Wednesday, October 11, 2017

2017 - 3rd Q Orders

We've come to the end of 2017 3rd quarter and now into the 4th quarter.

For the past few months, I've turned down quite a number of orders, because I've been focusing a lot on cooking projects, and also due to some upcoming changes in the family. Hence will not be taking any more orders for the time being.

Here were the two orders I took up.



Ordered by a mummy for her girl's 2nd birthday. Theme is flora and mermaid so tried my best to design the cake with simple rosette piping with some "corals" and "shells". Added some turquoise sugar pearls as well. Love how sweet and romantic the cake turned out.


This is a petite cake but I made the genoise sponge taller. Dreamy and cutesy-looking for a 3 year-old girl's birthday.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

2017 - 2nd Q Orders

I just realised that it's nearly the end of July already and I've not even updated 2nd Q orders for Meg's Pastry Studio! Oops!

No, I'm not closed down, yet. Just that I've slowed down in terms of order takings as there were many events, collaborations (and family commitments) past few months and I've been busy with those. I would prefer not to over-tax myself by taking on too many assignments because after all, I bake as a hobby and not as a living.

So pardon me if I couldn't take up orders (especially last minute) because I don't want to stress myself up with too many things on the plate. Some days, I literally spent the whole day in the kitchen, prepping, baking/cooking, photography, washing and clearing up (and I don't have a helper, so gotta do everything myself).

I digress. 

So here's looking at the few orders I took up.


A watermelon cake that I baked for my University/Hall senior, for her grandmother's birthday celebration. This is an absolutely light and refreshing cake, using my favourite genoise sponge which is super soft and not too sweet, with watermelon and almond crumble filling and no-sugar chantilly cream frosting, finally topped with watermelon, rockmelon, pistachio, mint leaves and rose petals.


My teddy bear cookies have become very popular recently, I guess it's because they look so adorable and make great party flavour or gift.



I rarely bake chocolate cake for my family as we are not big eaters of chocolate pastries. One of my very supportive customer ordered a chocolate cake for her daughter's birthday, so I jumped at the opportunity to create this naked chocolate cake. Love how it turned out, doesn't it look visually appealing?

Last but not last, my biggest batch of teddy bear cookies to-date, 120 of them all! It's challenging but so fun to do :) These were requested by a dear friend and yep, will do it only for my dear friends!

Hopefully I would have time to squeeze in some cake orders soon because second half of the year is expected to be busier than the first :p

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

2017 - 1st Q Orders

Wow! It's already April 2017? I must say these past 3 months really whizzed by fast and furious yah? I've seemingly lost track of time!

2017 has been quite an exciting year for me so far, with many new experiences and opportunities.

As usual, my January is always packed because of the festive season and kiddo's birthday. But this year is exceptional because my kiddo goes to Primary One and I was (and still am) having a tough time adjusting to his routine. With his birthday celebration/cake, CNY baking (for personal consumption) and all, I didn't take any orders in January as I didn't want to stretch myself too much.

After getting hang of the school routine and building it into my routine, things got better from February onwards and I was able to do more test-bakes and explore new recipes. One such recipe is a Teddy Bear cookie which I adapted from a newly-bought recipe book that comes with a free cutter. I posted the cookie photos and recipe on my blog, FB and Instagram and surprisingly received very positive response and ended up taking a few cookie orders :)

Then came March, which was exhilarating for me because I was invited to feature a recipe on Sunday Times Life Section and my Ombre Strawberry Shortcake was showcased :) *Phew* I've been procrastinating to write this particular recipe proper and glad that this opportunity came knocking. Some people might ask, why share the recipe when I'm selling the cake? Frankly speaking, I don't mind because I'm not baking for a living, I'm baking for the love of it. Sharing is a form of spreading the love of baking and if there are people who try my recipe and like it, why not? :)

Here's a summary of my orders for this first quarter; each and every bake is a labour of love and I had great fun creating them :) Once again, big thanks to everyone who has been so supportive and patient with me.



