylvia_kang@hotmail.com for more info!

Wedding Bliss

Over the years, i have lovingly created many wedding cakes for my girlfriends. Baking wedding cakes is really a tough and tedious affair...but the look in their eyes when they see the cake makes it all worthwhile!

For my very own wedding, I was contemplating between buying one or finding time (mission impossible) to make one. Well i can’t believe i was able to squeeze out a few hours over 2 days before the wedding to bake em. Baking into the wee hours of the nite wasn’t beneficial for my eyes or skin but i just cant bear not giving my cake-loving hubby a treat at the reception. It’s a blessing that i’ve got a good makeup artist so it’s ok to take the risk...
I’ve decided to make a tier of iced cup cakes because it’s smaller and easier to handle. I’m gonna try to describe the process of making the dreamy cupcakes so my budding baker pals (i’m not trying to make my hubby feel guilty) can have a go and making it.

I choose a heavy texture pound cake recipe instead of the normal light and fluffy cupcakes because it has to take the weight of the icing and flowers. I have to make the flowers and leaves first, as they take time to set and harden. The flowers are made of gum paste ( a pure white mouldable dough made from icing sugar) which is firm enough to roll out flat before using a different flower cutters to cut out desired shapes. The roses are the tough ones to make, it’s a skill i picked up from my work experience at the Grand Hyatt many years ago. It takes alot of practise to make a rose look ‘alive’ and i’m still trying to perfect this skill. I’ll love to share this at a class if anyone is interested.

It’s important for the cupcakes to be cool before icing them as any heat will make icing tough to handle. The pure white icing on the cupcake called Royal icing, it’s the easiest icing anyone can make. All you need is icing sugar, lemon juice and egg white. This icing will set into a matte hard texture over time so it’s important to have your flower decor ready for assembling. I iced 3 cupcakes at a time and placed my decor flowers on each cupcake before the icing starts to harden.

So there you go... the dreamy wedding cup cakes aren’t too tough to make, you just need some patience and time on your hands!