A surprise cupcake from Cupcake Princess

I received the prettily packaged cupcake from Lala Baraoidan via Marianne Pasion via Ericke. The baby is worth sharing in the blog. The sinfully generous, yummy frosting closely resembles the taste of real Oreo filling — a treat ‘coz I super adore the white of an Oreo — to me, it’s the core of an Oreo sandwich such as it’s the icing that makes a cupcake.
(Thanks, girls!)

Contact Marinella “Lala” Baraoidan (landline no.: 7705452; mobile no.: 0915 2674117; email: lala_baraoidan@yahoo.com

Desert and Desserts

On this post, I am not going to misspell two most used words in my vocabulary.

I’m thrilled to have helped a friend unlock the door to a dream location. The desert, the La Paz Sand Dunes, is no secret, but finding this raw, unspoilt beauty in the rugged nooks and crannies of the vast sandy territory is a whisper from the heavens. Will write more about it soon.

(Clockwise) Blue Velvet, Aztec Chili Chocolate, Tsoknut (with Peanut Butter filling), Mint Chocolate Chip.

Omg! Ericke brought home these heavenly Leila’s Cupcakes from Leila’s Cafe (Vigan). She got me an Aztec chili chocolate, but shared the 2 boxes with us, so we got to try several flavors. Mine was extra fudgy with a hint of chili. I love the frosting! Leila’s is not shy about frostings. The buttercream that covered the blue velvet (that looked more green to me) was yummy-lovely. I like the novelty and nostalgia of the tsoknut presentation, a homage to the oldest Filipino peanut chocolate.

I’ve heard about the creperie/breakfast/sandwich place before, in fact, we were trying to locate it the last time we hied off to Vigan, but luck was not on our side. Anyway, I checked out their Facebook page and their menu is really interesting. Found calamay *smile*, pastillas, leche flan leilaccino (frappuccino), savory and sweet crepes, fish and chips, Edu Mansanas French toastwich, and a lot of desserts, there you go. Hope to be able to visit the cafe soon. Good to know Laoag residents can have a taste of their cupcakes.

Have a happy weekend!

The Colors of Easter at Cupcakes by Sonja

Cupcakes by Sonja are not your ordinary cupcakes. I’d like to call them couture cupcakes, inspired by New York’s famous Magnolia Bakery, where the owner, Ms. Sonja Ocampo, apprenticed before opening her own shop in ritzy Serendra at the Fort Bonifacio Global City. The Magnolia Bakery cupcake fever was made famous by Carrie and Miranda’s cupcake eating scene in SATC. Hyped as well as pecked at, the pretty expensive little cakes by Sonja are still being chased by sugar junkies since after they were introduced in the Philippines four years ago — proof of the icing on the cake.

I have a thing about cupcakes. Part of my collection are printed cupcake liners even if I don’t bake. In fact, I made a huge 3-layer cupcake stand to hold store-bought cupcakes for Alexa’s rubber ducky-themed baptismal party when cakes in Laoag were still synonymous with marshmallow frosting. The visit to Sonja’s was wonderful bliss, a feast for the senses! Names such as Lemon Drop, Peppermint Patty, Southern Pecan Cupcake Pie, Pistachio Berries N’ Cream, Crème Brûlée Cupcake Tart, Valrhona Chocolate something, etc., were symphony to the ears. It felt like forever spring inside.