Food for the Gods Cookies

I made Date Walnut Rum Truffles and had some dates and walnuts left over.  It was not enough for a batch of Food for the Gods, but it could be good enough for a small batch of cookies. 

"Food for the Gods" is the popular name, at least in our country, for the super delicious dates and walnuts bars, so called because they are said to be food fit for gods' consumption.  

The "real" food for the gods are bar cookies, but with a bit of imagination, I came up with these cookies which are yummy and heavenly too!

Date Walnut Rum Truffles

I needed something quick, easy and delicious for Christmas.  I had a difficult time picking a product until someone made a request for these -

Date Walnut Rum Truffles...

Yes, in a heart-shaped candy box!

I remember making these 2 decades ago!  Although those were simple balls (and no rum, at that time!), like these -

But I thought it would be more elegant rolled in cocoa powder. 

Or maybe dipped in melted bittersweet chocolate (next time, I think!)?

Tropical Christmas Fruitcake Bites

It's nearing Christmas!!!  Where we are from, the season has started and is beginning to go full swing!

Christmas means fruitcake!  And no, not the kind that's almost like a brick.  Fruitcake that has real fruits, dried fruits.  But this time, we decided to make some using tropical fruits!  Coconut, papaya, mango, pineapple.  And yes, cacao is a tropical fruit so chocolate chips count!

In another twist, these fruitcakes are bite-sized, not in loaves...

Immediately after taking the fruitcake "bites" out of the oven, I poked holes all over and brushed rum on top several times.  The smell in the kitchen was just heavenly! 

Here's a peek inside...

Yummy!

Noir Amer Moelleux au Chocolat (Bitter, Dark Chocolate Cake, French-style)

We'd been quite busy, almost to the point when there is little time to indulge in baking.  But a birthday cannot be celebrated without cake.  So, because of time constraints the cake had to be fast and easy, and of course, utterly delicious!

Answer?  French-style Chocolate Cake - dense, rich, flourless (or almost flourless) chocolate cake, meant to be served warm and without icing, except maybe to be garnished (or accompanied) with/by whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  

A slice of cake, with a scoop of ice cream on the side.  Due to the richness of the cake, it is better enjoyed in thin slices.

It is fast and easy to make, especially with a stand mixer.  And with no icing or frosting, it was a breeze to serve.  It was simply fantastic with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or both!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

I have about 2 liters of buttermilk to use up.  I've done buttermilk pancakes and buttermilk scrambled eggs.  Now it's vanilla buttermilk cupcakes... with chocolate chips and frosted with peanut butter frosting.

I've always considered my vanilla cupcake recipe to be the best, and never thought that I could find one that I could like more.  But this vanilla buttermilk cupcake is really better!  The texture is better, and the taste superb! 

The downside?  This cupcake is more expensive to make because of the buttermilk.

Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes, stuffed with peanut butter filling and frosted with marshmallow buttercream!!!

A peek at the cupcake and the filling...

Now topped with minions...

Happy Birthday friend M!

Mmmmmm....

Angels & Demons Cupcakes

What better way could these cupcakes be named for being sinful and heavenly at the same time?

Chocolate Cupcakes, filled with custard cream and frosted with Triple Chocolate Ganache!

Here's a box of 6...

A peek inside...

Super duper delicious!

Vanilla Cupcakes, with Mild Strawberry Buttercream

When the little girl is bored, she gets really "makulit".  When I get bored, I read... or go to the kitchen.

This time, I was craving vanilla cupcakes.  But I didn't want any ordinary vanilla cupcakes... I wanted one with a hint of... strawberry... not in the cupcake but in the frosting...

So here are my cupcakes out of the oven... I think they look gorgeous!

And here's the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream with a hint of strawberry... (though you wouldn't know by seeing it because the frosting looks a bit orange-y but trust me I loved the hint... yes, just a hint... of strawberry in the icing!)

Yummmmyyyy!

Banana, Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter!!!

I can't believe that I have not posted this all-time favorite!

Our banana choco chip cake transformed into a cupcake, with Peanut Butter Frosting!

