cookies and luxury brownies ...hamper like

thank you Nik, for your continuous support

Smiley MCB and mini golf

pick up date was sunday, 12th June, but I was away from 9th june through to 11th June, so when would I make this MCB? The answer is , the nite we came back from our sort of planned but unscheduled trip . Whilst the dirty laundry, keropok, songket , batik , etc etc were still on the floor, on the table, in the basket, everywhere and anywhere in the house, i was already in my apron, spatulas and butter in hand, at 2.30 am! ready for some action.





MCB was not difficult to make ( plus another brownies with walnut ) and the 'mini golf' chocolate cake





Thank you Fara

Important announcement

I am having a slight technical problem with my 6100 mobile number, so kindly please call or sms the other number please.
Thank you.
The other number is 017-5677880, or you can always email me at my yahoo address, zurianikadir@yahoo.com
Thank you

Warm regards,
Zue

brownies

thank you atira

three tiered cupcakes

she wanted me to do the same as the sample given, I did almost similar but not the same

thank you shue and Selamat Bertunang

silver and black

thank you zue

thank you Hasni

there's still some kindness and sweetness in this cruel and mean world

Seriously, who would have thought that I would get my iphone back after leaving it on a bench in a shopping mall? The place filled with crowds, lots and lots of people, young and old, kind hearted people, and perhaps one or two, the opposite. I am not talking about cakes tonight and the iphone in this picture is real, in flesh and blood, err I mean, in its metal and leather casing. We went out in the hope of watching "Pirates of the Carribean" in theatres, but there was no show at night, and so we decided to do some groceries shopping instead. While my hubby and son whisked the trolley away and unload the goodies into the car, my daughter decided to buy some drinks from the kiosk and so I sat on the bench while waiting for her. Later, I was distracted by my son who was telling me about the swarm of insect circling around the light, and at the same time, my daughter came over, so, we straight away left the place. Inside the car, I quickly rummaged through my handbag to make sure that I have both my phones with me but something inside told me that I had left it on the bench. Hubby told me to call that phone and suddenly a female voice answered it,
"phone siapa ni ( whose phone is it ?) "
Oh my goodness me! I thought I would never see it again!

"It's mine! I must have left it on the bench. Where did you find it?"
"Somebody found it and surrendered it to the info counter."
"I 'll be there in less than five minutes" we made a U turn and headed back to the mall, me, almost running towards the info counter and asked them for the phone.
there it was, in her hands.
She told me that it was a girl, dressed in KF* uniform but not from the mall outlet, gave the phone to them, minutes after I left the building.

I thanked them profusely, words could not describe how grateful and how happy I was to be reunited with my iphone back. I didn't know how to thank them and 'the girl', anyway I just left them my card to give to the girl so that she could call me and I could thank her personally, if she by any chance is reading this entry, please come forward, I would certainly like to meet someone with such a noble heart., if not, I would have gotten into serious trouble with my other half, you see, it's a present from him and I do tend to 'lose' things every once in while, but this could be a very expensive experience but I was so glad that ' this kind hearted girl did a good deed, out of the pure and kindness in her bones. Her parents must have taught her well, and for that I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.Wish her well and everything nice and wonderful in her life, only Allah can repay her kindess. I should try to be more careful in the future.

that was the incident in the evening, but this second picture was taken a couple of hours before we decided to go out for a movie. She came, to return her knife set which was used to cut her wedding 'rainbow cake', and she invited me to her wedding ceremony, to which i said, InsyaAllah, with Allah's willing, I would go but unfortunately I couldn't make it, for on that day, I had to finish off other cakes and it was a while too, waiting for my other customers to pick up their cakes and therefore I missed her big day.

