I love how the month of December is my favorite excuse to indulge in sweets. Then again, I don't really need a reason to luxuriate in anything that satisfies my sweet tooth. When I sense my mouth starting to water at the site of a dessert that catches my fancy, there's no stopping me. Eating comfort food should be both fun and guilt-free despite the number of calories you consume and Lyza Syiaco of Sweets For You does a good job at making me feeling like I can down as much of her sweets as I want minus the worry of everything landing straight to my thighs. Putting a smile (and a few crumbs) on her customers' faces is top priority for this 20 year old culinary student, "My goal is to make my customers smile and to give an impression that the sweets were made especially for them. So every now and then, when I bake, I always keep in mind that this dessert should be perfect and of course, delicious." 

I got to sample her revel bars, assorted cupcakes (both of which are her best sellers), as well as her triple chocolate chip cookies.

I've always fancied revel bars - it's a cross between a cookie and a bar and when you unify oatmeal and chocolate, it becomes a tiny block of awesome. I've tasted several revel bars before but I have to say, this is the best one I've tasted yet. Each piece is big in flavor AND in size, which appears twice as big as the ones sold commercially. 

Each serving doesn't skimp on chocolate filling and remains fudgy and gooey on the inside, which for me is important in picking the ultimate revel bar. You'll have to go easy on this one because settling for one piece won't be enough. These babies toss you off into oblivion and next thing you know, you catch yourself eating more than your stomach can handle. It's no surprise this is one of her best sellers! 

Lyza beams with immense passion and youthful enthusiasm caught the baking bug as young as 8 years old and would sell products to school mates, friends and family, "I remember when I was a kid, I always joined my mom whenever bakes. I was the one who would pour milk into her cupcake batter and put marshmallow for the toppings. I am a 100 percent sweet lover, imagine I was 156 pounds back then. I am very "magastos", that's why my parents taught me how to earn my money and how to depend not only on them but also on myself. So I asked my mom to bake a brownies and asked her if i could sell them. They were totally happy because they really felt that I was really standing on my own feet and willing to do anything just to get what I want."  I also love how she's just as delightful as the treats she sells!

One thing I noticed about the cupcakes Lyza makes is that the sugar content doesn't overpower and overwhelm my taste buds. Most desserts, when eaten in excess, gives off the "umay" feeling. This bunch of sweets, however, are an exception. The hazlenut frosting adds a perfect touch to the delicate chocolate base without crossing the chocolate-overload-o-meter.

I don't think there exists a dessert business with cupcakes on the menu that doesn't offer the famed Red Velvet cupcake. You can tell from the photo that the cream cheese on top adds extra moisture to the cake base and the candy sprinkles add a playful touch to it. Light, delicious and lip-smacking are three words I would use to illustrate Sweets For You's take on the "dessert of the year".

Sweets For You also offers paper cake (cake made out of layers of crepe with chocolate ganache filling, and coated with white ganache, candy sprinkles topped off with cocoa dust), cake pops and Oreo cake (4 tier chocolate fudge cake with Oreo cream filling). In addition, Lyza caters to events such as debuts, weddings, baptisms and provides options for giveaways and souvenirs. 

Below are ways in which you may contact Lyza for orders. You can check out her Facebook page to find out more about what sweets you can purchase and get a glimpse of her other products!

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.