Easy Lasagna Recipe

This is my all-time favorite recipe. I created this recipe when I was still 11 or 12 years old. This is really delicious and again, the ingredients are easy to find.

Ingredients :

1 kilo (kg) ground beef (or pork, if preferred)
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 can of crushed tomatoes (you can substitute this by cutting big tomatoes and put them in a blender or food processor to crush it)
tomato paste
2 cans of tomato sauce (big)
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of white sugar
ground black pepper
lasagna noodles
parmesan cheese or regular cheese that you usually put in spaghetti (grated)
1 cup of milk (whole or skim, according to your taste)
1 cup of Nestle All-purpose cream
salt to taste

Procedure :

1) In a sauce pan, saute the onions and garlic til medium brown.

2) Add in the ground beef and put a little salt to taste.

3) Once ground beef starts to go brown, add in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Season with salt, sugar, and ground black pepper. Gradually put in the milk, and all-purpose cream. Simmer in low heat until cooked, stirring occasionally.

4) Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees F.

5) Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain water and then rinse with cold water.

6) Spread about a cup and a half of (1 1/2) of sauce in the bottom of a rectangular baking dish (9x13"). Arrange lasagna noodles carefully on top of the meat sauce. Sprinkle (a lot!) of cheese on the pasta. Again spread meat sauce on it. Top with grated cheese again and then add in the 2nd layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat until you have about 4 or 5 layers on the dish. Spread a little more of meat sauce and then sprinkle with cheese on top. Make sure that the cheese covers the whole lasagna.

7) Cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake more for another 25minutes.

8) Serve. Best partnered with red wine. Or Sprite! yummy!

Malunggay Pesto (A Filipino Recipe)

I've been thinking of a way on how to make a Pinoy Pesto and luckily, I saw a TV show at channel 23 on how to make one. Unfortunately, I do not remember who the chef was and what was the title of the TV show. I tweaked the recipe a bit.

All the ingredients are easy to find. You can use a food processor or blender to make this pesto.

Ingredients :

2 cups of malunggay leaves
pili nuts or roasted peanuts you can buy at the streets (he-he!)
2-3 medium size garlic cloves, minced
1 cup of basil leaves
1/2 cup of virgin oil or extra virgin oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese or just the regular cheese you use in your spaghetti (grated, of course)
1 teaspoon of kalamansi juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste


Procedure :

1) Pulse the nuts or ground them. (You can put it in a small plastic bag and then pulse with a heavy thing -- glass or small hammer.. just be careful!)

2) In a food processor or blender, combine the basil, malunggay leaves, and nuts. Make sure they are well-blended.

3) Gradually add the olive oil and stop from time to time to scrape down the sides of the processor or blender with a rubber spatula or spoon. Add the grated cheese.

4) Then, add the kalamansi juice, salt, and pepper according to your taste buds.

Makes about 1 cup. You can serve these with your fave pasta or baked potatoes. Whatever recipe you would like to partner this with. =) Yum-yum!!!

I have a client who wants to have a simple birthday cake for her daughter. She didn't want a big cake. She wants something that they can just put a candle on it, make a wish, and have a happy birhtday.

Well, it came as a surprise to them when I made this special birthday cake. It was my first and I was kind of nervous about it. I wanted it to be a very good cake because I know children. Once they're delighted, it comes from the heart.

So I made this strawberry-flavored chocolate cake with strawberry-flavored icing. I didn't know what to make of the cake but I finally decided on a "not too mini-cake" with 2 tiers. I enjoyed doing it but at the same aggravated about the icing. It was especially hard to make it as smooth as possible and making sure that I won't scratch it to avoid taking out the icing and the crumbs as well. Every stroke I made on the cake, I asked God to guide my hand and make it beautiful even though it was a simple design. And I sure do hope they will like its taste! I have yet to know. They will be celebrating her daughter's birthday tonight, so help me God.

Fondant and Gumpaste Classes

This is my very first rolled-fondant cake. This is a chocolate cake covered with orange-flavored fondant. When we made it, the fondant was heavy. It was easier with MMF. But anyways, after I saw the result and the difference between rolled fondant & MMF, I would love to make another rolled fondant.


I'm not sure if you agree with me, but I think rolled fondant has a better texture than MMF, but MMF was more tasty! Anyway, I only made a simple design at class but I guess the end result was good. Anne was supervising us and taught us different techniques, like making a rope border, roses, and leaves. She gave us tips, too, when making fondant and gumpaste. It was easy to make these but kinda difficult when it comes to kneading it. But, hey! I love my finished product! I have a picture of my bf's own design, too. The bear topper is made of gumpaste and the rest are fondant. This is for his mom's birthday and his mom was very happy of her birthday cake!

Banana Cupcakes

Okay, so I'm done with my banana cupcakes.

