The PinkStilettos

The perfect dessert for chocoholics

August 8, 2011 By thepinkstilettos Leave a Comment

Before I start, I would like to apologize if this post is torturing you. I know it’s Monday, it’s the fasting month, and you’re probably trying to avoid looking at pictures of food… But here I am blogging about food. Not just any food; a dessert that is so rich and indulgent that would make you drool. (Sorry!)

It’s molten chocolate cake.

Or also known as chocolate lava cake or baked chocolate pudding. I can’t find the exact word to describe this dessert because it’s like a cake, a pudding, a mousse, a souffle and a brownie all in one. One spoon is enough to make you swoon!

But that’s ok. Buka puasa is only in a few hours time and you can have it by then. It’s really easy to make but it’s also easy to overcook it. I’ve had overcooked baked chocolate pudding at The Apartment twice so far. It was a disappointment because when it’s overcooked, it’s just a regular chocolate cake. You don’t want that. You want a cake with a pudding-like center.

Anyways, we had molten chocolate cake for iftar 3 days in a row now. It was SO good and a lot better than Domino’s chocolate lava cake! If you’re a chocoholic and you haven’t tried this dessert yet… Seriously, you must. You just have to. I’ll share the recipe here. Make them for iftar tonight, ok?

Molten Chocolate Cake

(recipe from Betty Crocker)

6 oz semisweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

unsweetened cocoa powder

Heat oven to about 230°C. Grease the sides and bottoms of ramekins with butter, then dust with cocoa powder.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat (no need to use double boiler). Stir frequently.

Once it’s melted, set aside to let it cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks. Then add in powdered sugar, melted chocolate mixture and flour, and beat until well-blended.

Spoon the batter into the ramekins. If you don’t wanna bake them straight away, cover them with cling film and put in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, place them on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes (add 1-3 minutes more if you keep them in refrigerator). Let stand for 3 minutes. Run a thin knife along the sides of the cake to loosen it. Place a plate upside down over each ramekin and turn them over.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream and topped with hazelnut.

The rich chocolatey flavor with a molten river of dark chocolate oozing from the center is to die for!

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

Bare Skin Day

August 1, 2011 By thepinkstilettos Leave a Comment

It’s every woman’s dream to have crystal clear skin. Skin that is so clear, you don’t have to hide under makeup.

Yes I love makeup and it’s fun to experiment with different looks. But there are times when I just want to go “bare”. Besides, wearing too much makeup is not good for the skin. I mean, have you seen Hollywood actresses with and without makeup on? Some look so different, don’t they? Almost unrecognizable!

I don’t want to depend too much on makeup to make me look good. I was never a fan of heavy makeup anyways which is why I usually opt for light to medium coverage. When you wear makeup, you don’t just cover your skin. You actually cover your natural beauty as well.

Tang Wei, a Renowned Asian Actress who is also an SK-II user of 1 year said, “Skin that looks good without makeup – that, I believe, is what makes a woman truly beautiful”.

I totally agree. Even guys prefer natural beauty in women than made-up beauty, no?
(My husband does!)

Anyway, currently there’s a “bare skin day” campaign by SK-II. The aim of this campaign is to celebrate true beauty in women and I’m showing my support by wearing almost no make up for one whole day during my girls’ day out with my friend the other day.

The only makeup I had on my face were tinted moisturizer and mascara

(baby powder and lip balm don’t count as makeup right?)

I usually can’t leave the house without eyeliner, but not that day.
I’m baring it all!

Even my friend was wearing very little makeup.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to shopping malls with almost no makeup before. That was my first time! It felt a bit awkward at first. My skin felt so… bare. I was a little conscious of how I looked like without makeup, but not for long. It actually turned out great. I didn’t have to keep on checking myself in the mirror for any makeup smudges; I didn’t even need to touch up or anything. I could eat and shop freely without worrying about my makeup!

And best of all, I could get ready in just 30 minutes!

You can take your own pledge to bare your true skin too, just for a day, and who knows you could win an SK-II product that could transform your skin to crystal clear! Just so you know, only SK-II products contain Pitera^TM – a miracle ingredient that improves all 5 dimensions of skin which includes firmness, wrinkle resilience, refined texture, spots control and radiance.

There was an observation made in a sake brewery in Japan, somewhere in the mid 1970′s. The workers had extraordinarily soft and youthful hands, even the elderly ones. Turned out that the workers’ hands were constantly in contact with a liquid produced during the sake fermentation process and scientists concluded there was “something” in the fermented liquid that had amazing power to renew and nurture skin. That “something” is Pitera^TM!

