Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Barbie Doll Cake
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sam's Bazaar Stalls
Sam's Bazaar Stalls
Sam's Cakes & Bakes will be setting up bazaar stalls ate the following locations. Should you be nearby, do come and support Sam's Products.
Date / Time: 2 March 2008, Saturday, 9.30am to 12.30pm
Location: YMCA Level 1 Auditorium
Date / Time: 8 March 2008, Saturday, 9am to 7pm
Location: NTU Open House (Quad)
Date / Time: 17 to 19 March 2008, Monday to Wednesday, 9am to 6pm
Location: NUS Business School
Date / Time: 29 & 30 March 2008, Saturday & Sunday, Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Location: Museum of Shanghai Toys
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sam's Baking & Culinary Courses: Growing The Passion In You
Monday, January 21, 2008
2008: Year of the Rat (Pineapple Tarts)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sam's on My Paper
Food blogs: treats or threats?
Serene Luo & Esther Au Yong
Wed, Jan 09, 2008, my paper
DO NOT buy food from online food blogs. The convenience of buying online isn't worth it when it comes to personal safety.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) says the levels of hygiene maintained by blog sellers are "questionable".
Most of these popular blogs - many of them peddling dessert items like chocolates, cupcakes and other pastries that may contain uncooked butter cream - do not have the required NEA licence to prepare and sell food.
Last year, the NEA warned two such blog owners and made them remove all mention of their wares from their blogs.
Businesses that want to sell food must satisfy several criteria, such as typhoid inoculation for all food handlers, and have premises with the facilities for food preparation.
It is also illegal to sell home-cooked food to the public.
A spokesman said: "NEA takes a serious view of such unlicenced food sales as the conditions under which the food is prepared are questionable, and NEA will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against such individuals."
What's more important is whether the product is safe, said veteran food writer Sylvia Tan.
"PrimaDeli was a licensed food handler, and even then, people got sick," she said.
Recently, over 100 people came down with food poisoning after eating chocolate cakes from PrimaDeli bakery outlets.
Ms Tan advised my paper readers to be careful of where they purchase their goodies.
"Home sales have been going on for the longest time. Everyone knows someone who sells cookies or tarts. Personal recommendations are very important," she said.
Food bloggers say they will continue plying their wares
Licensed or not, customers will continue buying treats like cupcakes, pineapple tarts or fancy macaroons from "casual" home bakeries, they say.
At the same time, food bloggers selling their wares say they will continue their trade - because most of their customers are their friends.
Concern over hygiene standards kept by food bloggers hawking their wares had arisen, following last month's PrimaDeli food poisoning incident.
One blogger, editorial consultant Cheryl Chia, said that she knew about the National Environment Agency regulations and that "food poisoning can kill, it's scary".
"That's why I am now only baking for family and friends," she said.
The 23-year-old behind She Bakes & She Cooks said that she first started selling because readers wrote in, asking her to sell her baked goods to them.
Basic food hygiene is always observed, said Mr Samuel Chan, 22, of the blog Sam's Cakes and Bakes.
However, getting a licence is too costly, mainly because of the need for a commercial space, he said.
Under the law, homes cannot be used to cook food to be sold to the public.
First-time offenders could be fined up to $1,000.
"While we can't use our home kitchen, I feel that a home kitchen is clean enough and adequate when it comes to small-scale production," Mr Chan, a food technology student at a local polytechnic, said.
Undergraduate Julius Chen, 22, who runs the website Julius Truffles, suggested licensing home premises for small-scale baking.
"There can also be courses for home bakers. Perhaps awareness and education campaigns too, when it comes to concerns like food safety," he said.
In any case, many home bakeries come recommended by friends and should be reliable, said consumers whom my paper interviewed.
Marketing manager Ng Aik Kiat, 32, says he has been buying pineapple tarts and love letters from his neighbours for many years because he found the quality of their baked treats to be high.
"After all these years, there is a certain level of trust and confidence," he said.
"They might not be licensed, but it's almost like my own relatives making (these cookies) for me."
Account executive Jaslin Poh, 28, said she would still take this "calculated risk".
"As long as the website doesn't have a bad record, I will still go ahead," she said.
"I'll stop only if I get sick."
Sunday, January 06, 2008
2008 Chinese New Year Goodies!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Sam Wishes All a Happy New Year 2008!
Here are some of the things to look forward to at Sam's:
1. 2008 commemorates Sam's Cakes & Bakes 5th Anniversary. Look forward to delicious bakes coming up in the months to come.
2. Sugar-Free Cakes and Goodies will be launch this coming Chinese New Year, do enquire for more details.
3. Baking & Culinary Courses by Sam will start running from February 2008. Do enquire for more details as well.
4. More bake journal articles featuring new food finds and new food developments will be published.
With so much plans in the pipeline, do constantly visit Sam's Bake Journal at http://samsbakejournal.blogspot.com/ for your daily reads and should you feel hungry for cakes & bakes or need to get that special customised gift for that special someone, visit http://www.sams-cakes.com/.
