Rubina's Cake Shoppe

Can’t figure out what to buy for those last minute holiday gifts? Shy from Beauty and the Feast made gift giving easy with her “13 Holiday Gift Ideas”. She’s covered something special for everyone on your list, from MAC Fabulousness Eye Kits to, that’s right, Rubina’s Cake Shoppe’s Cake Truffle Gift Box. Thank you, Beauty and the Feast, for including us!

I can’t help but love these colorful little confections and it seems like rest of the world can’t resist them either!  I have been dying to make my own since I first laid bite on them several years back during my stopover in Paris from the bakery that started it all, Lauderee. What I love most about French macarons is that you can put multiple unique flavor combinations in one little bite. I have something that I call “taste-bud ADD” where I get bored of the same flavor in a single meal and I need to change up my flavors while I eat. Macarons are perfect for me because I can get a bunch of different flavors of macarons in one dessert sitting and have no taste bud boredom and no heavy feeling after.

I was in my last few days of pregnancy when I first attempted to make them. I had a craving for macarons and I was obsessed with anything rose flavored so I decided to put the two together and make cardamom rose macarons. Despite knowing that it required a tricky technique, I put the little energy I had into making them and I was envisioning that I would have a perfect outcome on the first try. I was devastated when they came out of the oven completely deflated! The flavor was spot on and I still needed to satisfy my crazy pregnancy craving so I ended up scraping the baked batter off the Silpat and eating it all with a spoon.

I made a second attempt months later and I was ecstatic when they came out perfect! I included pictures below for you to see. I was literally jumping for joy when I saw the glossy dome with the ruffled flat bottom called the “foot”.  They had a delicate crisp on the outside of the shell and moist and chewy interior. I paired the cardamom rose macarons with a smooth honey buttercream and they were divine! I loved them so much that I added them to my menu to share with all of you, so if you need a macaron fix, you know where to find them! 😉

The piped macarons are ready to be placed in the oven

The baked macaron shell with the perfect “foot”

Cardamom rose macarons filled with a honey buttercream

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted anything but I’m officially back from my maternity leave! I had a beautiful baby girl, Mariya, back in November. A lot of exciting things have happened with Rubina’s Cake Shoppe since my last post and I plan on catching you up over the next few weeks so stay tuned! Make sure stay connected with us via Facebook and Twitter.

For now,  here’s my easy white chocolate mousse recipe that I wanted to share with you. It only requires three ingredients and it doesn’t take long to make. It is the perfect end to any meal because it’s extremely light and airy.

Ingredients:

5 ounces high quality white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
5 ounces heavy cream
5 ounces egg whites
A dark chocolate or milk chocolate bar, for garnish

Directions:

Place the chopped white chocolate in a bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat until it comes to a simmer.

Pour the heavy cream over the white chocolate. Let it sit for a minutes so the white chocolate starts to melt and then whisk the mixture together until it is completely smooth. Let cool.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks when you lift the whisk. Gently fold in the cooled white chocolate mixture.

Spoon the white chocolate mousse into four serving cups.  Use a vegetable peeler to shave some dark or milk chocolate over the white chocolate mousse.  Fresh berries would also compliment the mousse very well.

Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

We had the pleasure of creating a one of a kind wedding cake for “The Office” actor, Oscar Nunez and his bride, Ursula Whittaker. Oscar and Ursula’s laid back and humorous personalities made my consultation with them one of the most enjoyable consultations I have ever had. We discussed a few options for flavors and designs and they knew what they wanted in their cake right away.

Actor Oscar Nunez and Ursula Whittaker during the cake cutting ceremony.

They asked for a cake that reflected the bright, summery and simple atmosphere of their beach wedding but was traditional at the same time.  The cake was a traditional three tiered round cake covered with organic, refined-sugar free ivory and yellow fondant. A vibrant vine with leaves of various shapes, sizes and shades of green climbed up the cake. The vine was adorned with white and yellow cherry blossoms, hand-made out of organic, refined sugar-free gumpaste and royal icing.

Ursula asked for an organic cake which did not contain white sugar and white flour, so we  created flavors just for the couple. The first flavor they chose was a  naturally sweetened organic lemon cake with layers of lemon curd and lemon buttercream, frosted with honey buttercream.  The second flavor was a  naturally sweetened organic chocolate cake, layered with chocolate orange ganache, frosted with chocolate orange buttercream.

The ceremony was held at The Beach Club in Santa Monica.  Ursula wore a simple white slip dress and was one of the most beautiful brides I have seen.  Their wishes of  a simple wedding that was about the ceremony, love for each other,  and love for their friends & family really shined through.

The couple was kind enough to send us pictures of the cake cutting ceremony taken by their friend and the following quote the very next day.

” Rubina!  The cake was so delicious!  Hardly any left!  I literally stole a
piece of lemon cake from a friend so I could taste it, and it was
divine.  You did a beautiful job.  “

A close up of Oscar Nunez and Ursula Whittaker's wedding cake

Congratulations on your wedding Ursula and Oscar!

