I Love Coco Cakes

Sweet Inspiration: Count Your Blessings

2013-09-20T12:28:00.000+08:00

Sweet Inspiration: Purpose Brings Courage

2013-09-15T16:36:00.002+08:00

Sweet Inspiration: Discipline = Fulfilled Dreams

2013-09-04T21:35:00.000+08:00

Sweet Inspiration: Wait For Your Rainbow

2013-08-29T00:41:00.002+08:00

Teaching Kids to Give

2013-08-25T10:52:00.000+08:00

Typhoon "Maring" that hit Metro Manila last Sunday left thousands of families homeless. It was devastating seeing all those people wading through the floods, and seeing them packed in evacuation centers with no food, no home, and some with no loved ones. It's even more sad that this is happening more regularly now.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

My children, however, were oblivious to all of those things. They were busy with their games, toys, and books. They were clearly enjoying their mini-vacation since classes were canceled.

During that time of calamity, even if we weren't affected directly, I wanted my kids to understand the gravity of the situation and to let them know that there are a lot of ways to help. They don't have to be grown-ups to help.

The opportunity came when my friend, Joyce, organized a group of people to help pack relief goods for the Maring victims in Enderun Colleges. I decided to bring my kids with me. Surprisingly when I mentioned it to them, they were excited to go. I was so thrilled to find my kids so willing to help others.

One of the things I'm learning from other mothers and my reading is how important it is to teach my kids the right values. Many times, we allow ourselves to get pressured into trying to please our kids and give them everything they want. As a mom, I need to find what they really need and give these to them. More than material things, I want them to grow up with lasting lessons that will help them become good people and not spoiled brats. I really want them to learn how to live generously and to be generous to people who may not be able to do anything for them in return. It's easy to be generous to people who you know will give back.

Now I'm thinking of more ways to teach them this. If you have any ideas please share them with me. We don't need another calamity to teach our kids kindness and generosity. We need to teach them now while we have everyday with them.

Below are some photos from the packing.

Andres, Joyce & Lucas packing corned beef.
Andres was thrilled to wear a chef's jacket.

The boys, at first, fought over who would pack food and who would separate the plastic bags.
Eventually, they all packed food and I was left with the plastics.
Andres was amazed with the size of this ladle. It was as big as his head..almost.

After packing almost hundreds of corned beef, Tali had to take a break
because all the corned beef made her hungry.

The kids watched as the soldiers loaded the food we packed into their Army trucks.

The whole gang, who helped pack food at Enderun Colleges

Thanks again Joyce!

Sweet Inspiration: Blessed to be a Blessing

2013-08-22T14:09:00.000+08:00

Crafts Tutorial: Paper Pinwheels

2013-08-19T15:17:00.000+08:00

Here's a tutorial on how to make Paper Pinwheels. You can also use this to make gum paste pinwheels. They're easy to make but can make a simple cake or cupcake even lovelier.

plain cartolina, cut into 4x4" squares (you can do any size)

printed paper (wrapping paper)

buttons

paper straws or wooden dowel

glue

ruler

glue gun

scissors

pencil

but only 3/4 up on the line.

You can use it in different ways, too.

Put them in a vase or a teapot as a table centerpiece.

Or stick them on a cake to liven up a simple but pretty cake.

You can also use gum paste instead of paper to make them into cupcake toppers.

Sweet Inspiration: Work For Your Dreams

2013-08-14T23:30:00.000+08:00

Tutorial: How to Make a Rainbow Cake

2013-08-13T23:25:00.003+08:00

I don't know anyone who doesn't like rainbows. Adding color is a great way to liven up any dessert table. And what better way to add color than to add a rainbow!

Here's a simple, step-by-step guide on how to make those pretty rainbow layered cakes.

For this example, I'm making a 4-color cake of Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. You can choose other colors of course, the only limit you have is your imagination (and color-mixing abilities).

STEP 1: Prepare 4 separate batches of cake mix and add different coloring to each batch . You'll be preparing and baking these cakes separately. I don't normally use cake mix since I like mixing my own, but cake mixes are an easy and quick way to try baking out.

STEP 2: Bake each pan in the oven following the instructions of your cake mix.

STEP 3: Remove the baked cakes from the oven, let them cool, and stack them one on top of the other as shown in the picture bellow with a layer of icing in between. This helps the cake stick together.

STEP 4: Cover the whole cake in icing. Make sure the whole thing is completely covered.

STEP 5: Slice the cake and serve. ENJOY!

