Gula Melaka Cake - Weekend Calories DO NOT count
This post is going to be a tad bit different, it's the start of my foray into the artistic side of baking. I'll be posting the recipes for the cakes that I bake, but my experimentation with different cake decorating techniques will be a trend for awhile till something else piques my interest (I'm a Gemini, this is the norm).
Similar to how one might stock their pantry for the zombie apocalypse, I went all out and bought what was needed to ensure that I was well-equipped to start this new creative obsession. And when I say bought, I mean, go to Amazon, add, add, add aaannnndddd buy. Case. In. Point. I got the decorating tip set , the piping bag and the frosting supplies. Oh, and the colors, all the colors, so many colors. Side note, not getting at least 1 Amazon package delivered to our address a day would be a cause of concern to the USPS dude.
Coming to the cake, I adapted it from a recipe on SideChef and the cake turned out moist and literally every bite was a decadent taste of the Gula Melaka. Now, for the frosting, my personal preference was to find a less sweeter version of the regular buttercream frosting. I wanted the cake to still shine and the frosting to be the perfect complement. Thank you Nagi, your recipe that I followed produced a scrumptious concoction that was easy to pipe
It was during the piping that I discovered my arch nemesis, the piping bag. What is up with this??!! Getting the cream into the bag seemed like it needed all the patience AND the correct alignment of the moon, stars and planets. I think i aged 10 years simply to get the nozzle and cream to work in harmony. It was like I had super human powers, the slight squeeze of the bag had frosting oozing from places. But, I did come out victorious, hur hur.
My aim was to start easy, not get too fancy, I went for the naked cake look with a crumb coating and then followed by a thin layer of frosting. I have new found respect for cake decorators all around the world, making smooth and sharp edges on a cake isn't easy. I truly rather be solving differential equations. It's a wonder that I do not see more posts with cakes smashed from sheer frustration. Maybe that's why they bake multiple layers, 1 is used for stress-smash.
I stuck to a simple decorating design as well, just to get a hang of the pressure to exert. The truth of how much buttercream ended up in my tummy vs the cake will be a secret I take to my grave. As Murphy's law would have it, every time I licked my finger, David was there to witness it. Thank god for spousal privilege. All in all, a novice attempt that turned out OK, but don't worry, I'm gonna bake it till I make it.
