Skydreamer Eats: The Best Mug Cake EVAAH!

I grew up with a mom who bakes the most amazing homemade cakes. Almost every afternoon, at around 3 or so, we could smell wafts of something really good baking in the oven. I lived for those days. All throughout my childhood and even when I started working, she would make her famous baked goodies. Yellow cake, chocolate cake, pineapple upside down cake, birthday cake, chewy brownies, papaya brownies, cream cheese brownies. And how can I forget her tiramisu? If blogging was available in the 80's, my mom would have rocked as a food blogger.

With that said, I wanted to try something easy in the cake department. I do not know how to make cakes, cupcakes or anything of the sort. I started and stopped at mango float (you know, those yummy homemade refrigerator no-bake cakes). Now that I'm a mom, I wanted to whip up something sweet in my (microwave) oven in under 15 minutes - and make my son smile.

That's ambitious.

So I researched, researched, researched (in Pinterest) until I came upon THE MUG CAKE.

Good for one.
Very easy.
Uber cheap.
Ridiculously good.

There were a lot of different recipes out there, and I had a lot of trial and error sessions. My first ever mug cake was an epic fail. But now, I'm finally ready to share this with you!


Ready for this? The best ever mug cake?

Gooey chocolate mug cake

Then this is what you need to do.

In a regular mug, mix well together 2 tbsp all purpose flour, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa, 1/4 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt.
Now add 2 tbsp fresh milk or water and 1 tbsp vegetable oil to your dry ingredients and mix well together.
Take 1/3 of a regular sized banana, and mash it well. Add it to your mixture and blend well together.
Add a few chocolate chips, mix again.
Now, here's the fun part - take a look at your pantry. Check if you have nutella, peanut butter, cookie butter, or any buttery/chocolatey spread. You're good? Take 1/2 tbsp of that and add to your mixture, pushing it to the bottom. *Please make sure that your spread is at room temperature*
Next, put the mug inside your microwave and bake on high for 1 minute (50 seconds for me).

Take it out, smell that wonderful cocoa.

Mmmm-hmmmmmm.....

Fresh from the oven

Get a plate and transfer the cake to it, upside down. It would look like this:

That cookie butter looks really good on top of my cake

Restrain yourself from eating everything all at once because you're not done yet.

Now, take a look at your freezer. Got some ice cream? Good. Add that on top of your cake and you have yourself a winning dessert. Good for one. Or you can share with your son (if you're feeling selfless).

Mug Cake with ice cream and shaved chocolate

It's moist, gooey, chocolatey, buttery, and all those good things. It's like a cake but not really. It's not a brownie too. It's almost like a cupcake, but really it's just the best ever mug cake.

In less than five minutes I made my son smile and laugh and now he's bouncing all over from all that chocolate and sugar. *sigh*

Go on, make some. I'm excited to know what you think! :D

Skydreamer Dines in Cebu: Pizzeria Michelangelo

Once in a while, you "discover" a place and fall in love with it. This happened to us with Pizzeria Michelangelo. Oh, I know a lot of Cebuanos have declared their love for this homey Italian place and this is definitely not a secret place, but its charm and warm good food seduced us and convinced us that this is our new go-to place.

We woke up late Saturday afternoon with hungry stomachs and huge appetites for food. Without changing into anything nicer, we went out in our house clothes - shorts, shirts and flip flops. We headed to Escario Central with no particular restaurant in mind. We figured that if we couldn't find a place to eat, there's always Mcdonald's nearby.

We first checked Cafe Sarree because I heard a lot of good things about this place, but right beside it was Pizzeria Michelangelo Ristorante Italiano. A quick glance at their simple menu, and specially their prices hooked us in.

Here are the dishes we ordered:

Gnochhi Al Tartufo - P320 - OUR FAVORITE!
(Black Italian Truffle Sauce, Cream, Cheese)

Robertino Pizza - P360 (15")
Tomato, Mozzarella, Farmer's Ham, Bacon Strips,
 Egg, Arugula, Parmesan Cheese

Alla Carbonese - P260
Bolognese + Carbonara

*Please take note that prices are subject to change. The prices also exclude a 10% service charge.