Small batch of teddy cookies ordered by my Uni hall friend; so happy to meet her after a long hiatus and glad that she enjoyed the cookies!


Matcha and chocolate teddy cookies ordered by a lovely lady who saw my FB/Instagram posting and emailed me :) Was pleasantly surprised because I didn't think that there would be people interested in ordering the cookies.


Another small batch of teddy cookies, ordered by another lovely lady who also saw my FB/Instagram posting and messaged me :)


A petite mango cake ordered by a lovely lady who has tried my cake before through her friend who ordered from me before :) Always feel blessed when orders came in through recommendation or word of mouth.


A large batch of 60 teddy cookies, my biggest baked so far, ordered by another lovely lady who ordered ombre cake previously. It was great fun baking these cuties and I'm grateful that she's still ordering from me :)


My signature ombre strawberry shortcake in 2 different sizes ordered by my yoga teacher. The Korean strawberries this season look lovely and taste quite sweet too. It's always a joy to create strawberry desserts as they look so pretty! Hope to have opportunities to bake with strawberries before the season ends.

Looking forward to more bakes for the upcoming months!

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Ombre Strawberry Shortcake - Sunday Times feature

Presenting my feature article in the The Sunday Times Life Section =D


As said in my blog, I have been baking genoise sponge layer cakes for 3 years now and created colour variations such as rainbow and ombre as well as different flavours like vanilla, lychee, mango and rose, in varied number of layers and sizes. To see the past cakes I've done, just scroll through the pages :)


The genoise sponge uses just 5 basic ingredients, flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk without the use of any chemicals or additives. It's amazing how through the technique itself, these simple ingredients can create a cake with moist and tender texture.

For the filling and frosting, I use chantilly cream, which is whipping cream with mascarpone cheese and icing sugar (which can be adjusted for sweetness level). The cream is once again very light and slightly creamy and when paired with genoise sponge, makes the cake really delectable.

The cake received positive feedback from friends and family members who commented that it's tender, moist and not too sweet. Even young kids, elderly and folks who don't eat cream cakes enjoyed it :)


Baking this cake is not difficult, just tedious. Because each layer is prepared and baked individually i.e. prep ingredients for 1 layer, send into oven and bake, then the next layer and the next, depending on the number of colour layers desired. Basically, it's tedious because of the colour.


For me, I always believe in using quality ingredients for my bakes, and they DO AFFECT how the cake turns out. Well, my personal opinion and belief :) I'm not endorsing the brands below nor do I receive any royalty or advertising fee ok! If there are advertisers who wish to approach me, I can consider lah, but the product must be of certain standard :)

For this cake, I use the Japanese Nissen Violet cake flour which has a more refined texture. This brand can be found in Japanese supermarkets like Isetan and Meidi-ya, and Japanese grocery shops like Jmart. Some bigger Cold Storage or NTUC Finest carry it as well. When I go to Japan, I would lug back the Cuoca housebrand or Hokkaido flour (yes, I buy flour when I travel LOL :p) It's cheaper to buy in Japan, quite ex in SG!

Sugar, I prefer using Japanese Jyohakuto sugar which once again has a more refined and soft texture. Likewise the Japanese supermarkets, grocery stalls and bigger local supermarkets should carry it. Likewise I will stock up some sugar when I go Japan, coz it's really cheaper there!

Unsalted butter, it's usually President or Elle & Vire (once in a while SCS, but prefer not as it's more yellowish and not quite suitable).

For fresh milk, if I can get hold of Hokkaido milk I would use it, otherwise Meiji milk.

For whipping cream, most brands work fine, but I only use dairy whipping cream, not non-dairy, not ready-made ones.

For  mascarpone cheese, there are only a few brands available so any works fine.


