Bake Happy Friday Round Up

And just like that, January went *poof*. It's February now. Close your eyes. Open them again and it's December. Just kidding. 

How did your week went? Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

• After three unsuccessful attempts, I finally got it right. If you haven't seen it, here's the easiest macaron recipe ever. I can not wait to play around with it more! I have even read about a crazy flavor combination, think about an expensive spice, a fruit that has a misleading name, and sugar in a different form. Let's see if it will make it to this blog. 

• And yes, it was my sister's birthday last Monday. I made her these cupcakes which has a cute cake topper which I showed you how to make. Here's how.

• We now have a winner for the Paper Chic Studio Giveaway! Congratulations Christine David! Sent you a Tweet/Direct Message/Facebook Message! :) Enjoy your goodies!

• On to some exciting news!!! They're Playing our Song will have a run this February at the RCBC Plaza! Who's watching? I am!!! I can not wait - yeah, someone's downloading the soundtrack in her phone as I type this :) Now, I have to find out how to get tickets!

photo courtesy of http://kapamilyalogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/nikki-gil-to-star-in-theyre-playing-our.html  and 9 Works Theatrical

•  I did mention that it was my sister's birthday last Monday right? For her birthday weekend, we wend to Davao for a food trip. Sharing with you some of the sketches I made with an awesome app Paper 53. 

• Since we're only there for the weekend, my sister booked us an early flight. To pass time while waiting to board, I decided to sketch the girl in front of me :)

• On board the plane, I was reading a magazine when I saw fell in love with a beach house. If I remember correctly, this is Lilom in Batangas. It's now my goal to visit this house. 

• When I'm not at home, my favorite thing to do is sleep - probably because I rarely do when I'm at home. So here's our bed, so comfy to just hang out here and read then sleep :)

•  Davao is well know for Mangosteen and Durian. I ate a lot of Mangosteen but unfortunatety, I wasn't able to taste durian in it's purest form. We weren't allowed to take it to our room. But the good thing is, I was able to have some durian sans rival and durian brazo mercedez :) Yummy!

•  Here's my last Davao sketch, kuya at the Magsaysay Fruit Market slicing a small durian.

I'm looking at these sketches and I smile. I'm pretty rusty when it comes to sketching. I need to practice more!

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Easy Macaron Recipe

First of all, I want to thank you my dear Bake Happy friends for cheering me on throughout this macaron making adventure. I know, it's not over yet - you and me... we're just starting. I have a feeling you'll see a lot of macarons on this little blog from now on. 

Anyway, I can not wait to share my first ever successful batch of maracons. I want you to know that as I make these sweet little confections, in my mind I imagine you all cheering me on! And I thank you for that, along with all the countless  tips and techniques you've sent my way, most specially my friends Monette and Joed! You guys rock!!!

The recipe I used was Tartelette's that I got from Bakerella. I've seen a lot of recipes and techniques in making macarons but hers seem simple enough for a beginner like me. Not intimdating at all. No need to use a candy thermometer and basically has only four (I repeat, four) ingredients (but I added one more to make sure the macarons are a success). I don't think it can get any simpler than that. Let's break it down, one by one, shall we? 

1. aged egg whites - the egg whites we'll use has to be aged. And by aged it means the egg whites has to be left alone at room temp for 24 hours. If you're still not using it after 24 hours, place it in the fridge and bring it out 2 hours before using it. The aged egg whites can last up to four more days in the fridge. 
2. powdered sugar or icing sugar - make sure to sift well to remove lumps
3. ground almonds - or sometimes called almond meal. I got mine from Sweetcraft. Then when my stash ran out, I ordered online from Karen of Love2bake. Thank heavens they deliver!
4. sugar  - or regular sugar or refined sugar. 
5. egg white powder - per Helen of Tartelette, this is an optional ingredient. But I made sure to add it in my macaron recipe since it helps lessen the moisture out of the egg whites. I bought mine from Sweetcraft.

