Calamansi Muffins

A funny thing happened last night.

So I went home, opened my laptop and went to Blogger.com to finish this post up. 

And nothing happened. Nada. Uh oh. Is blogger down? I tried several times but still nothing happened. Funny enough, I can access everything else but this site. I thought Blogger was just down so I "busied" myself by surfing the net. After an hour or so, I checked again but still, nothing happened. Uh oh. Should I be nervous? I checked Twitter to see if anyone else is experiencing what I was experiencing. Nothing. And so I reported it to the Blogger helpdesk. Something's wrong. I didn't even have a back up of my whole blog!

I tried blogger on my phone and it works. Hmmm... there's hope. I rebooted my laptop and tried again. Nothing still. Then I restarted my router (if that's what you call it, I don't know) twice. And then... whew! There it is! It's not Blogger's falut! It's my internet access! :) I better start doing my back-up now. That was such a scare! 

But before that, we're making a food hack today. Pepper.ph made their own version of Real Coffee's famous Calamansi Muffins. My sister Lisa said this is a must try so one morning last December I went out and had it for breakfast. It was so good! Just enough zing from the calamansi,  not too sweet and the toasty exterior complemented well with the crumbly texture on the inside. Washed down with cold milk, it was heaven. 

Good thing Pepper.ph already made their own version. A successful version at that since they rated it a "95% Hackuraccy". After baking it, I'm pretty sure Pepper.ph was not telling the entire truth when they said it as 95%, for me it's 99.99%. It's almost as good as the real thing. 

And oh, a piece of advise, this is something we can make when we're craving Calamansi Muffins from Real Coffee and we're not in Boracay. But make sure to try it when you're in the island, okay? :)

Pepper.ph's Real Coffee Calamansi Muffins

Recipe from Pepper.ph

What we need

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup calamansi

Here's how:
(1) Combine milk and calamansi juice. Set aside. The mixture will curdle but don't worry, it will turn out fine. Combine all dry ingredients and set aside as well.

(2) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

(3) Add eggs one at a time.

(4) Add in a third of the dry ingredients. Just mix until blended.

(5) Add in a half of the milk/calamansi mixture. Repeat #4 and #5 until everything is combined.  

(6) I had a non stick muffin fan but I still greased it well to be sure the muffin won't stick. 

(7) Bake at 350F for about 15 to 18 minutes.

Best eaten straight out of the oven. I mean, let it cool down a bit then enjoy :).

How to Make Fondant (or Gumpaste) Octopus Cupcake Toppers

Related posts:

How to Make Boat Cupcakes

How to Make Fondant Starfish Cupcakes 

It's official. I think I may have left my brain in Boracay,

I mean, why else am I obsessing about sea themed cupcake toppers in the middle of January? Last week, I showed you how to make Boat Cupcakes. And last year, there were some cute Starfish Cupcakes that came out of this blog. And now we're delving deeper into the sea. 

We're making octopus cupcakes today. Yeah, in the middle of January when it's still cold at night (read: malamig pa rin ang simoy ng hagin) and here I am thinking of summer. Please tell me, it's okay :)

Fondant (or Gumpaste) Octopus Tutorial

What we need:

Fondant in purple, black and white

Fondant Tool

Scissors

Toothpick

Brush and water to glue things together

Here's how:
(1) Roll purple fondant in a ball

(2) Shape it in a sort of figure eight or sort of a jar.

(3) Cut the smaller end  into two

(4) Then the two into half again

(5) Continue until our octopus have eight arms

(6) Open up the arms and form a tip on each arm

(7) Let Mister Octopus stand and and curl this arms outwards.

(8) Use the fondant tool to mark where the eyes should be

(9) Add the face details.

Tadah!! Octopus cupcakes are perfect for under the sea themed parties don't you think? :)

My Top 10 Cake Decorating Tools

Hey everyone!

Today, I'm sharing ten of my favorite cake decorating tools. I have shared a lot of tutorials for cake and cupcake toppers here on Bake Happy but I haven't had the chance to blog about the tools I love to use. So today is the day I will do just that.

My top favorites aren't even the fancy ones. I'm pretty sure even if you are not a cake decorator, you may even have some of the tools on the list. And, you may probably even be surprised at some of my choices as they are common as sugar. 

