Hearts and Hands' New Beneficiary - Royal Family Kids Camp

We are very excited to announce that Hearts and Hands has "adopted" a new beneficiary - the Royal Family Kids Camp (RFKC). With effect from May 2011, all proceeds from cake sales will go towards RFKC.

The RFKC is a non-profit organisation which runs yearly camps for abused and neglected children in various countries, including Singapore, Japan and from this year on, Hong Kong as well. It is entirely volunteer-led and raises its own funds to run the camps. The children are mostly from foster or children's homes, and are referred by social workers or, in the case of Singapore, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sport. The kids are given a right royal treat at the camps where they spend an entire week in a one-to-one volunteer to child ratio and are given lots of love and undivided attention, which goes a long way to building their confidence and self-esteem.

We hope that you will continue to support Hearts and Hands and in so doing, help to fund the camps that will enrich the lives of these children. Your contribution counts, and will make a difference to the children at RFKC. To read more about RFKC, visit http://rfkc-sg.org/. If you are interested in volunteering at one of the camps, do email YEO Meng Hin or Caroline DE WITT YEO at info@rfkc-sg.org.

We thank you in advance for your support.

A kilo and a half of strawberries ... and two sugar darlings

This is a cake for a pair of lovely strawberry-loving girl twins. J and R are 2 super lovable 4 year olds, from a family of 5 kids. They are sisters to another pair of boy twins and it is a joy to see their whole brood together, such a rare sight in Singapore.

I had fun making an impression of the twins out of sugar paste. Here they are.

And on top of the cake, sitting in a field of strawberries.

This was a very large cake, and a kilo and a half of strawberries went into it. That's plenty of fruit in there. Now who said cakes are unhealthy?

Oh yes, and also 1.2 litres of fresh cream. Think of it as an alternative source of calcium dense milk. Better still, cast aside all thought, and just dig in.

My First Wedding Cake

I feel like I have just delivered number 3.

I had the privilege of making a wedding cake over the weekend for a niece of a good friend of mine. The couple wanted a cake with red, black, gold and white themes. After looking through some options over the net, we settled on a 3 tier cake with a cascade of large flowers going from the top tier to the second tier. Here is the result.

As the reception was a cosy do, there would be too much cake if we had done 3 actual layers of cake. Hence, the bottom layer is actually a dummy.

All the flowers are painstakingly handcrafted over many days and countless hours, after my kids have gone to bed and I have the peace to do something without the constant refrain of "Mummy, what are you doing?", "Mummy, how do you spell (some random word)?", "Mummy, can we eat the cake? Whhhhyyy not???" For those who are into statistics, I must have spent something like 2 to 3 hours on each flower, not to mention all the failed duds along the way.

Overall, I am quite happy with the result, although there are one or two things I would like to improve on if given the chance to make another wedding cake (again, husband shakes head in resignation). Also, I thought the cake would have looked just as nice with just one flower instead of a cascade, as in this:

What do you think? Cascade or single flower?

As for the cake inside - chocolate of course. Yums.

Strawberry Shortcake, the way I like it

At last, a chance to make a cake that looks like a cake! A family favourite, I like the whiteness of the cream against the lush red of the strawberries - it does not need anything else. Seconds guaranteed!

Red Cross Japan - Update

Through the continued support of our friends and those who heart the cakes at Hearts and Hands, we made a contribution of $520.00 to Red Cross in aid of the recent tragedy in Japan. Thank you once again for supporting our efforts, and in so doing, bringing a little comfort to the people of Japan.

Princess Tiara Cake

This was a very fun cake to make and I have to thank the little birthday princess for knowing her own mind. She knew exactly what she wanted. She was very specific : pink, tiered, with a tiara on top. She even showed me a book. "There, Auntie Rui Juan, this one." Would she want to consider a Ruffles Cake (see here)? (I am dying to make that cake.) Nope. It has to be a pink tiara cake. This is the result and I am happy that she liked the cake.

Happy Birthday, Princess Audrey! Your birthday party was a blast.

Red Cross Japan

In support of the relief efforts in Japan, Hearts and Hands will be donating the proceeds from its cakes and desserts to Red Cross Japan. It is sad to see the extent of work needed for rebuilding the parts of Japan affected by the recent events, and we are happy to help in whatever way we can. Thanks for your support and generosity in being a part of this.