Nama Chocolate aka Royce' Chocolate

Christmas season is a joyous event back home. There are reunions, Christmas parties, gift giving and abundance of really good food. But the prelude to parties and reunions are also one of the moments in my life that are truly exhausting. 

Where to buy affordable Christmas decors in SG

It's that time of the year again that I feel so overwhelmed over stuff I would like to have to make our home more festive (that is if budget permits). And since Singapore is not that into the Christmas holiday mood that much, buying holiday decors is a tough one. Good thing there are a few stores that capitalizes on Christmas decors at affordable prices. Here is a list of the ones I visited.

An Accidental Banana Chiffon Cupcake

Singapore is a very warm and humid place that when I buy bananas they would often go ripe after a day or two left on the table. In order to waste not, want not, I freeze the over ripe ones until the day I need them.

New gadget Thermapen and an Update

Finally my new baking toy has arrived, my new Splash Proof Super Fast Thermapen! You see, since the oven gasket got busted, I have been looking for the best cooking thermometer. Then I found this article from thekitchn. The thermapen was the perfect thermometer for me since I am an impatient baker. Having a super fast accurate (at 3 sec woohoo!) gadget would definitely help me have consistent results when it comes to baking.

Late Post: A DIY Jake and the Never Land Pirates

picture taken from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Jake_(Pirate)

My Toddler is so into Jake and the Never Land Pirates from Disney Junior. He totally forgot about Thomas the Tank engine (which was his favorite for almost 2 years!). Every time he sees the Jake and the Never Land Pirate show is about to start or coming up next on Disney Junior channel he would freak out. Every. Single. Time. And so, I had to record all episodes that he liked so that I have it anytime he asks for it (which is almost ALL the time).

To indulge him on his birthday last September, I made him a Jake costume. We have tons of clothes for donation and I just used a couple of them and sew them together. I cut and pinned the pieces for about an hour, sew the entire shirt for almost 3 hours (I'm just a newbie on this so pardon the roughness the seams and cuts).

Since I didn't have enough time (I made the shirt 4 days before his big day), I was only able to sew the shirt and just use his own blue shorts. But ain't it grand? My boy was so excited when I finished it that he wore his Jake shirt for 3 consecutive days and on the day of his birthday (yeah I had to wash and dry it every night!). And he even wanted us to call him Jake every time he wore it. Adorable! 

Well as they say better late than never. So Happy birthday to our little ray of sunshine! Hugs and kisses from Mom and Dad! We love you!

Whole Wheat Loaf bread

Have you ever had a memory of waking up in the morning and the first thing you smell was freshly baked bread? Or the aroma of cookies right out of the oven upon coming home from school? Well I didn't. Instead at home we have delectable mouth watering aroma coming from the kitchen that my Mom cooked. The thing is, no one in the family bakes. Cooking blockbuster home recipes, yes we have lots of them plus a whole lot of good cooks in our clan. From my Mom to my Grandma to my Aunts and cousins. But baking, not one. Our baked goods were from the neighborhood bakeries, or from tin cans bought from the grocery, or from distant relatives who can bake.

Vanilla Cupcake with Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

I have been dying to try out a simple cupcake or cake recipe. It's been my dream to make a perfect vanilla / white cupcake or cake. I believe that if I have a perfect simple vanilla recipe then every other cake or cupcake that I would bake in the future would be a snap (just indulge me on this hehehe).