This is how it looks in a box (which may be mint green or purple in color)...

A look at the cupcake, on the bottom left portion, without frosting...

And, finally, a look at the cross section...

Is it any wonder that this is a best seller???

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Midi size

For Mrs. V's birthday...

Just a simple single layer midi-sized cake, about 6 inches in diameter...

Happy Birthday, Mrs. V.

Ube Velvet Chiffon Cake

Here's a twist on our favorite ube chiffon cake... made even more special with ube buttercream trimmings...

Here it is in the box, ready for delivery...

Isn't it pretty?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

Once in a while, we make other stuff.  Like these cookie cups.  But they're not ordinary cookie cups, they're chocolate chip cookie cups.  And they're filled with ice cream!!!

So delicious!

Love, love, love it!

Disney Princess and Castle Cake

Last year, the little girl made her birthday wishes known... castle and Disney princess...

I was stumped about the castle bit, until a dear friend pointed me in the direction of a cut-out castle (and I was all prepared to do it too!).  Then a "guardian angel" gave a real (toy) Disney castle ("playhouse") last Christmas and so... all I had to do was plop the whole thing on top of cake and decoratively arrange the princess figurines!

Presenting... B's 5th birthday cake!

The kids in school were so enamored by the cake!

Anyway, here are the cupcakes, which the little girl said should be Disney princess too, and pink...

And, of course, since it wasn't appropriate for boys to have princess cupcakes... so they got Mickey Mouse instead...

I was the star that day... because I made her wish come true!

Carrot Baby

Imagine our carrot cake as a cupcake...

Yummmmyyyy!

Special Ube Cake

Another Ube Cake, by special request!

♥ ♥ ♥

Coffee Almond Cake

This is a special cake, inspired by a dear friend.

So this is my tribute to a wonderful person and a dear friend.

My version is made of coffee sponge layers, filled with Almond Cream and frosted with Coffee-Almond Buttercream.  The cake is covered with sliced almonds and garnished with coffee beans.

A look inside -

It's a new favorite!

♥

Custard Cream Cupcakes

This is a special cupcake request from a special fan of MaBelle.  She loves the custard cream filling of the our mocha chiffon cake so much that she requested a cake and/or cupcake with the custard cream as the "star".

So our vanilla cupcake is made special filled with custard cream, and frosted with buttercream that is made with custard too!

It was a big hit and our special fan was most happy!

Lime Margarita Chiffon Cake

A special request for a boozy cake got us to bake this one -

Another view...

Doesn't it look good???

Rowie, a Prettier Version

Chocolate and Vanilla Marbled Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting...

I think the marbling is quite beautiful!

:)

Biscoff Overload No-Bake Cheesecake

Speculoos, Biscoff or cookie butter spread is all the rage these days.  And, while I was late to jump in on the bandwagon, here's my "contribution"!

"Biscoff Overload" because the crust is made of Biscoff cookies, the filling is made with Biscoff spread and stuffed with Biscoff cookie bits and then, as if it were not enough, Biscoff cookie crumbs are sprinkled on top of the whole thing!

Interestingly enough, I did not have to add any sugar!  Not that the cheesecake was sugar free, since the biscuits themselves contained sugar, but it was sweet enough that no additional sugar was really required.

A slice -

Another look at the yummy cheesecake -

This cheesecake is just brilliant!  Yummm-mmmy!

Hummingbird Cupcakes, with Super Secret Buttercream

A variation of these Hummingbird Cupcakes... this time not with salted caramel but with a "secret" flavor buttercream!

Very yummy!

Triple Ultimate Ube Cupcakes

We already have an ultimate ube cupcake which has a double dose of ube.  But this Triple Ultimate Ube Cupcake takes it to a higher level!
 
This particular combination was a special request.  The requirement?  A whole bottle of ube halaya to be used up!  So here's THE ultimate ube cupcake - with a TRIPLE dose!

Ube cupcake stuffed with ube halaya, then frosted with ube halaya buttercream!

How the cupcake looks inside -

It was a massive hit!  There's been a lot of inquiries, in fact!

We love it!