Cinnamon Pancakes

My 4-yr old daughter Maxine and I made pancakes this morning. It was supposed to be your usual pancake topped with maple syrup but I was inspired to give it a twist. I added some cinnamon powder on the batter and made cream cheese frosting to go with it. Wow!!! It's the best pancake ever! Tastes like cinnamon roll. I love cinnamon roll so much (but I hate rolling the dough, urg!). This needs no rolling, so perfect for me! It's very simple to make and so yummmm! Even Maxine agrees. It's now our favorite pancake recipe :)

Cinnamon Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp maple syrup

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
In another bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together then mix into the dry ingredients just until blended.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden.


Cream Cheese Frosting
2 oz Cream Cheese
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients until creamy then spread on top of the pancakes.

Cookie Bouquet

I tried making Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing a few months back and it was an epic fail. Well, not really... let's just say that I'm not friends with Royal Icing (read: I have no success in making them). Somebody help!

Good news is I've met Cookie Glaze. No need for egg whites. Just powdered sugar, corn syrup and milk. The recipe looks simple enough so I tried. It was a success this time, yes!!! Actually, I think I did well in decorating my flower and round-shaped sugar cookies that I was inspired to put them into a bouquet.



I gave this one to my godson Ethan (his parents enjoyed them..hehe)


Sugar Cookie Cut-outs
recipe adapted from yourhomebasedmom

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp milk or cream
2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder

Beat together butter and sugar
Add eggs, milk and vanilla/almond extract. Beat until light and fluffy.
Mix in dry ingredients. Mix well.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
Roll on well-floured surface.
Cut and bake on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 9-10 minutes or until light brown on edges.
Cool and frost.


Cookie Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp whipped cream or milk
1-2 tbsp corn syrup
food color

Combine powdered sugar, milk/cream and corn syrup in a bowl.
Divide into bowls before adding desired food color in each bowl.

Candy Bar

I'm so fond of candy bars. It's a simple yet very pretty addition to any party. I will create a candy bar for my son's 7th birthday on May 22 so I'm getting inspirations. These are some of my favorites.


www.amyatlas.com

Cupcake Art

Cupcake designs have gone wild. In a good way. Some cake designers/ home bakers have taken the humble cupcake into a different aesthetics level. There is no rule in designing a cupcake. No limitations. Bakers design their cupcakes to their hearts' content - some stay safe and simple, others tend to go overboard (and who's complaining).

I am yet to perfect this art. It requires patience, talent and the right tools. I need practice. I also need all the inspiration I could get, and these are just some:



Fields of Cake



Daisy Pink Cupcake



Chris Blakeley



PMT Cupcakes



Cupcake Sisters



Glorious Treats



Confetti-Pasteleria De Moda



Cupcakes by Sonja



Joy the Baker



Crumbs



kellbakes for Baking 911



Martha Stewart

I love Cake Plates

What is not to love? It makes even the simplest chiffon cake look fab.


I know...this magazine spread ain't the simplest. But still, even just one of these cake stands will dress up any dining table. The cake stands below are my favorites and are in my wish list:


This lovely cake stand was once available in Target for only $8 (wish there's Target here in Manila). It doubles as punch bowl when you flip both the base and the cover upside down.



Cupcake decorated cake stand. How cute is that?!



Glass cake stand. I love it's simplicity.



Polka dots cake stand. Spell fun!



Three-tier cake stand



Vintage cake stand



Martha Stewart tiered cupcake stand


Cake plates can be expensive. I gave one as a wedding gift recently, it cost me about Php1500. I was not able to take a picture of the actual one I gave as a present but I found a similar design online:

This is called Alice in Wonderland Cake Plate from the UK store Cocomale. It's selling online for 26 UK pounds. About the same price as the one I got in Rustan's.

If you don't want to spend so much (I know you want to have more than one), you can do it yourself. All you need is a nice plate, sturdy candle holder and durable adhesive. There's a nice tutorial from yourhomebasedmom. Have fun!

Good Friday

Ever wondered why is it called Good Friday? I checked wiki for answer (wiki.answers.com).

Good Friday is the day commemorating Jesus Christ's death on the Cross. The exact origins of the name are uncertain; some argue it stems from the use of "Good" as an adjective applied to the day, which is an Old English synonym for "holy." Others argue it is a corruption of the word "God," in the same way that "Good Bye" comes from the phrase "God be with ye."

Christians believe the day is "good" because the message of Easter is of Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil.

However, the term "Good Friday" is only used by Western Christians, and not by Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox refer to this sacred day as "Great and Holy Friday."


Thank you Lord for the Cross.

Happy 1st birthday Frosting on My Cake!

My blog is one year old! Happy birthday bloggie :)