And with that let's make macarons!!!

Easy Basic Macaron Recipe

adapted from Tartelette's Recipe from Bakerella's Blog

What we need:

90 grams aged egg whites 

25 grams to 50grams granulated sugar

200 grams powdered sugar

110 grams ground almonds 

1 tsp egg white powder

Here's how:
(1) Add egg white powder to the aged egg whites. Beat until foamy.

(2)  Once foamy,gradually add in granulated sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. How do you know if the meringue is stiff enough? Flip the bowl upside down. If it doesn't fall off, you're good to go. 

 (3) Sift together powdered sugar and ground almonds. 

(4) Fold in the meringue. Fold and fold (and fold) until the mixture becomes sticky. 

(5) Sort of something like this. 

(6) After four tries, I still have trouble piping consistently sized macaron shells. I know I need all the help I can get so I printed out the templates from Food Nouveaun which I placed under the Silpat. Thanks Monette for sharing this one!  I placed the macaron batter in a piping bag and piped into the dots one by one.

 Result - consistenly sized shells! Yahoo!!!

(7) Let the shells sit for an hour before baking. This will ensure that a thick crust will develop to prevent cracked macarons. 

(8) Baked the macarons for 15 minutes at 200F then for another 5-8 minutes at 350. Make sure to keep an eye on the macarons to prevent it from burning, okay? Important note> please remove the templates before baking.

These basic macarons can be filled with jams, ganache and jellies. This time, I decided to use Nutella and wow was it yummy! Though I was a bit sweet because I used up all the 50 grams of sugar in the recipe. Next time, I'll cut it in half. 

As you can see, my macarons look grainy / gritty doesn't it? I was reading up my friend Joed's tips and it seems I need to use a food processor to mix the almonds and powdered sugar together to make it more fine. Unfortunately, I do not have a food processor to my name. Hmnm... maybe that will be my next investment. Haha, a red hot Kitchen Aid will have to wait I guess.

How to Make Birthday Cake Cupcakes

I'm pretty sure you have noticed that I totally suck at celebrating milestones. That's not good, right? See, this year, Bake Happy turns five and I have never once celebrated an anniversary! My 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th birthday came and went and I think I have never mentioned it here once (or at least I know I didn't). In case you're wondering, it's on April 2nd - my birthday and not my blog anniversary. That one's in June or July, I think (see, I'm not even sure! hahaha!). 

So one of my resolutions this year is to celebrate all of them with you my dear Bake Happy friends! Starting today! Because today is a very special day. Wanna know why?

Because, one, were making Birthday Cake Cupcakes! See? 

And two, we're celebrating my sister's birthday. Nope she's not the one on the center. That's me. She's the one happily anticipating her first Sans Rival bite. Yep, that cute kid on the left is my sister Lisa :) 

Isn't she the cutest? She always had an easy smile on her face, up to now. So I thought to celebrate her birthday, we're making birthday cake cupcakes. Want to see how to make them? Here's how.

Birthday Cake Cupcake Topper Tutorial

What we need:
Fondant in brown, beige, red, pink and yellow
Flower fondant cutter
Round fondant cutter (should be snmaller than the round cutter)
Toothpick
Rolling pin
Water and brush to glue things together

Here's how:
(1) Roll out brown fondant and cut out flowers.

 (2) Roll out beige fondant and cut out circles

 For one cake, we'll need 3 "flowers" and 2 circles

 (3) Place them one on top of the other.

 (4) Roll some small red balls

 (5) Place them on each of the "petals"

 (6) Insert a toothpick on the middle of the cake

 (7) Add some pink fondant on the the toothpick to serve as the candle

(8) Get some yellow fondant and shape into a flame. Add to the tip of the candle.

  (9) Place on top of the cupcakes!

This is for my sister who always support me in everything I do, the one who always have my back, and never tires to assure me that I am loved, I am sooo lucky to have you! 

