It’s been a while since the last post.  Hubbie and I went to the Philippines last June and July for our  very happy and memorable 30th HS reunion and a trip to Puerto Princesa in Palawan and when we came back to reality it was so difficult to shake the jet lag off (as in, toooo difficult) and I had to push myself to get back to the grind of things by cleaning up the house and putting everything back in order.  The cleaning helped a lot plus a phone call from a dear sister-friend and a visit from her woke me up from a deep slumber-like stage. 

A bouquet of flavorings from the Phlippines

So as promised I brought some stuff back from the Phlippines.  Mind you, for the first time ever, I didn’t go to the usual shopping places – Divisoria was not in my agenda, altho Greenhills was since it was just a few kilometers away from our house in New Manila.  I got more curious with the baking stores there – Chocolate Lovers in Cubao and Sweet Crafts in Mandaluyong.  Are my priorities changing – from shoes and clothes to baking supplies?  Hmmm… NOT!  It’s just that prior to this vacation, my husband and I were just home last year and nothing changed much in the fashion scene. And since we only had 2 weeks and a half this time, I spent it with family, friends and my old classmates – and I have no regrets.

I did buy a LOT of flavorings like I told you, guys.  Everything that I wouldn’t be able to get here, or would get expensively, I bought – Jackfruit, Cantaloupe, Mango, Ube, Buco Pandan, Pandan, Buko, Pineapple, Orange, the works.  And now that I’m looking at them, I’m actually kicking myself in the butt because I should’ve bought more.  Specially the “Ferna” brand because they really are good.

Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate Fondant Frosting

When I had the get-together with 3/5 of “The” girls  (the best sisterhood ever for 20 years running!), Ojie and I thought of having a bakefest at their house while waiting for Alitte and Gemma, to arrive.  For both the times we all saw each other, we were in a baking trip that made Ojie’s “piggery” (a.k.a. her kids) very happy. We made pandan cupcakes and banana cupcakes with nutella frosting during the first get together.  Then on the second time we had a get together, Ojie’s one and only daughter, who happens to be my godchild, had this “wonderful” idea that maybe a fondant cake would be nice. Of course she got a lot of teasing from me, but who was I to say “NO”??  So there we were – Ojie and I, this time with Alittle early, too, making the chocolate fondant roses that went to the red velvet cake.  Talk about an impromptu cake with neither a rolling pin nor mat on hand.  But it’s still doable, we just needed a bit more imagination, like a wine bottle for a rolling pin and lots of wax-paper to cover the table.

But I’ve been busy since the jet lag wake up.  I was finally able to order some fondant brands that I wanted to try out.  Did two cakes last Saturday for another dear friend from Hagerstown and another cake last Sunday for another good friend whose youngest daughter had her 3rd birthday.   I was able to buy a cupcake tower from The Cupcake Tower
that I can use for display.  It already had it’s grand debut last Sunday.  A bit heavy tho, considering that the biggest tier is about 22 inches (not to mention pricier than the regular acrylic towers) but oh so worth it because they’re very flexible to use and very pretty.  I can even decorate the edge of the tiers which puts all my ribbonettes to good use.

Pictures of the cakes tomorrow when I post a new entry in this blog.

For now, savor these… More to come tomorrow.

The Pandan Feel-Good Cupcakes