Sweet Inspiration: Be A Rainbow

2013-08-07T18:13:00.001+08:00

Hand Painted Cookies

2013-08-04T21:37:00.000+08:00

Sometimes it's nice to use simple painting techniques to design the sweets. For these cookies, I simply laid a layer of fondant and hand painted the roses.
Here are two videos on how I did it:
What do you think?
Go try this at home. It's really easy.

Sweet Inspiration: With a Little Help from "My Friends"

2013-08-04T07:25:00.000+08:00

Tutorial: How to Make Those Amazing Ruffles on Cupcakes

2013-08-01T07:21:00.003+08:00

I'm the type of person that likes to learn as much as I can about the things that interest me - which is mostly baking, cake decorating, fashion, parenting, and fitness. I just realized I listed those down from unhealthy to healthy. Haha! I have to find some way to balance all the sweets right?

One of the things that always amazes me is how decorators are able to achieve the intricacy and detail they do on cakes and cupcakes. Throughout the years I've studied as much as I can, particularly using videos and posts online to learn some of the things they do. I'd like to share them with you starting with the basics.

Here's one technique you can try today. It's how to make those amazing ruffles that can make any plain cupcake fancy.

Here's what you need:

(I put links on each to give you a better idea on what they are)

1. Buttercream Icing

2. Pastry Bag

3. Coupler

4. Icing Tip (Ateco #131 or Wilton #45 or Wilton #150)

There are different brands out there so have a look around. You don't always have to get the most expensive one.

Preparation:
1. Fill your pastry bag with icing
2. Install the coupler. Check this guide for a great explanation.

3. Add the tip

The Magic:

1. Holding the pastry bag at an angle, start on the edges and pipe continuously while rotating the cupcake in your hand. It's important to keep the pressure of your squeezing consistent throughout.
2. Keep rotating the cupcake, making your way towards the center, filling the whole top of the cupcake with ruffles.
3. Stand back and admire your work!

There you have it! A simple way to make your cupcakes extra sweet!

Thank you for reading my tutorial Have a special day!

Sweet Inspiration: Be Patient.

2013-07-25T17:01:00.000+08:00

Baking Lesson #1: No More Excuses

2013-07-22T23:49:00.000+08:00

I have been thinking of teaching kids for a while. It's one of those things I really enjoy. I see how much fun my kids have around the kitchen and I remember of times growing up learning how to bake from my mom. But it wasn't until the daughter of my friend and mentor, Carol, asked me to teach her that I really started to hold classes. Having that time with Sachi, my friend's daughter, inspired me to start offering fun and yummy classes to other kids. I didn't think I had the skills to be a teacher and I can't say I have ALL the materials I would consider to be part of a full kitchen, then I saw this quote. (I love inspirational quotes, by the way. If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll notice that I pin a lot of cakes and quotes. Hehe!).

Here's the quote:

This got me thinking. If Julia Child had given in to that excuse that she was too old to cook, then she would never have found her passion in cooking - and would never have reached her success or inspire others like me.

I couldn't let my limitations hold me back.

So I started teaching. Meet Tali, my youngest student (and my favorite girl in the world!) and Sachi, my first real student.

What started out as a baking trial class with these girls turned into a full-blown baking class for kids. During the summer, I gave baking lessons for kids aged 4-7 years old and older kids aged 8-13 years old. Not only was it less challenging than I thought, it actually it turned out to be amazing. We had so much fun.

I didn't need the baking degree like I thought, I just taught the things I knew by heart. I had cupcake, cake, cookie, cake pops and rainbow desserts classes. All of those things I bake on a regular basis. For the stuff I didn't know, I just turned to my growing collection of baking and cook books and tutorial videos I had bookmarked but had never gotten around to really watching.

I didn't need the extra materials as well. I just used the things that I had already. Me and my excuses! There was no reason not to start at all!

If I had given in to my excuses, I would have missed out on a lot. I wouldn't have been able to teach a new batch of upcoming bakers, more importantly, I wouldn't have been able to share the joy in baking. I also wouldn't have seen the beautiful smiles on these super talented kids while showing off their work, and I wouldn't have learned the things I learned from teaching, one of them was this: to wake up and throw my excuses away.

See you in our next class!

Here are some pictures from the different classes I taught over the summer.

Sweet Inspiration: No Rotten Eggs!!!

2013-07-12T11:57:00.002+08:00

Inspiration: Nigella Lawson

2013-07-06T07:00:00.000+08:00

"She made positive steps out of the negatives in her life."

