Chocobanana cupcakes with peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream

I saw this recipe sometime back and decided I must one day try it.

Chocolate and bananas in a cupcakes, with peanut butter frosting? Crazy combination. I am usually quite resistant to try new cupcakes recipes because they are mostly too sweet and also because I have my stash of favourites by now.

Although I have been baking for a while now, I actually haven't baked a chocolate-banana cupcake. This is really worth a shot as I'm so impressed with the strong aroma the bananas produced.

Adapted from domestic goddesswannabe
Makes ~30-35 mini cupcakes

225g self-raising flour, sifted
25g cocoa powder
220g caster sugar - I used 150g
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature -I used salted
2 eggs
160ml milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 medium (400g) - mine came out to 215g and thats all i had bananas, mashed

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until the mixture turns light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix to combine. Add the mashed bananas and mix to distribute.

Finally, fold in the flour and milk in the sequence flour-milk-flour-milk-flour. - I folded in the flour mixture all at once and mixed in the milk.

Dish the batter into cupcake liners until each is 2/3 full. - I used mini cupcake liners and filled them 2/3 full

Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. -I used a fan forced oven and baked at 160C for 15min

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the baking trays for 10-15 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter smbc

60g egg white (~2 egg whites)
25g caster sugar
140g salted butter, cubed and cold
40g creamy peanut butter

Whisk egg white and sugar over a pot of simmering water till hot to touch.

Removed from heat and whisk till stiff peaks form.

Add in cubed butter one at a time and whisk till fluffy. The mixutre will look curdled at some point but keep whisking till it comes together.

Add in the peanut butter and whisk till well combined.

frost the cooled cupcakes and top with chocolate shavings and crushed peanuts

Crowd pleaser vanilla chocolate ganache cupcakea

Was tasked to Bake some cupcakes for the church Sunday school teacher's day celebration, so I decided to go with the classic flavours. Everyone loves chocolate, right? That's what I think at least.

Vanilla cupcakes (makes 20 mini cupcakes)

100g salted butter, softened
75g sugar
2 eggs
125g self-raising flour
75g milk

1. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow.

2. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat till well combined

3. Stir in flour until just mixed.

4. Add in milk and mix well.

5. Scoop batter till about 2/3 full and bakr in preheated oven of 165C for 12-15min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate ganache

300g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
400g heavy cream

1. Place chopped chocolate and heavy cream in a mixing bowl

2. Place mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk till melted.

3. Leave mixture to cool, and refrigerate till cold and whip to desired consistency.

Assembly

Pipe ganache over cupcake using Wilton 1M piping tip and top with colourful Sprinkles.

Speculoos cupcake with speculoos buttercream

I had this amazing speculoos tart at a friend's son's first birthday party, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I googled almost immediately for a recipe I could possibly replicate and of course, decided a tart would be too tedious. And so, I tried to search for a cupcake recipe instead. Much to my dismay, many recipes call for a vanilla cupcake, holed and filled with a dollop of cookie butter.

And so, I tried to crush a pack of lotus biscuits and add it into my cupcake batter, just like how you would with Oreo cookies. Genius ya? No.. The cupcakes smelled awesome while I made them but the taste was really lacklustre :(

And so, I decided a vanilla cupcake base with a dollop of cookie butter swirled in just like those nutella swirled cupcakes should do the trick :D

Top it off with a cookie butter Swiss meringue buttercream and some crushed speculoos. Yums!

Speculoos cupcake
Makes ~20 mini cupcakes

100g salted butter, softened
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
125g self-raising flour
75g milk
1tsp vanilla extract

Spoonfuls of cookie butter

1. Cream softened butter and sugar till pale yellow.
2. Add in eggs, one by one till full incorporated.
3. Stir in flour and add in milk till well combined.
4. Fill cupcake liners with ~2/3 cupcake batter.
5. Spoon ~1 TSP cookie butter into each cupcake liner and swirl with a toothpick.
6. Bake at preheated oven of 165C for 12-15min. Cupcake is ready when toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Speculoos buttercream

38g egg white (~1 egg white)
20g brown sugar
66g salted butter
40g cookie butter

1. Whisk together egg whites and sugar over a pot of simmering water till sugar is dissolved and egg white mixture is hot to touch

2. Remove from heat and whisk till stiff peaks form

3. Add in cubed butter, a little at a time till it comes together.

4. Whisk in speculoos.

Assembly:

Pipe speculoos buttercream over cupcake and sprinkle some crushed lotus biscuits.