I am so tired I don't think I want to go to the mall to watch a movie. I made fondant figures and I didn't have any idea on what to make (again!) so I tried creating colors on my own, combining this and that. My1st goal was to create a neon-like pink color but my fondant turned out to be a dark peach. So I decided making a baby head with a blanket on him. I used a toothpick to put a design on the baby's blanket.


Now the picture shows a cupcake with a round (sort of) fondant on it with an imprint. To be quite honest, I didn't have an impression mat so I took our cheese grater and pressed my fondant on it, voila! I now have an imprinted fondant! he-he


And last, I tried making another rose fondant. Which is very nice (a little bit) ...


Anyway, so sorry about the pictures. It's kinda dark here. he-he! I started so late in the afternoon so I just finished now and it's past dinner! *phew* so tired... but had fun making all of this!

Mango Cupcake Recipe

I've been looking for a mango cupcake recipe. It was quite difficult to find one, but I found one here in blogspot. It was even more difficult to look for pictures! Ha! It seems that all pictures I search for have rights on them or something like that.

I am going to try this maybe next week or on my boyfriend's mom's birthday this coming October 4. Here is the recipe : Mango Recipe by Coconut & Lime.

Right now, we are making banana cupcakes and carrot cupcakes. =)

My Dream Wedding

I've been wanting to post this a long time but I just don't know much about weddings so I really don't even know how to start it here. I hope I can put in as much as I can about my dream wedding.

I want it to be a church wedding. And from the aisle in the center where I'll be walking, I want hundreds and hundreds of rose petals scattered on the floor. My motiff will be violet, white, and gold. My wedding dress will be an Indian-type of dress. I am not yet sure of my wedding dress color but I know gold will be there. I have more pictures to choose from so just check below what I had in mind. (Of course, complete with accessories!)



My wedding ceremony doesn't have to be Indian as well. I just love their dress and it will be an honor if I am able to wear an Indian-inspired wedding dress.

My wedding cake will be in neon pink, dark purple, and gold in color. Decorations will also Indian-inspired complete with candles and rose petals everywhere. Yes, I also want my groom to wear a white-and-gold Indian ensemble. Flowers will be yellow, red, and white.

Reception? Not yet sure, but the tables will be decorated with same flower colors as centerpieces. There will also be a frame of my photo and my future hubby. I will have bubbles and butterflies on my wedding day. I will have a dance program and some contests, too. I want my wedding to be fun and celebratory, not boring. =)

Anyway, for now this is all I can talk about my wedding.

Strawberry cake with Chocolate Ganache on top and fondant toppers.

I had fun making this. I didn't know it's gonna be hard thinking of what to do with your fondant!

So I thought of my little niece and made ballet shoes, flowers, ribbons, hankies, and bags. Again I really need more practice. They're all pink because I didn't want to do any color yet since I am still a beginner. Once I have more time, I will create a lot of colors.


I want to thank artofdessert again and I was thinking of making scrolls but I changed my mind. I'll do that soon and I will dedicate it to Rianne. Thanks again! You have been a big help to me! =)


**sorry about the orange-y color on my fondant. I got tired of painting luster dust.

Carrot Cupcake Recipe (Modified)

I got this recipe from the internet but I don't exactly remember where. I'll try to look it up soon when I have the time. As I have posted earlier, I modified my recipe a little bit, but I will post the original recipe here.

First, I will let you know what are the changes I made on the recipe.

1 cup of vegetable = I replaced it with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil & 1/2 cup of butter
Added : 1/2 cup of milk
Instead of 3 cups of carrots, I put 3 large pieces of carrots (boiled & crushed by hand)

And here is the original recipe :

Ingredients
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots (a food processor is great for this)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners if desired.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly while mixing. Mix at high speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl every minute.

Pour batter into cupcake liners until they are 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pans then move to wire rack to cool completely.

These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are especially good with a cream cheese frosting, but my kids prefer them with no frosting at all.

**I know this is common knowledge to all bakers, but to those aren't, I stick a toothpick all the way down in the center of the cupcake. And then I pull it out and if no batter sticks to the toothpick (all dry), then your cupcake/cake is baked. *wink*

Carrot Cupcakes (I am so addicted to baking cupcakes!)

It isn't fancy looking because I didn't have time to make an icing for decoration. It's raining real hard here so I can't go out and buy more eggs for my icing. *sigh*

About the cupcake : I had to boil my carrots and crushed them after making sure they are very soft and ready to go. The carrots wasn't crushed so much but I guess it's still okay.

And then, instead of using 1 cup of vegetable oil, I used just a half of it and a half of butter. I then added a half of cup evaporated milk.

After the first batch was baked, I asked my little nephew to eat one of the cupcake. After a few minutes, he came back to me and asked for another cupcake so I guess it was a success! :)


Oh, and here's a picture showing a 15-year old enjoying my cupcake! he-he! She doesn't eat vegetables so it's such a treat so see her eating the cupcake with a smile!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Choco-flavored icing -- Delicious!

Because of my new oven, I was inspired to make another batch of cupcakes and this time, they are chocolate-flavored!

