Shark Fin Soup With Crab Meat

 

According to Wiki, Shark fin soup dates back to Ming Dynasty, China and is considered by Chinese as one of the eight treasured foods from the sea.  This delicacy was coveted by emperors because it was rare, delicious, and required elaborate preparation - i can relate to this cos i just had the chore of preparing a box of dried Shark Fins which costed $134,00 usd. Holding both culinary and symbolic significance, this dish is a staple of gourmet Chinese cuisine which symbolizes wealth, power, prestige and honor. 

Our dearest friend, Belinda celebrated her birthday last weekend and to show respect and honor, i prepared this Shark Fin Soup With Crab Meat for her and her guests as an appreciation to our dear friendship. 

Luckily this soup is not a staple food and only served on important occasions otherwise i will be going around with pruney fingers.  I had to blanch the dried shark fins in hot water  and this process was repeated 3 times.  Then the blanched shark fins had to be soaked,  of which the soaking water was changed several times a day for a whole week.  After soaking the translucent gelatin needles have to be separated from all impurities - this was so laborious and where pruney fingers were possible, i spend more than 4 hours doing this process.

Sharon and Sandra's Birthday Cake

Besides making Mooncakes for the Mid-autumn Festival which coincided with my daughter's birthdays, I have been busy making this cake for then.  Although my elder girl is in Malaysia and not able to taste the cake, my thoughts are with her during her birthday.  Sharon and Sandra, i hope this cake met both your satisfaction.  Happy Birthday to both of you.

Wedding Cake - Double Happiness

I am still in sort of a shocking mode and this shocking experience had to be shared so that it is a reminder for myself and those who are going to attempt to use Fondant on a cake.  I would like to give caution to all these tips and to heed them with utmost importance so that you will not be in this same situation which i went through.  My greatest fear is that a cake will not be ready in perfect condition for the occasion, so i made the cakes way ahead and if it does not turn out well to my liking, i will have enough time to make more cakes.  The cakes turned out well, flat topped, only with slightly rounded edges.  I thought i could increase the height of the cake by not slicing away the round edges but this is the worst thought which will turn into a nightmare.  By not LEVELLING THE CAKES and using more buttercream to surffice the levelling, the possibility of the fondant will bulge and this was exactly what happened.  This cake was for a wedding rehearsal dinner on friday and i had it ready on Thursday - Good job, no stress and it looked so beautiful.  But wait, a few hours later, i noticed that one side of the fondant had a bulge.  What happened?????  i knew i smoothed out the fondant as well as i could.  Well, i tried to rid of the bulge but it did not improved.  Sandra said it was not noticeable but to me this was not acceptable.  So, i let it be for the night, come morning, i tried improving but the more i do, the worst it became.  So, i decided that i have to make a new fondant layer.  When i removed the fondant, the cake was so soft and did not hold it's shape.  What was i going to do????  All i could do was just stared at the cake in disbelieve.  Stay calm, don't panic!!!  It was already 11.00 am and the dinner is at 5.30 pm.  I don't think that i had any choices but to start making the cakes again.  Preheat 2 ovens and started mixing the ingredients for the cake.  Somehow, luck was with me, the cakes turned out good and all i had to do was to cool it fast.  As soon as it cooled slightly, i managed to find space in the freezer and put them in to cool.  In the meantime,  i made the buttercream.  As soon as the cakes were cooled enough,  i LEVELLED the cakes as level as possible and sandwiched them with the buttercream and iced the whole cake.  Back in the freezer for a short while, just to harden the buttercream.  I have already made a batch of fondant early in the morning, so by now, it should be ready to be rolled out.  The fondant application went on well and i managed to put back all the decorations by 3.00 pm.  What a task?  I am still amazed that the cake was actually ready.  Now, for the next task, i had to get the cake to the dinner party and being noted as the Queen of Lost, i had to call for directions 3 - 4 times before i arrived safely.  

I wished i had read these tips from The Cake Boss Preventing Bulging before i started to attempt making a Fondant Cake.