She returned the knife set, plus this bag of goodies too, I was not expecting it but it was a very sweet and surprise gesture indeed. I could not attend her wedding and yet, she gave me the goodies, some momentoes or tokens of remembrance of her big day.The content of the goodies bag does not matter much, but it's the thought that counts., but anyway, they are sooo cute, I'll stick 'em on my fridge. thank you Yana and Selamat Pengantin Baru, selamat melayari bahtera bersama Nakhoda Syed Akhmar, ingat ya, dalam satu kapal, there is only one captain, insyaAllah the boat will not sink

The world is still full of beautiful and nice people and I am glad I know them and hopefully will get to know the 'other' one , whoever she is.

The day I met my Swiss neighbour

Mama, are you tired? let me give you a hug. Her hug is the tight, squidgy, comforting and massage like hug, it would make me feel better ( a bit ) after the waist hug.

mama nantuk ke ( are you sleepy?) ,she asked again,

after seeing me nodding off at my work table, with all the 'naked 'cakes on the table. I was supposed to deco one square chocolate cake for a nine year old girl, one square carrot walnut cake for someone's mother, two chocolate cake, one 8 inches and another 10 inch round cakes for a bride and her groom , the three MCBs need not be decorated and the six brownies had been sliced and packed with a lot of help from my friend and her daughters and my kids too. thank you Kak tuni, Awin and Baby, Tsara and AMeer too!

Earlier, while they helped with the 200 golden yellow ribbons, put the 200 slices of brownies in the small square casing, glued the ribbons on the cover , I baked the cakes, and when they left, I could hardly open my eyes, How was I going to decorate all those cakes? the first pick up was at 9 am the following day and my body and brain just refused to function properly!

this MCB plus another one were cut into 56 pieces and she came at 9 sharp! while I was out getting a few things from the cake shop , not realising that this particular Saturday, 4th June was a public holiday. I waited infront of the shop when it still did not open even my watch had showed it was past 9.00 am, so I went back sinc emy customer was already at my house for her two MCBs. thank you Faridah, sorry to keep you waiting.



i went out again, and saw that the shop was still closed, no sign of the sales assistant either. It was after 9.30 am, and then my phone rang, a friend called me up to order a carrot walnut cake for this coming Fathers Day made me realise that the shop was probably closed because of the public holiday! OMG! sillyl me! but I still need to get a few things urgently!!!!


Wait a minute, I saw the shop owner's daughter getting into the shop through the side door, I quickly got out of my car and knocked on the door, and fortunately , the kind Mr Yaw, let me in and let me get all the things needed, phew! if not, that purple and white two tier cake would not be complete.

now, where was I? okay, I was feeling sleepy and tired, and Batriyia was keeping me company, trying to keep me awake so that I could complete my cake decorating, seeing that her hug was not working as I was almost asleep, sitting down and still had not started on the deco, she decided to make me a mug of " keep me awake drink " .

this seven year old, was trying to make me a glass of Nescafe susu!! i told her before that whenever I was feeling very sleepy, I would make myself a glass of Nescafe and so she decided to make one for me.


"Mama, how much coffee powder to put in?

"just one small teaspoon would do" I said, and she scooped one into the mug

" How about the milk?

with eyes half open, I told her to put in as much as she thought was right ( after all, there's only about a teaspoon or more of the condensed milk left in the can) and does a seven year old girl know how much is right? sillyl me! but silly or not, she made me a perfect mug of Nescafe susu
, not too sweet, not too strong, just ......nice.....how sweet and thoughtful of her, thank you Batrisyia.



With that mug of Nescafe, i started rolling and kneading purple colour into the fondant and started covering the two chocolate cakes, whilst my coffe maker had fallen asleep on the two chairs next to me. aww...kesian anak mama, penat dia tolong mama hari ni, packaging the 200 brownies, sambil main2 dgn anak my neighbour , and making the coffee for me and sill want to keep me company .

