Mushy Gushy Lovey Dovey!

Warning! Mushy-gushy, lovey-dovey stuff ahead! 

It's Valentine's eve and it's hub's birthday and it's extra special this year because the 15th day of Chinese New Year which is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day falls on Valentine's Day!   So, it's hard not to be all lovey-dovey with a double shower of love :)) I read that it only happens once in 22 years.  

We don't really celebrate Valentine's but it never passes by unnoticed since it falls on the day after hub's birthday.

Happy Birthday, hubs! Had to make do with cupcakes as we have been facing water disruption for the 5th day now.  Terrible horrible it is!   We have not had a decent homemade meal since.   Decided to go with this One Bowl Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake after contemplating whether to buy one, after all it's just one (well, 3 actually for me) that requires washing when the job is done.

It really is a pretty simple recipe, this is my second time making it. Most of the time i do without frostings (don't really fancy it and the other reason being i am pretty bad at it) but since it's for a special occasion i gave it an attempt.  I followed this Pierre Herme salted caramel frosting that was recommended by Janine of Un Pastiche. It tasted  quite unique with some saltiness cutting across the overall sweetness from the buttercream and cake.

Mushiness overload with heart shaped sprinkles, red ribbons and a decorated fork to melt my sweetheart! 

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends out there! 

Recipe

Chocolate cupcakes - Here 

Salted caramel sauce - Un Pastiche who adapted from Pierre Herme (1/3 of original recipe)

• 50g sugar
• 55g heavy cream
• 10g unsalted butter
• 3g sea salt (best if you have fleur de del)

 Frosting- Un Pastiche 

• 125g unsalted butter
• 110g icing sugar
• 25g salted caramel sauce

Instructions

Salted caramel sauce: 

1. Heat sugar in a deep saucepan (preferably stainless steel or light coloured pot so that you can see the colour change) and allow it to caramelize.
2. When the sugar turns brown, remove from heat and add butter.
3. Add cream and be careful of any splatters.  If the cream is at room temperature, it will not splatter as much. 
4. Put the saucepan back onto the heat and cook until it reaches about 108°C on a candy thermometer.  Recommendation from Janine : If this is your first time making caramel, I would recommend the use of a candy thermometer for accuracy. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, it is the “thread” stage, which means that the caramel will form thin threads in cold water and it’s the stage right before the caramel darkens quite dramatically. Once you reach 108°C, remove the pan from heat and allow it to cool. 
5. Add in the sea salt, and mix until it is completely dissolved. The sauce must be completely cool before you make the frosting.

Frosting: 

1. Ensure unsalted butter is at room temperature. In a large mixing bowl, beat the unsalted butter until light and fluffy. 
2. Add in the sifted icing sugar all at once. Continue beating until all the icing sugar is well incorporated and the butter becomes slightly more ‘stiff’. 
3. Add in the cooled salted caramel sauce, and continue beating until well incorporated. Scoop the frosting into a prepared piping bag. If the frosting feels ‘soft’, refrigerate for about 20 minutes before using. Pipe as desired onto the chocolate cupcakes. 
4. Drizzle some salted caramel sauce on top of the frosted cupcakes if desired.

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Slowly but Surely

Again, I have been playing the disappearing act for quite some time, can't help it magic seems to be one hot topic being talked about on home ground now.   For those who have been following stories on the 13th Malaysian General Election, you would know what i meant :)  Jokes aside,  my apologies for the absence.  Although personally I am disappointed with the results but judging from the voice of the people who are standing in unity for a better nation in a way I would never have imagined, I believe  there is hope still, we will get there, slowly but surely just like this post of mine :)

This story has been in the baking for quite sometime now...

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was looking for something simple to bake one evening.   Something that would be fast and easy and preferably a small recipe so that I don't need to do any downsizing.   Then i recalled Aspiring Bakers had a Cupcakes theme some time back.  These 2 words, One Bowl and Ultimate spoke to me while i was scrolling through all the lovely cupcakes.   The roundup for these events as really helpful when in need of inspirations, it's like a treasure chest out there waiting to be discovered. 

Thanks to Janine of Not the Kitchen Sink (now known as Un Pastiche) who shared this recipe for the event.  Janine rated this as one of the top three out of the many chocolate cupcake recipes that she has tried.  Do check out Janine's blog for a detail review of the recipe.  From there I also got to know that this recipe by Angela Nilsen was published on BBC Good Food way back in 2007.  It has a 5 star rating and to date there has been over 800 reviews for it.  Now, since the recipe is quite old, I am not sure if many have tried it out.  But for me, the raving reviews and simple steps, was convincing enough to make me give it a try.

It was close to dinner time when they were ready.  I told myself i will just have a tiny weeny bite to taste it.  But holy, i couldn't stop at one! Then came another and the other, I ended up almost finishing the entire thing!  Need I say more???

I didn't have any chocolate bakings bars at home at that time so I used Lindt Creation La Turf chocolate bar instead.  Close to half of a bar went into these cupcakes.    Apart from the excellent recipe, I really believe the chocolate made a difference.  Simply divine, it was so so moist, soft, fragrant, chocolaty creamy!

It really does lift up to its name, ultimate indeed!  Thanks Janine! 

Up close, topped with some chocolate shavings...

Recipe
Source : Spotted on Un Pastiche who  very loosely adapted from BBC Good Food's Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 50g dark chocolate (at least 50% cocoa solids)
• 50g unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 25ml water
• 45g all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 35g soft brown sugar
• 40g fine granulated sugar (reduced to 30g)
• 7g cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 20ml buttermilk (substituted with 18ml milk, 5ml lemon juice)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 160C (I used 170C).
2. Place coffee granules in a large metal bowl over pot of simmering water.  Add in cold water to dissolve coffee granules.  Add in chocolate pieces and butter.   Add in cocoa powder.  Stir gently until everything is melted and well combined.   Allow mixture to cool.
3. Meanwhile combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
4. Stir in buttermilk  into melted chocolate mixture and mix well.  When mixture is still slightly warm, crack in egg and mix well (Make sure it's not hot otherwise egg will cook).
5. Once egg is fully incorporated, add in dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Spoon batter into prepared liners and baked for 20 minutes.