Sam's Cakes & Bakes - Baked with Love & Sincerity.
Baking & Culinary Courses at Sam's - Growing the Passion in You.
Sam's Bake Journal - The Science of Baking Revealed.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
SHF #38 - The Proof is in the Pudding! - Panna Cotta
600 mL Milk 600 ml
3 tsp Gelatine
90 g Sugar
1 Tbsp Almond Essence (Optional)
Strawberry Jam, Sliced Strawberries.
1. Place 5 times the amount of gelatine of milk in a small bowl & sprinkle with gelatine. Allow the gelatine to bloom for 5 minutes.
2. Put the remaining milk in a pan with the cream & sugar & heat gently while stirring, until almost boiling (when you see small bubbles appearing).
CAUTION: Do not Boil or the mixture will overflow.
3. Remove the pan from the heat & whisk in the gelatine into the cream mixture until dissolved.
4. Stir in the Almond Essence & leave it to cool for a while.
5. Pour the mixture into the glasses & chill until set (about 4 hours).
6. Serve with strawberry jam and decorate with sliced strawberries.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
YMCA - Festival of Love 2007 (Christmas Cookies)
YMCA - Festival of Love 2007 (Christmas Cookies)
For Christmas, they requested me to teach the members, staffs and volunteers how to make gingerbread man cookies for a children's home. As gingerbread may not appeal to the children, I decided to teach them how to make a simple cut-out cookie that they can then decorate with royal icing, topped with hundreds and thousands, M&Ms, etc. 
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Baking Demonstration at Robinsons Centrepoint
Log Cake Ingredients:
3 Nos Eggs
75 g Caster Sugar
85 g Self – Raising Flour
40 g Water
40 g Corn Oil
½ tsp Vanilla Essence
1 bottle Fong Yit XO Kaya
60 g Dairy Cream
2. Whisk Eggs & gradually add in the Caster Sugar whisk till ribbon stage.
3. Mix Water, Corn Oil & Vanilla Essence together.
4. Fold in Self – Raising Flour, Water, Corn Oil & Vanilla Essence.
5. Bake at 200C for 12 to 15 mins.
December 2007
http://www.samscakes.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
The Next Phase of Sam's - Coming to you this November
Do check back here on 1st November 2007. The Next Phase of Sam's - Coming Soon...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sam's Light & Moist Christmas Fruit Cake
Sam's Light & Moist Christmas Fruit CakeFruit cakes are often associated with hard, dry texture and overly sweet. Sam's improved version of his Christmas Fruit Cake is light, soft and moist. It is also healthier too! With oil used instead of butter, loads of fruit and nuts, packed in a beautiful gift box, Sam's Light Christmas Fruit Cake makes a great gift this christmas!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sam's Cakes on The New Paper
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DOUGHBOYS ON THE RISE
More young men are putting on the apron and hopping on the gravy train
By Esther Au Yong
October 20, 2007
THEY whip up delicious hotel-standard cakes, cook for private dinner parties and even make their own chocolate truffles.
They are not your typical housewife, but young, hot-blooded men.
All are under 25, with the youngest only 16.
Whlie others their age may be spending their weekends playing computer games or soccer, these guys are getting busy in the kitchen.
Many have turned their hobby into a lucrative business - either online or through word-of-mouth.
Such as Mr Mike Lau, who runs Creme Confections online.
He specialises in cheesecakes and chocolate cakes.
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Mr Lau said: 'For me, cooking runs in the family. My mum used to run a food stall and now, she's semi-retired.
'So it was quite natural for me to go into a food-related business - baking.'
Mr Lau, 22, has a diploma in culinary skills from The Singapore International Hotel and Tourism College (Shatec) and has apprenticed at Justin Quek's La Petit Village and Emmanuel Stroobant's Saint Pierre.
'I started cooking and baking for friends and family when I was 15.
'It went on from there and early this year, my friends suggested that I start a small online business.'
Now, Mr Lau bakes about 20 cakes a week - each costs between $35 and $50.
He declined to reveal his profits, but said that he is confident that 'if I set up shop and sell cakes full time, I will have the orders to sustain it'.
His family has offered to help him financially and a cousin even volunteered to help with deliveries.
While Mr Lau is lucky to have support from his family, Mr JuliusChen, who sells chocolate truffles under the brand Julius Truffles, had a harder time convincing his.
The 22-year-old NUS sociology student said: 'I think they were worried that it would affect my studies or that I wasn't going to gain anything from this hobby.
'But they're okay with it now, especially since orders have been coming in.'
