Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Berry Vanilla Cupcakes

All lined up.


With my continuous search for the quintessential butter cake, I have come across the several worse of the lot, but once in a while, I stumble upon a finalist. My weekends, as I can not say enough, are spent watching food--watching, playing, eating, nibbling, cooking and baking food. The latter is my number one pasttime.

As you will see below, I have had too much time this past weekend spent on thinking about food.

These are the light vanilla cupcakes I baked...
Naked and Lonely.


...which I topped with smooth strawberry buttercream in pastel pink and sprinkles, shavings or mini domes of white chocolate.
Abducted...


...Glorified

...and then Murdered!


The flavors are sweet and subtle yet present, just like the pastel color combination, which I deem most appropriate for the 5th birthday of the little girl I gave a box of these to. :)

The Birthday Gift.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Saturday Sweets

I'm fat for a reason, and there's only one to blame: FOOD.

That's right. When I'm tired, happy, sad, stressed or just bored, I crave for food high in sugar and calories! Eeek!

See the desserts I made yesterday to bring to our friendly get-together at the ol' alma mater. :)

I iced one pair with caramel and chopped cashew nuts, while I drizzled the other with chocolate ganache with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.


I christen these CRATER BROWNIES. lol. Fudgy dark chocolate triangles with melted marshmallows and more chocolate on top!
crater brownies


Just 'cause there's nothing better than good company and chocolate. :)

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Conti's Greenhills

Conti's pastry shop and restaurant is a name that I've heard and read from different sources. And if you've been reading this blog and my life blog, you'd know how the word "pastry" catches my attention. Originally from Paranaque, it has now opened a branch in Connecticut street, Greenhills which made a visit inevitable.

My first visit at 10 minutes past 9 o' clock met with rejection from the security guard telling me that the kitchen's closed. Disappointed but not swayed, I pointed to the row of coolers containing droolworthy pastries and asked if perhaps I could buy a cake or two. He opened the door gladly and I zoomed in the seducing beauties that had my saliva glands working!

Try them I did (We ordered four slices of different kinds...I was on a sugar high for hours.) and found out that the rumors were true! 3 out of 4 were delicious, putting me in that in a can't-wait-to-go-back-and-try-some-more mission.

So on the next get-together with friends, I suggested Conti's. Stangely enough, none of my friends have been to this sweet shop. It was lunchtime and the tables were full of hungry folks, just like my first visit. I silently hoped for a deja vu of food and sweet tooth satisfaction.

Luckily, we reserved a couple of tables. My friends, normal eating beings, ordered main courses, while I instantly flipped the back of the menu to stalk the list of desserts. Upon recommendation, She ordered the Baked Salmon, blanketed in cheese and oozed of butter and garlic, which she said was quite strong for her taste. It is accompanied by two little cups of Paella rice and buttered vegetables. Not for the diet-conscious! (Don't expect real Paella though!)



This is Chi and Tabs' same orders: Chicken Pastel, which contained a cream-based soup with chunks of chicken and vegetables under a biscuit-like pastry cover. If you're looking for flakiness, you'd be disappointed, but taste-wise, the topper gets a passing grade. While beside it is a dish of Tofu with Mushrooms with Japanese rice by gym buff, Choi. Healthy, but tasty!


Up at last is my favorite part of the meal: dessert. We ordered (from top, clockwise) Peach Walnut Torte, which was tasted too much of whipped cream and hardly anything else. I am not a fan. Then, there's Choco Overload, chocolate ganache is criss-crossed and allowed to trickle down "chocolate" cream filling (mousse?) in between and on top of almost-brownie chocolate cake layers. I truly enjoyed the dense cake layers, but left most of the cream, which I think would benefit from more chocolate.



Below is Banana Cream Torte. Thick, chewy, slightly crunchy meringue sandwich thick cream layers with banana slices and walnuts frosted with even more whipped cream. Subtly sweet, the whipped cream was worth eating as it complemented the other components. Lastly, the famed Mango Bravo. Here are the layers in order: mango cubes on cream frosting, thick meringue layer, more mangoes in cream, meringue, chocolate cream filling (like the Choco Overload) on a meringue base. Good, good, good... This is a revelation, a definite must-try for cake lovers everywhere!

Prices are reasonable, portions are filling and desserts are notable. And even just for the last one, I'd say Conti's is a place worth going back to. :)

Monday, May 29, 2006

Ube-r Purple Cake

Yeah, I know. It looks suspisciously too violet for its own good.



It's my fault. I demand more artificial coloring than the normal human person.



Well, I imagined I was eating Grimace, the defunct McDonald's mascot. Heehee.



Glurp. Never did know what creature he was.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Krispy Kreme Dream

Food=Happiness


It is one of my dreams as a food-mainly-dessert enthusiast to taste the infamous Krispy Kreme donuts of America. yes, those round pieces of dough fried in hot oil to achieve a soft bready plumpness, then dipped in sugar-high flavors, usually artificially-colored, to receive their crowning glory.