It's almost morning, decided to freshen up, did my morning prayer, although I was still feeling sleepy and tired but I couldn't stop just yet, two more cakes needed to be decorated.

the next pick up time was at 11 am, after purchasing the much needed things for my cake, I continued decorating the two tiered purple and white cake for the pick up time was at 12 noon, same time as those two Disney Princess and carrot cake. a few minutes before 11 am, took two coloured ribbons and wrapped around this box of MCB for my neighbour who would give this to their neighbour who's having an engagement celebration that afternoon. a little bit about my neighbour, who lives just behind my house . so to speak( the rows of houses in the same taman )
He called the previous day, with a very thick European English accent, not the Manglish ( Malaysian english )or Singlish ( Singaporean English )accent or any other accent, he sound so foreign, like a foreigner, tourist kind of accent., but not the British or American English either.

Do you have a bakery? he said, and I replied that I baked from home.

I am your neighbour, my wife and I , we lived just behind your house, and we needed something, a cake, maybe, .... for an engagement party, I got your number from a friend in Kodiang and I know that you have a bamboo tree in front of your house.....the conversation went on something like that.

I did told him that I was a bit tight for tomorrow but still, I invited them over , perhaps I could come up with something and so they came. I didn't know that we have a Swiss couple as our neighbour, they were invited for an engagement ceremony by their neighobur and they were not too sure as to what to bring over for such an occasion. Since my husband was home, I called him down and introduced him to our neighbour and we both suggested something simple, not too elaborate as a 'buah tangan' we call it in Malay as a gift , we don't normallly go empty handed when we go visiting our friends or relatives, I think , back in their country, they would probably be bringing a bottle of wine or champagne for a dinner, or something....so I suggested a box of marble cheese brownies would do, not heavily decorated cakes or cupcakes, just plain and simple decoration MCB in a box with a simple ribbon would do, as a good gesture for the invitation. they agreed, the Swiss couple, Mr and Mrs Muller ( Ferrina is her name ) as a matter of fact, they were thinking of the same when they browsed through my cake albums and saw the MCBs photos.
When I heard the name Muller , the first thing that came to mind was the Muller yogurt that we like to eat when we were in Ilford, which we bought from Sainsbury's.I also thought he was from Germany with the name "Muller", Mrs Muller, Ferrina told us that her name was similar brand to a cheese back in their country, so, a perfect couple, yogurt and cheese. Mind you , I am not saying this behind their back, this came out during our conversation. Such lovely couple, we shared so much during that brief Friday afternoon visit, from names, countries, travelling, to food and photography.
But I had to leave them with my husband because I still had some unfinished decorating and packaging to do for the purple and white wedding. Thank you Mr and Mrs Muller.




nine inches square chocolate cake with ganache and edible images of disney Princess for a nine yar old Alia Aisyah and

a nine inch square carrot walnut cake with cream cheese frosting for Yani and May's mother. Thank you ladies for this order

right after they left, I decided to take a short nap before the dreaded task of cleaning up! No order for the following day so it would give me some time to loosen up my muscles a bit and to do some cleaning and house keeping, piles and piles of laundry to be done, to be ironed, etcetera...

Final pick up for the day was at almost seven pm. 200 slices of brownies in square casing decorated with golden yellow ribbons. Thank you Ma'am Rosnani.

It had been a very tight and tiring week for me, almost a non stop baking and decorating right from May 25th to June 4th. But it is something that I enjoy doing, tired I may be, yes, but, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do....

purple and white part 2

The invitation card,

thw two tiered wedding cake

the birthday cake

the wedding cake

Selamat Pengantin Baru Syuhada and pasangan, semoga kekal hingga ke hujung nyawa

purple and white, part 1...

HERE.....
They came in March to book this date, the order was for 1000 door gift brownies, 50 sets for the groom's families and a two tiered chocolate wedding cum birthday cakes.

THERE......

the theme is purple and white

AND EVERYWHERE.....

everywhere and anywhere you turn, on my work station, on the kitchen counters, on the table in my wet kitchen, on the side tables, on the chairs, you will see brownies, and lots of brownies...29 brownies to be exact, were baked the night before with a little help from mama, she used to babysit my kids beforeThank you Mama, She's a great help, without it, I would still not be able to finish them on time.