I found this documentary to be so inspiring. I like watching and reading about women who succeeded and learning about how they were able to make it big. One of my favorites is Nigella Lawson and how she makes making things in the kitchen so effortless. Check out this documentary about her:

When you're done, you can check out the even better video bellow! Haha!

Hope you enjoyed the videos as much as I did. Time for me to bake!

I'm Back!

2013-06-30T20:49:00.000+08:00

My Kids & I by BC Magazine

It's been a really long time since I've updated this blog. I always kept giving the excuse that I was too busy with the kids, baking and decorating, and "everything else". But I've been reading about amazing women, many single women, juggling so many responsibilities yet still able to make the time to encourage other ladies (like me) by sharing their experiences.

I can hear my friend's voice bugging me, "You have time for what you make time for."

I want to make time for this. I want to make time not just to showcase my work but to use this blog to share my own journey. Who knows? Maybe other girls who find themselves in my position may get encouraged. If only one girl's life is changed for the better that would make this blog worth it already.

I know this because I'm always leaning on others like my parents, friends, and the advise of more experienced people (particularly in the area of parenting!) to find my way through many situations that cause me to get lost. No one dreams of becoming a single mom, and so no one really prepares to be one. Can anyone prepare for this? But I'm grateful that for every painful surprise is a surprise gift as well. It's only now I'm starting to see this. I've realized that I've taken so many things for granted and have lost them. But I'm learning now, learning how to be strong, to have faith, to trust God to protect and provide for me and my kids.

And learning to blog. That's the nice thing about blogging. If you make a mistake, you can go back and edit it. I wish life was more like that, but it's not. Oh well.

Yes. That's A Cake

2012-12-13T07:24:00.002+08:00

A collection of some of my cakes for easy perusal.

A cake isn't just a thing you bake

Neither is a cupcake

Those who think so

Make a big mistake

It is a cure for almost anything

Just a slice beats a headache

It is a balm for heartache

And cheers up a wake

It is a token to help remember

The grand party, the keepsake

It is the memory of an escape

Of a grand time at the lake

It makes everything sweeter

A sign that life is on the uptake

All that and more

Yes, that's a cake

Coco Cakes Don't Last Forever

2012-11-20T11:46:00.000+08:00

Tiffany Box Cake and Cupcakes (3 layer square cake, available in different flavors)

Two drifters, off to see the world

There's such a lot of world to see

We're after that same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend

My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

- Moon River by Andy Williams

Crawly Caterpillar

2012-11-14T13:02:00.000+08:00

Caterpillar Cake (8" Fondant covered cake available in different flavours)

Centimeter by tiny centimeter

The caterpillar crawls through blades

Of grass, of twigs, of fallen petals

It seeks it seeks home in leafy shades

Centimeter by tiny centimeter

Is the caterpillar's race

It may not get a winner's medal

But enjoys its pace and place.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2012-11-11T13:04:00.000+08:00

Plains, Trains, and Automobiles Cake in different sizes (Gum Paste + Fondant)

Planes, trains, and automobiles,

And helicopters too

It doesn't matter how we're going

As long as I'm with you

Sights, sounds, smells, and tastes

Throw in a gentle touch

So many things around us

Reminding we're blessed much

Stops, breaks, flat tires

Borders crossed to new lands

Never fear the journey, my love

We're safe in God's hands

God Bless Our Little Babies

2012-11-09T09:22:00.002+08:00

3D Baby Toppers for Coco Cupcakes

Every baby is a gift

That is plain to see

Every person is special

Including you and me

Some babies are dainty little girls

Watch out mommies she's going for your stuff!

Some are messy little boys

But you can always scrub them clean

Whether out in the sun...

Or home with a teddy a bear...

May God bless Our little babies

May He shower them with care

The Sweetest Thing

2012-11-03T17:38:00.000+08:00

Thank you Krissy Rodriguez of Little People Lifestyle Photography for the amazing photos!

Sometimes you show them how...

Sometimes you hold their hand...

Sometimes you let them taste...

Sometimes you simply enjoy...

The sweet moments...

That make life worth living.

So observe closely dear princess...

Someday it will be your turn.

Barnyard Birthday Cake

2012-10-28T13:22:00.000+08:00

Barnyard Birthday Cake (12" Edible bottom, 10" + 8" + 6" layers covered in fondant)

Uno's Barnyard

The rooster crows with the rising sun

Another special day arrives

The chickens clucked...

The cows mooed...

The sheep baaaad...

The pigs oinked...

The dogs bowowed...

Everyone, in their own way

Wishing you a happy birthday!