Lemon Coconut Cupcakes

I've been really busy with so many things lately - work, chores, errands, other hobbies, salsa classes, family, friends, home improvement projects...
Goodness, and I don't even have kids yet!  How do those working moms do it??

So, this is gonna be a real quick post to share with you a new recipe I tried recently. I was looking for cream cheese frosting recipes and chanced upon one that used whipped cream instead of butter!



Now, doesn't that sound nice?  No butter :) 

But before I dive into the recipe, I just wanted to digress for a moment so I can abuse this blog and brag a bit about the cushion covers I designed myself and just finished knitting :)

I bought the yarn on my New Zealand holiday 2 years ago. Yes, 2 long years! I have a (bad) habit of hoarding long lists of "To Do" projects. Please console me and tell me I'm not the only one with this terrible habit?

Alright, ok, my 5 seconds of bragging is over. Now back to the recipe...

LEMON COCONUT CUPCAKES

Makes about 20 mini cupcakes.

80g butter
95g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tbs lemon juice
100ml milk
130g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder, sifted with flour
60g grated coconut

Cream butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.
Gradually add eggs and extracts, and mix till thoroughly combined.
Add lemon juice and milk and mix well.
Mix in flour and baking powder on low speed till just combined.
Then fold in grated coconut till evenly distributed.
Fill baking cups till about 80% full.
Bake at 150*C for 15-18 min till done.
Cool completely before frosting.


CREAM CHEESE WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING
Makes more than enough for 20 mini cupcakes.

100g cream cheese, softened
80g caster sugar (more or less according to preference)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract (optional)
yellow food colouring (optional)
180ml whipping cream

Combine cream cheese, half of the sugar, extracts and colouring.
Whisk or cream until smooth. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk whipping cream and the remaining half sugar until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese till evenly combined.
Transfer to a piping bag attached with your preferred piping tip and decorate your cupcakes!  


Note: 
The frosting was a little weepy in the hot and humid climate I live in. So next time, I'll try adding a little gelatin into the frosting to see if it'll help stabilise the frosting. Will post the results when I try this again. 

These little cuppies were made specially for a gathering with a group of fellow baking enthusiasts who were such fun company and so generous (aka way too much food). Hope you ladies and gents enjoyed it :)

I may not have time to post the food porn from the gathering, but I don't want you to miss out on the titillating images, so please head over to their blogs to check out the X-rated photos  :)

Passionate About Baking - Grilled Vege Frittata, Creamy Prawn & Mushroom Canapes
Dreamersloft - Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Precious Moments - Banana Sherbet, Coffee Ice Cream

Peng's Kitchen - Cherry Cake
All That Matters - Puff Biscuits, Chicken Stew
Honey Bee Sweets - Chicken Kebabs
Travelling Foodies - Ikan Gerang Assam, Durian Apam Balik, Macaron Roselle
@kokken - Ngoh Hiang
Wen's Delight - Korean Rice Rolls
Baking Library - Chicken Pies
I Love. I Cook. I Bake. - Steamed Pandan Brownies, Chocolate Pudding
Annielicious Food - Tiramisu

Chiffon Cheesecake with Hershey's Syrup Swirls

It's been a long time since I had chiffon cheesecake, better known as Japanese cheesecake to some. Many of you would already be familiar with this, so it needs no introduction.

For a little bit of fun, I added some Hershey's Syrup into some batter and marbled it on the top. While the visual effect was quite nice, I didn't quite taste enough Hershey's. More next time!!!


CHIFFON CHEESECAKE 
with Hershey's Syrup Swirls
Makes a 6x9" cake.

20g butter
115g cream cheese
45ml milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tbs lemon juice
30g cake or plain flour
10g corn flour
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
65g caster sugar
60ml Hershey's syrup

Melt butter, cheese and milk over a water bath. (Or just stick it in the microwave in 10-second shots, stirring in between till you get a smooth mixture.)
Set aside to cool.