Happy birthday, tots! :)

Bake Happy Friday Round Up

1. Sebastian's Artisanal Ice Cream's Cookie Dough Duo. I think the photo says it all, don't you think? This is one of their Chilly Burger Flavors. They also have Red Velvet ice cream cookie which I intend to try. Stat!

2. I made Sans Rival for you this week. Alternating layers of crispy meringue and oh so velvety sans rival icing, covered in nuts. Nuts. All. Over. Have I convinced you yet? Here's the recipe.

3. And oh. Have you joined Bake Happy's first ever giveaway for the year? If you haven't, join now!

4. And now for this Round Up's Highlight!!!

Let me present to you, Bake Happy's Macaron Making Chronicles!

Shortly after (and by shortly after, I mean just hours after) I made my first ever macarons. I tried again. This time playing around... errr, I mean experimenting with the factors. This time, I didn't age my egg whites and even upped the amount of the whites. The result, it just spread too thinly so here's the second batch. I just spread it all out and cut into squares. Not my proudest moment. I know. Tastes great though!

 But I tried again. Third batch - I got excited. I mean too excited I piped overly lots of macarons in a sheet. Uh oh! Trouble here. See? It seems the macarons want nothing more than to hold hands. I had to scrap and do it all over again. 

Ahhh... this one's much better! :) Ohhh, bubbles!!! Lots of it!

Too bad, my temp was too high I burnt my macarons!!! Batch 3, still a fail. But hey, the macarons got skin that's not cracked and its got feet! Getting there right? 

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

Paper Chic Studio Giveaway! {CLOSED}

Hey everyone! Today is an exciting day because Bake Happy partnered with Paper Chic Studio for the very first blog giveaway for 2013! It’s super easy to join for a chance to win these Paper Chic Studio products! Is that cool or totally cool? 

I don't know about you but I have always been tickled pink by paper products. Candy cups, paper straws, gift bags, to me they are the perfect baking blog props (errr... I mean food styling tools) but I'm pretty sure you guys will put it to very, very good use (do I hear a party? yes!!!) So when Cai of Paper Chic Studio approached me for a possible giveaway, I totally said yes as I know you, my dear friends, will love it as much as I do. 

Do head over to the Paper Chic Studio Facebook Page to view their products. Not only do they sell paper products, they also have twines, jars and bottles! But before that, do join our giveaway for a chance to win these ultra fab Paper Chic Studio products!

We now have a winner! Congratulations Christine David! I sent you a Tweet/Direct Message! :)

Here's how to join:

1. Like Paper Chic Studio Facebook Page Page 
2. Follow Paper Chic Studio Twitter and Instagram (this step is optional)
3. Share the giveaway on Facebook, make sure to tag PaperChicStudio and set it to public OR
4. Tweet about the giveaway, make sure tag @paperchicstudio
5. Comment below with your full name, Twitter name and the link of your Facebook status



Before entering, make sure to read the below guidelines:

- Please only comment once.
- Giveaway is open to anyone with a valid Philippine shipping address 
- Deadline for entry is January 31st, 2013.
- One winner will be randomly chosen and contacted via contact details provided. Winner will be announced here on Bake Happy
- Official rules indicated on my blog apply. 

Good luck my dear Bake Happy friends!!!

For product inquiries and orders:

- Visit Paper Chic Studio's Facebook page, HERE.

- Email info@paperchicstudio.com

Sans Rival Recipe

Before 2012 ended last year (but after the doomsday date) I asked you my dear Bake Happy friends what you want to see more in my blog this year. Recipe requests, gumpaste / fondant tutorials, fondant figurines, features and such. I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! Please note that I have them listed so stay tuned okay? It maybe your request that I'll post in the coming months :) 

Just like this recipe for Sans Rival (really, it has no rival!). Several of you requested this so I thought I'd get to work on it. Actually this is the third try. And thankfully after the third try, I finally got it right! 

