Wagi! Yun ang masasabi ko sa aking baking adventures na wala pa yatang dalawang buwan.

Paminsan-minsan ay nakararanas din ng mga pagkakamali. Tulad ng…
– ilagay daw ba agad ang icing sa bagong lutong cupcakes e di nalusaw agad.
– makalimutan daw bang ilagay ang kalahati pang tasang harina mabuti na lang at masarap pa din ang naging resulta ng extra moist chocolate muffin.
– kulang ng saging kung kaya’t may kulang sa lasa ng banana cake.

Mga pagkakamali ngunit sa pangalawang beses ay tagumpay na. Ang kinatutuwa ko ay kinakain pa din ni A at ng batang makulit.
Wagi hindi ba?

Ito ay tunay na pagwawagi…

Butterfly Cupcakes

Ingredients:
75g Softened butter
75g Caster sugar
88g Self-raising white flour
2 Small eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Walnut pieces
icing sugar, to dust
Lemon cream cheese icing (recipe below)

Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C for 10 minutes. In the meantime, lightly grease a 6-cup muffin pan.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl except for the eggs. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat lightly with a fork.  Pour into the mixture and beat until smooth and creamy. Fill in each muffin hole three quarters full with the mixture and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (This is when you could prepare the Lemon cream cheese icing.)

Cut shallow rounds from the center of each cupcake using the point of a knife. Cut in half. Spoon approximately 3 teaspoons of the prepared icing into each cavity, position 2 halves of the cake tops on it to resemble butterfly wings. Arrange walnuts in between. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
30g Cream cheese, softened
15g Butter, softened
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup icing sugar

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add the lemon juice and icing sugar and beat until smooth.

Para sa Litratong Pinoy #27: Ang Pagwawagi.

Iska

I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.