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Nowadays, I seldom buy baking ingredients because I rarely bake, sayang naman ingredients kapag naexpire lang. All-purpose flour shelf life is only 6 months so lagi na lang may natatapon kapag hindi ko naubos. And because of that, I only buy 2kg or less. 

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you have noticed for sure that I love buying Betty Crocker products, I have tried different variants of their cake mix and cookie mix. My personal favorite is their cookie mix especially the oatmeal. Sometimes I used their cake mix for waffles if I ran out of pancake mix.

It’s Holy Week and as expected we are still trapped in our own homes because of community quarantine. Normally, I would take a break during these days but we are on staycation for the longest time already so bawasan ko na lang backlog ko. Let me share one easy egg recipe. 

My husband went to Landers last month and he bought a lot of instant cake mixes. I asked him to buy our favorite brownies mix but it was not available so he bought Betty Crocker cake mix instead. We already tried and tasted this brand for the past few years so it became a staple in our pantry. I’ve already blogged about their products before.

Super Cake Yellow Mix 
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix 
Super Cake Lemon Mix 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix  
Oatmeal Cookie Mix 

Among these products, our favorite is the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Anyway, last weekend I baked the Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix and it turned out okay, not super moist but not dry. You can eat it without frosting but if you want to make it special, you can add frosting like Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I still have 2 boxes of cake mix and 1 pouch of cookie mix that I will try in the next few weeks. 


Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Recipe 

1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

1. Heat oven to 350F for shiny metal or glass pan. 325F for dark or nonstick pan. Grease bottom and sides of the pans.
2. Mix cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed or beat vigorously by hand 2 minutes. Pour into pan.
3. Bake as directed or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool ten minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before frosting.


Pan Size and Baking Time 

13”x9” - 30 to 35 minutes
8” Round (2) - 30 to 35 minutes
9” Round (2) - 25 to 30 minutes
Bundt - 40-45 minutes
Cupcakes - 14-19 minutes

It’s been 12 days since the last time I went out and today is Day 8 of Community Quarantine. I mentioned before that I have no problem with staying at home because this is my life for the last 12 years. I’m an introvert and full-time mom so I enjoy being at home pero iba pa rin pala yung feeling na hindi ka talaga makalabas ng bahay because of Covid19. I suddenly miss going to the grocery, lalo na ngayon na na nasa bahay kami lahat. Mabilis maubos ang food supply.

We always have bananas at home so my husband bought a bunch of banana day before the lockdown. I’ve been saving the few pieces of overripe bananas so I can bake banana cupcake but two days ago, my husband made banana smoothies so nabawasan pa. Waah! Since we don’t have loaf bread at home, I decided to use the remaining bananas so we have something to eat. If there is no quarantine, we can easily go to the market or grocery so we can buy other ingredients pero sa panahon ngayon, it is better to stay home and use whatever ingredients we have.


I started baking when I got married and I’ve been using this Banana cupcake recipe since 2006. I got the recipe from Yummy Magazine, good thing I copied it because I can no longer find the magazine; nasama na yata sa binaha nung Typhoon Milenyo. Anyway, I like this recipe because my cupcake is soft and moist and even I remove some of the ingredients, masarap pa rin siya. Most of the time, I don’t add instant coffee mix or cinnamon sugar. If I have available chocolate chips or nuts at home, I added it to the recipe.

Banana Cupcake and Banana Bread Recipe 

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
1 + 1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolves in 1+1/2 water
1 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Procedures

1. In a bowl, mix together ½ cup butter at room temperature and 2/3 cup sugar.
2. Add 1 egg and 2 mashed bananas.
3. Mix in coffee (1 ½ tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 ½ water)
4. Add 1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt.
5. Spoon the mixture into paper-lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (1tbsp sugar and mixed with ¼ tsp cinnamon.
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit about 20 to 25 minutes or till sides are lightly browned and top no longer look wet.

Using the same recipe, I can also make banana bread, I just increase the baking time. It took me 45-50 minutes to bake the banana bread when I use the loaf baking pan. I doubled the recipe and was able to bake 32 pieces of cupcakes and according to my son same taste (meaning masarap) pa rin kahit kulang kami ng isang banana, instant coffee, and cinnamon sugar.

It’s been a long time since the last time I baked and sa sobrang tagal, feeling ko nakalimutan ko na gumamit ng oven. According to my blog, 2017 pa yung last bake ko ng bread and hindi ko pa oven, we baked pandesal when we were in Norway.

Read: Baking Pandesal with Filling

It was funny because few years ago I took a Bread Making Class and hindi ko pa totally napractice ang bread making skill ko, bigla nasira oven ko. Waah! My husband called the customer service and if I remember it right, we need to pay a minimum of PHP7500 for the service, pwede pa mag-increase if they need to replace something. The problem is the oven thermostat is not working, lahat ng niluluto ko kahit nasa lowest temperature pa, nasusunog.