I've heard about it for so long now, but being so far away from the Land of Milk and Honey, I could only hope to one day sink my teeth in what I imagined to be pure bliss of a doughnut.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait any longer when one of my best friends left for the States last month. When she asked me if I wanted anything, without a moment's hesitation, I immediately blurted out KRISPY KREME! (How pathetically sugar-dependent am I?!)

The 12 new friends of mine.


And here they are, beautifully golden with the simplest, most-popular sugar glaze. They are pliant, flexible and yet, resistant to the pull of my teeth. Wonderfully tender they become when popped in the microwave for exactly eight seconds (personal preference and upon suggestion of their box), I fell in love at first bite.

Gawsh.

Here is the box for a dozen of Krispy Kreme doughnuts that I consumed half, or maybe more than half of. (Guilty.) Beside it is a bag of Bigerlow minted lip balm that my friend brought for each of us. Behind them is the half-eaten Lemon Chiffon cake that I prepared, served with a dollop of homemade Lemon curd I also made from scratch. And hiding in the outskirts is a portion of the lasagna I baked too long, resulting in the very dark cheese blanket.

The 12 new friends of mine.



Whattabirthday, eh?

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Holy Kettle Corn!



This is no doubt my most favorite kind of popcorn! I love the crunchiness, lightness and the no-kernel rule. Plus, the balance of salt and sugar is just right for one to enjoy both worlds with every bite. The prices are reasonable with p25 for the small bag and p60 for the big one. (Guess what I buy?)

However, I only know of two places, one in Rustan's Katipunan and the other in Greenhills, where they have their popping machines working to give you a bag straight from the huge, revolving tin. Although the one in Greenhills do overcook theirs a bit, whilst the one in Katipunan is always done just right. I hope they open one in Robinson's Galleria just so I can get a taste of it EVERYDAY!

I am an unashamed Kettle Corn Addict.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Shopped Out to Duke of NY

Office Tea


Last Sunday, after doing all of our tiring errands, my sister and I who both are suffering from foodlust lately decided to stop in Robinson's Ermita while waiting for my brother's prom to end. At that time, I already felt worn out because I had spent the morning and afternoon being a nanny and slave to my brother out of blood-relational obligation.

Knowing that proms usually end past midnight, my sister had around five hours to go. What better way to pass time quickly than shop? By happy coincidence, it was the mall's grand 3-day sale! That meant lots of people and affordable but good finds everywhere! Ahhh, I seemed to have suddenly acquired a second wind.

By the end of the night, I exhausted. My feet were sore, my wallet was nearly empty, my mind was dulled, but my hands were full. (See picture below as evidence.) I looked at my watch only to find the short and long hands pointing to ten and twelve respectively. Restaurants were closing left and right. No one would take our good money, and no mercy was shown either.

Shoes


In the end, after scouring the many halls of the floor, we found a warm, cozy nook still open. With almost nary a tinge of hope, I meekly asked, "Pwede pa?" pointing to their menu. And he smiled widely and nodded. The little, accomodating restaurant is Duke of New York Pizzeria.

Surprisingly, the menu offered a great variety of Italian cuisine ranging from fried mozzarella sticks, meat subs, salads to mouthwatering New York pizzas. All within reasonable price of around 170-250 per head, excluding drinks. We ordered the Garden Salad, Pizza Sub and the recommended, "small" 10-inch Garlic and Shrimp Pizza (available in medium and large for the bigger crowd or merely stomachs).

Duke of NY


The Garden Salad was a little two small for the two of us, but the sub and the pizza were more than we could finish. At the end of that meal, we were far more than just full. We were BURSTING! I would recommend the place for a quiet, satisfying meal and great service!

PS: They accidentally switched up our receipts at the cashier, but all things were sorted out just in time for the last full showing of She's the Man, which was sooo hilarious!

Sunday, March 19, 2006

The Sensational Tea Party

From Bubut, a guest at the party


That picture is the first round heap of desserts in the Tea Party that I and my sister attended last Sunday. It was an event that gathered the real sweet-toothed creatures that often lurked Lori Baltazar's blog, Dessertcomesfirst and Carlos Celdran's blog, Walking Tours.

A week before then, I was already dreaming up of how the cakes would look like, how they would smell like and how they would feel in my mouth, flavors dancing on my tongue. The excitement was so great that I was only able to nap for barely two hours that Saturday night before waking up to await the day ahead.

And the afternoon's tea party did not disappoint.

To tell you just how "atat" I was, I coaxed my sister into driving us so early there that we arrived at half past one, too early for the three o' clock party. Although the wait was agonizing, I kept myself happy by focusing on the purpose of our arrival. Three o' clock finally came, and we allowed ourselves inside the

One by one, the desserts arrived, in beautiful boxes, coolers and glasswares, carefully guarded and moved like the treasures that they are. The heat was intense from the feeling of rush that bounced off each attendee inside the Living Room as we each held onto our forks and plates tightly, anticipating the Go signal. Even hotter was the weather, causing nasty sweat blotches on our blouses and shirts. But no one cared, not when those heavenly creations were just an arm's reach away.

