Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting

There I did it again!I ditched my poor blog once again!!Uninspired, distracted and in an off mood,the reasons are many and I better not get into all that.... Not that I've found my inspiration back,but I fought my mood swings and decided to write another post, just to feed my starving blog and to keep it alive!!!

I had made these yummy cupcakes a while ago for my daughter's friend when she went over for a play date.The cupcakes are definitely the best I've had and I've been baking it over and over since I found it on The Little Teochew (A lovely blog that I blindly trust).They are fuss free,soft and has the perfect crumb!They burst with the freshness of vanilla which makes them simply out of the world!!(make sure you use pure vanilla extract)

So that's it for now.No blah blah's for once.But do give these cupcakes a try sometime.Never again will you go for a store bought cupcake.Never ever!

VANILLA CUPCAKES(adapted from  The Little Teochew)

155 gms plain flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt(omit if using salted butter)
113 gms(1 stick butter softened)
170 gms castor sugar
2 large eggs(at room temperature)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
Line a muffin tray with paper liners.
Sieve flour with baking powder and salt.
Cream butter until smooth.
Add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy(3 minutes).
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla and combine.
Carefully fold in the flour in three additions alternating with milk in two additions,starting and ending with flour.Do not overbeat.
Spoon the batter into muffin trays filling each about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cupcake domes are slightly golden brown.
Keep in tray for 15 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate frosting

3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Method:

Melt butter.
Add sugar and cocoa(lumps removed if any)and stir till well combined.
Add cream and stir till smooth and creamy but not boiling.
Take off from flame and add vanilla and salt and mix.
Set aside to cool.

How to frost cupcakes:

Dip the cupcakes upside down into the frosting.
Let the excess drip off.
Turn the cupcake and arrange on a tray and allow to set.

Cherry slices

Oh Monica,if you ever happen to view this post you can be sure I'm running for cover,hiding my face and sliding under the blanket....because this is so not what you meant it to be!Your recipe was for a chewy bar and what I got was a spongy cake!But you said they would be pretty and pretty they were!So darn pretty that I couldn't help blogging about it!

Ever since I saw these strikingly red beauties posted by Monica a while ago,I've been dying to bake some.And finally when I did get the things ready,I found that I didn't have a sheet pan big enough.So I baked it in a rectangular cake pan(smaller than the size mentioned) and hence the batter baked into a cake....a hot and sexy one!!And it made my heart burst forth into a song...(Ooh la la..Ooh la la from the Dirty picture)
And if you ever want to try this out,you might want to have a look at Monica's blog because that is what the original recipe intends it to be.But,then you won't be baking anything at all because you'll spend the rest of your day just drooling over her incredibly gorgeous recipes and clicks....It is a highly addictive blog so proceed with caution!
And in case you don't have a big enough sheet pan or you are more in a mood for a piece of cake,then just bake yours in a cake pan and you'll get what I got...Ooh la la..Ooh la la...

I'm sending this to the 'Be my valentine' recipe challenge at Very good recipes.com

Be My Valentine Challenge

on Very Good Recipes

Also linking it to Cakes,Cookies and Desserts event at Spice and Sugar tales.


CHERRY SLICES

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter(at room temperature)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 larges eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can cherry pie filling

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 9*12 inch cake pan(the original recipe uses 11x17-inch rimmed baking sheet).
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed until well blended.
Add the vanilla and beat.
Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, and beat until smooth.
Reserve 1 cup of the batter.
Spread the remaining batter in the cake pan.
Spoon the cherry pie filling over the top.
Drop the reserved cup of batter by teaspoonfuls,here and there,over the pie filling like uneven dumplings.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the batter begins to turn golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing.
Enjoy....Ooh la la..Ooh la la!!

Lemon butter cake

'The little Teochew' is my new favorite food blog... Ju,a brilliant cook and a yummy mummy of three, shares her awesome recipes along with some incredible clicks that make you drool right into your keyboard!On a scale of 1 to 10,I would give her an eleven!!
My search results for a good butter cake,led me to her 'orange butter cake' recipe and when I substituted orange zest with lemon zest,I got a 'lemon butter cake'.And it was delightful!Rich,moist and buttery,the cake had a lovely golden crust and the perfect,tight crumb!And the lemony hint was not too overpowering...just right to give the cake a freshness and a gentle lift.Even my daughter who dislikes anything but chocolate and vanilla in her cakes,gave it a thumbs up!
I had plans of adding a lemon glaze,but finally decided against it...Sometimes life calls for a piece of plain ol' butter cake...

LEMON BUTTER CAKE

- 195g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 170g butter, softened
- 225g sugar
- 1 large egg, plus one large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp lemon zest(I used the zest from 2 large lemons)
- 17 tbsp whole milk (The original recipe uses only 12 tbsp,but I found the batter too thick and added 5 more)

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degree c.Grease a 9" round cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy for about about 2 minutes.
Beat in lemon zest, then egg and egg yolk. If the mixture curdles, just add 1 tbsp of flour and continue mixing.
On low speed, add flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk.
Beat for 10 to 15 seconds on medium speed, just until batter appears uniform. The batter should look thick and creamy.
Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with spatula or knife.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until it forms a golden crust and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let to rest in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Allow cake to completely cool before slicing.

