And The 2013 Tour Starts...

It's about 16 hours before I leave on my big teaching tour of Europe and Asia. I have finally finished packing (I hope) and as I sit here I'll be honest, it's a little bittersweet.

I am super excited to have the opportunity to head overseas to meet a whole bunch of cakey obsessed people like me but at the same time I am a little sad to leave home for almost 3 months. 3 months being away from home is such a long time and I wonder if I will forget my name by the end of it all. Maybe if any of you see me wondering the streets looking lost, you might want to point me in the direction of Sydney, Australia. :)


If you are still interested in joining some of the classes, I think there might be one or two spots in some cities left. Please contact the hosts but here are the dates and locations:

LONDON - 11th - 17th May - http://www.faircake.co.uk/cakeclasses.php

DUBLIN - 20th - 24th May - http://www.facebook.com/DecobakeSchoolOfCakeDecorating/events

MADRID - 28th May - 2nd June - http://almascupcakes.es/blog.html (ALL fully booked out)

PONTEVEDRA - 6th - 9th June - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Kala-Talleres/8557221290?fref=ts

SINGAPORE - 14th - 24th June - http://artistiqsugarcraft.com/

JAKARTA - 5th - 13th July - http://www.facebook.com/heavenly.sweet.7?fref=ts

KL, MALAYSIA - 16th - 23rd July - http://www.facebook.com/BunsInTheOven?fref=ts

I've been keeping pretty low key since I got back from my Craftsy trip. I was trying to reorganise the house and at the same time finish unpacking from our big move. Plus I also just wanted to have some time to rest and catch up on life before this massive trip. So although not much caking has been done, I have worked on a few new projects and shot a few more online tutorials.

Now... just to find the time to write and publish them all... hmmm.

All packed!

So anyways, I wanted to blog and say bye to everyone from Sydney and I will continue to blog as I travel to keep you all up to date :)

And don't forget, my Craftsy class comes out next week and Craftsy is giving you a chance to win a free class!

To enter just head to the below link to enter. If you already have an account you can use your existing login information to be entered. If not, you will have to create a free account which is super quick and easy to do.

If you have trouble seeing the giveaway page, using Firefox should help. One entry per person. Entries close at 9am on the 8th of May SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA time and the winner will be picked at random.

Please also do help me share this with anyone else who you think might be interested :)

http://www.craftsy.com/ext/SharonWee_Giveaway

Sharing More about Myself

Earlier this week I attended a Post Secret event and in the spirit of sharing secrets I thought I'd share some of my own. I supposed some of the below are not really secrets but rather random facts about myself. Some are common questions people ask while others are experiences I have had and the rest are my thoughts to share... Enjoy and please feel free to share your random thoughts about mine listed below or just about something entirely random!

Age: 28

Nationality/ Background: I was born in Singapore and lived in a whole bunch of different places growing up because of my dad's job. We've lived in the US, Guam and Vietnam.

Languages: I pretty much only speak English. I can understand and speak and tiny bit of Mandarin but that is about it. I have 2 accents - a Singaporean one and a generic Australian/American one. I can't help it. I just switch naturally when I am talking to people from that particular country. it's a weird quirk, I know.

Educational Background: I went to high school in Vietnam and moved to Sydney when I was 16 to attend university. I really did not know what I wanted to do but I did know that I did not want to sit at a desk all day. So when I read the description for the media and communications degree in the university handbook I thought it sounded like fun, so why not?

I'll be honest. That degree was a walk in the park. Although I did not graduate with flying colours or anything, I did finish with a major in writing. All we did was watch and discuss movies, current events, made presentations and submitted research papers. I'm sorry if I have offended anyone but I am not saying the degree is worthless, more that it was easy (about 2 contact hours per subject) and therefore a lot of fun too. I think one of the most memorable moments was watching Sex: The Annabel Chong story in our lecture. If you don't know who she is, just google her (maybe when you are not at work).

After I graduated because I was still 'young', my dad suggested I do a post graduate degree before I started working. So I enrolled for my MBA majoring in International Marketing and something else (which for the life of me I can't remember now). I graduated at 21 and although I was educationally prepared, I was so not prepared for the real working world and really struggled that first year. Seriously,  I think universities should run also courses on working life manners, ethics and politics.