Pitera^TM is a concentrated liquid that’s rich in vitamins, organic and amino acids, and minerals. Its combination of nutrients is similar to that found in healthy, new skin. I was surprised to find out that Pitera^TM brings so many benefits to skin. It helps moderate the natural functions of skin, replenishes skin’s moisture, smoothes skin surface texture, helps to make skin crystal clear, soothes sunburned skin, balances skin’s pH and achieves a good balance of sebum. No wonder the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence is called “Miracle Water”!

On top of that, the natural bio-ingredient with more than 50 micro-nutrients seemed to protect against stress and damage that we encounter daily. I’ve heard a lot of great reviews about this product and now I feel like adding the “Miracle Water” back to my daily facial routine, especially because of this promotion:

This Pitera^TMEssence Set includes a Facial Treatment Essence 75ml, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion 40ml and 1 pc Facial Treatment Mask. It’s a great starter kit and it’s available at all SK-II counters.

I’ve shown my support for this campaign, now it’s your turn! You can do your own pledge to bare your skin for a day and submit your entry here. The 20 (yes, TWENTY) best entries will win an SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (150ml) a.k.a the “Miracle Water” worth RM359. C’mon ladies, let’s show off your natural beauty!

Filed Under: Advertorials, Beauty/Skincare

Yummy Diaper Cakes

August 1, 2011 By thepinkstilettos Leave a Comment

I’ve been seeing a lot of tweets about Diaper Cakes from some of my fellow Twitter friends lately and was curious. Can you believe that I, a mother of 2, have never ever heard of Diaper Cakes before? Sheesh. It’s like the new cake craze! Or at least, it’s new to me.

So I happened to come across one of the many Diaper Cake bakers, ShilaShower. Oh my, her Diaper Cakes are all so darn cute! I WANT ONE. No one has ever given Diaper Cakes to me and my babies. Some friends I have, huh. Haha (Kidding guys. I love you!).

Or wait, maybe they too, have never heard of Diaper Cakes.

Diaper Cake is basically like a mini hamper for mothers-to-be. It’s stacked up with diapers and other baby items such as clothing, shoes, toys, etc. Milkadeal and ShilaShower were kind enough to give one to me. Yay!

Comel tak? Comel kan!

Each of her Diaper Cake contains Huggies diapers, receiving blanket, romper, bib, wash cloth,
shoes, socks, book, Lamaze plush toy and baby rattle, adorned with premium ribbons.

It’s a yummy treat for lil one!

A touch of sweetness, a sprinkle of care, a dash of cuteness and dallops and dallops of love – these Diaper Cakes would make a wonderful gift for baby showers, Aqiqah and even birthdays.

ShilaShower’s Diaper Cake is having a promotion on Milkadeal at the moment. For a very limited time only, you can get her Diaper Cake for only RM150 instead of RM250! If you have a friend or family member who’s expecting a baby and you don’t know what to give, get her this! It’d be the perfect gift, I promise.

You can purchase it here by the way.
Hurry, the deal is about to end!

Filed Under: Mommyhood & Parenting

Breastfeeding and fasting

August 1, 2011 By thepinkstilettos Leave a Comment

I’m trying to be all positive about fasting and breastfeeding, but I can’t help feeling a little worried especially because I noticed a sudden drop in my milk supply when I ganti-ed puasa a couple of weeks ago. Alhamdulillah, I didn’t feel dizzy or rasa nak pitam but I did feel extremely tired. Tapi itu pun pukul 4 ke atas so that’s quite normal right?

I did a little bit of research and found out that fasting DOES NOT decrease milk supply. Dehydration does. Signs of dehydration include feeling very thirsty, passing urine that’s dark-colored or strong-smelling, feeling faint, weak or tired, and headache or other pains.

Here are some excerpts taken from kellymom.com:

“Breastfeeding research tells us that short-term fasting (not eating) will not decrease milk supply, but that severe dehydration can decrease milk supply. Fasting does affect the biochemical/nutrient content of breastmilk to a certain extent.

The breastfeeding woman’s body appears to make several metabolic adaptations during short-term fasting to ensure that milk production is not affected.

Muslim women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may be exempt from fasting if they feel that their health or the baby’s health would be negatively affected by the fasting. The mother may be expected to compensate for the missed fasting at a later time or pay some expiation for not fasting. Consult a scholar or a book of fiqh to determine the appropriate guidelines.”

I took lotsa fluid for sahur today, by the way. I drank Herbalife shake with oats and banana, ate 2 biji kurma, drank a cup of hot Milkmaid tea and 2 glasses of plain water. I hope I can puasa penuh this year, insha-Allah.

Anyway, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim readers and friends happy Ramadhan Al-Mubarak. May Allah give us strength and great health to perform our duties during this fasting month, especially to pregnant and breastfeeding moms!

Filed Under: Mommyhood & Parenting