Cinnamon and brown butter breakfast muffins

Cinnamon is my new favorite spice.In fact,I'm so obsessed with it that I crave for something 'cinnamony' every now and then and I cannot take my mind off it,until I get a bite.And no...I'm not pregnant.But I'm still nursing my toddler and I need my nutrients!So most of the days my poor hubby has to stop by 'Cinnabon' on his way back from work to buy his wife some lovely cinnamon rolls.See what a sweet hubby I've got...The best in the world!
The other day as I was browsing through my favorite blogs,I was smitten by these muffins at the Smitten kitchen.And I had this sudden urge to bake some.The dishes were piled up in the kitchen sink and the laundry had to be done.But all that could wait.... this couldn't!I simply had to bake some.It was an emergency!!
So off went a batch into the oven.Quick and easy to put together,these muffins are a lovely addition to the breakfast table.The nuttiness of the brown butter and the subtle twist of the cinnamon blends together perfectly.

They did puff up beautifully......

CINNAMON BROWN BUTTER BREAKFAST MUFFINS(makes 12 standard sized muffins)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon(My addition.Not in the original recipe.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F/180C.Grease or line a muffin tray with paper liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and ground cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.
Beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Mix in 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of buttermilk, repeating again and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix only until combined.
Spoon into muffin cups, filling only 3/4 of the cups.Take care not to overfill.
Bake muffins for 20 to 25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Keep them in the tray for 5 minutes and then transfer them in to a wire rack.

While the muffins are still in the oven,prepare the brown butter and the cinnamon sugar.

BROWN BUTTER,CINNAMON SUGAR COATING

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Method:
In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat,stirring frequently, until brown bits form on the bottom and it gives a warm,nutty smell.
Immediately remove from heat and set aside.
Combine 2/3 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

TO COAT MUFFINS:

As soon as the muffins are cool enough to touch,take each muffin and roll the top and upper edges in the browned butter.Do not neglect the wonderful brown bits at the bottom of the pan.
Let any excess butter drip off.
Gently roll in cinnamon-sugar.
Arrange on a tray and serve warm.

Chocolate sour cream cake with chocolate sour cream frosting

This is from Monica's lovely blog.I love all her recipes and this one is definitely a keeper!A rich,dark,moist and decadent chocolate cake!The frosting(it uses sour cream) is from a different recipe in the same blog.I wanted to use my leftover sour cream before expiry.I however had to add more icing sugar to the frosting to convert it from the pourable to the spreadable consistency! But as she said,any frosting works well with this cake or it can be enjoyed plain as well.Go on and give it a try..Its awesome!

Linking this to Cakes,Cookies and Desserts event at Spice and Sugar Tales

Chocolate sour cream cake
(This recipe makes a really huge cake.I halved the recipe)

* 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
* 3 cups light brown sugar, packed
* 4 eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 cups sifted cake flour
* 1 1/3 cups sour cream
* 1 1/2 cups hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 3 circles of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the bottoms of the pans, then press them in.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin.

Pour into the prepared pans and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay), about 35 minutes. Halfway through the baking, quickly rotate the pans in the oven to ensure even baking, but otherwise try not to open the oven.

Let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate sour cream frosting

* 12 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped
* 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
* 2 tbsp light corn syrup
* ¼ cup half-and-half at room temperature
* ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

Melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the half-and-half and sour cream. Use while still soft.

NOTE: This was too soft for me so I added icing sugar until I got the consistency right.

Butter cookies....The best ever!

Oh...these cookies!How can I ever give a description?Maybe I should say t'was "love at first bite!"

The crispy outside gives way to the utterly crumbly,buttery,melt in your mouth goodness within....And before you even know...they're gone!And believe me,you CANNOT stop at 1 or 2 or 3....you simply have to gorge on a whole batch at one go and it will be too late when you realise that you've almost devoured a whole slab of butter!What a grave sin....And you're not even sorry!!
So pull yourselves up ladies.Make them and your husbands will want to marry you again and your children will never want to get married and leave you....Okay...I went too far here;Just make them and you'll never regret!

BUTTER COOKIES(makes about 50 bite sized cookies)

1 c Salted butter(good quality,softened)
3/4 c sugar(fine,granulated)
1 large egg(separated)
2 c All purpose flour
11/2 tsp flavoring (I prefer vanilla)

Method
Preheat oven to 350 f/180 c.
Beat butter and sugar until well combined.
Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat again.
Add flour(in three batches)and beat until just combined.
Scoop out teaspoons of the dough and roll into balls.
Place them on a cookie sheet(a few cms apart).
Bake them for 16 minutes.Each oven is different.So keep watch.The cookies are best when the bottom just starts to brown.
When done,take them out and keep them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before you carefully transfer them with a spatula onto a cooling rack.
Wait for cookies to cool completely else they wont be crisp.
Enjoy!

