Happy New Year! I cannot believe today is the first day of 2018. Time really flies when you are having fun. There has been so much going on the last couple of weeks that I was not able to do much for this New Year (as I did for last year). Honestly, I woke up yesterday morning, planning to make some type of desserts to ring in the New Year with, but I let that plan slide and took half of the day to hang out with my husband and my daughter. It was a beautiful, sunny well-spent afternoon over tasty waffles brunch followed by furniture shopping.
And now, as Im sitting here with a cup of homemade coffee, looking out at the sunrise this early New Year morning, I feel peaceful—a feeling of serenity—conquering over the house. I don't get “this luxury” often as a mom of two little kids, so I savor every second of moments like this.
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'Tis is the season of baking for me. I have been busy baking and cooking that I was running behind on wrapping presents and planning family activities with the kids during their Winter Break. Christmas came and went just like the wind, leaving behind emptied cardboard boxes from Amazon and torn wrapping papers all over the house. But luckily on this New Year Eve, I can take a break from cleaning or preparing for parties. I’m finally sitting here on my sister-in-law's couch, watching a Vietnamese musical show and enjoying the night before I have to get back to planning for the rest of the week activities with the family. Thus, I seize this opportunity to write this post as we close out the year of 2017. I want to share with you what we had for dessert over Christmas at my family annual holiday dinner. I have been trying to perfect this recipe for months, and I believe I finally did it this time around. If you are craving for the most creamy caramel flan that is not overly sweet, this is IT!
The last two weeks were super chaotic for me. I don't know how I managed to do all the tasks, but I barely survived them. I promise that I will not spread myself too thin again this time next year. I was constantly baking and decorating cakes, on top of keeping the kids on track with their activities before winter break, and participating in all of the functions at work. Whewww! Seven cakes and 8 mini cakes... Boy, I was baking nonstop for straight 3-4 hours on one of the days last week...And guess what? The hubby was not very fond of this. He reminded me that this (baking) should remain a hobby and should not a job. He's right, so I have to give myself (and the oven) a break for this week. No more baking until Christmas Eve!
I made this cheesecake based on my nephew's request for his 12th birthday in September. He is a big fan of cheesecake and, of course, like every kid, Oreo cookies are also his favorite snacks. The funny thing is I don't usually buy Oreo cookies to munch on. I solely keep them in my pantry for the baking purposes. My kids do try to steal one here and there, but most of the times, I'm pretty good at hiding them away from the kids.
If you enjoyed my previous Savory Sponge Cake Recipe in the past, you will definitely love this Cheese Sponge Cake also. The taste is very similar yet this is a much easier and quicker cake to bake for the entire family to enjoy. My kids never liked sponge cake or savory sponge cake much, but this is ultimately be one of their most favorite cakes from now on. After finished his second slice, my son happily announced that, "Mommy's cakes are the best, but this ONE tastes the most amazing!"
It has been a while since I wrote the first cupcake topper posting. Using this opportunity from my recent Unicorn Party, I want to share with you two different unicorn toppers I made for the party, along with a simple rainbow and clouds topper as well. I really did try my best to capture most of the steps while I was molding these, but I find that it is so difficult to stop every few minutes. Well, at least I think you can get the idea of how I put these cute designs together.
~ This posting is dedicated to my daughter ~ My wish for you is that life becomes all that you want it to be. Your dreams stay BIG, and your worries stay small. You never need to carry more than you can hold. And while you're out there getting where you're getting to. I hope you know somebody loves you. And wants the same things too. - Anonymous - Time flies...and before I know it, here I am looking at my five-year-old baby girl who is about to attend Kindergarten in less than a year from today. Of course I'm eager to learn more about the person she is becoming and am excited to witness her accomplishments. Yet, as we overcame each milestone, it also reminded me of the growing distance that will soon be in between her and I as she grows. Call me a worry-freak, but I'm already thinking about the day she packs her stuff to move out for college, and it breaks my heart. Every. Single. Time.
This birthday event is planned for NhaUyen Averie, who loves anything pink and sparkly. The party is partially done for me because I love pink as well. And we’ll throw the unicorn in the mix to make the party more magical. Although I sort of convinced Averie to choose the unicorn theme, she was the person who decided on everything else including the main theme colors, which were light purple, pink and turquoise. She'd also helped cleaning up house, along with Big Brother, a few days before the event. Averie also enjoys doing crafts, painting and drawing. That's actually another thing she probably got from me. But she is definitely way more creative than I am. Her beautiful drawings are all hanging along the wall at grandparents' house. She usually paints every time she gets home from school, so we both agreed to transform the birthday into a Magical Unicorn Art Party. After a number of days tinkering with many ideas, my daughter Averie, and I have finally came to a conclusion to celebrate her fifth birthday with a magical unicorn theme. Actually, I had to slightly convince her to pick this theme because she was into Hatchimals and wanted that as a birthday theme. Trust me, I have tried looking into making a Hatchimals party, but I did not get far. Honestly, I have no idea what is the meaning behind Hatchimals aside from they’re animals hatching from the spotty purple eggs. There were many Hatchimals that she couldn't decide which one she wanted to have as a main cake. So, I persuaded her be the "magical princess," gave her the authority to pick out her favorite colors (pink), promised to bake a chocolate cake, and she's sold within matter of minutes!
Do you want to whip up a dessert within minutes? Are you in need of something quick for a party and don't have time to make dessert? Are you craving for something sweet but too lazy to turn on the oven? If you answered yes to one of the above questions, this dessert is for you! Within matter of minutes, you can have an amazing dessert that will leave your guests (or stomach) begging for more.
I love most tiramisu desserts, including tiramisu cheesecake and tiramisu macarons. I bought a pack of ladyfingers a few months ago in attempting to make tiramisu cake, but I still haven't had a chance to do so. But here I am, making the most delicious tiramisu trifles, and I am grateful to have some ladyfingers on hands. Fall has arrived once again to the Pacific Northwest. The crispy, chilly air in the morning is definitely the first sign that reminded me the season is here. We are lucky enough that it is almost mid of October, and the sun is still shining on most days, and the heavy rain is not quite here yet. Hopefully, we will have some more dry days before the heavy rain hits us, just as it does every year.
Fall is my favorite season of the year, because of all the beautiful colors we see throughout the city—aside from the hopelessly romantic atmosphere, autumn also gives me the feeling of coziness. I love Fall for many reasons, but if I have to narrow down to one main reason, it must be because all of the special events in my life tend to be surrounding October and November. The season holds a lot of beautiful memories, including my first date with my hubby, the proposal, the honeymoon, and both of our kids (as well as my husband) were all born in Fall. I think half of my family do indeed with birthdays around this time of the year. How can I not love Fall, right? |
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesAboutTristina TiepNhu Nguyen is a pharmacist by weekday and a baker by weekend. She is also a wife and a mother of two children. Free Cake Tutorials!Sign up for my newsletter and you will be the first to know about my new recipes and cake tutorials!
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