Piping Hot

Posted on by

Much to the horror of my thighs, I’ve started baking again. It began when my sister asked me to bake a cake for her baby’s baptism party on Sunday. I decided that not only would I make my tried-and-tested Chocolate Mousse Cake (from Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess), I would surround the latter with vanilla cupcakes in varying sizes. Since I’ve never made vanilla cupcakes before (I know… I’m a chocolate person), I made a test run yesterday, using Billy’s Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes recipe from Martha Stewart.

The cupcakes were delicious. I cut down on the sugar in both the cake and frosting recipes, and they were still fantastic. Soft and moist and very light. But the best part was icing them.

I only have a very old, very cheap hand-me-down plastic icing decorating kit, so it was quite messy, but the cupcakes came out so pretty. Sorry, no photos- but I served some to guests last night, then sent the rest to various family members- and they were all gone before I could remember to photograph them!

Anyway, what I really want to say is that I LOVED piping the frosting. Even with my hot hands, even hotter kitchen, and el cheapo of the cheapest decorating sets, I had such a blast doing it. Now I want to buy a new set- but I need some advice. Should I order one of these?

…or stick to a more traditional set like this?

Wilton Cake Decorating Set

Your comments and suggestions please!

Sarap Links

Posted on by

I’ve been down with a nasty cold and a nasty toothache- and that plus the heat equals much less kitchen time for me. Still, the deliciousness goes on in the world of food blogs, and I list for you here my favorites this week:

Being sick always brings forth my sweet tooth somehow, and I swear I’ll make Smitten Kitchen’s Caramel Walnut Upside Down Banana Cake as soon as I can bear to be back in the kitchen for more than five minutes. Seriously, this cake looks like it might even be worth airconditioning my kitchen for.

Then, of course, there’s Christine’s Simple Strawberry Trifle, which just oozes coolness and sweetness and tartness, and looks like the perfect summer snack right there.

My favorite Pioneer Woman has a recipe up for Carrot Sheet Cake with pecans in the icing. I don’t own a sheet cake pan (my oven is too small, sigh), but I’m considering making this in several layers and sandwiching them together with more icing… mmm.

And finally, this one has nothing to do with food, but please see this photo over at Dooce. It’s my favorite photo of the week, maybe the year.

Krispy Kreme Easter

Posted on by

As if those chocolate bunnies (which I’ve always had a weakness for- especially the giant ones from the hotels!) weren’t bad enough for my diet, Krispy Kreme Philippines is now offering up these special Easter doughnuts:

Krispy Kreme Easter

The springtime colors are adorable, and I would love to set out a bowl much like the one above at our Easter Sunday table. You see, because these doughnuts are Krispy Kreme, you know that they’re not just pretty- they probably taste awesome as well.

Visit Krispy Kreme Philippines’ website or one of their shops at Bonifacio High Street, TriNoma, SM Megamall, Mall of Asia, or Greenhills Shopping Center.

Announcing: the Food Bloggers Network!

Posted on by
Food Bloggers Button
Join us now!

This is something we’ve been working on that I’m very excited about: the brand spankin’ new Food Bloggers Network!

It’s a community driven site where members submit their favorite posts from food blogs, and vote on them! (Think “Digg” for food bloggers).

I hope you’ll join in and share your delicious food blog posts with us!

Lasang Pinoy 23 Roundup: Crockpot Cooking

Posted on by

Yay, it’s the roundup of Lasang Pinoy 23: Crockpot Cooking! Finally.

dhanggit-kaldereta.jpg
Devil’s Beef Stew

First up is Dhanggit’s Kitchen’s Devil’s Beef Stew Blazing in my Cracked Pot, “devilish” because of its outrageous spiciness. Is it also devilish because of the amount of rice you’ll eat with this mouthwatering looking dish?

icdt-patatim.jpg
Pata Tim

Here we have I can do that’s Pata Tim. Whoever it was who invented Pata Tim, a tasty Chinese dish of the softest pork imaginable, is a genius. Oggi definitely had a stroke of genius when she decided to make it in a crockpot. Mmm….

babycakes-port.jpg
Pork Estofado

Next up is Snug’s Pork Estofado, slow-cooked with saba bananas and served with crusty french bread to sop up all of that lovely looking sauce. Okay, we’re getting too hungry now…

iska-spareribs.jpg
Braised Pork Spareribs

Now, feast your eyes on ISKAndals’ Braised Pork Spareribs, one of the simplest recipes I’ve seen- made up of just pork, garlic, soy sauce and sugar- and oh so gorgeous. You just know that meat is falling off its bones…

cftheart-ribends.jpg
Rib Ends

Homemade green tomato relish is the “secret ingredient” in Cooked From the Heart’s Rib Ends Braised in Green Tomato Chutney, creating an explosion of sweet, spicy and tangy flavors. We’re talking star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and szechuan peppercorns, people.

ss-pinatisang.jpg
Pinatisang Manok

And finally, here’s my very own entry, Pinatisang Manok, which I wrote about here- and my husband is already asking for again.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in and supported this Lasang Pinoy. These are all recipes I can’t wait to try out myself!