Cherry and Panettone Trifle

Freshly whipped cream, yummy custard, fruits plus Italian Panettone or any sponge cake make this a delicious and party-perfect Trifle! 

My kids and I love Italian Panettone! When the chilly fall season finally arrives, you can be certain that we look for and buy at least a loaf or two of this special holiday bread (or cake as others readily point out but I won't argue with anyone over this! I love it either way!). I compare it to a brioche loaf - deliciously sweet, buttery and tender! During the Christmas season it comes in many varieties - plain, with chocolate chips or loaded with fruits so it's like a fruitcake and taste a little bit like it, too! I guess because it was Christmas I gravitated to the more festive looking Panettone loaf that I saw.

Top 10 Filipino Recipes for Christmas

Celebrate Christmas and the holiday season with these tried and tested, delicious Top 10 Filipino Recipes for Christmas! 

We love Christmas in the Philippines so much that the holiday season actually unofficially begins the 1st day of September! To celebrate our favorite day, every Filipino household will have many of these delicious recipes on their menu. If you are thinking of doing an Asian-themed celebration this year, this collection of our family favorite recipes would surely come handy!

One Bowl Yummy Pumpkin Muffins

Use this as your basic formula for  yummy Pumpkin Muffins! Add your favorite baking chips for extra deliciousness!

One day earlier in the school year my little boy came home very excited and declared he will be doing some baking the next day. I asked him what inspired him to do that? He said their class baked some pumpkin muffins that day and that he enjoyed them so much he wanted to make them again. He was totally motivated to do it that he, in fact, got the recipe and brought it home!

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars

With a deliciously spiced pumpkin pie on the bottom and buttery swirled cake topping this super EASY Pumpkin Pie Bars will be your favorite holiday dessert! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year perfect!

Just before we left for England in early November, I made this Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars for my family. I was planning to post this earlier but because of the family emergency we had, everything, naturally, had to take the backseat. Nonetheless, at the back of my mind, I haven't forgotten about this truly delightful recipe and made sure to post this at least before Thanksgiving. Besides, who says pumpkin desserts are only for Fall or Thanksgiving? I love pumpkin based desserts so much, I won't even mind having them during the hottest days of summer - so for me, every season is a good season for Pumpkins!!! Agree? :)

Apple Cheesecake Pie with Caramel Sauce

I can't believe it's just a couple more days and 2015 is over! In some ways I am quite excited to welcome the new year as globally speaking 2015 has been quite chaotic and really challenging for so many. That is not to say there weren't many good things that happened in the past year. In fact, my habit as the year ends is always to make a list of the many things I can truly be thankful for. I can only do that if I go through the year month by month and look at the past and see how the Lord has truly blessed us. If often surprises me and in the end I often have to admit that indeed while the year past may not be perfect (it never will be!) it definitely is good and always has been good by God's grace.

Christmas Krispie Wreaths

A few Christmases ago, while my kids were still quite young, we made some edible crafts that kept them occupied long enough to allow me some peace and quiet for an hour or so and also helped fill their little tummies. At that time, I wanted them not just to enjoy making something with Mommy but also have a sense of fulfillment with the work of their hands. So, we made these easy rice krispie Christmas wreaths.

21 Luscious NO BAKE Holiday Cheesecakes

It's the most wonderful time of the year....With the kids jingle belling....And everyone telling you be of good cheer......and so the song goes. This song has been playing in my head for a few days now. I guess because I have been gearing up for Christmas since September that's why! Why September? Because the whole 7,100+ islands of the Philippine archipelago believe in their hearts as soon as the -BER months begin - it's the signal of Christmas season so some radio stations and around the malls you'll begin to hear Christmas carols already. I know, it's too much but I am just trying to fully embrace my culture! LOL. 

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

I love cooking with spices. I just love the intense complexity in flavor that a little dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or my favorite cardamon can add to a dish. When I decided to make some condiment for Thanksgiving, I thought it had to be cranberry sauce and a spiced one, too.

Cranberry Cheese and Prosciutto Sandwich

Do you stick to one particular supermarket or grocery store when you go shopping for food on a weekly basis? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't depending on which one has a sale. I do have three favorite stores that I make my rounds on. I already know, more or less, where to go for particular products or for certain food and that helps make everything easier and convenient.

Classic Glazed Ham

If you are a subscriber of our blog, then you probably already know that we are on holiday in Asia at the moment. I do try, when I get the chance, to spend the Christmas season with my family. There's just no place like home for the holidays. It doesn't hurt when you can spend Christmas season by the beach and enjoy the sun and the sea either! For me that's the ultimate holiday treat!!! :)

Yummy Cranberry Cheesecake

Last year for the holiday season, I made a No Bake White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake as part of the 12 Cakes of December series. I joined 11 other food bloggers and we each took turn to make cakes that we felt best represented the season. I wanted a truly festive and lovely cake so I chose to make a cheesecake with cranberries - since cranberries have a deep red hue which of course is the color of Christmas. Besides, I truly love cheesecake!

Candy Cane Blossom Cookies

It's that time of year for gift-giving. My two kids are in school now so I had to think of some gift ideas for their teachers. I know I could have taken the easy way-out and just joined in with the group gift but I fancied doing something a little more creative - something that showed a little effort at least. I have been inspired by so many lovely gift ideas from Pinterest and holiday magazines that I thought that now I have a legitimate excuse to make something cute! I got myself some Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses which I only got acquainted with last year and vowed to myself then that come Christmas 2013 I would make something with it.

12 Cakes of December - Recipe Round Up

It's Friday the 13th....and I feel sad and it's not because it's the "Friday the 13th" but because our 12 Cakes of December feature has officially ended. I didn't want to miss any of these delicious cakes so I decided to make a round-up of all these fantastic recipes. These could come in handy not only for Christmas Day but for the rest of the year, especially when you have an upcoming special occasion and you need to make a cake that's not only eye-catching but truly delectable, too. So without further ado, here are the links and photos for the 12 Cakes of December. Please enjoy!

Christmas Loaf

I have been trying to add more treats to my Christmas repertoire and I chanced upon a cake that used sugar beet and I thought to myself - why not try to make some bread or cake using it. Since red is one of the colors of Christmas then it's great to use Beet to give a vibrant red color to a cake or bread. After all sugar beet is an all natural food coloring. And, it's naturally sweet, too.