Read: The Day I Learned How to Bake my Own Bread 

Of course, I don’t want to pay the fee kasi naman makakabili na ko ng brand new electric oven sa presyo na yun. I decided not to buy oven na lang kasi magdiet ako, less sweets na for me. Nadiet naman kami pero hindi rin nagtagal because we have sweet tooth. I stopped baking pero bumibili naman ko ng cakes and pastries. Hehehe!

Hanggang nasanay na ko na walang oven, I just cook food na hindi need ng oven. But few months ago, my son told me “Mommy, namimiss ko na yung brownies mo. When ka na bibili ng oven?”. We were planning for a kitchen makeover kasi so dun na sana kami magpapalit para isang gastos na lang. But my son misses my brownies so we decided to buy a new gas range. Hindi siya yung dream oven ko pero para sa ikaliligaya ng anak ko, go na lang.

Since last month, I started baking again, I baked my son’s favorite brownies and roast chicken. I tried a new recipe which is Nutella Puff Pastry but I don’t have a nice picture so I will blog about it next time, kapag nakagawa na ulit ako. And yesterday, I baked Oatmeal Cookie.


Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix 

Ang nobela ng intro ko, hehehe! I saw this cookie mix na nakasale sa Landmark supermarket, it was only P141.75 so I bought it. I tried other Betty Crocker instant mix na before so I’m sure that this oatmeal cookie will be a hit.

Read: Betty Crocker Chocolate Chips 
Betty Crocker Oatmeal Chocolate Chips


Just like the other Betty Crocker cookie mix, you only need to add few ingredients like 1/2 butter, 1 egg and 1 tbsp of water. Just mix the wet and dry ingredients and bake it for 10-12 minutes at 350F.



My son likes to add chocolate chips but we don’t have stock at home so I just add Freia Chocolate on top of it. I remember, few years ago my son dislike oatmeal cookie but now he loves it, binaon na rin niya maski yung plain oatmeal cookie.


Next time, I will try to bake oatmeal cookie from scratch, I hope it will taste good too. Medyo bitin kasi yung cookie mix (24 pieces). Kasi paglabas pa lang sa oven, kinain na agad ng mag-ama ko. The oatmeal cookie is soft and chewy, kahit galing sa fridge, soft and chewy pa rin siya kapag kinain.

During our vacation in Norway, my mom was confined in the hospital for 5 days so we just stayed at home while she was in the hospital. You can read the story here,  so when she came back, I told her that we no longer have bread in the pantry. Bread is very important because we ate bread every breakfast and even dinner. 

She was not allowed to drive as per doctor advised so I told her that I will just go to the grocery. Since I don’t know how to drive, I will just walk to the grocery but my mom did not like the idea so she suggested that I should bake pandesal na lang. I haven’t tried making pandesal but since she has the recipe, I said yes. It’s been a long time since I bake my own bread, sayang naman pinag-aralan ko sa Baking Class. 

Read: The Day I Learned How To Bake My Own Bread



So the following morning, I woke up early so I can start making the dough and I was surprised when my mom already made the dough. I told her, bakit siya nagbake, pinagpapahinga nga siya ng doctor. She said, she is not used to doing nothing. Since the dough is already okay, we all knead, roll and shape our own bread. No rules to follow, basta kung ano gusto mo shape. hehehe! We put some fillings too like cheese, ham and green onion. 



It was sunny so while I'm baking the bread, my mom and son went out para magsunbathing. Sunbathing na balot na balot pa rin kasi malamig pa rin sa labas. Hehehe! #wheninnorway



I also made a strawberry and banana smoothie to pair with our pandesal with filling. 



Here is the finished product, don’t judge the photo because our pandesal tastes good and we enjoyed making it. After our hearty meal, we went out for a walk. As usual sa Bruholmen ulit. As of this writing, namiss ko bigla bonding namin tatlo. Hehehe! 


Watch the video here.

Our Day 4 Advent Calendar Activity yesterday was “Bake a Cupcake”. Since last year, my son wanted to bake a Rainbow Cupcake but it took me a long time to fulfill his wish. If you remember my post last year, we tried to bake a rainbow cupcake but I only had two food coloring at home so we ended up baking a Christmas Cupcake. 

Read: Bake a Christmas Cupcake



So every time I go to supermarket, I always check the food coloring and I was able to buy 3 primary colors which is red, blue and yellow. But the problem is, I can’t find the white cake mix. Good thing, I saw the Pillsbury White Cake Mix two months ago at S&R so I bought 3 boxes na because bihira ko siya makita. The cake mix is more or less P80. 

