Red Ribbon's Chocolate Mousse

You can't go wrong with a crowd pleaser like Chocolate Mousse.  Somehow, it's considered a step-up dessert from the common banana (teehee!).  I think most bakeshop has this for sale.  And they usually taste the same.  And somehow, they all look alike.

I just don't recall any other brand that has 

a brownie base that is just too sweet for comfort.

So when I ate a slice today, I left the bottom part 

for fear of raising my sugar levels.  

I usually love KFC's brownie even though 

it is a really sweet mixture of dark chocolate.

The difference is that it is expected.  

Meanwhile, while I was eating Red Ribbon's chocolate mousse,

 the base was an explosion of sweetness 

that was far different from the smooth and subtle sweetness of 

the creamy chocolate layer (which is my favorite).  

But of course, even though I left the brownie part, you can tell, 

I enjoyed eating my piece of cake.

Cupcakes and Parties in the Park

These photos have been long overdue... for probably half a year already.

I'm not a fan of cupcakes unless they are super moist and not so sweet.  I think cupcakes are the one of the most easiest pastries to bake.  I thought of selling them before.  Unfortunately, I don't have an oven in our apartment.  Note to self: must buy our own baking oven someday.  

Well, I encountered these cupcakes in a kiddie party in the States.  I don't know if they're branded or was just home-baked by the hosts.  I enjoyed eating them because of the marshmallow toppings simulating a bucket of popcorn.

The first one I got was strawberry-flavored.  

And the bread was moist.  

I was able to finish the whole thing, of course.

The next one I got was flavored buttery caramel. 

It was also moist as the first one and it was much more tasty.

(note: couldn't rotate the pic below)

It was my first time to attend a birthday party in a park.  

Parties outdoors that I have attended were mostly weddings

and not kiddie parties

but I must say, it is much more fun than indoor kiddie parties.  

Weather was perfect.  And because there were so many trees,

it provided the perfect shade for the venue.

Rowena's Tarts

After spending another weekend in Tagaytay, we were able to eat some Rowena's treats again.  This time, we bought us some tarts.  They have three kinds: egg tart, apple tart and chocolate mousse tart. They have other fruity tarts but we decided on buying just those three.

For all three, I have to say that filling is good but could not say the same for the bread or the crust.

I have always loved eating egg pie so their egg tarts were really a treat for me.  The filling is not as firm as that of the egg pie's but that is what's good about it.  The crust seems to be holding something delicate as it's caramelized fillings.  Sweetness-wise, it was just right.  It is best served chilled.

Their apple tart is another must try.  I suggest that they are warmed in the microwave first before serving for maximum enjoyment.  Also, it's nice with your favorite (somehow) bitter cup of coffee.

I had two of chocolate mousse tarts last weekend. I loved it straight from the fridge.  With regards to the consistency, I guess they had some gelatin mixture mixed with the cream.  It is a not-so-sweet treat in comparison to that of the chocolate mousse of KFC (if there are still any).

Try enjoying them on your next visit to Tagaytay where you can find Rowena's alongside the road.

Diamond Hotel's Box of Chocolate

It's the season of chocolates and flowers.  I prefer the latter former (teehee!) simply because it is edible. 

For me, Diamond Hotel along Roxas Blvd is one of those hotels that offers an incredible buffet although it's not "flashy" or "classy" as the other hotels are offering.  Still, they offer the best lamb roast I have ever tasted (No kidding!).

Yesterday, someone brought home a box of their chocolates.  They came from a Valentine's day date, I presume.  And it's kind of pathetic that I'm eating leftover chocolates.  But I'm happy to finish all of it.  I'm not complaining.  It is, by the way, chocolates.

I had my fingers in one of these.  Don't sue me for my ignorance but I thought this milk chocolate ball still had a wrapper around it.  I couldn't distinguish that the decoration was white chocolate.  So I was kind of rubbing my fingers on it to remove the "wrapper" until I felt it was already melting in my fingers.

I took a bite of it fast before it crumbles in my hand.  And it oozed with more milk chocolate inside.  I kind of sipped some of it.  My head was kind of spinning with the sweetness (I've been taking a lot of sweets lately and I'm afraid blood sugar is shooting up in my head).  I finished it off licking some of the chocolate goo off my fingers.

As if that wasn't enough, I grabbed another.  This time it was dark chocolate with melted chocolate inside like the previous one.  It tasted like there was rum in it.  It probably does.  But not enough to get someone drunk, I suppose.

Dexter's Fondant Cake

Our family has been a loyal customer of Dexter's Bakeshop especially during special occasions.  Their cakes and pastries are truly a treat to the eyes, taste buds and tummy. 

I recently enjoyed one of their fondant cake. 

Almost everything is edible.

The toys are sugar coated too so anyone who is old enough to know how to distinguish food from nonfood may be able to eat it.  The cubes/blocks are all sugar and is edible all throughout.  Suck but don't bite.  They're really hard candy. 

I wish the pink soccer ball was a toy and not hardened sugar so I can keep it.  It is just so cute.  It is hollow inside and when you drop it, it will break like porcelein.  I really want to know how they make it. 

The cake was made of butter bread that was almost as good as Goldilocks' butter slices.  (Sorry but I still have yet to find something better than Goldilocks' butter slice)  The best thing about it is that there are generous amount of crushed walnuts in it.  They're so abundant in the bread that eating it doesn't get that boring.

Also, it is a bit sweet especially when you eat some of the fondant along with the bread itself.  And it is perfect with a somehow-bitter-tasting coffee.  I tried it with Nescafe Original 3-in-1 mix and it was a perfect combination.

Romulo Cafe's Leche Flan and Turon

If we are to think of Filipino desserts, leche flan and turon would be there on top of the list along with bananas.  So if we are to start a Filipino diner or restaurant, never forget to include these two because people will expect us to have it. 

I love leche flan.  I said it before and I'm saying it again:  It's much better than creme brulee!  If it is prepared well enough, it will never be passed up in a dessert table. 

We had leche flan served in our last visit to Romulo's and noted that it was cranked up a bit with caramel syrup (as if it wasn't sweet enough).  It was so delightful but couldn't finish the whole thing.  One or two teaspoonfuls of it is quite enough to last you up to the next hour or so. 

We also tried their turon.  Like the leche flan, it was drizzled with caramel syrup. 

It was topped with a scoop of sherbet that isn't too sweet.  I tasted the sherbet first and almost finished it entirely before I took a bite off the turon.  The waiter just told me it's turon so I didn't expect the pineapple filling oozing out of it with that one bite.  It was a pleasant surprise.  Like I was eating pineapple pie from Jollibee :)  but a whole lot better. 

I thought I could make it at home only if I could get the recipe of the pineapple filling and then, I'm good to go.

Molten Chocolate Volcano

Visited Chili's once again last night and this time, we tried out the dessert my friend was gushing about before.  It lived up to it's name.  It truly is an explosion of sweetness. 

Warm chocolate cake topped with cold vanilla ice cream and frosted chocolate had one more surprise in store: the oozing warm chocolate syrup inside the cake.  I want to come back for another one of this.