Taken by Katrina with the Cool Purple Hat


Lori started the program, giving specific instructions not run, but to "calmly" line up for the sweets AFTER (she stressed,) the bakers and their babies were introduced. One by one the bakers popped out with cake rounds and trays of Goodness and walked around the room to show to everyone. My eyes felt like popping and plopping onto the perfectly layered Triple Hazelnut Mousse, I swear.

My mind must've left this reality plane, because the next thing I heard was the permission to begin collecting and eating. With my eagerness about to go out of control, I lined up to get my portion of the first round desserts. My golly goolash. I was in heaven at the mere sight of my plate being so full! (Look at above picture for reference.) For a while, I suspected my dessert dreams were getting the best of me.

But when I accidentally bumped onto Anson's (I just met him there.) plate and of-all-the-idiotic-things-to-do, toppled it over, I was painfully snatched back to earth. Apologizing, I silently bid my plate goodbye and quickly handed it to him before my Greed monster went ga-ga. So my sister and I shared a plate, and then rounded again for a second helping after most had gotten theirs.

Aya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya! It was bliss.

Then I realized after a few minutes that dessert "Impacho" (Painful Indigestion that Carlos warned us against) was setting in. Suddenly, I didn't feel so perky anymore. I groaned and squirmed but still managed to shove in a few more mouthfuls. After all, I thought, when's the next time I get to try out all these fabulous and gorgeous desserts?



After all of us had tasted all the desserts, it was announced that round two was up. With a loud and shameful groan, the crowd almost-complained to the onslaught of six more sweets. My thrill was dampened by my threatening-to-shut-down stomach, so I had to keep mum lest the desserts decide to break out of my system. Slowly, I ate a forkful each of the second round desserts, savoring what I could with my overused tastebuds. But I knew they weren't going to be given justice, not with all of us so full and excessively loaded.

Half an hour later, the dessert show was over. With a sad sigh, I looked longingly at the round two desserts that were untouched, calling to the guests who were too full to oblige them. As I left the Living Room, I was already hoping for another dessert show, but this time with a little less (8-10) desserts so that we could give each one the appreciation it deserves.

Ahhh...even a week past, I'm still hung over from the event. That afternoon of March 12th is now forever etched in my gastronomical memories! Thank you Lori and Carlos for that fantabulous time at such a wonderful place. I hope this one's not the last!

And if you haven't had enough, here are links to Lori's Stories with More Pictures:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Monday, February 27, 2006

Trio of Classics

Last Sunday, I went to this required seminar for my Theology class and thought that I was going to be bored all day. Luckily, I was sorted into this discussion group of girls who were really warm and easy to get along with. Our facilitators were Tess and Rhea, both were kind and accomodating, making our required "talks" together seem more like gabfests.

After introducing ourselves, I of course told them about my love for writing as well as baking. With lit-up eyes, they excitedly hinted that I bring goodies for the next meeting, which was earlier today. With a giddy smile (at the thought of baking), I agreed.

Last night, after mulling over my different tested recipes, I decided to bake the basics for the reasons of appealing to everyone's tastebuds by familiarity and chocolate, and also to avoid the inconvenience of having to balance a cake-juggling act on the way there.

So, I slaved over three batches of sweets. One was a recipe for the chewy, chocolate chip cookies. The next one was an alternate with a cocoa batter and white chocolate chips. And the last one, my specialty, a batch of my Dolcezza brownies, but this time, marbled with a Dulce de Leche topping.

Here they are, arranged in a Chinese-influenced setting and made more attractive with little bits of this and that.
classic trio


I'm glad to report that the feedback's been great. I think I need to improve on the thickness of the chewy cookies though (to have more of a bite) and also, perhaps lengthen the baking time of my brownies by around 2 minutes or experiment on the flour/egg proportion to get more of a structure than just fudginess.

At the end of the day, I am happy though...happy that I shared my struggles with them, and at the same time, the loves of my life.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Powerful Seducer




There are things in life you can look at but never have... Like a huge, beautiful mansion with a sculpted garden of roses, sunflowers and fresh herbs, or maybe a beautiful, speedy, red convertible just for two. Or even harder to possess, that one guy you think (but claim to know) is the one for you but belongs to someone else.

Ahhh, but I deviate.

I meant to hit at those intense food cravings one like myself who is in love with food gets at the most untimely hours. It deprives you of a good night sleep with your stomach growling not because of hunger but because your brain orders it to bother you with loud whining and pinings!

It keeps you from your normal routine, distracting you with memory flashes of its delectable self, luring you with its beauty, smell, texture, taste. One bite, one lick is all it takes--holding it safe in my mouth, savoring the flavors as they dance on my tongue and slide down to my waiting reservoir longing to be filled--and yet it is that inanimate object which beguiles and captures me with such potent seduction.

Ahhh, food...what power you have over mortals who have been cursed with the passion for you, and the weakest of restraint.