If your thinking of starting up on cake decorating as a hobby or as a business, it really is tempting to go out of your way and scout Chocolate Lover, or SweetCraft or Baking Buddies for the latest cake decorating tools made available. I would not even dare to account for all the toys, err.. I mean, tools that I have acquired over the years (even cringing at some of my choices! What was I thinkng?!). So here I thought I'd save you from all of that by listing my top ten cake decorating tools. I mean, if I had the chance to visit my 25 or 26 year-old self, I would probably print out this post and give it to her (or me).

These are basically all the tools you need to start cake decorating (in no particular order):

1. Ateco Rings

I love these because they cover every size possible.  Want to make cupcake faces toppers or how about the Avengers Cupcake Toppers? These rings will just about help you do just that.

2. Ruler

Don't have a square, rectangle or triangle fondant cutter? A ruler is all you need to cut a straight line out of a fondant.

3. Knife (regular or the X-acto one)

Comes hand in hand with the ruler. I use just the ordinary kitchen knife. I do have an X-Acto one but I still prefer using the regular knife since it does the job perfectly well.

4. Scissors

Too tired to make use of the ruler and knife technique? Use a pair of scissors. I actually have several pairs of varying length that I use from time to time to help ease up on the work.

5. Fondant Tools

These babies come in sets.  You really just need the three shown below. 

6. Rolling Pin
Used to flatten out fondant evenly. This tool is definitely a must have, especially if you are making two dimensional designs like this one. 
7. Offset Spatula
Working with buttercream? This will be an invaluable tool. Sometimes, if I'm too lazy to stand to get the kitchen knife, I use this instead.
8. Toothpicks
I use this for support when making heavy fondant toppers. Sort of like a cupcake topper's backbone.

9. Brush
Almost always included in all fondant / gumpaste tutorials in Bake Happy because instead of making the usual tylo glue, I just use water to paste things together. Works fine. 

10. Hands
And last but not the least. This is the most important tool that we cake decorators have. You can see mine in action when I made this fondant poodle. So guys, make sure to take good cake of your hands, okay?

There you have it folks. My list. Care to tell me what's in yours?

Bake Happy Friday Round Up

Yes, Friday! It's time for (the first ever) Bake Happy Friday Round Up:

• This week, I showed you how to make these uber cute boat cupcakes. Uber cute, uber easy, uber fun. Here's the tutorial.

• I also found the best brownie recipe ever made. Thank you, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito for the recipe. We owe you big time. (Shh... there are still some left in the fridge that I munch on while sleep walking at night)

• Then there's this lonely looking Caramel Flavored Sans Rival - a Bake Happy blooper it is. But I'm dusting myself off and will try again.

• I was actually looking forward to see Hugh Jackman on the big  screen this week, but I just found out Les Miz wouldn't be shown until next week :(. Oh well, I've waited long enough, I guess another week wouldn't hurt. As advised, I'm bringing lots of tissues with me.
• Be Careful with My Heart Recap - I'm pretty sure this Mango Ref Cake post totally established my status as a Maya and Sir Chief fan. And this week was really a sad one on the show. Maya's crying all the time! You are so mean Sir Chief! Say sorry already. Ayan tuloy, nag-resign si Maya. And oh, if you are like me who can't get enough of the show, here's a site that's a feast for us fans! A fanfic site dedicated to Maya and Sir Chief made by their fans. Go ahead, read and smile.

• And oh, Bakerella made brownies this week, too! What can I say, great minds think alike :)
• Perhaps a trip to Bohol is in order? I am addicted to Bohol Bee Farms Pesto spread. I can't think of anything else.
• My friend Kat sent me this link last Monday, a good read. I guess I still have 9 years and 3 months to master them. 
• And so The Academy has already announced the nominees for the 85th Academy Awards. Which films are you guys going to watch? I don't know about you but I"ll be watching the... Oscars itself because Seth MacFarlane is hosting. Just saying. Giggity gigitty goo. 

Have a great weekend, my dear Bake Happy friends!

How to Make Boat Cupcakes

Last Christmas, I was on this island. Perfect bliss. 

I think I am in a long dream right now then I'll wake up and I'm back there - listening to the waves, sipping my choco peanut butter shake and reading a book. And no, no zip lining or cliff diving for this baker. Vacation is best enjoyed laid back.

Yeah, definitely I am still on beach mode. So I thought if I can't go the beach, I'll bring the beach here, at home - stat. Somehow.  

How about some boat cupcakes? Anyone? We're keeping the tutorial pretty simple. At least for this post. I know we're still on vacation mode so I'm kind of hoping, like me, you're taking it easy.

