Cupcakes by Sonja with my BFF

Hooray for cupcakes! I recall when I first tried a Sonja's cupcake. It was about 2007 or 2008 I think, and back then, the only branch was at the fancy Boni-high branch they had. I also remember that their simpler cupcakes were only Php40-50, the most expensive being Php80-90 I think, and at that time it was also already considered very posh and fancy. I remember how back then, it was unheard of to make people pay that much for a cupcake. Sonja was the one who pioneered selling gourmet cupcakes in the Philippines if I'm not mistaken. 

I also think that it's because of her which is why it's become more 'acceptable' for people to pay Php100 for a single cupcake, with Php50 cupcakes encountered in less swanky shops or in school bake sales. 

As for the BFF part of the title, it's because my BFF Denivee and I had a date here just yesterday at their TriNoma branch. She had just come from a movie date with other friends, and I figured that she must have been full from lunch and possibly the popcorn and movie snacks that i thought that this would be a nice place where we could have a snack and have quality time (aka chika-chismis-lerler time). 

Cheese Cupcakes Trial and Recipe (from Meiji's Website)

A screenshot of the recipe selection page at meiji's website. So there are recipes for soups, mousses, cakes, desserts, and all other kinds of treats. 

For people who love to cook and can read in Japanese, going to Meiji's (the confectionery company) website  is great as there are over a hundred recipes for all sorts of dishes, from savory dishes to all sorts of sweets and cakes. What I like is that the website is Japanese but a lot of the recipes are western in nature, with a lot of the recipes having cream and cheese.

But I guess what intrigued me the most was their recipe for cheese muffins. This is because my mom has a weird fixation over  cheese muffins. While I care about ice cream, she cares about cheese muffins. My mom and I are on this mini quest to find the best recipe ever for cheese muffins-- we want the kind of muffins that are moist, cheesy, and not too sweet. We just want the perfect muffin.  

So I try out their recipe for Camembert Cheese Muffins. For those who can read Japanese, just click on the link. But to those who can't, I'll provide a skeleton translation soon. 

The English recipe for these muffins is as follows: 

Ube Cupcakes Trial and Recipe

I've been quite wary about the recipes I've been seeing as of late as most have problems-- cupcakes that aren't moist, recipes that call for too little liquid, and so many other problems on flavor and texture. Mom has already been having problems with the products as they're too many but giving them away randomly to neighbors is not her kind of thing either. 

I saw this recipe of Ube Cupcakes on this blog called Samiwich and Addiecakes, and upon inspection of the recipe, I thought that the recipe will more or less be fine. But to ensure that there won't be an excess of leftovers that taste bad, and that everyone will want to eat this someday, I just make a half batch to be sure. And since it was such a waste to open the big oven we had, I just baked them in our toaster oven. As a mold, I put the cupcake liners in metal custard cups. This was to ensure that the product does not come out oval or lopsided.