Gnocchi - We loved the black Italian truffle sauce, but didn't really like the gnocchi as it was too chewy for me.
Robertino - Sometimes, arugula tends to be a bit spicy, and I don't like that variety. The ones they used were perfectly nutty and did not have a hint of spiciness. Love!
Alla Carbonese - Pasta was al dente, and they used fresh parmesan. We thought it was a little bit too salty for our taste, though. But that's just us.

Oh, and one more thing, the servings were HUGE! Pasta servings are good for 2-3 Filipino people with normal appetites. The pizza is a whooping fifteen inches for a little over P300. How crazy is that?
If there's one thing I think they should invest on - a couple of high chairs for children. We weren't the only family with a kid there and the nannies had to keep on holding to the wee ones.

Here are some more random pictures:

The place - LOVE at first sight!

The food - LOVE at first bite!

Reasonable prices? Check
Awesome food? Yep
Great customer service? You bet!
Should you check it out? Go, now! xx

*Update*
My husband went back to buy gnocchi al tartufo and alla carbonese to go. The attendants were very friendly and gave him lots of extra focaccia. When I ate their gnocchi at home, I noticed that it was very soft and buttery and not as chewy as the first time we tried it - great job! :D

Skydreamer Eats: Insta-Breakfasts

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we shouldn't skip it. It helps fuel and start you up whether you have a busy day ahead or if you're just planning to lounge the entire day.

Here are some of my breakfasts the past couple of weeks that I uploaded in Instagram:


First: Sauteed Asparagus
This one's easy to make, and a keeper. Just cut your asparagus to your desired length using your hands.
In a non-stick skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add about 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic.
Add your asparagus, stir a bit for a minute.
Turn off the heat, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. You may add just a little bit of butter if you wish.
And, that's it!
Easy, ultra fast, and verrrrry healthy. My son loved this, and kept asking for more. :D

Sauteed Asparagus

Second: Herbed Corn on the Cob
I love corn on the cob - they are so easy, healthy, keeps you full longer, and only takes a few minutes to make. I cooked my sweet corn by boiling some water with a bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Once the water was boiling, I added my corn and cooked them for 3-5 minutes.
While I was waiting for my corn to cook, I made my herbed butter. I got a big chunk of butter, and mixed it with dried tomato, basil and oregano. Now, the thing about herbed butters is that it's better when you use fresh herbs like parsley or basil leaves. I substituted it with the next best thing - dried, and it's still great!
I placed my herbed butter on top of my corn and ate them like there's no tomorrow. So, so good.

Corn on the Cob with herbed butter

Third: Eggs in a Basket 

I got this idea from Joan of Food Wanderings in Asia, one of my favorite bloggers. If you've never heard of eggs in a basket, it's called that because it's supposed to look like you cooked your egg in a basket. This picture does not do justice to the ones that Joan made, so head on over to her blog to see her culinary expertise in action.

First, I gathered what ingredients I had on the fridge. I had some ham, tomatoes, cheese, eggs and sliced bread. Perfect. She made hers using ramekin, but I didn't have one so I used a small plastic bowl instead, thus making it look like this. I placed a slice of bread at the bottom of the bowl, and chopped some ham, tomatoes and cheese. I placed that on top of the bread, and cracked open an egg and just laid it on top of everything. I cooked it on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds in the microwave, and voila! I instantly have the best breakfast ever!

Thanks Joan for the idea! :D

Eggs in a Basket

Fourth: Whole Wheat Pancakes

This one, I definitely cheated with. I just bought a whole wheat pancake mix at the store, and prepared the ingredients according to the instructions in the box. The only thing I did was add some chopped strawberries and chocolate chips while I cooked them. Done and done!

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Strawberries and Chocolate Chips

Fifth: Favorite Ham Sandwich

To make two, I cooked a couple of sweet hams in a non stick pan for about a minute, then placed one on top of my sliced bread. I spread a bit of garlic ranch dressing on top of the ham, added a couple slices of cheese (emmenthal/emmental would go great with this) and a few sliced tomatoes. You may eat them as they are, or add another sliced bread on top and heat in a sandwich maker. 

This is my kind of ham sandwich and if you don't like the dressing, you can totally skip that. Totally refreshing and delicious!

Ham Sandwich with garllic ranch dressing

If you try any of them, let me know! :D