Anyways, I've baked this cake many times before, but this decor which is inspired by the Japanese patisseries and bakers is something new. This cake is 6" 3 layers, but likewise can be custom-made to preferred size, layers and colours.

One important note though, as this cake is very light and delicate, it has to be chilled and best enjoyed slightly chilled (i.e. out from the fridge about 5-10 mins). The cake cannot be left at room temperature for more than 30 mins or it will risk collapsing. 

Please drop me an email at megtan@singnet.com.sg for discussion or order. For my blog write-up and recipe, please click here :)

Friday, December 30, 2016

2016 - 4th Q orders

We've almost reached the end of 2016!

Haven't been baking much this year, due to many family matters, commitments and travels. As my boy is settling into Primary One next year, not sure how the schedule is going to be like upcoming, but I do hope to bake more. There have been so many plans and my wish-to-bake list is growing by the day, yet I cannot bring myself to settle down for serious baking!

Anyways, here were the orders I managed to take amidst all the travels and whatnot. Big thanks to everyone who have supported me in my baking journey so far!


My Sec school friend who has been so supportive the past year, ordered 8 dozens (separate into 2 delivery dates) of my bake cheese tarts to celebrate her daughter's full month. I must say, I've made so many tarts, I'm becoming a home tart expert! LOL!



Another of my classmate ordered this lovely rainbow cake to celebrate her daughter's first birthday. For "exposed" layer cakes like this, it's actually more tedious to make, as I have to bake a larger cake and trim away the sides so that the cake looks neat. So there's some wastage, although I try to eat some, or offer the trimmings to my son (poor thing, has to eat leftovers :p).

My friend also ordered some cupcakes for the party. Red velvet cupcake with cream cheese swiss meringue frosting is always recommended and welcomed at parties. I like to top mine with some Valrhona crunchy perles.

Mum of twin girls ordered two cakes to celebrate her daughters' birthdays in school. Last year she also ordered two cakes from me, really thankful to her for entrusting me with the cakes again this year.

The first cake is a 5 layer rainbow cake which is ever so popular, and decorated with flower marshmallows which makes the cake pretty and sweet. Centre is left empty for cake toppers.

The second cake is my watermelon cake, introduced a few months ago. Made 2 extra thick layers of sponge (each layer equivalent to 2 normal layers), sandwiched with rose-scented watermelon slices, chantilly cream and almond crumble; frosted with chantilly cream, and decorated with watermelon/rockmelon balls, chopped pistachio, rose petals and mint leaves.

Not sure what 2017 entails, but I certainly want to bake more! Besides that, I'm supposed to revamp/redesign this website by introducing my logo which I've already been using in my contact card for the past year. Hope that I can finally get down to doing it.

Looking forward to 2017!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

2016 - 3rd Q orders

I looked at the calendar today and realised that it's nearly mid October already! Three quarters of the year has gone by in a flash and we are now in the fourth quarter which typically pass by even quicker than we want to.

For the upcoming two months, will be busy on the family front as well, with some travelling in November and December and many other events, so if keen to place orders for cakes or pastries, please contact me early to check availability.

Here were the orders I managed to take up in the past quarter, thank you to everyone of you!


The most popular tart in SG this year, the Hokkaido Bake Cheese Tart!
Ordered by dear friend WH who has been my most faithful supporter all this while :)

So far I've posted 4 blog entries and shared several varied recipes of the tarts. I think I must have made at least 200 tarts by now?! Wow, talk about obsession with this irresistible pastry!


Rainbow cake ordered by a mummy for her daughter's birthday and she's kindly referred by a friend :)
It's always fun to bake rainbow cake because of the sweet colours :) 


I love baking this gula melaka banana walnut cake because every time I bake it, the whole house will be filled with such a wonderful aroma! Ordered by customer who has ordered ombre lychee cake from me before and wanted to try this cake with her family :)


Ordered by a mummy who have ordered a buttercream rosette cake for her baby's cake smash photo shoot before. This time she requested an actual cake for her daughter's actual birthday celebration, something light and not too sweet so that the baby girl can enjoy as well.