I did not bake this immediately because I will include this in our Advent Calendar Activity. To make the long story short, we baked Rainbow Cupcake yesterday. 



Since I’m using a ready cake mix, all I need to do is add 3 eggs, 1/2 cup oil and 1 cup water then mix everything. I divide the batter in 6 bowls then put food coloring. 

I have the primary colors, so I just mix two colors to produce secondary colors which is violet, green and orange. O di ba, instant art lesson pa. My son was really happy in mixing the batter. 



Then I put the batter in baking cup according to rainbow colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet aka ROYGBV. Yes I know, kulang ng indigo. Hehehe! 

We baked it and we’re so happy with the result. Finally we did it. We’re so happy to see the layers of the color and I can definitely say that we will do this again. But next time, 1/2 full na lang yung batter para di lumagpas yung cupcake sa baking cup. 



Rainbow Cupcake Recipe 

1 box of Pillsbury White Premium Cake mix 
1/2 cup oil 
1 cup water 
3 eggs 
Food coloring 

1. Set oven to 350F. Coat bottom of pan with no-stick cooking spray or shortening and a flour dusting. For Bundt cake, coat an entire pan. For cupcakes, use paper baking cups. 
2. Beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs in bowl with mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. 
3. Divide batter in separate bowls. Add food colors and mix. 
4. Pour batter into muffin pan. One color at a time.
5. Bake at 350F for 19 to 23 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, cake is done. 
6. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool cake completely before frosting.

I’m pretty sure that you would agree with me that Tupperware is already a household name. It has been in the Philippines market since 1966, for years it became part of your home and our home.



I grew up using Tupperware products because my aunt is a dealer. Few years ago, my in-law became a dealer too so every Christmas we receive Tupperware products. I received Baby Care Plus cologne so I was surprised when I learned that it is a Tupperware brand. I have no idea that it has so many products, I thought they are only selling food container. 

Review of Tupperware Speedy Chef 



Last week, I received this Tupperware Speedy Chef. It is one of the new products this October and according to the brochure, you can buy this at P1,599 from October 16-31 only. Regular price is P1,999. 



The box includes 

1L base 
Pull cord mechanism  
Three Whisks 
Cover & handle 
Seal 

Dimensions: 

L14.4 x W18.9 x H26.2  
1L capacity

I’m happy with my new kitchen gadget because I can whisk and whip without using an electric mixer or electric beater. You can whisk and whip cream, egg whites, mayonaise, pancakes and batters. 

Likes 

1. It is compact and you can store the parts inside the jug. 
2. It does not need an electricity so big savings. 
3. The jug is transparent so you can monitor what is happening inside. 
4. It has an anti-skid base to ensures stability on your counter top.
5. It has 3 whisks so it whips faster than the electric beater. 
6. You can pour liquid without opening the cover because there is a tiny hole in the holder. 
7. It is very easy to assemble and disassemble. 
8. It is so easy to use and easy to clean. 
9. You can operate this with minimal force. Exercise na rin sa arms. Hehehe! When you feel that it so hard to turn the handle, it means that whipping is done. 

I hope there is manual, I was checking the box but I did not see any manual. Good thing that you can easily assemble this. But I would prefer to have a manual so I can check if I have the complete parts or how I will take care of it.  

I just learned that Tupperware has Lifetime Guarantee, I wish I knew this kasi sayang yung lunch box ng anak ko. Natapon ko na lang kasi nasira yung cover. Anyway, because it is already sembreak I made meringue using the Speedy Chef. 



Meringue Recipe 




2 egg whites 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp cream of tartar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 cup white sugar 
Food color (optional) 

1. Preheat oven to 300F. 
2. Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar and vanilla until soft peaks. 
3. Gradually add sugar, whisking well between each addition. 
4. Add food color if you like and then whisk again. 
5. I put the my mixture in ziplock bag, cut one corner and drop a teaspoonful or spoonful of meringue. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes or it depends on the size of your meringue. 
7. Check the oven from time to time to avoid burning it. 
8. Store in an airtight container. 

My son said,"Mommy, it looks like a P**ps"

Waah! Yes, I know it doesn't look good and I need to practice more, but this taste good and he kept eating my meringue. :)



Other Recipes that you can try

Oreo Cheesecake
No-Bake Layered Blueberry Cheesecake

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I always make homemade pizza at home because it is so easy to make, I only need a slice of bread or store brought pizza dough + my choice of toppings. I know I can make my own pizza dough but I’m so scared when I see the yeast in the list of ingredients because I tried making bread before and it was not successful.

