Skylanders Themed Birthday Cake

My youngest son turned 6 and because he is really into skylanders lately, I made skylanders themed cake for his birthday.
For his teachers and classmates, I planned to give out some cupcakes so that it was easier for the teachers to distribute them and they are mess-free. I did some research in the internet and found templates for 8 elements in skylanders. They are  Magic, Earth, Water, Fire, Tech, Un-dead, Life and Air.
The cupcakes are white almond sour cream cake (WASC) with marshmallow fondant icing.

And for the birthday party, I made a skylanders portal from WASC cake with marshmallow fondant icing. To make it even special, I ordered edible image with skylanders themed (of course) and his photo on it. Not to forget, the eight elements to go around the portal.
To see his reaction when he found out that there was his photo on the birthday cake was priceless!

Here I share the WASC recipe. This cake is so moist and easy to make. Perfect to go with fondant icing.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

originally created by Rebecca Sutterby

Ingredients :

2 boxes white cake mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar (I reduced the sugar into 1 cup because it was too sweet for me)

1 1/2 teas. salt 

8 egg whites

2 2/3 cups water

4 Tbls. vegetable oil

2 cups (16oz carton) sour cream

2 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor

2 teaspoons almond extract

Instructions :

Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

* Notes :

- One recipe makes: one 14″ round + one 6″ round

or one 16″ round or one 12″ round + one 10″ round or one 12×18″ sheet cake or one 12″ round + one 8″ round + one 6″

- Half a recipe makes: two 8″ rounds or two 6″ rounds + 6 cupcakes

For the marshmallow fondant, You can find the recipe and video tutorial here.

And also for his birthday bento, I used some birthday decoration from All Things For Sale, here is the link :

Inside the box, I prepared :

1. Ham and cheese mini croissant

2. Corn on the cob

3. Fish drumstick ( recipe here)

4. Quail eggs with salt and pepper

5. Strawberry yogurt for recess

Fish Drumsticks Bento

I received my first order to WA Fresh Delivered and really impress with their service, attention to details, and the quality of their products. And they are all in reasonable price! So if you live in the Perth metropolitan area, I highly recommend it! (notes : free delivery for orders above $45).

Inside the box :
1. Ham and cheese pinwheels
2. home made fish drumsticks (recipe below)
3. Quail eggs
4. Baby carrots and celery sticks
5. Grapes and apple cuts

FISH DRUMSTICKS

Ingredients :
250 gr mackerel paste
50 gr prawn, minced
100 gr tapioca flour
50 gr breadcrumbs
2 egg whites
2 pcs garlic, minced
2 tsp white sugar
salt - as needed

For coating :
2 egg whites, beaten
breadcrumbs - as needed

Method :
1. Mix the mackerel paste, minced prawn, garlic, egg whites, sugar and salt until well combined
2. Add in tapioca flour and breadcrumbs, mix gently
3. Mold mixture around little bamboo stick into drumsticks, repeat for all mixtures
4. Dip one by one into beaten egg whites, then coat with breadcrumbs
5. Fry into medium hot oil, until change colour.

You may find the food picks here :

Little Panda Bento

I've seen those panda food picks in many bento creations, and finally I've got my own!. Aren't they so cute ?? :)

I made the Indonesian chicken roulade and the kids love it. Here is the recipe :

INDONESIAN CHICKEN ROULADE

Ingredients :
150 gr chicken, minced
100 gr button mushroom, diced
1 pcs little carrot, diced
1 egg
50 gr breadcrumbs
1/2 tbs red onion, minced
2 pcs garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
salt - as needed

For coating :
1 egg, beaten
breadcrumbs and plain flour - as needed

Method :
1. Mix all the ingredients
2. Fry a little bit of the mixture and balance the flavour as needed
3. Then roll up the mixture into cylinder with cling wrap and secure both ends.
4. Repeat until all the mixture wrapped
5. Steam the rolls for about 20 minutes
6. Open the cling wrap
7. Coat the roll with the plain flour, then go to beaten egg, and coat it with breadcrumbs.
8. Fry in the medium hot oil until turning brown.
9. Soak the excess oil with paper towel and slice.
10. Ready to serve. Work well with ketcup or sweet chili sauce.

