Mini Blueberry Cheesecake

Cheesecakes intimidate me. To start with, it’s a sosyal food. Then it’s complicated to make (sort of) because you have to usually cook it in a bain-marie. Also, cream cheese is a bit pricey here in the Philippines. And I’m not really a fan of cheesecakes,  so  I never thought I’d ever make one.

But all of these changed when I chanced upon an episode of Anna Olson’s Fresh on the Asian Food Channel. She made mini lemon meringue cheesecakes and turned a complicated recipe into a simple one. First there was no bain-marie method involved (thank God!) and they were so tiny, so they cook fast. The serving portion is just perfect, and they were so cute to look at. With her recipe, I was determined to make one too.

As fate would have it, last Wednesday, we threw a surprise baby shower for my sister. It was my chance to try out her recipe. However, my sister’s having a baby boy, so color-wise, yellow wouldn’t go well with the theme. It has to be blue! (Last year, I made pink cupcakes for my other sister’s baby shower). So what is a blue cheesecake? Go figure!

Loosely-based on Anna Olson’s lemon meringue cheesecake recipe, here’s my mini blueberry cheesecake recipe:

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Banana Cake

Here’ a confession: I do not like bananas! Unlike my brother who is a monkey and can finish a hand of bananas in a minute, I find it difficult to just even finish one. Yeah, that yellow monster is my least favorite fruit and there are only  3 ways you can make me eat and enjoy one: (1) Fried (Banana Q/Turon/Pinaypay) (2) Candied (Saging con yelo) and (3) Banana Cake.

And speaking of cakes… it’s a whole different story when it comes to banana cakes because I love them! Banana cake, banana bread, banana loaf, whatever you call it, it’s the same… uh, banana. I like calling it a banana cake, so let’s just stick to that.

So, one weird day, as much as I hate the fruit, I suddenly craved for a banana cake. Good thing I have Ahma’s recipe, which for me, is the best banana cake. It’s super rich and moist! But as I was browsing through the recipe she gave me, she actually didn’t finish writing the whole recipe down! So how am I going to bake a cake with only “Separate  eggs and beat egg white until medium peaks” as an instruction. Not to mention, this would be my first time to make such cake. So here comes old friend Martha to the rescue (their recipes are so different by the way) With her instructions, together with parcels of Ahma’s recipe, here’s my version of their banana cakes!

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Triple Chocolate Cake Pops

Cake Pops! Just the thought of it would make you smile already. How much more sinking your teeth into its luscious and creamy goodness?

If the dessert world is twitter, #cake_pops would probably be the trending topic! They are so popular that even Starbucks stores here in the Philippines sell them!

But don’t let their oh-too-cute-to-eaten appearance intimidate you. I’ve found out that these little devils are so easy to make. The process of a basic cake pop recipe is well… a piece of cake! …quite literally! 🙂

You start off with a piece of cake, break it into crumbs, add some ganache or frosting, roll into balls, poke a stick, refrigerate, dip into melted chocolate, put back to the fridge and enjoy. How simple is that?

What make this yummy delight even simpler is that you don’t need to bake a cake for this. You may just buy some from your favorite bake shops, or even use some left over cakes from a party at home 🙂 Yes, turn that cake that has been sitting in the fridge for days into these treats on sticks.You can choose your own cake, and pair it with any frosting you fancy, then dip it into your favorite chocolate or candy melt. It is that versatile. And NO measurements! Cool eh?

I used my Ahma’s chocolate cake recipe which is to-die-for. Sorry, I cannot share the recipe because it’s a family secret 🙂 But here’s a classic chocolate cake recipe that is excellent as well.

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