Rainbow cupcakes

I was thinking if I could make a rainbow cake, then.... why not a rainbow cupcake? Haha. 

Trying and testing around... it's fun exploring!

Baking is done!

I'm sooo excited to see and eat the end product! My boys too!!

Ta-dah!!

Quite pretty lah! HOHOHO~

And my fatty boy can't resist it and keep insisting to have one first before going for his shower. ;)

Lemon cupcakes

Not really fanciful but something hiding inside. :)

Zesty lemon curd (home-made) hidden inside!

Recipe and method adapted by Joy of Baking.

12 servings

• 1½ cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar (I cut down to 100g)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces 
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
• ½ cup (120 ml) sour cream or plain yogurt, room temperature 

Filling: 

•  ½ cup (120 ml) lemon curd (store bought or homemade) (recipe follows)  

Lemon Curd: 

• 3 large eggs 
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons) 
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon zest (outer skin) 
• ¼ cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar 
• 4 tablespoons (55 grams) room temperature unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

Method:

Vanilla Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees°C and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. 
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. 
• Add the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream (or yogurt). 
• Beat the wet and dry ingredients together, at medium speed, until the batter is smooth and satiny, about 30 - 60 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
• Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. 
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, cut about an ½ inch (1.5 cm) hole into the center of each cupcake, using a melon baller or a small spoon. 
• Then spoon (or pipe) a heaping teaspoon of lemon curd into each indentation. 

Lemon Curd:

• In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. 
• Stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (71°C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. 
• Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. 
• Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. 
• Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. 
• Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate until cold (preferably overnight). The lemon curd can be made several days (up to a week) in advance.

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. 

Cake pops

Ever seen a very cute cake pop created by a lady named Bakerella on my Flickr account two years back. But then, at that time, I was only being attracted by her nicely-taken cake pops' photos and not the cake, lol! Gone are the days when I'd devoted my time for work. Now I'm absolutely madly in love with baking. Blissful~

It had never came across to my mind that one day I'm making my own cake pops and or; baking. Life is incredibly unpredictable. It might sounds insane to you but to me.. it means a lot. ;)

To make a cake pop, you would need a cake, any flavors. (I'd baked a 9" round chocolate cake) It could be muffins, cupcakes and etc. Use your clean hands to crumble your cake into small crumbs. And then add some home-made frosting, bread jam or nutella of two tablespoons at a time to have the consistency of a dough-like.

Use a large ice-cream scoop or tablespoon (2x) to have all cake pops at same amount or size. Melt small amount of the chocolate to stick the lollipop sticks into the cake balls. It acts like a glue. When all done, freeze them for about 10-15 min or 20-30 min for refrigeration. Melt the candy melt or dark/white chocolate beforehand you takes them out for dipping.

Also, get ready your sprinkles for decorations afterwards. :)

Cake balls

Melt the white/dark chocolate. (Chocolate compound types)

Lovely sprinkles~ 

End product

Munch!

They love it.

Keep them refrigerated when you can't finished.

Note: I've skipped taking photos of certain processes as I'm the food maker, as well a Photographer. At this moment like that, I can't multitask. lol. But... I will try next time.

Addicted to R.A.I.N.B.O.W

PSLE results have just been announced recently.. and a Big Congratulations to my dearest niece who has successfully promoted to Secondary school next year. Been finding a good excuse to celebrate.. and this is the right time to bake a rainbow cake again! Haha! Passed with flying rainbow colours~

This time round, I find it more tastier and the texture more fluffy. Glad that everyone loves it. :)

For the rainbow cake recipe, please refer to here. :)

Low fat banana bread

With two leftover fully ripe bananas lying in my kitchen, I just can't helped looking for a banana recipe. Lucky me found a pretty simple and tasty recipe. My fussy youngest boy loved it so much that he had eaten 3 slices of it! And the sweetness came from the bananas.

Recipe and method adapted by Joy of Baking.

12 slices

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240 ml) mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ cup (120 ml) low-fat plain yogurt 
• ¼ cup (60 ml) canola, vegetable, or corn oil 
• ¾ cup (165 grams) light brown sugar 
• 1 large egg or 2 large (60 grams) egg whites 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup (65 grams) whole wheat flour 
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ¼  teaspoon salt 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C and place the rack in the center of the oven. Spray an 8 x 4 inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan with a nonstick vegetable cooking spray. 
• In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas with the baking soda and yogurt. Allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the batter. 
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, egg or egg whites, and vanilla. 
• In another large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. 
• Then combine the banana mixture with the oil mixture and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until all the ingredients are moistened. 
• Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 
• Bake for about 45 - 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. 
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 

Nicely baked.

Puffy and moisten texture.

Enjoy this slice of banana bread with coffee or tea.

Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

I'd bought a bunch of large bananas over the weekend. Decided to let it ripe thoroughly before I start to use them. It is said to be more sweet and soft when fully ripe.

Don't throw the bananas away when you see the black spots. They are soft and sweet. Ideal for baking!

Mash the bananas

Recipe and method adapted by Joy of Baking.

12 servings

• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 
• 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour 
• ⅓ cup (35 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed) 
• ¾ teaspoons baking powder 
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda 
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• 1 large egg 
• ½ cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana) 
• ½ cup (120 ml) warm water 
• ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
• ¼ cup (60 ml) canola, corn, or vegetable oil 
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract 

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180°C and place rack in the center of the oven. 
• Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray. 
• In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
• In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter is quite thin.) 
• Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full, and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. 

Fresh from oven!

Ingredients for frosting:

• 3 ounces (90 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1 cup (120 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

• Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. 
• Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. 
• In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). 
• Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. 
• Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes). 

I melted the chocolate chip by using double boiler method.

Let the melted chocolate be cool completely before you proceed to the next step.

Ready to serve!