Add egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon juice and stir till well combined.
Combine the flours, then sift it into the mixture and stir till well combined. 

In a clean mixing bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar.
Whisk till soft peaks form.

Pour egg whites into cheese mixture and fold gently (preferably with a balloon whisk) till no whites streaks are visible.

Pour batter into a greased and lined baking tin, saving just about 1/2 cup (120ml) of batter. Add Hershey's syrup into the remaining batter and stir gently will well combined. Randomly dot the top with the Hershey's mixture, then use a chopstick to create swirls.

Bake at 160*C in a water bath for 45-50 min till a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top has browned nicely.

Best to slice the cake when chilled so that there are less crumbs.

Mini Oreo Cupcakes

I've been wanting to bake Oreo cupcakes for a while. And I finally got down to it some weeks ago.

You can use any Oreo flavour you like, but I think the classic flavour is still the best :)


You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but these are really small and cute! Each cupcake is only about 3cm in diameter. They're just too cute!! (If you're wondering, these cupcake liners are from Phoon Huat. Look for item code 13189.)

OREO CUPCAKES

Makes about 20 mini cupcakes.

80g butter
90g sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml whipping cream
130g plain flour
5g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 Oreos, filling scraped off and set aside, biscuits crushed

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Set aside. 
Beat butter and sugar till fluffy.
Add Oreo filling, eggs and vanilla extract and beat till well combined.
Add whipping cream and beat till well combined.
Add flour mixture and briefly beat till just combined.
Gently fold in crushed Oreos. (The Oreos can be roughly smashed into chunky bits, which will give a nice texture to the cupcake. But if you prefer a more refined texture, then finely crush them.)

Spoon into paper liners and bake at 160*C for 12-15 min. (Regular sized cupcakes will take 15-20 min.)
Cool completely before frosting.

 

For the frosting, I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Recipe can be found here. 

For the toppings, I used crushed Oreos, desiccated coconut, chocolate rice and rainbow sprinkles.

Tiramisu, the batter baker way

I promise you, this tastes a lot better than it looks.
My photography skills are horrible (thankfully my food-making skills are a little better), so do give this recipe a chance.

I absolutely love love love tiramisu - the soft moist cake with layers of melt-in-your-mouth mascarpone is just heaven in a bite!

Well, actually, you don't even have to bite. This tiramisu just melts in your mouth! 

When I tasted my first tiramisu (at the grand old age of 17 - oops, underaged alcohol consumption... shhh), I had the impression that it would be difficult to make, just because it was such a delicious dessert.  So when I was told it was super easy and didn't even require baking, I was thrilled!!

After trying out a few recipes, I've finally come up with my own variation. It's largely based on Giada de Laurentiis' recipe, but with a small but significant tweak, that made all the difference to me.


TIRAMISU, the batter baker way
Makes a 6x6" cake.

Sponge layers:
1 pack instant coffee
1 tsp cocoa powder
180ml hot water
1 tbs dark rum (or you can use kahlua or bailey's)
18 pcs savaiordi (sponge fingers)

Mascarpone layers:
3 egg whites
2 tbs caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
250g mascarpone cheese
3 egg yolks
2 tbs caster sugar 

cocoa powder
chocolate curls


Combine all the ingredients for the sponge layers (except the fingers).  Set aside to cool while you prepare the mascarpone mixture.

Combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a clean oil-free bowl.
Whisk till peaks are stiff. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine cheese, egg yolks and sugar.
Mix till well combined and creamy.
Fold meringue (stiff egg whites) into the cheese mixture till well combined.

To assemble the tiramisu, dip a sponge finger for just 1 second into the coffee mixture. Place in your serving dish and repeat till you get a single layer of sponge fingers.

Scoop half of the cheese mixture onto the sponge fingers and spread evenly.
Sprinkle with cocoa powder, as much as you like.

