Naina's Starstruck In Love Cake and Cupcakes

I met Naina thought my sister. She and a friend were in Manila for a business trip but business trips shouldn’t be all business right? So we squeezed in a day having lunch on top of an active volcano and a weeknight at a quiet little place then called The Embassy.

We had a blast touring Naina around. She was a great company, loads of fun and there was never a dull moment with her.  I love hearing her stories about India. I'd love to see The Taj Mahal someday.

I thank Facebook I was able to reconnect with her. Recently, she sent me a mail asking for a simple cake recipe to surprise her boyfriend. I’m glad I gave her Mama’s no fail, perfectly moist, most decadent chocolate cake. It’s easy, quick and the perfect recipe for a beginner.

She loved the recipe she made a batch in cupcake and the another in cake form. She even got drunk eating cupcakes. How cool is that! I have baked countless cupcakes in my lifetime but I have never experienced getting drunk eating cupcakes. Maybe I should put that in my bucket list. You should, too.

Here are her creations! Chocolate cupcakes with lovely sprinkles – 

And the “Starstruck in Love” cake. Love love love the name.

Glad you enjoyed it Naina!

Happy Cupcaking,

Aikko

Ps. I’ll share with you the recipe soon J Keep on visiting my Bake Happy, yeah?

Post Update: here is the recipe :)

Keep Your Glass Slippers... I'd Rather Wear Flip Flops

Why?
Because it's the summer season! 
And I really prefer flip-flops, who can rock a perfectly good pair of glass slippers anyway? 
Only Cinderella can... and oh yeah... perhaps Lady Gaga can too. 

It cannot be denied any longer. Summer has officially arrived. The season of bikinis, sunglasses, halo-halo and of course, flip flops. 

These colorful little paper umbrellas look so cute. They are the perfect toppers for my summer inspired cupcakes.

Right side up...

They maybe made only of paper but they opened up pretty well. Aren't they lovely?

And here are the flip flops made from fondant. Girly pink fondant flip flops. Yellow and pink is a lovely combination, don't you think? 

And oh.. I hope Robin doesn't mind, I borrowed the title of her blog for this post you see. She's one of my favorite authors. 

If Cindy Ella reaches for Chunky Monkey when she needs cheering up, I reach for Robin's books. It's just like eating Tiramisu, a little pick me up, only without the calories.

Happy summer everyone!

Aikko

Recital Cupcakes

It was the first time I attended a recital.

All I can say is...

It totally blew me away. Wow! 

As part of the completion of her Music Degree, my friend Lyra had a recital two Saturdays ago. I am soo glad I came. She was in her element, her stance so confident, her voice so magnificent. I can still remember her first day in Music School, she told me they even had a quiz. On the first day? Wow! And now, she just completed her degree. It was amazing. Dare I mention how time flies? 

I decided to make her cupcakes. See my blank canvas below? You can never go wrong with chocolate cupcakes.

 Swirly green cream cheese frosting sprinkled with dragees.

 Topped with what else? Musical notes! After all, these are recital cupcakes.

 The toppers are made from chocolate sugar cookies. 

 Congratulations, Lyra!!! 

Pammy, me and Ivy

Happy Cupcaking!

Aikko

Sun, Sand, Sea... and Mermaids?!

Who says it's only us land dwellers who enjoy summer? I bet mermaids do too!  The sea is warmer this time of the year, especially in the Philippines and they must be looking forward to the company. You know... divers, banana boat riders, not to mention surfers.  


I have yet to go to the beach. I haven't been the beach person I was years before but this year, I'm looking forward to hitting the beach! 


In the meantime, let the mermaids have the fun. I'll join in soon. 


For these mermaid cupcakes, I decided to use store bought fondant. Sometimes, Bake Happy blogger gets tired of making everything from scratch. Believe me, I quite felt a baker's kind of rush when I first laid hand on the fondant. No more kneading and mixing and huffing and puffing. Yay!

This one from Wilton came in four colors. Lovely summer colors - purple, orange, yellow and pink.

Beautifully domed vanilla cupcakes.

I forgot to put in just a little batter so I have to cut the top off to make space for the water and the mermaids.

Putting in a layer of sea...

I placed the mermaid heads and tails. By now you probably know why there are only three cupcakes. The faces are a little hard to make. Okay, make that really hard to make. But when I sea... uh... I mean see their faces - time put to good use. 

Finishing touches, piping jelly colored in blue covered the rest of the cupcakes.

Here's one mermaid. You know who she reminds me of? Mutya. She's a child mermaid in one of the drama series currently airing at ABS-CBN. She is the cutest mermaid ever!!!

I love how the dark haired mermaid seems to be "indifferent" during the "pictorial". She seems to say to me, "Do whatever you want, I'll enjoy soaking up the summer sun"

How about you guys? What are your summer plans?

Happy Cupcaking, 
Aikko

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