If you follow Bake Happy on Facebook then you've probably seen my first two tries... ugh... let's just forget about those and concentrate on this heavenly cake. Want to see inside? My Sans Rival has five layers on it. I was actually hoping to get it as tall as six layers but fate (I mean my tummy) had other plans. The sixth layer got eaten before it got cold. 

What's your criteria for a good Sans Rival? I tasted the one that I liked best at Chocolate Kiss, a restaurant in UP Diliman. What I liked about it was that the meringue was crispy. At every bite, you can actually differentiate the meringue from the icing. That's my first criteria. Second, the icing shouldn't be too sweet. This isn't really a sweet cake but some versions I have tried have really sweet icing it overpowers the meringue. And lastly, the nuts. There should be lots. And by "lots", I mean a lot. As in if I am a small version of myself and trapped inside this cake, at every turn, there are nuts. Here in Manila, Sans Rival is traditionally (or is that usually?) made with cashew nuts. Am I what I eat? Well... let's not go there. Without further ado, Sans Rival Recipe, here it is.

Sans Rival Recipe

Meringue or Dacquoise
adapted from Zoe Bakes
225F / makes 6 six inch layers

What we need:

2/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup egg whites
1 tsp egg white powder (I used Ovasil)
2/3 cup+ 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup chopped cashew nuts
1/4 cup flour

Here's how:
(1) Mix ground almonds and 1/4 cups sugar until well blended. Set aside. Please don't be like me and use a small bowl. Use bigger one so you can combine them easily. 

 (2) Combine 1/4 cup flour and chopped cashew nuts. Also set aside. 

 (3) In a mixing bowl, add egg whites and egg white powder. Mix until foamy. Once foamy, add in 2 tablespoons of sugar.  

(4) Once soft peaks form, add in the 2/3 cup sugar gradually. Mix until stiff peaks form. How do you know if your eggs are in the stiff peaks stage? Turn it upside down. If nothing falls off, you're good to go to the next step.

(5) Fold in the almond-sugar mixture. 

(6) Then fold in the flour-cashew nut mixture. 

(7) I don't want to invest in 6 6-inch pans just for this project (not practical for me) so like Zoe, I placed the meringue in a piping bag with a round piping tip and piped six 6-inch layers. 

 (8) I baked the meringue for an hour and a half at 225F or until the meringue dries out. Once baked, let it cool and set aside. 

Sans Rival Icing
adapted from Heny Sison

What we need:

¾ C. Sugar
½ C. Water
9 Egg Yolks
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
 ½ t. Vanilla extract

 Here's how:
(1) Boil sugar and water in a small saucepan. Make sure to have a candy thermometer on hand as we need this to make the icing. Once the thermometer reaches 220F, start mixing the egg yolks in a high speed. 

(2) This is very critical, once the sugar mixture reached 240 F, pour it over the egg yolks (with the mixer still on, okay?) in a stream (like water in a faucet). Mix well. 

 (3) Once mixed well, turn off the mixer and let the icing cool. 

 (4) Once it cooled down, add it the butter in small batches. 

 (5) Beat the icing until smooth, creamy and fluffy. And by the way, I give you permission to lick the sides of the bowl. Enjoy. 

Cake Assembly

What we need:
Meringue layers (I was only able to use 5. The sixth layer was already in the deepest recesses of my stomach)
Sans Rival Icing
1 1/2 cup chopped cashew nuts

Here's how:
(1) Place a meringue on a cake plate or cake board. Add in a pretty layer of icing.

 (2)  Add in nuts. 

 (3) Lather, rinse, repeat. I mean add a meringue layer, then icing icing and nuts. The last layer, place it upside down so you have a smooth top. 

 (4) Cover everything in buttercream. Yeah I know, my buttercream skills need practice but it doesn't need to be perfect here. Wanna know why?

 (5) We'll cover everything in nuts! Oh my! 

Want to have a slice. You are welcome to one :). Hope you like this one! Have a great week ahead my dear Bake Happy Friends! :)