Ready?

How to Make Fondant  or Gumpaste Boat (2D Version)

What we need:

Fondant in several colors (I used purple, green, pink, yellow and blue)

Square fondant cutter

Round fondant cutter

Knife

Rolling pin

Water and brush

Stitching tool (optional)

Here's how:
(1) Roll out green fondant, cut circles then cut it into half.

(2) Roll small blue fondants into balls and glue into the green fondant.

(3) Cut out triangles from the pink and yellow fondant.

(4) Roll out purple fondant thickly. And cut out squares then run the stitching tool through the edges. The purple fondant will serve as the blank canvas where well arrange the boat like so.

Use the water and brush to adhere the boat parts to the purple blank canvas. 
Now, our boat cupcakes are ready for use :)
Hope you like it guys! :)

Chewy Fudgy Brownie Recipe From Scratch

I think I mentioned before that I was on the hunt for perfect brownie recipe. I tried other recipes before but they came out not as I expected. Some were too cakey while others too dry. I like my brownie chewy, fudgy with the subtle crunch at first bite. Of course, being chocolatey as chocolate can get is a given. I want the best brownie recipe that could serve as my blank canvas I can experiment with later on.

And gladly, this weekend, I finally found it. I was reading Matt Lewis Renato Poliafito's Baked: New Frontiers in Baking when I saw an absolutely mouthwatering picture of brownies. And when they proudly said that it was - 

• One of Oprah's favorite things
• Awarded the Best Brownie Honors by America's Test Kitchen
• Featured in The Today Show

I know my search is over. This is it. And wow, it didn't disappoint. It was everything I wanted in a brownie in more. 

Want the best brownies recipe of all time? Here it is :)

The Baked Brownie Recipe

adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

350F/30 minutes

What we need:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces (311.7g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup (8 ouces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Here's how:
(1) Melt together butter, dark chocolate and coffee powder in a pan set over a saucepan with simmering water. 

(2) Once melted turn off the heat and add white and brown sugar. 

(3) Mix until completely combined. Bring the mixture to room temperature. 

(4) In the meantime, line your baking pan with Cut Rite or Parchment Paper. The book requires a 9x13 inches pan but I don't have one. The nearest was a 9x12. That should do :)
(5) In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, salt and cocoa powder. Sift or dry whisk and set aside.
(6) Once the chocolate mixture has cooled to room temperature. Add 3 eggs. Whisk until just combined, no streaks of eggs left. Then add the remaining 2 eggs. Add in the vanilla extract.

(7) Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the chocolate mixture. Fold using a spatula (do not use a whisk) only until combined.

(8) Spread evenly on the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through the baking time.

Special thanks to my friends Nadia and Leslie for best brownie baking recipe tips: Do not overmix and do not overbake. Thanks a bunch!!! :D

Santol Juice

Was there ever a blog post that kept you awake in the middle of the night? Has that ever happened to you? Because a few weeks back, it happened to me. Kept me up until 3AM thinking about it. Woke up (dark circles around my eyes, eyebags and all) still thinking about it. Totally not weird right?

Want to know the culprit? It's Market Man's post about Santol Juice.

I haven't had Santol Juice in a while (make that a long long while). When I was a kid, my mom used to make us Santol Punch (that's how she calls it) when the fruit is in season. Now that we're in Manila, I rarely see this  amazing fruit in the grocery. 

And then this post happened. And I know I just have to have one. But the search for Santol was long and hard. Apparently, this fruit isn't something that's available year round. I really don't know where to look for it. Good thing, last Saturday, Landmark must have read my frustrated mind and decided to sell some! Santol there you are at last!

I basically followed Market Man's instructions on how to make Santol Juice. 
Peel of the skin of 3 - 4 santol. Chop the rind into medium sized pieces. Put the pieces, rind and seeds in a big pitcher, he says. But I don't have a pitcher to my name (I should get one now) so I temporarily placed it in a bowl then added water to it. Do we need a specific ratio of santol to water? Naahh... you can never go wrong with this one.

At this point, you can either add honey or a simple syrup and adjust according to your taste. Make it a bit sweeter than the usual since we'll still add ice later. Since I don't have a pitcher, I placed my santol juice in my pretty jars :)

Then you can let it steep for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator. Take it out, add lots of ice and enjoy. 

Ahhh refresingly sweet!! Santol, how I love you! :)