For a variation,after you roll them,make a small dent on the top with your finger.Drop a little of your favorite jam into the dent and bake till done!

CREAM CAKE

It has been quite a while since i updated my blog.Well,the little girl had her holidays and her mother gladly joined her.We took off to Amma's place in Kerala for a fortnight.And once there, as always,I transformed into a lazy,sleepy,pig....doing nothing but eating and sleeping and eating again!!
Well,everything shall come to pass and so did the vacation.As I was unpacking,I came upon this little piece of paper in which I had written down a recipe,rated by Amma as "very good".It was handed down to her by her co-sister,Latha and I decided to give it a try.The cake is made using fresh cream and my freezer was overflowing with it.Finally I made it yesterday and I didnt even have to cut the cake.It was so soft and moist and creamy that it was gone in seconds.A must try!!Here goes the recipe....

CREAM CAKE

CREAM-1 CUP
GRANULATED SUGAR-1 CUP
FLOUR-1 CUP
EGGS-3(SEPERATED)
BAKING POWDER-3/4 TSP
VANILLA ESSENCE-1 TSP

METHOD
Beat egg whites stiff.Add sugar and beat well.Add beaten egg yolks and vanilla essence and beat again.Carefully fold in the flour(sifted with baking powder)alternately with fresh cream.Bake in a greased pan till done.

The cake doesnt stay fresh for long and has to be finished on the same day.

EASIEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER!!!

During high school days,I remember going through my mother's recipe books for something easy to make, when my eyes fell on the"NEVER FAIL CAKE".Without a second thought I decided to try it ,but it was an utter failure.I blamed it on the stale baking powder and made up my mind to give it another try the next day.But maybe the kitchen God was on a holiday or something because the outcome was disastrous once again.Frustrated but not willing to accept defeat,I tried again,desperate to get it right.But history repeated itself.In revenge,I grabbed Amma's recipe book and cut off the 'N' from the "NEVER FAIL CAKE" .That made it an "EVER FAIL CAKE".And thats how it stands to this very day!!!

But dont worry coz' thats not the recipe I'm going to share.This recipe was given to me by my sister-in -law and it is one of the easiest and best chocolate cake ever!The cake looks and tastes awesome and is great for beginners too as there are no confusions and complications.A very straightforward cake with a rich colour,texture and flavour.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Maida-2 cups

Butter-1/2 cup

Baking soda-1.5tsp

Cocoa-2/3 cup

Eggs-2

Powdered sugar-1.5 cups

Vanilla essence-1.5 tsp

Curd-3/4 cup

Milk-1/2 cup

Method

Seive flour and baking soda.Put the ingredients one on top of another starting with flour and ending with milk.Beat in medium speed for 3 minutes and on high for 30 seconds.Bake at 180 for 30 minutes or till done.

For the frosting

Icing sugar-2 cups

Cocoa-3 tbsp

Butter-5 tbsp

Vanilla essence-1 tsp

Milk-1/3 cup(or as needed)

Method

Seive icing sugar and cocoa thrice.In a saucepan,melt butter,add icing sugar and cocoa mixture and vanilla essence.Blend together well and add enough milk to get the desired consistancy.Off flame,cool on ice stirring continuously and pour over cool cake.

LITTLE TARTS OF JOY!!!

The pictures of the little jam tartlets in Deeba's blog had been in my mind all week.They looked easy and perfect for a birthday tea party.I had some leftover pie pastry in the fridge and decided to put them to best use(good riddance to bad rubbish!!!).And since I had the dough already,it wasn't any hardwork at all.....Melted some mixed fruit jam in the microwave,rolled out and baked the pastry into tiny tartlets , spooned some jam into each one and lo....the wonderful looking little cutie-pies were ready for the table!And what a joy to eat!!!


TARTS OF JOY

For the crust(Makes 25-30 tartlets)


Maida- 115gms
Butter(chilled and cut into cubes)-60 gms
Castor sugar to taste
Baking powder-a pinch
Beaten egg-1
Ice cold water if required

For the filling

Mixed fruit jam-about 1/2 cup
Water-3-4 tsps

Method

Seive flour,baking powder and salt.Add enough castor sugar.
Rub in fat with your fingers.Do not use much force.Finally the mixture should resemble bread crumbs.
Add little by little of the beaten egg and keep mixing to form a dough.Use only enough egg.If you feel the mixture is dry, sprinkle ice cold water and mix.
Bring the dough together to form a ball without using much force. Slightly flatten the dough,cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.This makes it easy to roll out.
Keep the dough between sheets of grease proof paper and roll out 1cm thick.
Cut into small tartlets using a cookie cutter and place in greased tart cases with weight(i used dried beans)so that it doesnt rise.
Bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes or till light brown.Take out when ready and cool on a wire rack.
Melt jam with water for a few seconds in a microwave and spoon into tartlets.