Where my 'I'd rather stay at home than (insert whatever it is that you'd rather not be doing)' buddies at?!

Funfetti Birthday Cake

A happy birthday to you if today happens to be the day you came into the world xx years ago!  If it has already passed, still, happy birthday, gal/pal!

So...what was your birthday cake for this year?  Did you have a pro make it? Or did you DIY?

Because I did. 😎

(This is going to be a long post! You've been warned!)

Double Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

...and a variety of sprinkles on the top for aesthetic purposes only (let's be real here).

So, hello.  Here I am again, unable to start a blog post despite doing this blogging thing for years now.

Nutty Dark Chocolate Cookies with Cranberries

Before I bake anything, I write down the recipe on a notebook first and then triple check if I have copied everything.  Not gonna lie but I'm guilty of skipping an ingredient or procedure when I was just starting with baking.  But truth be told the same thing still happens to me to this day!

Have you ever caught yourself missing an ingredient when you've already placed everything in the oven?

I know.  Such a catastrophe, right?  I baked a banana cake once...and forgot about the sugar.

Matcha Crinkle Cookies

I knew right away that matcha will be a favorite after my first bite of my first ever matcha-flavored food.  It was a humble yet glorious lil muffin and its insides were softly tinged green (!!!).  Since then whenever I see 'matcha' on a blog, Pinterest, tumblr and everywhere else, I just go nuts and seconds later, I'll be reading up on that blog post and bookmarking it after.

I even bought freaking soy milk just so I could make iced matcha latte!  Have you ever tried making iced matcha latte?  Without a bamboo whisk? Which I didn't know was called that prior to reading up on homemade matcha lattes.  

Oh well!

Coffee and White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I could have gone the usual route and baked a regular chocolate chip cookie.  But why would I do that, right?  Most especially when there's a huge ass bottle of instant dark roast coffee in the pantry!

So I looked for a recipe where it is used and found one!

Whipped Chocolate Buttercream and Chocolate Cupcakes for two!

I have a scenario for you:  Your best friend of more than a decade (and counting) subtly hinted that she'd like for you to make her birthday cake on her birthday (of course).  And you, being the wonderful friend that you are, may have said yes or pretended not to hear but really, you're already planning what flavor and design you'll be doing with the upcoming birthday girl's request.

Let's skip to a couple of weeks and into the day.  The birthday.  The day you'll be 'surprising' your best pal with cake.