parking (like malling, but in parks hehehe)

we have a new hobby!!!  we're visiting SG parks during weekends!  well, if our bodies are not too weak.

for a while, amidst a (seemingly) financial crisis, we thought that the only way to live is to stay at home during weekends, cook, do chores, watch tv, surf the internet, read books.  it's not like i don't want to do these!  i would wholeheartedly choose these over gala.  you knoooow... your preferences change as you age, and i wouldn't trade pagbubulok inside the house over anything else.

lately, we realized that not everyone in this house is aging.  while 3 adults are contented doing nothing, there's one little sponge who's so willing to explore the world.  keyla doesn't deserve to be treated like an adult, does she?  hehehe.

we've been to pasir ris park for a number of times.  it's about 20 minutes from home, and it has everything you need.  a jogging/biking lane, picnic sites, beach, playgrounds.  we love sitting by the beach.  one sunday, april and i decided to jog from our home to the park.  kuya and keyla rode a bike.  ayun.  sinaktan ako ng katawan.  hahaha walang practice.

last week, we went to punggol park.  i wasn't too thrilled with the experience.  there's not much you could do, and there are mosquitoes.  i am a mosquito indicator.  there's a big body of water at the heart of the park, playgrounds, and a jogging lane.

yesterday, we decided to go to sentosa.  because of a secret walk 2 weeks ago, we discovered the sentosa boardwalk.  it's about a half km relaxed, scenic walk from vivo city to sentosa.  it was also because of this secret walk that i discovered that scenic walks involve pictorials every 10 minutes or so. hekhekhekhekhek!

entrance to sentosa is just 1SGD.  you really can't go wrong!  you'll get to see the universal studios, resorts world, sentosa attractions on your way to the beach.  keyla didn't enjoy the walk so much because she's on her stroller. we unleashed her at the palawan beach and did she have a grand time!  she ended up "swimming" at the beach hehehe.  kami na ang tourists!

it was a fun day.  i realized that there's much more you can do in sentosa than just touring visiting friends/relatives at turista rates!  there's also life in sentosa for non tourists woohoo!

finally! chocolate cupcakes!

oh wow!  finally!  here's something that's not red velvet :)  kuya said that he will only eat chocolate cupcakes if they have chocolate filling.  wow, demanding!

i have tried one chocolate cupcake recipe before, but it tasted plain and milo-ish.  tipong sapilitan na kainin at lunukin.  aguy!  

i've searched and searched for a recipe that doesn't use butter.  i don't know.  there's something repulsive about butter.  maybe i'm thinking it's not healthy?  pero grabe nga naman ang sarap ng butter! i opt to use recipes that call for oil (canola or vegetable).  but who am i kidding?  is there ever a healthy cupcake recipe?  i think oil isn't healthy too.  neither are sugar and eggs.

i also prefer to use cake flour.  no special reason.  it's just the available flour at home :p

this recipe is supposed to have a cream marshmallow-like filling.  i used chocolate ganache instead.  and instead of heavy cream, i used evap.  hehe ang daming instead.  ako na kaya ang sumulat ng recipe??!?!?  hahaha. 

ok naman :) i think it tasted like swiss rolls.  there's chocolate ganache filling and topping na rin.  sayang naman ang ganache na natira.  ayus!  

julie's

and again, red velvet with cream cheese frosting and melted chocolates on top.  this set is supposed to be a welcome present for julie and jana, but julie had to extend her leave.  not a problem.  inubos na lang namin sa office.  hehe. 

these are soufflé cups.  the design is cute.  pink with white polka dots.  it's a great cupcake holder, but not so much if you don't have spoon.  unlike cupcake paper liners, it's very difficult to peel these off.  maybe because it's not meant to be peeled off. 

father's day cupcakes

red velvet cupcakes for the nth time.  patawad.  it's the only edible cupcake i know.  

we don't like vanilla.  i haven't found a good chocolate cupcake recipe yet.  so it's red velvet all the way.  white frosting is cream cheese.  since kuya loves chocolates, i used melted chocolate chips for the decors.  next time, i'll try the colored chocolate chips :) para mas colorful :)

mamon with keso

this is the 3rd time i tried this mamon recipe.  i read that you can use this as the base for krema de fruta. the recipe is crazy with egg whites.  i learned that the fluff is made of egg whites in general hehe.  so that's why it's so ampaw, it's just egg white bubbles :p and sugar.

if you make mamon, surely you can make leche flan with all the egg yolks you'll have. 

i remember my second attempt was a disaster.  i didn't know how to fold then.  so i just dumped all the flour in the egg white bubbles, mixy mixy nang onti, ayun.  marami pa palang flour lumps.  when we sliced the mamon (cake form sya noon) surprise, surprise!  raw flour lumps, pampagana!  hahaha.

the third trial was edible :) complete with cheese.  just don't expect it to make you full because it's just air, sugar, egg whites, and flour. 

mother's day cupcakes

again, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for mother's day. 

this batch is for 4 great mothers i know.  my mom, my MIL, my SIL, my SIL's mom.

i find cream cheese frosting so endearing because i love the sour and sweet combination.  unlike buttercream that's just sweet (or i'm probably doing it the wrong way).  the problem i have with cream cheese is, i can't swirl it.  i don't know if it can be used for swirls, or maybe my consistency is just not right.  

i saw this design somewhere in the internet and i found it really cute.  just like coffee :)  the wonders a small toothpick can do!

wawi's birthday

when wawi visited us last april, we decided to give him a surprise-mini-belated birthday lunch.

i remember my first batch of red velvet cupcakes last year - it was a disaster.  it tasted like puto, had a very awkward shade of red/purple/pink, and is simply just a yucky substance.  such a waste. 

these are wawi's red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  we are not big fans of gabundok na frosting, so i just put a small amount on top and went wild with the decors. haha.  wild kung wild!  red velvet cupcakes are my first edible cupcakes from scratch.  i don't know if it tastes like red velvet because i haven't tasted any store-bought red velvet cupcakes yet.  they just look so fancy in internet pictures.  i had the biggest urge to try and do it myself.

well, wawi was surprised.  the set was complete - a good lunch, birthday cupcakes with a birthday candle, a birthday song, and lots of love.