Pumpkin cupcakes

With some leftover pumpkin puree, I've decided to make some pumpkin cupcakes. You can say I'm mad over puuuuummmmppppkkkiiinnn! :P

Recipe and method adapted by Joy of Baking.

12 servings

• 1½ cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger 
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 
• ½ teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• ¾ cup (180 ml) solid packed, canned pumpkin puree 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature 
• 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1½ cups (175 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C. Place rack in the middle of the oven. 
• Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray. 
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground spices, and salt. 
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and pumpkin puree, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 
• Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. 
• Place on a wire rack to cool. 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
• Add the butter and beat until incorporated and smooth. 
• Add the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar and beat until fluffy (2-3 minutes). 
• Pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes. Sprinkle with toasted and chopped nuts or English Toffee Bits. 

To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 180°C and place rack in the center of the oven. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely.

With cream cheese frosting

Santa Claus is coming to town...... soon 

Drizzling with cream cheese frosting.... gosh. <3

I super love taking photos with the food sitting inside the fridge. 

It just make the whole thing so beautiful and delicious. Haha!

Recipe can be found here: Joy of Baking - Pumpkin Cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Two layers carrot cake

Love it.

Recipe and method adapted by Joy of Baking.

10-12 servings

• 1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts 
• ¾ pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 ½ cups finely grated) 
• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 large eggs 
• 1½ cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar 
• 1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil) 
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper. 
• Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely. 
• Peel and finely grate the carrots. 
• In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.  
• In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). 
• Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. 
• Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting. 
• To assemble: place one cake layer onto your serving plate. Spread with about half the frosting. Gently place the other cake onto the frosting and spread the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. If desired, garnish with toasted nuts on the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Cream cheese frosting:

• In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, just until blended with no lumps. 
• Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth.  
• Beat in the vanilla extract, and lemon zest. 

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

YeeHaw! Now I can enjoy my homemade luscious carrot cake anytime!

Recipe and method adapted by Laura Vitale

For 8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup & 1 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour 
• ½ cup of Sugar 
• ¼ cup of Brown Sugar 
• 1 tsp of Baking Soda 
• 2 tsp of Cinnamon 
• ½ tsp of Salt 
• ¼ tsp of Nutmeg 
• ¾ cup of Vegetable Oil 
• 2 Eggs 
• 1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract 
• 1 tsp of Grated Orange Zest (Use the grater to grate some of the orange's skin)
• 1 ½ cups of Shredded Carrots 
• ½ cup of Raisins 

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. 
• Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Lay the bottom with parchment paper and set aside. (Or use a brush to grease the pan if you doesn't have the spray)
• In a bowl toss together the carrots, raisins and the 1 Tbsp of flour until all of the carrots and raisins are coated with the flour. 
• In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients until well combined. Add the carrots and raisins and mix until they are well incorporated through the batter. 
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
• When the cake is ready, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes but then take it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack. 
• Once the cake is completely cooled, make the frosting by simply mixing all of the ingredients together until you get a nice thick frosting. If you need to, add a little more water by the teaspoonful to get a spreadable frosting consistency. 
•  Adorn the cake with that incredible cream cheese frosting and let it set for a few minutes until the frosting begins to harden.

Toss together the carrots, raisins and the 1 Tbsp of flour until all of the carrots and raisins are coated with the flour.

That's it.

Pour the batter into baking pan

Ding ding... it's done!

Wait for the carrot cake to cool completely before we apply the cream cheese frosting.

Side note: Newbies, you can get a kg of cream cheese over at Phoon Huat for only $10 or 11. It's much more cheaper then supermarket selling a small tub for few dollars. The branch at Holland village is good. They are also selling a kg of butter too. Should go and explore. :)

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 3 oz of cream cheese at room temperature
• ¼ cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp of water
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method:

• Simply just add everything and mix until you get a nice thick frosting.

Creamy cheesy

Yeah! The cake are completely coooooooled. Let's apply the frosting.

Chomp!

Enjoy!

Red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting

Yes! Tried baking a red velvet cupcake today. :)

Recipe and method adapted by Laura Vitale.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup of all Purpose Flour 
• 2 Tbsp of Cocoa Powder 
• ½ teaspoon of Baking Powder 
• ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda 
• ¼ teaspoon of Salt 
• ¼ cup (57 grams) of unsalted butter at room temperature 
• ¾ cup of Granulated sugar 
• ¾ cup of Buttermilk 
• 1 Egg 
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla 
• Extract Red food Coloring 

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 170 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with cup cake liners and set aside. 
• In a small bowl mix together the first 5 ingredients and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and butter, add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined and creamy. 
• With the mixer running on low, add half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk, make sure its combined and add the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk making sure to combine everything together but not over mixing. Using a spatula mix the batter from the bottom to make sure nothing is left stuck to the side of the bowl, add enough food coloring to get the desired red color for your cupcakes. 
• Using two table spoon to lay the batter evenly in your prepared pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes (I baked for 20 min) or until when you insert a toothpick in the center it comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely. 
• Frost the cupcakes either with a little spatula or using a disposable piping bag fitted with a plain large tip. 
• Let cool in the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes to set a little before serving (if you can resist them anyway) <---- I can't resist at all! :P

 For the frosting ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Powdered Sugar 
• 4 oz (½ cup) of Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature 
• 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter at room temperature 
• 1 Tbsp of Milk 
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Method:

• To make the frosting simply put all the frosting ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix until well combined and it has the consistency of a thick frosting. 

Cream cheese frosting

The big bowl contained flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda and lastly salt.

   This is what you will get after adding the other half of the ingredients. Look at the consistency. 

Red coloring was being added and mixed thoroughly.

Baking is done. :)

Let it cool for at least 30 min before we start frosting.

I'm not sure how to describe the taste. You should try baking it yourself. It's so moist and delicious! 

Enjoy!