Happy National Cake Day! My can-do-ness was strong enough for me to blanch the pistachios from scratch, make meringue buttercream for the first time and somehow ice the cake without a turntable. Thankfully, there was enough leftover lemon curd from another bake that it meant one thing less to do from scratch. All that aside, I think this is my best attempt at a layer cake. Or cake, period. Best cake I ever made from scratch. Yum!

Been eyeing their cakes for a while and today I decided to take the plunge. This one had layers of strawberry (with strawberry sauce) sandwiched between soft, fluffy vanilla sponge and topped with perfectly whipped fresh cream. Everything, from the quality of the ingredients to the techniques applied to produce this deceptively basic-looking slice was top notch. Simplicity at its best!

Bursting with ORANGE. I mean, minus the seeds, literally every ounce of 🍊 went into the making of this cake. Is it no wonder that indulging in this cake feels like you’re bursting through a gigantic orange?

Waistless with minimal shrinkage from the cake pan walls. All in all, this cake had a much better rise compared to v.1.

A fluffy yet moist confection properly infused with the botanical fragrance of 60 pandan leaves and delicately balanced with the coconutty aromas of the tropics. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

From a cafe onsite called Zhu Coffee 渚咖. The name of the cake literally translates to “Rum Chestnuts.” A lovely slice to enjoy especially because of the chestnut filling even if I tasted no rum.

First time trying this and it works!

Last slice on the stand. Scrumptious. & happy International Cake Day.

BRIEF: “Rich and fruity, crowned with marzipan and soft icing.” SOOT’S TAKE: Got these to try on Boxing Day for $1 when they would’ve cost $17.90 24 h ago. The back of the package states the cake contains sultanas, currants, raisins and glacé cherries and they’re pretty good. But I don’t know how anyone pays almost $20 for such a measly amount of fruit cake?

BRIEF: “Pistachio white chocolate cake layered with pistachio buttercream and pistachio praline.” SOOT’S TAKE: As good as it looks and you’re really getting a bang for your buck with such a generous filling of pistachios and buttercream!

BRIEF: “Thin layers of soft honey sponge cake alternating with light dulce de leche cream in each layer.” SOOT’S TAKE: After years of unfulfilled curiosity about Russian honey cake, I can’t believe I’m finally trying it today! It’s sweet and spicy and kind of tastes old school in my anemoia of the “old country” so to speak.

Light and fluffy coffee sponge cake filled with coffee cream

Basic but good. I love the coffee flavor and that it’s not overly sweet.

Topped with fresh grated coconut, marigold petals and cosmos and served with whipped cream coffee and tea. The cake reminded me of sugee cake.

Purchased in lieu of the YAMANASHI WHITE PEACH FAIR that would allow the local populace to indulge in seasonal white peaches freshly harvested from Yamanashi Prefecture farmers. It is my first time sampling peach from Japan and what I had on the cake was sweet and juicy as described, although this is most definitely not a cheesecake in the traditional sense.

BRIEF: “Fragrant, with distinct flavors of bergamot and citrus. A classic tea time treat.” SOOT’S TAKE: This was delightful too. Cake was light yet flavorful. Everything came together nicely without the lavender dominating. I had this for tea with a cuppa Russian Caravan.

BRIEF: “Vanilla sponge with mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries.” SOOT’S TAKE: This seemed to be the slowest-selling cake at the Luna Cakes’ stand but it was scrumptious.

BRIEF: “This elegant golden cake has a moist and tender cake texture, layered with fresh mango, and finished with mango puree cream cheese frosting. Baked with finest European butter and organic unrefined sugar. A lovely cake to usher in golden luck to everyone this Lunar New Year! New!” SOOT’S TAKE: I rarely come here for refreshments but I just had a hankering for something sweet (and hopefully different) that other places I walked into just weren’t peddling in their pastry. This Lunar New Year-themed cake ended up having the greatest novelty value. It was tasty and true to its description although the slice I received could have benefited from a few less fibrous mango cubes.

Merri Crissmuss! It tastes like Christmas in your mouth and it sounds like that Sandals Resort song in your ears if you catch my drift. 🌊

Happy National Butter Day! A pound of butter went into this!

Happy National Cherry Day! A lovely moist, nutty, rustic cake inspired by Israel’s markets to celebrate cherries among their co-stars of pistachio, almond, and coconut that make this cake more than the sum of its parts.

The legendary fresh cream cake (LFCC) but with seasonal Tochiotome strawberries. They’re ~ 10% pricier but subjectively, they’re just as juicy and flavor-rich as the ones on their regular LFCC. I hope I get to try their other Tochiotome strawberry special products before they go out of season (2 more days)! #JapaneseStrawberryFair

Bouncy, airy, custardy, caramelly and traditional snack cake reminiscent of dim sum restos. Can you tell I don’t own a bamboo steamer? 😆

The ingredients list was a fascinating read. Sure, there were the usual suspects of eggs, sugar, dairy, flour and of course, adzuki beans from Tokachi, Hokkaido and matcha but wine and arrowroot were interesting additions I hadn’t expected. Excellent for $2.20 and I also liked that some honey went into the product.

Moist pandan cake, layered with gula melaka bits and coconut drizzle. Frosted with coconut chantilly cream. This cake is da bomb!!

Happy National Chocolate Cake-(like?) Day! I could make a mug cake at home or I could indulge and blow it on a firecracker: A firecracker of “chocolate butter cookie base, roasted hazelnut dacquoise, raspberry jelly, Valrhona dark chocolate mousse and Valrhona Inspiration Framboise chocolate disc.” This one checks all the boxes: pretty on the outside, but also mighty delectable. 🧨

The legendary fresh cream cake but with most of its fresh strawberries replaced with sumo citrus segments. I am always impressed by the quality of fruit this bakery commits to using in their cakes.

I had to come back for more. This was a variation of the “Legendary Fresh Cream” with 2 layers of sponge sandwiching strawberry, pear and yellow peach pieces in syrup embedded in fresh cream. Strawberries were excellent as usual but overall, I prefer just having the focus on strawberries alone.

Because I’m not in pottery class, dang it. But frankly, I’m astonished I managed this the first time. 😮‍💨

Happy day after Yorkshire Day! Never been to Yorkshire, and god knows if I’ll ever make it there? For now, this will have to be my way of traveling when I can’t travel, my sensory escape into a different world, so to speak. I have to admit that prior to discovering whimsically-named baked goods and instruction from a passionate, generous teacher-baker, my knowledge of Yorkshire was limited to James Herriot and a certain breed of terrier. Speaking of which, do these guys look like… 1. Any snub-nosed dog? *Think underbites in bulldogs, pekes, pugs, Bostons, lhasas, shih tzus…**3rd pic. 2. Jack Skellington? 3. Hannibal Lecter? 4. The 😬 emoji?