Breads / Pastries / Cakes Archives - Page 8 of 9

Beat the Heat with Dairy Queen Blizzards

Can you believe how hot it’s been this summer?! I can’t stay anywhere without an electric fan or the AC cooling me down. And even when we have a water dispenser that provides us cold water everytime, I always have to add ice to it. I just can’t take the heat!

That’s why a few weeks ago when Kenneth and I were at Glorietta in Makati, we both had this craving for Dairy Queen’s Blizzard. He’s a li’l addicted to to their Caramel Cashew flavor.

The Dairy Queen store at Glorietta 4 is just across the cinemas, beside Timezone.

Of course, my bro ordered the usual. He urged me to try their new flavor, Dairy Queen’s Mango Cheesecake Blizzard.

They have a ton of other Blizzard flavors including Banana Split, Double Dutch, Brownie Temptation (ooohh, too sinful!), Chocolate Truffle and Strawberry Cheesecake.

You can also add extra toppings to your Blizzard, Just add Php 29 and you can choose from caramel fudge, Butterfinger, Kitkat, etc.

Ohh, I gotta try their waffle sandwiches next time, too. Reminds me of Tivoli Funwich that I got so addicted to back when I was a kid. ^_^

There are 4 sizes of Blizzard serving cups to choose from. Since we were really craving for something sweet and cold, we thought, the heck with it, and just ordered 16-oz… EACH! 😀

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Baking Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Cookie Jar Mix

Over a week ago, I mentioned about Rae of The Cookie Jar sending us 3 of their products to try â€“ their French macarons, Triple Chocolate Cookies and this â€“ their Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie mix.

We postponed baking using the mix for a pick-me-up get-together with my best friend, Tina. I know baking will cheer her up. 🙂

As soon as she saw the jar with the ingredients stacked up as pictured below, she got excited and even reminded us we should start baking already. 😀

The Cookie Jar Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie mix includes semi-sweet choco chips, oats, flour, brown and white sugar. Like what is mentioned at the back of the gift tag thatâ€™s included with the package, you only need to add butter, eggs and vanilla.

Let me share with you some photos taken during our baking session. If you havenâ€™t tried baking yet, then, these photos might help. You see, itâ€™s so easy, you wonâ€™t need any complicated kitchen tools like utility knives or heavy kitchen machines. 🙂

I had to stop myself from eating the chocolate chips when we finally opened the jar.

Then, we used 2 sticks of butter and softened them through our microwave. Yes, we were busy chattering away that we forgot that we were only supposed to use 1 1/2 stick of butter. So, using a little Mathâ€¦

1 stick of butter = 100 g

1 1/2 stick of butter = 150 g

Since Ken, as Iâ€™ve mentioned before, is into baking. So, we have this weighing scale available at home. How convenient. You should know that precise measurements are very important when baking. Otherwise, youâ€™d get undesirable results. Thatâ€™s why, if youâ€™re really planning on starting baking at home, then, you should have this weighing scale available tooâ€¦ just in case. (I forgot how much this costs, will get back to you with the price)

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The Cookie Jar Pastries

My bro Ken and I are both pastry lovers. He particularly loves cakes and baking them. I love different kinds of pastries, most especially cookies and have been planning on learning how to bake myself. That’s why when Rae of The Cookie Jar sent us these goodies, we were both excited to try them.

By the way, my bro and I love their packaging. The box, jar and tin can can be easily recycled. Kudos for that! They also used earthy tones of colors, which makes the packing more elegant. Perfect for gifts!

You might be wondering what makes The Cookie Jar different from other cookie or pastry shops. They are aiming to make baking cookies easy for newbie bakers with their jars of ingredients mix.

We got this jar of ingredients for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. You can see the stack of flour, sugar, oats, and semi-sweet chocolate chips from this clear jar. No need to worry about measurements.

At the back of the gift tag that comes with each jar, you’d see baking instructions. All you need to add with the mix of ingredients are butter, vanilla and 2 eggs.

We haven’t baked the cookies yet, but will write a separate post for that. We’re saving it for a pick-me-up get-together with a friend next week. 🙂

Now, if you don’t have an oven, you’re not that confident with you baking or you simply prefer already baked cookies, you can also buy these cans of cookies.

We received a can of The Cookie Jar’s Homemade Triple Chocolate Cookies. Each can contains 10 cookies, by the way.

As soon as I took a bite of the cookie, I was delighted with the chunky bits of white and semi-sweet chocolates. The cookies were also chewy, which I love, love, love.

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Our Banchetto-Emerald Food Trip!

Update: 07/10/2011 â€“ Banchetto now operates from Tuesdays to Saturdays in 3 different locations. Please check the bottom of this post for the schedules.

After attending Magnolia’s Summer Bloggers party, we (my friend Badeth and her photo booth guys, my bro and I) headed over to Banchetto in Emerald Ave. in Ortigas.