Repeat with sponge fingers, cheese mixture and cocoa powder.
Finally, scatter chocolate curls on top and lightly press into the cheese.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.


Hope you like this variation of tiramisu. 
Give it a try and let me know what you think!

* * * * * * *

Avocado Ice Pops

Maybe you love avocado.
Or maybe you loathe avocado. 

It's an acquired taste. 
Like cheese. (I love!) 
And durian. (I loathe.) 

For avo-lovers, here's a cool recipe for you. (No pun intended.)


AVOCADO ICE POPS
Makes 4 creamy ice pops.

1-1/2 avocados
2-3 tbs gula melaka, melted (or use honey if you don't have gula melaka)
water
1-2 tbs lime or lemon juice (optional)

Place avocado (skin and seed removed, of course), gula melaka and lime juice into a measuring cup.

Add water till it reaches the 480ml mark. (If you're wondering, I used popsicle moulds from Daiso. Adjust recipe according to your mould. Proportion doesn't have to be precise. Use more avocado if you're a die-hard avo fan or for a creamier ice pop.)

Transfer everything into a blender and blitz away till smooth. (I like my ice pops smooth and creamy. But if you like some chucky avo bits in your pops, stop blitzing when the mixture is to your liking.)

Pour into popsicle moulds and freeze for at least 4 hours or till set.

* * * * *

Now that you've made your avo-pops, what are you gonna do with the remaining half avocado??

Make a tunavomato sandwich!!

A what??

A tuna-avocado-tomato sandwich.
Yup! I like to call it a tunavomato sandwich  :)
It's the best breakfast sandwich ever!  Trust me. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Minicakes

Did you know that you could freeze bananas?  

Yes, indeed you can. 

You may not want to eat it plain once it's thawed out, but it's perfectly fine for smoothies and cakes. After all, the bananas will be all mashed up. 

So the next time you have over-ripe bananas at home, don't throw them out! Save them in the freezer for a yummy, healthy bake!

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MINICAKES

Makes about 8 minicakes.

1 egg

20g brown sugar + 40g white sugar  (or just 60g white sugar)

2 tbs maple syrup (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

80ml oil 

200g mashed bananas (about 2 med sized bananas) 
125g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
30g chocolate chips, more or less as you desire

Beat egg and sugars till light and creamy.
Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, oil and mashed bananas and beat till well combined.
In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder and baking soda, and give a quick whisk. 

Fold in flours and chocolate chips into the wet ingredients until no traces of flour remain. 

Spoon into cupcake liners.
Bake at 160*C for 18-20 min till done. 

Enjoy warm! 

Wholemeal Flax Seed Bread

I'm so thrilled that I've finally found an idiot-proof bread recipe.
The best part of this recipe is that it takes only about 2.5 hours from start to finish. Certainly do-able for a weekday night.

This recipe is so versatile.
You can make plain white bread, wholemeal bread, fruit and nut bread, dinner rolls, sardine buns, tuna buns, cheese buns... you get the idea.
It's super soft, fluffy and moist and so tasty that it's good enough to eat on its own!

This is gonna be my holy grail go-to recipe for bread from now on.
Just look at that crumb!!

WHOLEMEAL FLAX SEED BREAD

125g milk, lukewarm
35g Sugar 
1.5 tsp instant yeast 
10g milk powder 
260g flour (use any combination of flour you desire; for this recipe, I used 40g wholemeal flour, 20g flax seed, 100g plain flour, 100g bread flour)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 egg
60g unsalted butter, softened

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
Using the hook attachment, run your mixer for about 15 min till you get a smooth tacky dough. 
Cover with a damp tea towel and proof for 45 mins. 

Punch dough down. Let it rest for about 10 min. 
Shape the dough into a log to fit a 8x4" loaf pan. 
Grease the loaf pan before placing the dough in it. 
Let it proof for another 45 mins.


Bake at 200*C for 30-35 mins, tenting till the last 2 min of baking.  
Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. 
Slice only when bread has completely cooled.