People's intense and widely shared enthusiasm for cupcakes has undoubtedly helped make this iced petite cake incredibly sought-after. As a child, I never expected the popularity of cupcakes to surpass most desserts and Kim's Cupcakes is giving dessert lovers another reason to stay loyal to this craze. Kim Jao has been selling cupcakes since she was in high school and had already been joining bazaars and supplying school organizations and a food stall at her school. Interestingly enough, it was her economics teacher who helped her discover her niche, "She taught us how to bake in class back in third year and I got inspired. After that, I started exploring the world of baking. I sold to my classmates and schoolmates back in high school. In college, I supplied for various events and fund raising activities of school organizations. Now that I've graduated, I've been focusing on how to make my business grow and how to get more people to try my cupcakes." 

Kim's Cupcakes are divided into two sets of flavors - classic and special. Classic flavors include Vanilla, Strawberry, Espresso, Cookies & Cream, Lemon Cream and Mint Chocolate all of which are P40 each while her special flavors include Tiramisu, Red Velvet, Chocolate Ganache, Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter and Yema are P50. 

Imagine the traditional Brazo de Mercedes in the form of a sandwich - a thick layer of custard in between meringue buns. It's such playful twist to an old favorite! Ces Lopez came up with this quirky idea when she got involved in her son's high school project, which eventually developed into a business. The brazo bars were custom-made and were actually not meant to be sold commercially. It turned out to be a huge hit! As they say, "the best things happen by accident."

The name Supreme Brazo Bars is undoubtedly an appropriate label to give the bars as they are nowhere close to being ordinary in terms of taste, quality and packaging. Among so many dessert choices out there, I asked Ces what stimulated her desire to "revamp" and sell the classic Filipino dessert, "Brazo de Mercedes was my late mom's favorite dessert and it's my homage and tribute to her, and I had fond memories of eating Brazo with her when I was young. Also, I wanted to promote Brazo because it's a traditional Filipino dessert, so that the younger generation would get to know brazo, in a modern and easy way of eating them." True enough, eating this custard dessert in the shape of a bar is presented in a more current and up-to-date fashion. Of course, its hallmark ridge pattern remains and so much flavor is packed into a single bar!

We're all so used to eating the plain brazo de mercedes, but Supreme Brazo also offers flavors such as Strawberry Sunrise, Toasted Coconut Kiss, Walnut Wander, Almond Shindig, Pecan Beach Party, Macapuno Summer Breeze, Hula Macadamia!, Pistachio Festival. Pretty funky names, wouldn't you say so? Growing up, Ces was surrounded by hot ovens and her parents were just as passionate about  baking as Ces is. Venturing into the food business was an all too familiar feeling. Supreme Brazo took off in 2009 and even landed a spot in Spot.ph's 10 Foods To Give and Top 10 Holiday Food Gifts list. 

Congratulations to the winners of the Serendipity Lane giveaway! 

1. Claudine Lao Miranda

2. Myril Magdael

3. Nikki-Wrey De Sagun

Send me a private message on the Wooden Spoons & Muffin Tops Facebook page with your shipping details and your prizes will be shipped to you. :)

I have more giveaways in store for you ladies in the coming weeks so keep checking back! :) 

Yeaup, I was born on Halloween. Every year, it would always be a double celebration for me - I got free candy and had cake at the end of the day. It's the perfect day to O.D. on sugary sweets! In the 22 years that I've been celebrating two occasions, both Halloween and my birthday, I was never the one to hand out candy in our household...until this year. Let's just say taking responsibility for giving out treats  was my way of approaching Halloween as a 22 year old. I used to beg (okay, maybe not beg) for candies and now, I felt like the Candy Man's counterpart from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! I was supposed to dress up as a character from Adventure Time, but I figured I'd go as a glamorous witch. I hope I pulled that off. *laughs* 

I have very few pieces of clothing that are sequenced and shimmery. Although it was my first time to wear it, it has already become a personal favorite of mine. It's glitzy, classy and elegant.

The sequenced black dress was a Christmas gift from my Auntie Binky, which was bought at Ruins, a tiange in B.F. The thin band at the waist area is a great way to emphasize a girl's womanly figure and the long skirt elongates one's legs. 

The inner skirt was initially beyond my knees, but my mum used a pair of scissors to cut more than 2 inches off just before the trick or treating started.

I'm used to eating the candy on Halloween, but I couldn't be happier knowing that I wouldn't be the only one to have to schedule a trip to the dentist. I kid.  

My friendly neighbor Spider Man! 

I've never walked around the village on my birthday without a bag to stuff all my candies in. This year, I decided to just bask in the spirit of Halloween and take pleasure in looking at the different costumes. There were people dressed as zombies, cowboys, princesses, different Disney characters, prisoners, fairies, Fred of the Flinstones, V from V for Vendetta and of course my fellow witches.  

My aunt Jackie is one of the best cooks and bakers I have ever known. I am saying that without bias because anyone who's tried my aunts dishes and baked goods would say the same thing. Ada, which is a nickname my ate Katrina gave my aunt since she couldn't pronounce "Auntie Jackie" properly, made my birthday extra special by baking her ultra mouthwatering carrot & walnut and chocolate banana cupcakes! My aunt knows how to incorporate fruits into pastries and make them more desirable to eat. 

Here is the carrot walnut cupcake sans the frosting. I've mentioned several times in my previous posts how I like nuts and hearing that crunch every time I bite into it makes eating a lot more fun. The cake itself is soft, so having two contrasting textures in one cupcake is enough to keep you guessing.

There are two flavors in this bunch. One batch of the chocolate banana cupcakes just came out of the oven sporting a darker look although both batches are equally palatable.

Just before they were placed in the oven, I got to take shots. Although, I wasn't able to capture the cupcakes in their baked form. This will have to do for now. But if you must know, my aunt makes killer red velvet cupcakes! ;) 

You can definitely taste the bananas. What's great about it is how the chocolate and banana flavors don't overpower one another. In fact, they combine wonderfully and still keep their distinct tastes intact. I cannot begin to express how much I love the icing my aunt makes! Not only does it taste rich and sweet, it's also pleasing to the eye. 

Ada Belle is an endearment my Uncle Dave gave my aunt. Everybody, all together now, "AWWWWWW!" The name stuck ever since and I think it would be such a fitting name for my Aunt's future cupcake business. *teehee*

My aunt is quite the artsy lady. She has this cake decorating kit and pipes out all sorts of icing designs onto the cupcake. I actually tried icing one cupcake the last time there were cupcakes in the house and I think I'll just leave the decorating bit to my aunt. Ha. 

Pretty pink iced chocolate banana cupcakes ready to be eaten! 

I actually learned a lot of the things I know now from my aunt when it comes to baking. Seeing my aunt bake propelled me to try my hand in the kitchen. I would look through my aunt's cook books and recipe stash and I eventually decided to test how far I could go. I started baking cookies, cinnamon rolls, banana bread, bread pudding, ensaymada and my ultimate favorite, apple pie. I haven't tried baking cakes yet, which is something my aunt is great at, but I'll learn sooner or later. 

The best part about having someone in the family who bakes is that everyone at home gets to sample all the baked goods, a lot like a taste testing team. I'm lucky to be born into a family who not only excels at eating, but at cooking and baking too. Here's to more calorie-rich treats that grace our hips, thighs and bellies! 

I woke-up to a sunny Sunday morning so it was only proper for me to wear something bright and lightweight. I haven't been a fan of jeans lately due to the balmy weather, so I've been pairing most my tops with shorts.  Most of the time, I like to keep things simple. A look with too many things going on can be overwhelming.