Something my parents don't know: I actually quit my job almost 5 months before I told them I did. I really wanted to go out and prove that I would not send myself homeless and really earn some money doing my own thing before I admitted it to them.

Something most people don't know: For a long time I felt very insignificant and unqualified because I didn't attend a pastry school. Customers would ask and I would feel so embarrassed replying that no I am not a qualified pastry chef. I even looked at attending pastry schools, locally as well as overseas and realised that is was as long and as expensive as another degree. And was I willing to give up 2 - 3 years of my life going back to school full time? Not really. So I enrolled in Tafe part time because that seemed  like a good compromise. After the first semester I realised that although I do enjoy baking and cooking, I don't really enjoy it in the commercial environment and that what I learned in the classes had not that much relevance to what I was doing.

I signed up so that I could graduate and officially tell my customers that 'yes I am a pastry chef'. I thought that would make me better in their eyes and that they would respect me more. What a load of crap that was! I have now come to terms with carving out a niche in the market for myself and have realised that as long as the customers like the taste of my cakes and my designs then why does it matter if I have a pastry degree or a degree in fine arts or even a degree in magic and potions?

Best thing a customer can say to me: 'I trust you, you know best so if you think something needs to be moved around or changed, please go ahead and do it'. Oh, I've had a few of these types of customers and they are absolutely a dream to work with.

Worst customer experiences: I have two that stand out... The first one was a lady many years ago who wanted a last minute birthday cake because she 'forgot' to organise one. She called on a Wednesday asking for the cake that Sunday. I will still working full time at that time and so very new and naive so I agreed. She must have called back about 7 times haggling on the price (demanding to know why I was so expensive) and I budged a little but not much. And in the final phone call she said to me 'ok fine, but that had better be the best tasking cake I've ever had'. EXCUSE ME?! I don't respond to threats! I told her she needed to rethink if she really wanted this cake and to call me back when she was really certain. Needless to say I never heard back from her but that was the first time I can remember ever being really mad at someone.

The other one was when I dealt with a young lady for her 21st birthday. She wanted a cake with an iconic figurine on top and kept calling me to ask for specific heights and sizes for each of the cake tiers, each time saying 'wow, that's really small for the amount I am paying you'. So being new and all, I offered to make the cake taller through styrofoam tiers at a minimal cost at which she said 'oh I didn't think styrofoam would be that expensive' (ps. it's not the cost of the styrofoam but the labour and skill it takes to cover it.) And then in one of the last phone calls, she proceeded to tell me 'you know I got many quotes for my cake and you are one of the more expensive ones. I like your figurines, so I chose to go with you and I hope it is worth it'. Wow seriously?

So being one of the bigger cakes I have made at that time I was so nervous. So nervous to make it absolutely perfect that I stayed up till 4 am one night and even as I tried to sleep I couldn't. I don't think I have ever felt that stressed and exhausted for sleep which almost made me feel physically sick.

After the whole situation, I looked back and mentally slapped myself. How could I have ever let something I loved to do stress me out to the point where I felt like I was going to sick? And for a girl's birthday party?! Not to mention that when she picked it up she didnt even smile or say thank you. Wow. That was a big wake up call for me and my newbie attitude!

Most common question I get asked my customers who visit my studio or see me at an expo: Are all those real cakes? (gesturing to all my display cakes).

Quitting my job light bulb moment: I had many moments pushing me to take the plunge prior to this but the real moment, which I never told anyone about, came when I was sitting inside a DisneyLand ride. (I should mention here that I really hate roller coasters and get motion sick pretty easily). Nick and I lined up for a space simulator ride and as we got to the front the guys gave us two options. The easy one (where only the screen moved and the seat shakes a little so you pretend you are going into space) or the hard one (where the ride actually spins like mad so you feel the g-forces). I wanted the easy one but Nick insisted on the hard one because the easy one would be no fun. So we got shuffled along into the hard line and the whole time I was freaking out a little because of all the warning signs they had listed on the walls (Warning: this ride is not suitable for people with weak hearts or who are susceptible to motion sickness...etc).

