Remember the Selecta Gold Label ice cream flavors that were released this summer? For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the Selecta Gold Series is created by Selecta and Manila’s finest chefs to satisfy discriminating palates without breaking one’s budget. I love bingeing on those from time to time, particularly the Hazelnut Brownie one. But the fourth Gold Label flavor is fast becoming another favorite. That’s right – there’s a luxurious addition that came out just this month. Vanilla Almond is the masterpiece of Chef Ariel Manuel of Lolo Dad’s Cafe, one of the country’s most awarded culinary experts.
When it comes to vanilla ice cream, I only think of them as toppings for warm apple pie or for making Coke floats with. However, Vanilla Almond is good enough to eat on its own. This mouthwatering vanilla ice cream is loaded with roasted whole almonds from California’s Great Valley and ribbons of golden caramel fudge. The crunchiness of the almonds provide exciting texture to the creamy, velvety ice cream base, and the caramel swirls a delightful touch. What I like best about this flavor is that it doesn’t feel as sinful as the Chocolate Truffle and Hazelnut Brownie ones; it’s light enough to top off a moderately heavy meal, but rich enough to satisfy cravings for ice cream.
Vanilla Almond is now available at all supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.
I have a soft spot for small businesses that offer homebaked goodies. My childhood years was spent helping out my mom at our
Sally’s Home Bake Shop. The Christmas season was also the busiest and most profitable month for us. Seriously, we could not even sit down in our living room and instead of partying, I was busy wrapping cakes and making pretty bows. So much cakes around us. As I strolled along
Powerplant Mall’s Baker’s Dozen at the Concourse level , I felt like I was transported back to my childhood days.
If you haven’t been there, the Bakers’ Dozen is an avenue of mouthwatering home-baked desserts and pastries, open weekends till December.
I think the bakers’ fair is a good venue to buy homemade goodies for friends or relatives or even for your noche buena or holiday dinners. Here are a few that I visited and sampled.
1. Bohemia Cakes and Pastries- Chocolate Lava Cake or Biscotti
That cake would cost around 10,000 pesos but it depends on the customer’s choice
Biscotti- a mix of white Chocolate Almond and Chocolate Walnut Biscotti – large box is 550 pesos for 40 pieces while medium box is 300pesos for 20 piecies
They have more baked goodies like the Chocolate Lava Cake, Fudgey Walnut Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cinnamon Sugar Cookies, Double Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, Spinach Artichoke dip.
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Desserts are always pretty and yummy to start with. The child in me is always in awe whenever I see plates and plates of dessert. If I had my way, I’d take a pick of all the sweetness in this dessert buffet that Diamond Hotel is offering. I have known all the time that Diamond Hotel is one of Manila’s dessert Mecca where sweet excess and wild abandon are forgiven. One of my favorite all-time desserts are their mouth-watering ensaymada.
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If Bebeth Lorenzo’s face looks familiar to you, that’s because she used to be in many print ads and TV commercials before her experiences in Europe turned her into the stellar dessert baker she is today. Miss Desserts is famous for her exquisite cakes, among which is the cheesecake that was considered one of Manila’s best, according to a consumer survey. What I like about the Miss Desserts cheesecake is that it’s rich and flavorful, but it doesn’t feel heavy in your tummy the way most decadent desserts do. Not a cheesecake fan? The Fantasia is a mouthwatering pie with a chocolate crust that’s covered in caramel and topped with Belgian chocolate mousse. I love how it fixes the chocolate fix without giving you that sick, overloaded feeling afterwards. Another rich but light dessert you can find here is the Chocolate Souffle – but it’s only available when Bebeth is in town because she insists on making it herself.
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