Read: Homemade Pizza



But few months ago, I attended a Bread Making Class so it gives me the confidence to try baking with yeast. Last month, I tried making pizza dough from scratch, I just look for recipes on the internet. It was my first time so the shape of the dough is not round and I put so much cheese so it overflows. My husband likes the dough because it is so soft even it is no longer warm.



Read: The Day I Learned How to Make my Own Bread



Last weekend, I made a homemade pizza again but this time, I tried a new recipe and I was happy because I was able to make a round dough. Hehehe! I did not put a lot of cheese to avoid overflowing. Ending, kulang sa cheese ang result. Hehehe! The dough is on the chewy side so my husband prefers the first pizza dough but my son liked this pizza compared to the first one. 



Update October 2019

Our family loves pizza and it is one of our comfort foods. I’m glad that I can make my own pizza dough from scratch. I’m using the recipe of Sallys Baking Addiction “Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe”, the recipe only needs 6 six ingredients so if you have warm water, yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour, you can definitely make your homemade dough. The steps are easy to follow too and you can make two pizzas in one recipe. If you only need one pizza, you can store the dough in your freezer which I did.



What I like about homemade pizza is you can use whatever toppings that you like, whatever is available in your pantry or fridge. Since my son likes Pepperoni Pizza, I bought a pack at Landers and nakadalawang pizza na nga ko, hindi pa rin ubos so I have reasons to make pizza again. I like the taste of my pizza dough but I need to improve its shape and thickness.Since the pandemic, I’ve been watching Chef RV’s video and over a month ago I tried his pizza dough recipe. What I like about his recipe, you just need to mix everything and put them in the fridge overnight. So the following day, you can already make your own pizza. This is now my new favorite pizza dough recipe. My only mistake was, I did not put a lot of cheese but my two boys love it.

Every time I see new instant mix in S&R, I will always buy one so I can try it. I bought Duncan Hines Tres Leches few months ago but it was only last week that I finally bake it.


The box includes the mix for the batter and mix for the milk syrup. I just followed the directions. 

You need 3 eggs, 1/2 cup water for batter and 3 1/2 cup milk for milk syrup.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease sides and bottom of 13x9 pan. 
2. Blend cake mix, water and eggs in a large bowl at low speed until moistened. Pour batter into cake pan. 
3. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool in a pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Poke holes in cake with fork, 1/2 inch part. 
4. Blend contents from small packet and 3 1/2 cups milk in small bowl. 
5. Pour milk syrup over top of cake in pan slowly. 
6. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.


I left the cake overnight. The following morning, I can still see the milk on top of my cake. It was hard for me to slice the cake because of the milk syrup on top. It doesn’t look good. It seems that the 3 1/2 cup milk is too much for the cake. The cake is not just moist, it is super wet. Cake na may sabaw? 

Ang layo dun sa picture sa box

How I wish, I did not put make the milk syrup anymore so we can just eat the cake as is or slice the cake and just pour milk syrup before eating. My son said, it is like a cold pancake, if you know what he means. Pancake with sugar and milk.

It was not hit to my family, parang napipilitan na lang kainin para di sayang pera. Hehehe! I will not buy this instant mix again.

Ever since I attended the Bread Baking Class, I was looking for a weighing scale, dough scraper, and additional mixing bowls for proofing. I’ve been to Gourdos but I did not find what I needed so I asked my husband if he can accompany me to Dough It All - Mamplasan. 

Read: The Day I Learned How to Make my Own Bread 

We went to Brentville to check the baker’s supply center but the guard told us that it was already closed, last week lang po nagsara, lilipat daw po sa bandang hi-way. Waah! I just found out last month that they have a branch in Laguna then sarado na. 


Since there is also a South supermarket in Brentville, we checked it out para hindi sayang lakad. I saw the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mix P148.50, I tried their Oatmeal Chocolate Chip mix last year and we liked it so I tried this chocolate chip mix.

Read: Betty Crocker Oatmeal Chocolate Chip


You only need to add two ingredients, 1/2 butter and 1 egg. Mix the three ingredients and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375F. 



The chocolate chip cookie is good, it is a little bit sweet for my taste so I pair it with milk. Between the two instant mixes, I prefer the oatmeal chocolate chip. The only problem with baking cookies is you need to make sure that you will get it on time, I almost forgot the second batch so may burn part sa ilalim, anyway it is still edible. As of this writing, I only have 5 pieces of cookies left since I baked them yesterday.

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
1 egg
I pack of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Instant Mix

1. Heat oven to 375F or 350F for a dark or nonstick cookie sheet.
2. Stir cookie mix, softened butter, and egg in a medium bowl until soft dough forms.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
4. Bake as directed or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. 
5. Cool Completely; store in an airtight container