Banchetto started out as a very popular late night food strip in Ortigas. They recently opened 2 more venues in Libis, Quezon City and at Pioneer in Mandaluyong City (more info at the bottom of the post).

Badeth and Kenneth at Banchetto

Iâ€™ve been reading a lot of raves about Banchetto and so I was pretty excited to check out all the food I can enjoy there. Oh, trust me, Banchetto is definitely any foodieâ€™s heaven. Youâ€™ve got a lot of food choices. You can enjoy a full meal or something lighter if youâ€™re on a diet. We even saw a stall selling food for vegetarians.

Okay, let the photos speak for me. Wipe off the drool after. Everythingâ€™s really mouth-watering! 😀

I wanted to try the isaw since I havenâ€™t had them for a very long time. But, I was a bit full after the buffet at the event we came from. Next time, Iâ€™ll make sure to not skip this.

My bro and I are coffee and pastry lovers. So, when we saw Good Farmâ€™s booth in Banchetto-Emerald, we were so eager to try their products. We ordered their Coffee Brownies with Vanilla ice cream, priced at Php 35.00. The lady in black was the one who baked the brownies.

The brownies were really moist and chewy, just the way I like it. We were disappointed though â€˜cause we were expecting a liâ€™l more kick of coffee flavor. I guess we shouldâ€™ve tried their Arabica Coffee brownies (Php 25).

If you work in Ortigas, Banchetto-Emerald is definitely a place youâ€™d be frequenting a lot. You can save on your meal expenses because there are many food choices at very affordable prices. There are even packed meals you can buy, as pictured below.

What I also would love to come back for are all these grilled food at Banchetto. When I saw these huge squids being grilled, I felt my tummy grumble even when I know Iâ€™m still full. These are perfect for a quick late night drink with friends. 🙂

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Recipe: Chicken Fillet and Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce

Since my family have been trying (take note of my choice of words :D) to eat healthier, two of the proteins you’d usually see in our refrigerator are chicken meat and eggs. And I love making all kinds of dishes with them. So, when I was craving for McDonald’s McChicken sandwich, instead of spending almost Php 200 to have one delivered, I decided to make my own Chicken Fillet sandwich.

I’m on a low-carb diet, so I usually just enjoy a sandwich for lunch or dinner. My mother also loves sandwiches so we always come up with our own different sandwich spreads. And this one, I’ll keep on making. I know, there’s flour and all. But, c’mon. I’m on a LOW carb diet, not giving it up completely. Give me a break! Hahaha 😀

Though this recipe is so easy, I still want to share it here for those who haven’t tried making chicken fillet or nuggets yet.

Chicken Fillet Sandwich and Chicken Nuggets
with Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 chicken breasts, deboned and cut into cubes
You will need a food processor or blender for this recipe. If you don’t have it, then, just skip the blending/grinding part of the procedure and just cut the chicken breasts into nugget-sized or sandwich fillet-sized pieces. But, you can also opt to chop them into really tiny pieces, if you’ve got the strength and time to do so. 🙂
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 to 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs (click here to find out how to make your own bread crumbs, see step #1)
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
Optional: You can add your own spices or herbs for your chicken breasts. For mine, I added rosemary. But, you can add parsley and/or basil.
Optional: 1-2 medium-sized eggs
Half of the batch I made, I didn’t dip in the beaten eggs. But, if you prefer to include eggs, you can go ahead with this.
1 cup vegetable oil for semi-deep frying
Lettuce for the sandwiches

Sandwich dressing: This is the mix that I used for our chicken sandwich.

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper

Honey Mustard sauce: I don’t have any ingredients available to make barbecue sauce so I decided to make honey mustard instead. But, you can find ready-to-use barbecue sauce at the grocery.

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. honey

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Mango Brown Betty : Quick and Easy Microwave Recipe

My brother Ken considers himself a microwave chef. He can bake pastries with just the use of our trusty microwave and can do it in minutes! That’s why I so miss him being around. He’s currently in Singapore, trying his luck there. I miss his out-of-the-blue cooking or baking trips.

Everyone in my family loves to cook, even my dad, who usually cooks with wine, rhum or brandy :D. We’re not experts, but we do make really tasty dishes. Try staying at our home for about a month. Let’s see how many pounds you need to lose afterwards. 😀

Anyway, we’ve got mangoes at home right now and I wanted to try making my own Mango Brown Betty. It’s a very simple recipe that my brother shared with me years ago. Trust me, you’re going to enjoy making this. And, probably you can even make this now because the ingredients are readily or usually available in most kitchens.

Pardon the poor quality of photos. These were taken back in 2009, when I didn’t know better. 😀 I shared some of the things I learned about food photography on my geek blog.