We got into the tiny capsule and the padded bars clipped down on us. I was freaking out even more because I now could not move but didn't want to look like a scaredy cat running out of the ride at the last minute so I held my breath and stayed in there. It was dark and tight inside and the attendent's voice came over the speakers telling us about the emergency button to press incase we wanted to stop the ride and definitely not to shut our eyes or else we will feel really sick. As the count down to the ride started I really started to panic and I even started to look for that emergency button, but could not find it! So I had to suck it up and stick it out. I told myself repeatedly that it was only a 5 minute ride and made a promise to myself then and there that if I could get through that without having a panic attack that I would be able to get through anything, namely quitting my job.

The thing I love about weddings: The food, desserts and especially the speeches. I love the speeches because when done well they really make the whole event so personal and heartfelt.

The thing I dislike the most about weddings: The bouquet toss. To my friends and everyone else, let me put a disclaimer here by saying I'm sorry if you had one or will have one but this is an unmarried girl's opinion.

Although I know it's tradition, I really dislike it because it makes me feel like there is something wrong with me for being unmarried. So much so that I have to go and 'fight' with other unmarried women for a bouquet that is supposed to symbolise that I will be the next one to tie the knot. And it's not just single people who have to participate, no, it's ALL women who are not married. And it's always awkward when it happens and no one makes the move to participate and the poor brides maids have to run around and gather all the unmarried women in the room and heard them into the middle of the room like cattle. And then it's even WORSE when you are trying to avoid the whole situation and people on your table and on the next table start looking out for you and pointing at you and calling your name. I suppose it's fun for the bride and all and it is her special day but I am a little tired of having the whole room know I am not married. So my tip? I always choose to stand behind the tallest person and at the back and off to the side. Or I decide at that moment I need to go to the bathroom.

My love/ hate relationship with this industry: I secretly thrive on a little bit of jealousy and competition. I know it's bad and some people can be really ruthless and mean when driven by jealousy. But when it's me, I believe a little jealousy is actually good for me. It pushes me to innovate, work harder, design better and strengthen my skills. I wouldn't be where I am today (skills wise) if I had not gotten a little jealous here and there ;)

The Low Down on Ganache - A Guest Post

Over the years I've had lots and lots of emails, phone calls and questions regarding ganache. It's my filling of choice and I use it under 99% of all my cakes because of it's firm and durable nature. As luck (if you can call it that) would have it, the first time I used ganache on a cake many years ago, I almost missed a turn into a small lane for my delivery. Without thinking I swerved the car into the lane and my cake slid off the board and into the side door of my car. I freaked out and quickly parked the car and would you believe it when I tell you that NOTHING happened to the cake? The cake was fine and had no dents because the ganache was firm underneath! I slid it back onto the middle of the board and from then on I'd vow never to use anything but ganache under all my cakes.

Over the years, I've learned some lessons with the making and using of the ganache and so has Nick. Most of the time, he is now the one who makes all my ganaches for me and some weeks we'd make over 20kgs of white, dark and milk chocolate ganache. So I thought it would be fun for him to be a guest poster :)  So this is Nick's first blog post for you guys detailing everything you basically need to know about ganache for cakes.

Hi everyone, 

Sharon thought it would be fun if I wrote some details about my experiences when dealing with ganache.

I have spent many late nights making ganache so I know more than I really should about all this. So let's start with the very basic...

What is Ganache?

It's basically just cream and chocolate, and we use it to cover cakes. You can think of it as a replacement for other options like whipped cream, buttercream, icing, etc. The reason Sharon uses it is that it tastes nicer (it is mostly chocolate after all), and it sets hard which helps you get sharp edges on your cakes. Also, it's a good 'glue' to stick together the various offcuts when building 3D cake shapes.

It's also possible to make ganache set softer if you want, by including a higher amount of cream or even adding some butter to the mix, but that's more useful for desserts like tarts.

Ingredients

There's not much to it - just chocolate and cream. The only thing to keep in mind is the ratio, some guidelines are below but you may need to adjust this based on your local environment (temperature, humidity, altitude etc).

Make sure you use good quality chocolate - no terrible cooking chocolate! It's a big part of the final flavour. It's best to aim for simple ingredients, so try to get couverture chocolate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couverture_chocolate) instead of compound chocolate which can have all kinds of oils and other random things in it.

For the cream, just make sure it's not low fat. Something labelled as pouring/whipping/thickened cream should be fine. Usually less additives is better but thickened cream (available in Australia) has some vegetable gum which helps it set better in some cases.