Back with more..than just baking

It's funny how I had drafts from the years I have been absent but they never got posted

Much has been going on as I realise my last post was four years back, FOUR?! really?

Anyhow, I'm back now, married with 2kids. Phew! That's quite a bit in four years, no? Much has been going on in my life and I notice I keep conjuring posts in my head every now and then.

I hope I can get this blog alive again with a new perspective as I blog now just about baking but me as a wife, a mum and teacher to my beautiful kids.

To do this blog justice, I"ll start off with a pandan chiffon post. My first using homemade pandan extract. Very fragrant, natural good stuff!

*Recipe soon to follow*

Off to bed for now!

a bundle of nerves!

I can't believe how long it has been since I neglected this blog. It was close to being banished away forever and ever more. But fear not, I've always still reminded myself of why I started writing initially. Though I have not been trying out new recipes lately, nor have any exciting new baking experiments or techniques to share, I have still honed my baking skills, just in a entirely different aspect.

Well, it's with GREAT pleasure that I title this post "a bundle of nerves" as I calmly and excitedly announce a piece of news which contributed to my long absence. I'M GETTING MARRIED! Yes, you heard me! I'm getting married in just about a month's time and preparation is at its peak where I start fretting over so many details!

Since we're on the topic of weddings, I'd still love to stick to something baking-related. I had a crazy month of May attending THREE weddings, one after another on the first 3 weekends of May. Its with great pleasure, stress and fun that I had the honour to provide cupcakes and a wedding cake for 2 of the weddings. =D

A really cool, classic elegant wedding held at St Andrews Cathedral. I share a pretty long friendship with this friend of mine which dates back to our Secondary school days =)

She chose to have a cupcake tier with a cake right on the top tier. Design is inspired by hello naomi which featured a post on Brides.com here! I enjoyed every moment of decorating the cupcakes as there almost endless design possiblities! 

Really glad that the couple loved it and it was how she envisioned it to be! Congrats to you two lovely peeps! =D 

This pair of really cute funky couple whom I knew from a marriage prep class are one of the nicest, sweetest people I've met. In fact, all the couples in our prep class are really really nice and I'm glad to have attended each and everyone of their wedding! 

The groom is such a sweet guy, he wanted to surprise the bride with a real wedding cake. If you haven't know, a real wedding cake costs a bomb to have, well at least, here in Singapore. This 4-tiered wedding cake was the "tallest" cake I've made to date as I have only attempted maximum of 3-tiers prior to this! 

I definitely had wedding  cake-making jitters while I planned and executed the cake making schedule. Do not belittle the stripes! They look simple and gorgeous but they took me half a day to complete!!! I delivered the cake unstacked and only assembled it on the spot. Thanks to my handy tools and lovely assistants, we set it up in under 30 minutes and phew! The cake stood tall and straight for a good 4 hours or so =D

So now, having slogged for 2 of my friend's wedding, should I too slog for mine? I really wish too and D is discouraging me =p Any suggestions? Any experienced baker brides? I'd love to hear a comment or two =D

Till then....

CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is just around the corner and after all the dazzling goodies and log cakes, I must say I still love cookies the best! Though I haven't really been to orchard road to soak myself in the Christmas atmosphere and pretty lights these cookies sure edged me into the Christmas mood. From the dough, to the aroma when they're baking away in the oven, till the time their out and finally with that icing that makes all the difference (appearance I mean)! I'm so lovin it! =p

I'm ashamed to say that after years of baking, its my very first making a gingerbread man (though not gingerbread flavoured) but hey! it's still a milestone isn't it. haha. And the thought of those few wiggly lines, dots and ribbons making the whole gingerbread come to life, I couldn't contain that excitement and I knew I had to make a few more batches to give away as gifts. 

D was also really psyched when he saw those lying on the baking tray and immediately asked if I was free to bake some for his colleagues! Though it meant I had to spend more time baking extras (other than the order on hand), but it also meant some fun time together! Well, now I'm toying with the idea of making these for my friends. Packed nicely in a plastic pack, sealed and tied with a pretty ribbon, just how I love it!

Now, I hope I've spurred YOU (yes, you who is reading this post now) to get crackin and make some homemade goodies for your friends. Though "inexpensive", but sure packs a load of love and sincerity. No?

Recipe below!

Gingerbread cookies

Ingredients:

100g Salted butter, cubed and softened

  80g Caster sugar

    1   Egg Yolk

190g Plain Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla bean paste if you have)

Method:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well combined. 