Mango Brown Betty Recipe

(by Ken)

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of mango slices (long cuts)
4 cups of bread crumbs (read step #1 to make your own)
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

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Good Shepherd Pasalubong Items from Baguio

I’ve mentioned that we went on a 5-day vacation last December and one of our destinations was Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines. I love Baguio, not only because of the climate, but because of all the pasalubong shopping I can do for us and my friends back home.

Before our lunch at Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe along Session Road, we went to Good Shepherd in Baguio to buy some pasalubong items that were requested by friends, particularly my blogger friend Eihdra. 😀

The Good Shepherd Convent is located along Gibraltar Road, near Mines View Park in Baguio. The Good Shepherd nuns make and sell different kinds of pasalubong items which are very popular among tourists / visitors in Baguio.

I super love this particular sign at their garden, right when you enter their premises.

Take nothing but photos. Leave nothing but goodness. Keep nothing but memoriesâ€¦

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Krispy Kreme’s Baked Creations

A few months ago (yes, this is a long overdue post), Krispy Kreme launched their new line of goodies – Baked Creations. They had a Brunch Buddy Treats promo in September where the first 100 for each Krispy Kreme branch to post about their brunch buddy on Krispy Kreme’s Facebook page will receive a free brunch.

My brother Kien and I joined the promo. We’re big fans of Krispy Kreme’s glazed doughnuts so we were excited to try their new baked goodies. Initially, we had separate branches because we didn’t have any plans yet on where we’ll be claiming our free brunch. When we finally decided to go to Greenhills for our bi-monthly food trip, I requested if I can claim my free brunch there along with my bro.

I didn’t get a response yet regarding my request when we arrived in Krispy Kreme Greenhills on the 30th of September. But, I’m sure glad they accommodated my request. And, I would like to commend their staff at their Greenhills branch. They were all oh-so friendly. Thumbs up! ^_^

Going back to Krispy Kreme’s new Baked Creations, there are actually two variants to choose from – Pull Aparts and Kruffins. My bro and I decided we try one from each variant. Our free brunch included free Orange You Glad. I find it very refreshing. It’s a mix of navel, mandarin and tangerine orange flavors.The Baked Creations Pull Aparts are for those who prefer savory flavors for breakfast. They tasted like croissant with added flavor, mostly because of the toppings, meat and dips that come along with them. They have 4 flavors that you can choose from: Cheese (Php 65), Sausage and Cheese (Php 70), Bacon and Cheese (Php 70), and Cinnamon (Php 65). Kien chose the one with bacon, of course.

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Merienda at The French Baker

Last month, after our lunch at Bigby’s Restaurant and some window-shopping and strolling at SM Mall of Asia, we headed to The French Baker for some merienda or light snack. Well, that light merienda turned to a very fulfilling meal at 4PM.

I’ve been to French Baker a couple of times before because my mother loves their breads and I enjoy their pasta so much. Mai haven’t been there yet so we decided to order some familiar food on their menu.

First, our drinks. I ordered a tall glass of French Baker’s Iced Mocca (Php 52) and Mai chose the Four Seasons (Php 48). Nothing new or surprising with the flavors as expected, but we enjoyed how refreshing and ice-cold they were when served.

We were then served our starter (yep, we ordered a salad for merienda time *LOL*) – Potato Salad topped with crispy bacon bits. It was served cold and really tasty. I love that the chunky slices of potatoes give you a li’l bite or crunch. I also loved the simple presentation.

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Red Ribbonâ€™s Chocolate Fudge Cake

I know we all have had those moments in our lives when the only thing that we needed was some comfort food to warm our souls. The food that we would crave for may be different on person-to-person basis, but they all serve the same purpose: to make you feel like it’s summer on a gloomy and rainy day.

Whenever I feel sad, or sometimes frustrated, I always turn to food to console me. Sweet and buttery things, to be specific. There’s this feeling of healing whenever I stuff my mouth with sweet foods, especially chocolates! Scientists would even explain that there are chemicals in the chocolate that stimulate the body to produce endorphins or something that the body creates to make you feel happy, basically.

I am a big fan of Red Ribbon’s cakes and when I found out about their new Chocolate Fudge Cake and saw a photo of the actual cake. I was like, “OMG! That’s comfort food galore right there!”. I’m hoping I’d get a taste of it real soon. It’s Red Ribbon so there’s no doubt that it’s very delicious.

Red Ribbon's new Chocolate Fudge Cake - CertifiedFoodies.com

Â Red Ribbon’s new Chocolate Fudge Cake

Red Ribbon’s all new Chocolate Fudge Cake is now available nationwide. It’s available in regular size at Php 460.00, and Junior size at Php 275.00

P.S.
I even wrote a song about this cake.
“I love chocolate. I love cake. Put them together, it’s chocolate cake!”
Real catchy, eh?

‘Til next time!

Chicken Fillet Sandwich and Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe

Mango Brown Betty Recipe

Chicken Fillet Sandwich and Chicken Nuggets
with Honey Mustard Sauce Recipe