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Sis, I saved you from piling on the pounds...

Birthdays are meant for indulgence, aren't they? Even when it is not yours :)  Made these for  my sister on her birthday but since she's too far away, I had to do the eating for her as well.     

This is really chocolate overload, five to be exact, starting with it being a chocolate cupcake, followed by Andes chocolate baking chips sandwiched into the cake then topped with chocolate rice, M&M baking chips and a whole piece of Andes chocolate.  I feel the pounds even while writing this down! Guilty, but it was down right heavenly if you are a chocolate lover.  Sis, I did you a big favour by piling on the pounds to myself!!

The chips that she sent (which was meant for making some Christmas treats) came at the right time when I was still craving for the Andes chocolate cupcake that I saw at Amelia's just about a week ago.  There was no excuse not to try baking one for myself...oops for my sister, I meant :))

For the cupcake, I followed Amelia's recipe (almost to a T) except that I omitted the peppermint essence and 3 tbsp of Baileys.  The texture looks a bit heavy (unlike Amelia's) but wasn't really so when eaten.  Hmm, I wonder why, lack of moisture perhaps?   It was soft though.

As for the frosting, it was cream cheese as I wanted a contrasting color to make the little extra treats stand out.

Overall, this cupcake coupled with the frosting is just pure indulgence! The piece of Andes and M&Ms chips really topped it all!

Recipe

Cupcake
Source : Amelia's De-ssert

Note : The below is half of the original recipe which yields 6 cupcakes 
Ingredients

• 75g butter
• 100g sugar (originally 110g)
• 1 1/2 eggs
• 113g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 25g cocoa powder
• 125ml warm milk
• Andes mint baking chips

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 185C.
2. Sift flour and bicarbonate of soda twice.
3. Sift cocoa powder and mix with warm milk until well blended.
4. Cream butter and sugar until creamy.  
5. Add in egg and make sure well mix. Do not overbeat.
6. Add in flour and cocoa mixture alternately.  Mix well for every addition.
7. Fill cupcake liners half full.   Add mint baking chips and top with more batter until 3/4 full.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Frosting
Source : Your Cup of Cake
Note : The below is a quarter of the original recipe with some variations

Ingredients

• 60g cream cheese
• 22g butter
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp milk or cream

Steps

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
2. Add sugar and cream, beat well.
3. Pipe cream onto cooled cake and decorate as preferred.

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Say Peace!~Ginger Cupcakes

This post is dedicated to Aspiring Bakers theme for November.  Wanted to take this opportunity to learn something new and hopefully interesting enough to share with others.    I settled for this although I knew this would be something I would like but the boys wouldn't fancy :)  But we deserve to act selfish at least once in awhile, don't we?

I have never tried baking with ginger although I love ginger cookies.   No, not those little men that come marching out around this time of the year but those small round ones with cracks all over them.  I love them with my coffee.  Ginger makes one warm and fuzzy, which I thought would be good at this time of the year, wintery or rainy.

So, I had a go at this one.  Verdict?   Nice, I love the spice in them.  It was soft and moist too.  Although it has 3 forms of ginger in it (ground, fresh and crystallized), I would have preferred it to be more intense, will spike up the amount of ginger powder the next time around.  The other thing that I  I would change is to cut down on the amount of sugar, it was a tad too sweet for me.

Recipe

Seen on Alpine Berry with recipe from Fine Cooking issue #64  
(Half the recipe yielded 12 cupcakes)

• 4 ounces (1 cup + 3 tbsp) sifted cake flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1-inch cube fresh ginger, finely grated (plus any juice) (Took juice only)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Sift together cake flour, ground ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest, grated fresh ginger, and vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. 
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in one-third of the flour mixture. Fold in half of the sour cream. Repeat ending with the last third of the flour mixture. Fold in the chopped crystallized ginger.
5. Fill the cupcake liners approximately three-quarters full. Bake until light golden brown and cupcake springs back when lightly pressed, about 16-20 minutes. 
6. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 ounces Philly cream cheese, softened at room temp.
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
• 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (1/2 cup)

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. 
2. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar. 
3. Continue to beat until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
4. Frost cakes as desired.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes(November 2011) hosted by Min of Min's Blog.

Update : I was pleasantly surprise to see these feature on Cupcakes Take the Cake :)

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Going Bananas

A friend of mum gave her two huge bunches of bananas from their farm. Gifts of these kind are really hard to come by these days, especially for folks like us who are city dwellers. I was in luck as I happened to be back home for a visit, hence got some free homegrown bananas, couldn't have been better timing :) I was told to wrap them with some newspapers to ripen them as they were still green when given. It was only after the third day (after doing daily inspection every morning) that some started to ripen, and it was a gradual process, you get 2 or 3 ripen ones per day. Come to think of it, wonder how did they get those in the markets to ripen so evenly?? At the rate that mine went, I would have some over-ripen ones while some were still green...

Bananas are something that we love in the family. They are so versatile, have them raw, fry them, put them in pancakes, cakes, bread, ice-creams, cereals and the list goes on...

Since it was a huge bunch, it was quite a challenge to finish them before they got too ripe. The last batch was mashed up and turned into banana cupcakes. I was quite happy with how they turned out, don't they look lovely and cheery in the pink stripe cases??

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