The Sugar Bar

This is just one messy post I’m rushing because i thought ‘why the heck not’. I did a crazy last minute bake yesterday within an hour in my new cutie jeans! had 3 overripe bananas and no one was gonna be eating it. rather than let the bananas go to waste in its smelly grave of my garbage can, i thought of making banana muffins. they’re always a favourite! ultra traditional, and terribly good to eat any time of the day whether you’re hungry or not. screw the calories, the carbohydrates and the fats. it’s polling day, have a good holiday for once while all the crazy politics craze is going on?
I made this batch with lots of caramel and chocolate and walnuts! It was a mix because mom isn’t that big a fan of chocolate so hers only had walnuts in it. Daddy’s had chocolate chips in it. Those reserved for my sisters had a sexy caramel-filled chocolate chunk in the centre. it was superb! ooey-gooey salty sweet centre amidst the banana goodness. to-die-for. plus i made them medium size so they were something we juz grabbed after it cooled for a few min before bouncing into the car with dearest fifi, our princess cocker, and driving off to have a good day out in the sun. wanna know the recipe? sorry! it’s a secret..mostly because it’s Sam’s extremely good banana muffins recipe and i’m not at any liberty to divulge it, not that i wan to anyway. i’m selfish!
After this bake day though, I’m all the more enthusiastic to use candy-filled chocolate chunks in my muffins. I was never that keen on that because I always had the impression it would be so messy to eat or that upon breaking the muffin, everything would just pour out, or maybe the whole chunk would juz melt and mix into the batter as it cooks and then what would be the point? but this batch of bananaramas juz proved me completely wrong and put my unease to rest. the muffin was the right quality of moistness and wasn’t overly sweet. the sweetness came mostly from the banana so it had a wholesome feel to it, no tortured-hangover or one-night-stand-guilt thereafter. but i’m a little puzzled why the bottom of each muffin tasted slightly bitter. i didn’t chao them so i’m a bit stumped abt this.

Anyway, today’s the day I open my lovely box of Prestat chocolates! The day i’ve been waiting for.

I know it’s terribly silly but it was a gift i bought for myself. i mean, hello, it’s not everyday i get a chance to visit Harrod’s so i had to reward myself with something (since i couldn’t possibly reward myself with that marc jacobs handbag i saw)! ha..but of course i’m not gonna eat this whole tray of chocolates myself. terrible if i did that. but this assortment of chocolates was really simple and elegant. the chocolates were individually placed in a blue violet waxed paper cup. and the wrapping was all done very beautifully. unwrapping it was such a delight! i must say it was nothing fancy. so if you ever get this box, don’t expect something out of the world. this is all about simple cravings. about inner beauty. about something you know will always be the way it is because. period. and i quite like that. nothing pretentious.

To satisfy the cravings, I tried the walnut marzipan. Gosh. It was quite lovely. I didn’t chill the chocolates too much, so the marzipan inside was slightly sticky and soft. Didn’t stick to my teeth though so it was exhilirating to eat it with none of the hassle you get from eating chocolates that stick to your teeth, your tongue, your mouth walls, etc. :S This was great. Can’t wait for the day i try the next one. I’m gonna choose the raspberry fondant one!!!

15th of April! The day to produce Lianne’s spread for her party on Sunday. Was really nervous when i started baking and doing the prep work. It’s always like this when i’m making something for a big event. Baking jitters! Who would have thought?
From what I know, it’s a little party to celebrate the birthdays of 10 adorable April babies. And these babies can’t take sugar or eggs so the lil cupcakes that DIVANA came up with had little sugar, mostly banana and some honey with no egg at all. Honestly, I believe it was really ambitious of Sam and I to try doing such a recipe (not because i’m such a big fan of eggs and sugar) but because we’ve just about never tried something like that before! And to start it right out with a recipe of our own…dangerous…like balancing on a cliff in with a big jug of sloshing milk. The cupcakes (which are really muffins…) came out good and solid, smelling heavenly with their banana-ish perfume.

They weren’t overly sweet but had a good texture and wholesome taste to it. Hopefully, they find a satisfied home in the stomachs of those pretty babies! I can only cross my fingers and hope with all my heart. What I really loved bout these cupcakes were the names piped onto them. I thought it was such a sweet thing to do…get one cupcake for each baby. Sam and I couldn’t resist adding the little heart quins too. Adding a little of our love Sam started fantasising abt how this was her life..baking for babies..(of course she means her children)..fulfilling her dream of being a wonderful mother and a baking goddess in the kitchen, which of course i’m 100% confident of her becoming! She’s amazing and i know she’ll love her children and shower em with all the fat-full goodness of sugar, eggs and butter. Ritey sam? C’mon admit it..it’s the only way to love em these days.

The chocolate cake was also the original DIVANA cake, made extra chocolatey as instructed by Lianne cause the adults apparently are chocolate fanatics. My kind of people. Well..all in all, it was a good day taking a rest from work and enjoying myself baking for people who love to eat.

So hey guys! I do hope you all really really REALLY enjoy em. And thanks Lianne for supporting me with your order. Somehow I hope you won’t regret it. Maybe if it’s bad, just don’t contact me. Ha, so I can silently wallow in my shame. Have a nice time tmr!

p/s World Gourmet Summit is going on now. I’m so tempted to go for those classes or at least one of those 195++ per head dinners but that’s major overkill and way past my budget considering i’m flying out to UK next week. Money’s just never enough and the world’s too big for my wallet!