Recipe

The values below are metric, you can google for 'metric conversion' and it'll bring up a small tool you can use to convert the values if you need.

It's best to use a digital scale, they are cheap and well worth it. Most support both metric and imperial too. You can't reliably measure chocolate in 'cups' or other volume based amounts since it depends on how fine you chop it, everyone is different.

Milk chocolate earl grey tea infused ganache with chocolate cookies

Ratios to use are below:

• When using dark chocolate, go for a 2:1 ratio e.g. 1200g of chocolate to 600ml of cream.
• For white chocolate, go for 3:1 e.g. 1200g chocolate to 400ml cream. This is because white chocolate has more oils in it.
• For milk chocolate, it's in between but varies depending on the brand and oil content, you'll need to try it out with small batches until you're happy with the result. 

These numbers aren't precise and if you have a digital scale and are lazy you can just weigh the cream. It's a bit lighter than water but close enough, so if we're in a hurry we often just weigh out 400g of cream instead of measuring 400ml.

Preparation

First - ensure your chocolate is chopped finely (or already provided in square pieces or buttons) or it might not melt easily!

There are two ways to prepare ganache. The easiest way is to just put everything in a container and microwave it until it melts. It's best to stop and mix occasionally so it heats evenly, in our case we heat for 2.5 minutes, stir, 1.5 minutes, stir, 1 minute, stir, then 30 seconds and stir until combined. Using the microwave is easier but you'll need to find a timing system that suits your machine.

The other more traditional option is to boil your cream on the stove, then pour it over the chocolate. Give it a small shake so it's all covered and let it sit for a short time to melt. If you stir too early you'll just cool it down. After a couple of minutes just mix it to combine. If you have any lumps you might need to finish it off in the microwave like above, but for less time.

When you start to stir, it might be mostly unmelted so you it’s easier to use a spatula or spoon. As it melts you should use a whisk or it'll take forever. Finish with a hand mixer if you want to make your life easier.

Adding flavour

Milk chocolate earl grey tea infused ganache with chocolate cookies

It already tastes good but you can add more flavour, like white chocolate and lime or milk chocolate and tea. If you're just using essence you can stir it in at the end, but for tea or spice you should instead use the cream boil method, and after it boils, let the spice/tea sit in it with the lid on for 10-15 minutes. Then pour the cream over the chocolate as before but use a strainer to remove the chunks. Since it's cooler you'll probably need to finish it off in the microwave.

To really infuse the cream you can let it sit in the fridge overnight before boiling, maybe you will be able to save money and use less ingredients but we’ve never bothered with it.

White chocolate vanilla bean ganache with pistachios, honey and rose water.

*Sharon's note: People have asked what flavouring I use for my ganaches. I use a mixture of teas, jams, wholesale gel flavourings and general flavouring (from Roberts Confectionary). I don't use fresh fruit puree or juices as they reduce the shelf life of the ganache.

Using it

I'm no expert but basically you just need to heat it a little and stir it so it's a paste like a peanut butter. You don't want it so stiff it breaks the cake, and you don't want it so melted that it runs down the side.

If it's too stiff you can microwave it in 30s increments and if it's too runny, pop it in the fridge for a little bit.

Storing

Keep it in an airtight container and it's safe to leave at room temperature for some time, even a few days if your house is cool enough. For longer term storage you can put it in the fridge, or even freeze it and reheat it weeks later. Also, keep it away from dogs and children :)

Just ensure you check on it occasionally and don't forget when you made batches - it does eventually go mouldy, and if you wait too long you might get a bad surprise when you cut the cake!

Common problems

It splits - this is when the fat separates out from the mixture and it looks very oily. It can happen easily with white chocolate when you overheat it. Just keep mixing it and let it cool down and it will combine again eventually.

Doesn't set (stays soft on the cake) - you might be in a hotter area, try reducing the amount of cream a little to reduce the liquid in the mixture.

It's lumpy/ has tiny of little dots (see picture above) - It might be that you didn't heat it up enough, so you might need to cook it a bit longer. 

In some cases it may mean you overheated part of the chocolate or it cooled quickly causing it to seize, you can fix this by melting down the chocolate until it is soft (not runny) and then use a hand mixer to go through it to combine the lumps.

And that's about it! Hope it has helped in some way.

Nick