She had requested for Korean buttercream roses but back then I haven't learnt how to pipe the Korean type of roses yet and could only pipe flatter rosettes like this. Actually this type of roses look pretty and sweet as well, with less amount of buttercream used :)


Customer is recommended by dear friend WH, and she ordered the cake to celebrate her mother's birthday. This cake is suitable for elderly as it is very light, with tender texture and not too sweet. The chantilly cream is sugarless. The only sweeter portion is the buttercream rosettes which can be left uneaten (personally I also eat a little bit of buttercream only).


Dear friend WH ordered another cake from me, my newly introduced Watermelon and Rose-scented Cake! This cake is very refreshing as watermelon is used in between the sponge cakes. Surprisingly, sponge cake goes very well with watermelon, along with very light chantilly cream and bits of almond crumble. Glad that he enjoyed it with his colleagues; even though they had a heavy dinner, they could still finish the cake, it's like a fruit cum dessert :p

Looking forward to the last few months of 2016 and more bakes hopefully!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Watermelon and Rose-scented Cake

I baked this Watermelon and Rose-scented Cake since July but have been procrastinating in blogging about it! Also couldn't decide whether to start taking orders for this particular cake because not sure if anyone would like it.

Personally I love it, so does my hubby (surprisingly). The tender sponge cake and rose-scented watermelon slice went very well together. The watermelon added a burst of juicy-crunch to the cake which we thought was very refreshing.

Showed the photo to my dear friend WH who has been very supportive of my bakes and he liked it and even wanted to order it :)

I guess this prompted me to open it for orders. For me, I always prefer to bake and sell things that I personally will eat or like to eat.


It is very similar to the famous Sydney Black Star Pastry's Strawberry Watermelon Cake, which is also sold in Cream and Custard Cafe in Singapore. Except, both don't use sponge cakes, they use almond dacquoise. I tried the version from Cream and Custard and unfortunately didn't like it very much. Then while surfing the net, saw another version, the Watermelon and Rose layer cake which I thought might suit me better. Hence taking the idea and applied with my recipes.


The cake layers are made using my signature Japanese-style genoise sponge recipe, the filling and frosting made using chantilly cream (these two components are the same as my ombre and rainbow cakes). Only difference is, I added a slice of rose-scented watermelon as well as a layer of almond crumble in the filling. For decoration, rose-scented watermelon and rock melon balls, pistachios, mint leaves and dried rose petals.


Although there are only two layers of sponge cake, making it less tedious to bake, putting the whole cake together still requires some effort.


First of all, cutting the watermelon slice to the exact size of the cake.

Then scoop the watermelon and rock melon balls of three different sizes and infused them in Nielsen Massey's rose extract for at least 30 mins before draining and drying.


Almond crumble is made by mixing ground almond, plain flour, sugar and unsalted butter, and baking them till slightly browned and crispy.


Assembly of cake - sponge cake layer as base, top with chantilly cream, almond crumble, watermelon, almond crumble, chantilly cream, sponge cake layer as top and finally chantilly cream frosting.


Was thinking whether to use strawberries or grapes for decor but I thought rock melon works fine as well, the playful contrast of orange, red and green makes the cake look quite visually appealing and fun  :)


In terms of taste and texture, the sponge cake layers are very tender, not too sweet and the chantilly cream is made sugarless and very light; the sweetness comes from the fruitiness of the watermelon and rock melon which is very fragrant due to the rose-infusion.

The cake is best served chilled; overall quite mild and refreshing in taste and I thought the combination of cake and juicy fruit suits our hot and humid weather very well.



This particular cake is 6" round, good to serve 6 to 8 slices (subject to feasibility, size of cake can be customised).

Please drop me an email at megtan@singnet.com.sg if interested!