    *Mixture doesn't have to be light and fluffy as we do not want the cookies to expand too much 

      during baking

2. Stir in the egg yolk until well combined.

3. Add in the flour, 1/3 at a time until a dough is formed. If dough is too soft to handle, cling wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator for about 15-30 min to allow it to firm up a little. 

    *I usually split the dough into 2 and refrigerate one portion while I start working on the other. 

4. Roll out the dough on a piece of parchement paper in between 2 chopsticks (one pair) to ensure uniform thickness.

5. Get your favorite cookie cutter and stamp away! Gather the scraps and re-roll until the dough is used up. 

6. Place the cut-out dough on the baking tray and bake at 180C for 10-15 min (longer baking time require for larger cookies) or until the edges are lightly browned.

variations: 

Chocolate cookie

*Use 20g cocoa powder + 170g Plain flour instead

Orange/Lemon cookie

*Use 1 tsp or orange/lemon oil + finely grated zest of 1 orange/lemon

Royal Icing recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp   Meringue powder

2 tbsp Water

165 g  Icing sugar

Method:

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together meringue powder and water. Using an electric mixer, whip will soft peaks form.

2. Add icing sugar gradually and mix on high speed until medium peaks. *This consistency is good for piping

3. To colour (or flood the icing), add water, bit by bit until you get a consistency that resembles a syrup. 

Bloggers Meet-up!......in KL!!

I can't imagine how long has it been since I last blogged. So much has happened during the time I was absent and I must say that one of the best things was that I got to meet so many wonderful people during my short short trip to KL! I got to meet so many great bloggers from Malaysia (Wendy from table for 2 or more, Swee San from  and me, being REALLY honoured to be the FIRST singaporean blogger some of them have met! *drum roll please* =ppp

photo courtesy of Swee San

Photo courtesy of Pei-Lin

They are such amazing people, it must be one of the best things that happened to me while blogging! Travelling up north and meeting a bunch of strangers isn't the wisest thing to do. But, boy, was I glad I took the "risk"!

Pei-Lin was really nice and wanted me to have some real authentic malaysian food. Well, if you know Singapore and Malaysia well enough, you'd find it hard sometimes to distinguish the local hawker fares. We have much in similarity when it comes to food (with the exception of the price ) that sometimes it's a little difficult to trace the authenticity. But I learnt one thing on my trip up north this time is that, Hokkien Mee in Singapore = White and Malaysian Hokkien Mee = Black. Hang on, while you try to say "but". I know we do serve black hokkien mee in Singapore. However, the noodles used in Malaysia to fry the hokkien mee is different and somehow, it looked like udon to me when it was first served. Now, THAT'S a difference, right? One other thing I realised is that I think we're heavier on the seasonings here in Singapore. Despite calls to healthier eating habits, I think we do add a tad too much salt into our food. 

photo courtesy of Pei-Lin

Don't be fooled by the colour appearance of this dish, if you think it packs a punch of salt, you're wrong, but it does indeed pack a punch of flavours! What's really amazing is that it actually doesn't come with that bitter noodle after-taste you often get (if you know what I mean). To top off the goodness, the tiny pieces of fried pork lard, fried to crispy perfection was the oomph! you'd get in a mouthful! Well, of course, as the cardiologist would advise, we'd better stay away from lard for the better of our hearts. But hey! it's ok to indulge once in a while isn't it? =X

After the wonderful meal and relaxing trip, I was back to busy busy life as usual, typical city people and *ah hem* of course, with a tiny lazy bug planted deep within, this post got neglected and so was my poor blog. Besides the fact that I was lazy, the conversations that revolved around blogging, baking, food and more baking, made me ponder alot about the nature of blogging. The unspoken rules, manners, must-dos, don't-dos, suddenly made blogging seem like a daunting and scary thing to do, start or continue. 

And of course, I concluded on my own that blogging has evolved over the years and what initially started out as a "online diary", "personal log book", "personal journal", "a place to keep track of fill-in-the-blank", sometimes evolved into a responsibility (not for oneself, but for others) or even as a marketing tool. 

I have to admit that at some point in time, I felt pressure to increase readership and to make it more "happening". But at the end of the day, I want to still be able to enjoy blogging as much as I did before. I did not want blogging to become a pressure, a "homework" that I had to hand in every other few days, nor did I want it to be a burden of some sort. I don't doubt the internet as a very useful, fast and efficient tool, but I still do believe in blogging with sincerity and honesty. 

Note: 

This post is purely based on my personal opinions and generalisation and no particular person, blog or organisation were intended at. Any similarities, likeness are purely conincidental.