I recently had a very special client who had asked for an organic cake which did not contain white sugar and white flour and I was excited to take on the challenge.  I love to use fondant because the cake will keep better when covered in fondant. It also allows for more design options and it gives the cake a flawless, porcelain finish.  The biggest challenge I had is that traditional fondant recipes contain refined sugar and shortening.

I thought that maybe we could find a way to make us both happy and still use fondant without refined sugar and shortening. I initially researched to find organic fondants on the market or recipes for organic fondant on the web but  I had no luck. That didn’t stop me, I thought to myself, “if it doesn’t exist then I I’ll make it exist”. I usually make every component of my cakes from scratch except for fondant because I had been told by several master cake artists that home-made fondant is very temperamental and that high quality ready-made fondant is the way to go. Since I had never made my own fondant before I was a little nervous about the outcome but after a little experimentation I had success! I came up with my own fondant recipe which is 98% organic and does not include any refined white sugar or shortening. Now if you have ever tasted a few different fondants, you will know that not all fondant tastes good and I find it very important that my cakes don’t just look good but that every component of the cake tastes great. I was thrilled that the fondant was delicious, the best way to describe it would be that it tasted like the oreo cookie crème filling. Who doesn’t like that! It was also extremely easy to use and covered the cake beautifully! Above are some pictures of the cake covered in my organic fondant, prior to decoration so you can see how smooth it came out on the cake.

We were flattered by the opportunity to indulge over 100 of Hollywood’s hottest starts with our gourmet cake truffles at the “3rd Annual Valentine Romance “Sneak Peek” Oscar® Gifting Party”. This exclusive event took place on February 8, 2011 at Café La Boheme – known for it’s 5-star cuisine and stunning interior.

Our decadent desserts and dazzling display caught the attention of many celebrities, including Vivica A. Fox, Mischa Barton, Oscar Nunez of “The Office”, Bronson Pelletier and Kiowa Gordon of “Twilight”. The guests of honor were impressed with our exquisite Valentine’s Day themed cake. The whimsical and elegant cake alternated with multi-shaped pink and ivory tiers. It stood two and a half feet tall and was adorned with edible pearls and pink crystals which dangled from the top.  We also showcased a special designer cake that was indistinguishable from a one-of-a-kind Louis Vuitton purse from the Spring 2011 collection. It was great to see the expressions when guests discovered that the purse was actually an edible dessert!

The celebrities were not only impressed by the appearance of our cakes but were left speechless at the first taste of our delectable cake truffles. Actual truffles speckled on the show- stopping backdrop and were also available to be selected from the cake truffle buffet, designed by Kismet Events. We received comments such as “Insanely tasty!” from Oscar nominee Ian Barnes and “Incredibly Delicious!” from Sofia Milos of “CSI: Miami”. Chocolate Hazelnut, Mint Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Vanilla Bean were amongst the flavors which embellished the display, and stood out beautifully thanks to the popping menu tags created by PaperDaydream.

Guests were left craving more and we didn’t disappoint. Each guest was gifted with a gourmet cake truffle favor box so they could end their night on a sweet note.

We were starry-eyed with the Hollywood hotties and they were in love with our confections – it was the perfect Valentine!

More pictures of the event and your favorite celebs can be found on our Gallery.

Be sure to join us on Facebook and   follow us on Twitter for more updates.

Come visit us at the Orange County Great Park Farmers’ Market this Sunday, February 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and try a free sample of our delectable sweets!

Enjoy the fresh air and eat your heart out with our individually wrapped gourmet cake truffles!

Don’t forget to pick up a Gourmet Cake Truffle gift box for your Valentine, its the perfect way to spoil your sweetie!

We’re trying to get 100 fans on our new Rubina’s Cake Shoppe facebook page by Monday, February 7. We will give a FREE box of Cake Truffles to one lucky fan if we reach our goal! Please help us out and share/suggest it to all your friends.

This three tier wedding cake was designed for a wedding which had a theme that was a mix of modern and classic. The clients requested a clean design that incorporated the bride’s favorite color, purple, and the mother of the groom’s favorite color, turquoise. A purple fondant band wraps around the base of the top and bottom tier. A turquoise damask pattern decorates the square shaped middle tier. A fondant bow with a turquoise and purple edible broach is the perfect union of the two styles.

The cake table, designed by Kismet Events , gave homage to this elegant cake. The cake was set on top of a custom made cake box, wrapped in a turquoise taffeta. The centerpieces were submerged purple flowers in turquoise water and small turquoise Moroccan vases.

Congratulations Husam and Rula!



Yup, you read correctly…we’re going HOLLYWOOD!

We are thrilled to announce that Rubina’s Cake Shoppe has been invited to present our delectably delicious desserts at the upcoming “Third Annual Valentine Romance Sneak Peek Oscar Suite and Party”!  Stay tuned to find out which of your favorite celebrities enjoyed our unforgettably scrumptious sweets!

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