Having a sweet tooth and three kids, with sweet tooth as well, it is important for a dad like me to learn about baking. In this aspect I get the help of The Maya Kitchen every now and then. And last week I learned flower piping from no other than The world-renowned duo of Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes - Valeri Valeriano and Christina Ong!
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| Valerie and Christina, with the photo of the first ever cupcakes they decorated. |
The Maya Kitchen brings in the popular Filipino founders and owners of the London-based Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes shop, for the special Dessert Dreams with the Queens of Buttercream workshop. The session included a cake decorating demo using local and easy to find ingredients like MAYA products and a hands-on exercise where we got expert guidance on frosting a cupcake.
Valeri and Christina’s sweet success started with a tiny oven (that can only bake six cupcakes at a time!) in their tiny kitchen in London in 2011 while taking odd jobs to survive. Since they had zero baking experience, they equipped themselves with YouTube videos, basic baking tools and improvised piping bags to give friends a unique handmade Mother’s Day gift. They made their first sunflower cupcake and unlocked a passion for baking and buttercream art.
The books the Queens of Buttercream published are available in popular bookstores
Soon, Valeri and Christina started their own cake business and pioneered innovative techniques and intricate designs that won them medals in cake decorating competitions in London. Now known as Queens of Buttercream, they have since been invited to conduct workshops at jam-packed venues all around the world. They have also authored best-selling books The Contemporary Buttercream Bible (2014), 100 Buttercream Flowers (2015), Buttercream One-Tier Wonders (2016), and Buttercream Flowers for all Seasons (2018), which have been translated into different languages.
Despite the success and their busy calendar, Valeri and Christina still make time to travel to Manila at least once a year. Their passion for baking and sharing their knowledge have also led them to organize the first Cake Fiesta Manila, the first-ever ultimate cake show in the Philippines, in 2019. Supported by Maya, the event is considered as the biggest baking and cake decorating expo in the country, with a second run slated on November 13-15, 2020 at the SMX Convention Center Pasay.
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| The beautiful cupcakes we've decorated! |
Learn great recipes at www.themayakitchen.com. Like and follow The Maya Kitchen on Facebook and Instagram @TheMayaKitchen1 and follow us on Twitter @TheMayaKitchen. e-mail contact @themayakitchen.com, or visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8892-1185 or 8892-5011 local 108 or +63929 679 6102.
