Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Popcorn Cupcakes..



In preparation for our friend Tyrone's movie/cinema themed wedding, my husband came up with a brilliant idea of making Popcorn Cupcakes instead of ordinary frosted cupcakes that the bride Amor and I agreed about and they both liked it. So last night, we made a few samples to see if it's going to work out and as it looked like, it did. I used a boxed cake mix with this one because I know for sure that it's going to end up with my usual beneficiaries, (the guards in our building) so I thought no need for the extra effort.




I plan to do Butter Cupcakes to match with the Butter Popcorn image and my husband will be doing the Popcorn container out of creativity. It's great to have an artistic husband around, less trouble and easy work. This one's just for trial and I'm sure the actual Popcorn Cupcakes that we're going to do for the wedding will look more natural and realistic. Stay tuned! :D

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Martha's Crumb Cake..



I've been wanting to try making this cake ever since I saw it in an episode of Cake Boss (Reality Show of the famous Carlo's Bakery in New Jersey), where most people says they have the most exquisite Crumb Cake you'll ever have. I thought I'll do some research about this cake and hopefully, if I'm lucky to find the perfect recipe, I'd be able to add this up on my home-baking business menu. That way, I can introduce it to Filipinos that are not really familiar with this type of cake. After weeks of searching, I finally decided to start with Martha Stewart's recipe of New York Crumb Cake.




I know I'm not a pro, but I'm just going to share my viewpoint of the recipe. I honestly didn't get the taste I was expecting. The cake was dry, dense and bland. I was absolutely sure I followed the recipe perfectly and I even bought the best ingredients because I had such high expectation that it's going to turn out superb. Or maybe that's how it should really taste but it's just not my type of cake. I really want to want this but I really don't. But like I said, this is just my viewpoint of the recipe. We all have different standards for food.

I still plan to try other recipes of this cake or even make my own until I find the right one that will pass the Filipinos' distinctive taste.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

KC's Cupcakes on Cupcakes Take The Cake!

The #1 Cupcake Blog.. Oh yeah!

For me, as a cupcake baker, for my cupcakes to be posted on Cupcakes Take The Cake is a great honor. I'm a big fan of the blog and the inspiration it gives was one of the reasons why I decided to focus on cupcakes for my home business. I'm just so happy they acknowledged my work. Thanks to my husband Jobert for helping me design those pink and yellow chocolate cupcakes. Thank God I have a creative husband. :D

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

25 and Fabulous!



We celebrated our friend Fleur's birthday at Cuba Bar Shaw Boulevard last Sunday. I gave her Chocolate Cupcakes as a gift and even though it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to look like, she still loved it. My husband helped with the decorations not to mention his famous 'flourish design' using royal icing. It felt great doing stuff together especially when it comes to baking which is not his thing.

I first met this wonderful friend of mine in Colliers International at Makati City, where we both used to work in 2006 and we became close friends ever since. We hung out when I was still pregnant with Kursten and I can say she was the one that made me enjoy my pregnancy. It's funny because we always have our houses near each other by accident. 




The party was great. I've never had so much fun for a very long time. We played billiards and we hit the karaoke. I was the photographer for the night (I don't mean to brag but I take pretty awesome pictures). I did a lot of catching up with our friend Laine coz it's been years since we last saw each other so I asked her to just stay at our place for the night. I met Fleur's family and friends and I was so happy I got new friends. The food was good, the place was stunning. The party was fabulous!




It's sad that I'm not going to be able to see her often from now on, because she already resigned from work to take care of her Dad and she's going back home to Batangas soon. She always puts her family first and it is the best thing I love about her. I'm really going to miss her. She lives just a few blocks away from our place and I could visit her anytime I want, but now it will take 3 to 4 hours of trip to see her. We've been sisters for years and It's going to stay that way forever.

Pink & Purple..


It was my niece Bianca's birthday party yesterday (though it kind of looked like it was my Mom's) and I was assigned for the cupcakes. It wasn't really a very pleasant day for me because we got stuck in traffic on our way to the mall (we first bought Bianca a gift before going to the party) and it was burning hot despite of the rain. I was melting the entire time and I have no choice but to endure it. All I wanted was to make my niece happy so despite the humid weather, we still did our job and kept the party going. We bought the Barbie bag that Bianca wished for. The Purple and Pink cupcakes that I made was so simple and cute, yet it still turned out to be a crowd pleaser.



The first thing I love about baking cupcakes is the frosting part. I get to play with different colors of frostings and sprinkles which is a lot of fun. It's like 1st grade all over again. 

After the party, we went to Shangrila Mall to relax a little and eat dinner. We weren't able to eat much at the party because the house was already crowded. We stayed outside the entire time so we thought it wouldn't hurt if we stay in the mall for a little while.


Friday, September 3, 2010

Goin' Bananas!



A couple of weeks back, we went to my brother-in-law's music video shoot (Nikki Gil's video) in a studio near Robinsons Pioneer at Boni Avenue. The studio was so cool and it kind of look like an art gallery from outside. They have a classy small cafeteria in case anyone gets hungry during the shoot. While everybody's busy around me, something caught my attention. It was this good looking Banana Muffins displayed at the corner of the bar. It looks really attractive that I forcefully asked my husband to buy me some, ignoring the "you're on a diet!" look on his face. It was just as good as how it looks. Fantastic!

I still had the banana muffin fever the next day so I thought, why not make them myself? I browsed my favorite websites for recipe and went straight to the grocery store to buy bananas, since I already have the basic ingredients at home. I substituted some of the ingredients to what I think will make the muffins outstanding. No picture this time because Mom borrowed our camera that entire week.


Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Serves 20 to 24 muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate bar (coarsely chopped)

Instructions:
  • In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
  • In another bowl, combine the egg, butter, yogurt and vanilla.
  • Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 
  • Fold in bananas and chocolate chunks.
  • Fill greased or paper-lined muffin pan two-thirds full. 
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes until golden brown or toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. 

I substituted brown sugar instead of white sugar, butter instead of vegetable oil (muffins turned out moist, still) for more flavor and bittersweet chocolate chunks instead of semisweet chocolate chips. It was awesome! I know we all have our own standards for food, but I can say this is one of the best recipes I've ever tried. :D


Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins on FoodistaBanana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Oreo Lovin'..


I tried this cheesecake recipe courtesy of my sister-in-law Alcee's Oreo Recipes Cookbook back in 2007. It's for my husband actually (as I've mentioned in my earlier post, I don't eat cheese..). I brought a few slices at work for them to try. My former Boss Dave Hukom said the gelatin was over powering so I took the liberty of changing the recipe a little bit. I don't have a nice camera that time and I refuse to use my camera phone because of poor quality so I just downloaded a photo from DeviantArt. I'm sure it's going to be awesome. :D


Easy Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

Serves 8 to 10 people

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, divided
1/4 cup  (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/2 tsp. Knox Gelatin
3 tbsp. milk
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup  Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

Instructions:
  • Coarsely chop 15 cookies. 
  • Finely crush remaining cookies and mix with butter. 
  • Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. 
  • Refrigerate while preparing filling.
  • Beat whipping cream in a bowl with hand/stand mixer until soft peaks. 
  • In a small saucer, heat milk and gelatin in microwave oven for 15 seconds or until melted. 
  • Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and gelatin mixture in a large bowl until well blended. 
  • Gently fold in whipping cream and chopped cookies. 
  • Spoon over crust. 
  • Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Enjoy!

Kc's Oreo Cheesecake on FoodistaKc's Oreo Cheesecake

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe..

I forgot to add the recipe on my first post 'It's Blueberry Week..'. So this one's for Suhaina. Go ahead and give it a try. :D



Crust:
 1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
    Filling:
    1/3 cup sugar
    2 bars cream cheese
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    2 cups whipping cream
    1 can blueberry pie filling (preferably Comstock)
    1 tsp unflavored colorless gelatin  (preferably Knox)
    3 tbsp water
      Instructions:
      • Combine all the crust ingredients with a fork until well blended. 
      • Press in a 9 inch pie pan. 
      • Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes. 
      • Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer. 
      • Add in vanilla extract.
      • Dissolve the gelatin in water and add in the cream cheese mixture. 
      • Beat until well blended and cream cheese fluffy. 
      • Add in the whipping cream and fold gently. 
      • Spoon over crust and let chill in the fridge for about 3 hours or until set. 
      • Top with some blueberry pie filling or fresh ones which ever you prefer. 
      • Can do your favorite fruit topping too!

       Have a pleasant day you all.. :D


      Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe on FoodistaBlueberry Cheesecake Recipe

      One Fine Sunday..

      Kursten was at my mom's house last week for the weekend and it was a fine day so Jobert and I decided to go to Serendra at Fort Bonifacio to take a walk and splurge a little on food and books. We thought it was the perfect time to go on a date considering we haven't had one ever since I resigned from work. I love it there. The place was wonderful and we get to see different types of people. From Paris Hilton clones with dogs in their purses to trashy skateboarders doing tricks which is kind of fun to look at. I could just stay there and read a good book all day. The ambiance was amazingly relaxing.




      We first went to Cupcakes by Sonja and bought PB&J. I always make sure I try one of their flavors each time I go there for research purposes (honestly!). I've already tried Vanilla Sunshine and Chocolate Surprise, Jobert tried Flourless Chocolate Cupcake and Creme Brulee Cupcake Tart. I've read reviews of their cupcakes and most of them said the frosting was way too sweet. Maybe some of them just don't know what it's made of. As a baker, I too find frosting recipes way too sweet but I couldn't do anything about it because that's how it is. We can't control the sweetness because it's made out of pure confectioner's sugar to achieve the right consistency. For me the cupcakes were awesome. The cake has its perfect texture, a little crumby and moist that blended well with the Peanut butter frosting and Grape jam topping. Cupcakes by Sonja inspires me to not be afraid to explore new flavors and ingredients. I will surely be back there for more. :D


      Photo by Manilla Gateway


       
      Photo taken using Jobert's IPhone 3GS..




      After that, we ate Razon's famous Halo-halo and Pansit Luglog for merienda at Market Market's outdoor food court.We were surrounded by beautiful flowers. How great was that?

      Next stop, Fully Booked. We we're actually planning to go to the movies but it rained so hard so we decided to just stay there, read and shop for books. Jobert bought me a cupcake cookbook titled 'Wild about Cupcakes' by Rachel Lane for my research and he bought himself  2 of his favorite novels. We stayed there for an hour and a half I think. Then the rain stopped and we headed to Pancake House for dinner.


      Photo by The Geek Brewery

      I had Salisbury Steak and Calamansi Juice, Jobert ordered his favorite Aroz ala Cubana and Iced Tea. It was a wonderful day being with my husband. It reminded me of our dates when we were still boyfriends and girlfriends with the 'kilig' factor. It was great. I have everything I've ever wanted. A simple life and a happy family. What more can I ask for? :D


       
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