This is my first time to make chocolate cupcakes, and I hear that is is quite a handful especially your first time. But they turned out right!

Oh, and I followed the basic recipe for this batch but I used 3/4 cup of Tipco (brand) Kiwi & Grape Juice for healthier cupcakes. This juice is made of pure kiwi and grape juice. You can't even taste the grape fruit. The juice is definitely sweet! I love it so much that's why I have to substitute it for water.


I wanted to make the cupcakes a little special, so I made royal icing. My royal icing failed because I put 2 tablespoons of cold coffee in it. So what I did, I took about half a cup or more of my shortening to make it a little stiff/firm.




Another flop. he-he! I wanted to make brown icing but it looks like I didn't follow the color wheel right, so I ended up putting in different colorings in my icing hoping it'll turn brown, but what I got was a shiny silver-y or shiny gray color! I liked the color though so I went ahead and tried to make a swirl. Ok, so the swirl is not that perfect!

Here they are!

Here it is! As promised!

First baked cheese cupcakes!

Today, I'll be baking chocolate cupcakes! Cross your fingers! I hope it goes well!

My New Oven and Cheese Cupcakes!

This is my new oven that I bought. I specifically selected black because it would be easier to clean and looks classy in the kitchen. And black doesn't look dirty when dirty. hehehe..

This is my first cupcake that I baked in my new oven. It's made of cheese as requested by the people in our house. It smells good while it's being baked at the moment. Oh and yes, these are unbaked yet so I'll just post the baked ones later! Ciao!

Cake for my sister's arrival from Dubai!

My twin sister just arrived from Dubai last Tuesday so I am only able to post my latest cake creation now. Got so busy! Again, I had to practice more about smoothing my icing. And the timing of making the icing.

She thinks it's soo cute and she said it tasted good!
It was an ube cake with white icing on it! I decorated it with store-bought round-shaped gumpaste!

I made this cake for our reunion!

The cake was too kiddie-looking but everyone loved it! =)

Run into a little problem with the icing though because it wasn't candied enough so my flowers didn't look a lot like star flowers. Next time, I'll learn to do a little timing! It was a mocha cake with ube filling! yum-yum!

Airbrushing the cake is definitely nice!

My boyfriend and I were together in a cake decorating class with Anne. Anne makes cakes and cupcakes, and quite good at it. You can visit her at Cakes4you. So anyways, as we go along, I find that my boyfriend is better than me! ha-ha! Just look at his cake over mine and you'll see why!

My 2nd Attempt To Ice Cupcakes & Cakes

Well, I tried to ice bigger cakes, not only cupcakes. I realized I have to stick to cupcakes first. It's easier to ice and more manageable. The bigger cakes took me 2 1/2 hours each to finish icing it. *whew!* that wasn't an easy task!

And the lady who put all the things I bought in my grocery bag was not able to put my green coloring so the grass on the cakes are all white.. I think that'll do for now.

For my next day off, I'll try on perfecting a swirl and a buttercream rose. I hope it ends up ok.

My First Try At Cupcakes

Finally bought my own electric beater and some other tools & ingredients needed to decorate the cake.. Here are the pictures of store-bought cupcakes that I decorated. (I used store-bought cupcakes because I still don't have my own oven yet -- my next project!). I hope you like it!

What I Found out about Fondants

I’ve read so much online about cakes, cake decorating, and fondants.

I found that there are different types of fondants : (1) Marshmallow Fondant, (2) Rolled-Fondant, (3) Satin Ice Fondant, and (4) Pettinice Fondant.

Satin Ice and Pettinice Fondants have better reviews, but a little expensive. Although guaranteed great results. Of course, according to bloggers and what I have read online. They say that it tastes better and easier to mold/shape. I also cannot find a recipe about it so I guess nobody knows exactly how to make one so you have to order online or if it’s available in your area, you can go right ahead and buy it.

The other 2 fondants doesn’t taster as good as the 2 other fondants I mentioned above but I haven’t tried it yet. (I’m still preparing for a class next month for it) I’ve also read that Wilton’s fondant doesn’t taste as good as Satin Ice or Pettinice fondant.

So, as a beginner, I kind of get a little confused and overwhelmed by so much information. *sigh*

An Encouragement From An Old Friend

Jaydee Pedro: basta to inspire you more to succeed, think of your daughter do this for her as much as you want to do it for yourself.... i know you can do it..... anyhow i can only wish you good luck for now.... take care my friend!

Thank you, Jaydee! =)

Blueberry Cheesecake

Why blueberry cheesecake?

First of all, I love this cake!

I made 2 sites with this name and I have a pretty good clue that this is going to be my logo in the near future, not to mention a tiara to go with it.

You can actually check my other site : blueberrycheesecake.i.ph and now this, blueberrycheesecake2.blogspot.com..

So I'm new here and will probably be blogging away about cakes, cookies, and anything to go with it!