I prepared the ribbons earlier, Batrisyia nd Tsara helped to glue the small white flowers on the purple ribbons and the purple flower on the white ribbons.

the brownies were then cut into small pieces and individually packed in this square casing, stapled, and ribboned, with a little help from all my kids and my friend Kak tuni. I am ever so grateful to them for helping out, I couldn't have done this on my own.

With them helping out with the 1000 dor gift brownies, I continued with the other order of 50 choclate cupcakes, 50 vanilla cupcakes, 50 blueberry cheesetarts and 50 fancy cookies to be placed in a four hole box , for the groom's families

tied with of course, the purple ribbon

the bride's sister, came to collect the brownies in the morning and the 50 packs later in the evening. Once all these were done, I started cracking on the next one, the two tiered wedding cake.Thank you wati, for trusting me with your sister's wedding cakes and brownies

MCB on tier

taking a breather.....

gonna be another long night like last night, a two tier chocolate wedding cake, 200 pcs of door gift brownies, a chocolate Disney Princess birthday cake, a carrot walnut birthday cake, marble cheese brownies for kenduri makan2 and MCB for a neigbour's neighbour's engagement ceremony, waiting in line, this calls for a good time management and strategy......I wish..... there's no strtegy, no time management especially when one is already half awake and half asleep!,
ijust miss writing and that is why I am writing in between baking MCBs and grating carrots, strategy? none, goal? make sure the cakes are ready by the scheduled pick up time,by hook or by crook...., wouldn't want to disppoint my daughter's classmate's Mum, my good accountant friend, my sweet 'just out of confinement' customer, my first time customer and my neighbour, a Swiss couple, who made us miss the old times with their stories, of travelling, of food, and he, I mean,m they shared the same passion as my hubby, photography and cameras.

speaking of travelling,m we are not going anywhere this school holidays, as there are wedding bells everywhere, but i am thinking of taking a break for a couple of days, and I probably am thinking of not taking any orders from 1oth to 15th june, just want to re-charge my batteries, and to write up the modules for my coming classes since a few had been asking about classes, plus a new one, fondant figurines for cupcakes toppers.

the sweet smell of MCB is lingering in my kitchen, gotta start slicing those brownies for the door gift and to start mixing the butter and sugar for the chocolate cake

ciao for now!

one busy Friday, june 3rd

3rd of june 2011, 7 am, the pick up time, what time did I go to sleep? 3 am, but the thought that she came all the way from Penang, and would later go back there in time to start work and later bring these two oreo chocolate cheesecakes and blueberry cheesetarts for her family and nieces in Ipoh, makes the staying up worth while, and also the reason why I still took her order despite knowing that I have a huge order of 1000 door gift of 'purple and white 'brownies to prepare. thank you Kak Eda for your continuous support, hope that your family will enjoy the sweet and creamy treats from my little kitchen

" like the red ribbon and white cake, but please make mine in blue, like soft, baby blue colour, it's for my brother's kad nikah," she said, pick up time was 10 am., and as promised, she arrived on the dot, punctual.

'you make cookies too, right, and so please make another 'hantaran' set for me with the cookies". after quoting her the prices, the deal was sealed, I looked through my box collection and saw this box and straight away I thought that this would make a beautiful hantaran set, and it did, simple, yet sweet. thank you su. am looking forward to the 16th june project......tungguuu....

next pick up should be at 1 pm but she had to come in the evening, fine with me because I had them ready as per schedule. and I was not going anywhere that day, another blue and white set but for a different person, the lady is a friend of my customer and she is in Johor, but the recipient of this set is her friend who is getting married ( or rather already married ) on june 3rd , and the newly wed bride herself came to collect this with the 'inai' still fresh on her fingers, thank you Mimi and Selamat Pengantin Baru Nita and Epoi!

They came to book this date, june 3rd, in March, the order for 1000 door gifts, 50 VIP gifts and a two tier wedding cake, all should be done in purple and white, more of the photos in the cooming entries. thank you Wati and syu..