Now, he earns about $800 on good months, and $200 on slower months.
The bulk of his business comes from friends and family.
But is baking befitting of a man?
Of course, they say.
Mr Samuel Chan of Sam's Cakes and Bakes said: 'Look at celebrity chefs like Emmanuel Stroobant and Jamie Oliver. Actually, people believe that guys who can cook are more romantic.'
Besides baking carrot cupcakes, fruit cakes and cheesecakes, the 22-year-old Singapore Poly food technology student also conducts workshops to teach creative bread-making techniques.
The guys say satisfaction comes from watching their friends enjoy their masterpieces.
Said Mr Lau: 'A lot of the time, people don't believe I made the cakes that I bring to parties. they say I bought them.
'But when they eat a slice, they keep quiet and just keep eating.'
And often, it's also about networking and getting a headstart in the business world.
Said Mr Chen: 'Through this experience, I've come to know a lot of people, from students to professionals, and even, some high-society people. Chocolate, in a way, brought us together.
'And now, even if I stop selling chocolates and start selling something else, I'm confident my friends and customers will still support me because of the relationship that we have. They also know the quality and standard of my products.'
He has also formed a network with fellow male bakers.
He said: 'When I first started my online catalogue last year, I didn't know many of them. But now, I know at least 20 other young men who cook or bake.'
Mr Chen has even collaborated with some of them and added them to his website, forming an online community.
But not all have made a business out of their hobby.
For some, food remains just a passion.
For teenagers Jonathan and Sean Gwee, dabbling in cooking is an enjoyment that has helped them bond.
Said Jonathan, 18, a first-year medical student at NUS: 'I do other things like play games and all that too, but cooking is my passion.
'I enjoy experimenting with flavours and watching them interact.'
His brother Sean believes much can be improved in the local dining scene.
Said the 16-year-old who is sitting for his O-Levels this year: 'I would like to change the misconception that fine dining is all about being high class or that it's only for the rich, but really, it's an exciting alternative that's worth it.
'I hope more people will be more adventurous.'
Singaporeans who have tried these young men's creations say they are surprised at these homegrown talents.
Said Ms Amelia Koh, 35, a sales manager who has tried Mr Chan's cakes: 'I was very surprised when I found out that he's so young!
'But I enjoyed his cakes and most importantly, the good service from him. I'm glad more young men like him are following their dream.'
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Cakes & Chocolates
In cyberspace, many virtual relationships are formed. Be it friendship or business partnerships. A lot of trust is involved as physically both parties do not know each other at all. I never believed that virtual relationships can last, let alone virtual business partnerships relationships.
Not until Julius of Julius Truffles came along. What started out as an invitation to conduct chocolate courses for me turned out to be an unexplainable friendship being forged. I remember the first time we chatted was through Friendster about how we were both doing a cooking hobby business, and how we had always dreamt of opening our own place one day. Upon seeing my then geocities website, Julius offered to revamp it for me onto blogspot, inclusive of all the graphic designs. Why did he help me? I did not even know him physically.
On further conversing with him, I started to see that there were similarities in the way we dealt with our passion. The passion for creating food.
Today, what you see in the pictures are how we have both progress over the years, showcasing our products as compared to the past, when it was all about perfecting the right recipe. We have moved far ahead of our time, and suddenly I feel that yes, this is what it really means to be passionate.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
World Bread Day 2007
Note: The Gingko Nut Bun is on the left side.
Thanks to Zorra of Kochtopf for her invitation to participate in World Bread Day 2007. This year, I have decided to share with you a recipe that I taught recently at a Baking Demostration. Gingko Nuts have been used widely in Asian cuisine. Some of these include: Japanese Chawanmushi (Steamed Egg), Teochew Au Nee (Yam Paste Dessert).
In the past, the fresh Gingko Nuts have to be first smashed open to remove the hard outer shell covering. Sometimes, there is a bitter centre to be removed. After which, the Gingko Nuts are boiled either in water or a sugar syrup to soften it. These days, vacuum packed and canned Gingko Nuts are readily available and this has reduce a lot of preparation time.
Happy World Bread Day! If Gingko Nuts are not available in your country, you can replace it with any other nuts available.
Gingko Nut Buns (Makes 7 Buns)
Egg Glaze:
1 No Egg
1 Tbsp Water
Method:
1. Place all the ingredients in bowl except butter. Knead till the side of the bowl is clean.
2. Add in butter and knead till well developed. Add in the Sliced Gingko Nuts.
Recipe By Samuel Chan
October 2007
http://www.samscakes.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Apple Day - Sam's The Big Apple
Apple Day - Sam's The Big Apple
Thanks to Zorra of Kochtopf for her kind invitation to participate in this blog event on 28th September 2007, Apple Day.
http://www.halcyon.com.sg/