For my youngest son, I prepared :

1. Onigiri with salmon furikake

2. Pork and mushroom siomay

3. Indonesian chicken roulade with ketchup

4. Roasted baby carrots and celery 

5. Strawberry yogurt for recess

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Onigiri with nori
2. Pork and mushroom siomay
3. Indonesian chicken roulade with ketchup
4. Roasted baby carrots
5. Chicken and broccoli stir-fried
6. Kiwi fruit for recess

You may find the panda food picks here :

Sponge Bob Sandwiches

My eldest son asked me to make sponge bob themed for his lunch. The sponge bob sandwich consists of : ham and cheese sandwich, yellow and white egg sheets, crab stick, bread crust, and nori.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Sponge bob sandwich
2. Fried pork dumpling with ketchup
3. Broccoli and carrot sticks
4. Sultanas
5. Kiwi fruit for recess

And for my younger son, I prepared :
1. Sponge bob sandwich
2. Fried pork dumpling with ketchup
3. Broccoli and carrot sticks
4. Sultanas
5. Strawberry yogurt for recess

Bolu Kukus (Indonesian Steamed Cake)

Bolu Kukus reminds me of my childhood, when I made this cake together with my mum. To make this cake is quite challenging, this cake must have 3 or 4 buds on the top. I share the recipe and tips below.

BOLU KUKUS (INDONESIAN STEAMED CAKE)
Make about 12 cakes

Ingredients :
300 grams of all purpose flour
250 grams of sugar
5 egg yolks
4 egg white
1/2 tsp baking soda
175 cc of soda water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp red food colouring (or anything you like)

Method :
1. Prepare steamer, warm up for about 15 minutes.
2. Line bolu kukus molds (I use silicon molds) with parchment paper
3. Beat  the eggs, sugar,vanilla until thick & paste.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the soda, gently mix.
5. Repeat remaining flour & soda, end with flour.
6. Mix throughly until the batter is free of lumps.
7. Divide 1/3 of the batter into small bowl. Keep the rest in original colour.
8. Add red food colouring into that bowl. Whisk until combined.
9. Spoon cream batter into mould. Swirl a little of the coloured batter.
10. Steam for 20 minutes on high heat.


Tips :
* Cover the steamer lid with a cloth to prevent any drips on the batter.
* Do not open the steamer at first fifteen minutes. No peeking, this can cause of the cake to stop rising.

I used some leftovers for my kids school lunches. Both of them had similar lunches. Details as below :

For the school lunch, I prepared :
1. Bolu Kukus
2. Corn on the cob
3. Crackers and cheese
4. Sausages
5. Broccoli and carrot sticks
6. Yogurt
7. Apple cuts for recess

Cutie Eyes Bento

I baked ham, corn and vegetables muffin for the kids. I've made this recipe before, you may find it here.
And I added my new food picks from Bento USA for extra cuteness. This food picks are very handy to save time.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Ham, corn and vegetables muffin
2. Cheese and ham mini croissant
3. Corn on the cob
4. Milk jelly and nata de coco
5. Carrot sticks
6. Sultana
7. Granny Smith apple for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Ham, corn and vegetables muffin
2. Corn on the cob
3. Milk jelly and nata de coco
4. Carrot sticks
5. Yogurt for recess

Cheat's Ham and Cheese Croissants

This recipe by Miguel Maestre is very easy to make, yet so tasty. Suitable for school lunches or snack after school.

Cheat's Ham and Cheese Croissants
Recipe by: Miguel Maestre

Ingredients :
1 puff pastry sheet thick
1 egg yolk
4 slices of ham of the bone
75g grated emmenthal cheese (I used tasty cheddar cheese)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Method :
Unroll your puff pastry and cut it into two equal parts.
Brush with mustard. Drop 2 slices of ham on each part.
Cut the pastry with the ham into triangle shapes on each part then sprinkle with grated cheese and cracked pepper.
Roll each triangle from its base to the tip to form small croissants.
Brush each puff with egg yolk. Place the croissants on a silicon baking mat, and put in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 220°C.

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese croissants
2. Corn on the cob
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Carrots
5. Granny Smith apple for recess

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese croissants
2. Corn on the cob
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Carrots
5. Kiwi fruit for recess