Cupcakes – Page 2 – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Mandarin Cupcakes

Posted on November 13, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

I’m not really a big fan of mandarins, they are ok but I’d much prefer an orange over mandarins any day. However as this fruit is not common in baking I of course had to create a recipe that not only included this fruit as an ingredient but “heroed” the fruit and had to tasted bloody delicious. For this reason this recipe makes it to my blog – I was super surprised at how amazingly tasty these cupcakes are.

Ingredients:

180g butter
1 cup white sugar
1 tsn vanilla essence
2 mandarins (2 zest and juice)
3 eggs
2 cups self raising four
¾ cup yoghurt

Icing:

250g cream cheese
2 + 1/3 cups icing sugar
1 mandarin (zest for icing and segments for decoration)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180c degrees and line a 16 hole cupcake pan with patty cases.
Beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla and zest until pale and smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Squeeze the 2 mandarins with a juicer for the juice.
Fold through the flour, yoghurt and juice until the batter is well combined.
Spoon batter into cupcake patties until 2/3 full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool on cooling tray.
To make the icing beat together ingredients for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy .
Pipe icing on top of the cupcakes and top with half a mandarin segment.

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Low Fat White Chocolate Saffron and Vanilla Cupcakes

Posted on September 11, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

Low Fat White Chocolate Saffron and Vanilla Cupcakes

Don’t let the low fat make you think these cupcakes are not super delectable with a super tasty texture. Replacing 60% of the butter with apple puree ensures that the texture is still just as good but makes me feel much more guilt free!

It does sound like a strange concoction of flavors in this recipe, but the combo really works and complements each other.

Saffron is a common South Eastern Asia savory flavouring. While vanilla is a stock standard sweet flavor enhancer, white chocolate though not the usual go to chocolate for baking is still a common ingredient and yoghurt, well this ingredient is becoming more and more utilised in baking. So, you can imagine from this blend of varying flavors the recipe could have gone very very wrong…but to my delight I must say it’s quite a moreish sweet treat.

The white chocolate and vanilla sweeten and put a floral accent on the saffron and the natural yoghurt calms the icing sweetness down.

Ingredients:

140ml milk
Large pinch of saffron
250g flour
4 tsn baking powder
80g sugar
160g white chocolate
70g butter
100g apple puree
4 tsn vanilla essence
2 eggs

Icing:

50ml natural yoghurt
325g icing sugar
20ml vanilla essence

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200c degrees and line a 12 hole cupcake tin with patty cases.
Place the milk into the microwave until steaming and add the saffron. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.
Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place into the flour mix, stir.
Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave and add the milk, puree, vanilla and eggs. Whisk with a hand whisk until well combined.
Pour the milk mix into the flour mix and using a hand whisk beat until just combine.
Pour the batter into the patty cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until and skewer in the center comes out clean.
Place the cupcakes onto a cooling rack until cool.
Meanwhile to make the icing beat the ingredients until well combined.
Using a spatula spread over the cupcake evenly.
Grate extra white chocolate over the icing and a few saffron strands.


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Bourbon Cola Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on July 10, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

Bourbon Cola Chocolate Cupcakes

If you’re a frequent visitor to this blog you will be well aware that I have a habit of baking with liquors or alcoholic beverages. Additionally, I have baked with soft drinks, even used melted ice-cream as the wet element in the cake batters. Cola has featured in my recipes before on this blog and bourbon in a few recipes. However, I have never used these ingredients in a recipe together. So after having a bourbon and cola mixed drink left over from pre-drinks I decided to use the pre-mixed can in a recipe. To add an extra layer to this I opted for an ingredient that I knew worked amazingly with both of these flavours, being, dark chocolate.

From here the bourbon cola chocolate cupcakes were born.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

210g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
1 + ½ tsn bicarbonate of soda
1 tsn baking powder
180g brown sugar
2 eggs
2oog buttermilk
210ml bourbon and cola drink
90g butter, melted
1 tsn vanilla essence

Icing:

255g icing sugar
40g butter
60ml bourbon and cola drink
½ tsn salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c degrees and line a 12-capacity cupcake tin with cupcake patties.
Add all the wet ingredients into a bowl and beat with electric beater on medium for 1 minute.
Then add all the dry ingredients via a sieve and beat with an electric beater on medium for 2 minutes until the batter is smooth.
Pour batter into the patties and bake for 20 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.
Transfer cupcakes onto a wire cooling rack.
To make the icing place the ingredients into a bowl and beat from 2 minutes with electric beaters or until light and fluffy.
Place the icing into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto each cupcake.

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Low Fat White Chocolate Lemongrass Salted Macadamia Cupcakes

Posted on May 30, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

Low Fat White Chocolate Lemongrass Salted Macadamia Cupcakes

You are correct, white chocolate and macadamia is a stock-standard flavor combo, nothing new or unusual here. And lemon, well this is also a very common baking ingredient that is sometimes paired with white chocolate. The reason these flavors are common is because they are so divine together. So if I’m creative a recipe that’s stock-standard what is going on and why even bother making up a recipe? The hero ingredient in which I have never baked with before and don’t believe I have ever even heard of being in a sweet treat before is the Lemongrass (also lemon and macadamia is a little unusual in itself but not enough for me to create a recipe off). The lemongrass provides a lovely variation to the norm lemon flavor, the salted macadamia provides a lovely crunch texture to the cupcake and the salt elevates the tone in the white chocolate making this cupcake super delicious and walks all over any lemon cupcake I have ever had! Also, the natural yoghurt and the lemon juice adds a slight sourness and bitterness that offsets the intense sweetness of the icing sugar making the icing a lovely more restrained addition.

Ingredients:

250g flour
4 tsn baking powder
½ tsn salt
80g sugar
160g white chocolate
80g macadamias
40g Lemongrass
1 tbsn lemon zest
70g butter
100g apple puree
140ml buttermilk
2 eggs

Icing:

70ml natural yoghurt
300g icing sugar
15ml lemon juice

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200c degrees and line a 12 hole cupcake tin with patty cases.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine.
Chop the white chocolate and macadamia into small pieces and place into the flour mix, stir.
Grate the lemongrass and stir into the flour mix.
Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave and add the buttermilk, puree and eggs. Whisk with a hand whisk until well combined.
Pour the milk mix into the flour mix and using a hand whisk beat until just combine.
Pour the batter into the patty cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until and skewer in the center comes out clean.
Place the cupcakes onto a cooling rack until cool.
Meanwhile to make the icing beat the ingredients until well combined.
Using a spatula spread over the cupcake evenly.
Grate extra white chocolate, macadamia and lemon zest over the icing.


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Millet Chocolate Chili and Cinnamon Cupcakes

Posted on February 1, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

Millet Chocolate Chili and Cinnamon Cupcakes

This was quite an interesting experiment for me as I have never ever cooked with millet. In fact before I read a little on this grain online I never knew it existed. How I came to baking with this ingredient?

I had a grain salad while out for lunch recently and one of the ingredients was Freekeh, which I have had before but never knew what it was. I really liked the way the Freekeh was cooked and tasted in the salad and as I have dabbled with grain baking in the past (Quinoa Berry Christmas Cake as an example) I decided I wanted to experiment with this ingredients.

As I was doing my research into the Freekeh grain I came across the millet grain which is quite similar to couscous, which I have baked a cake with before.

I figured that as I had a Sunday free I would buy both ingredients and make Freekeh based cupcakes and Millet based cupcakes. Now they both have completely different textures and flavor profiles so the flavor pairings and base cupcake ingredients were different but the results were interesting.

The freekeh chocolate and peanut cupcakes were ok but I noticed over time the freekeh lost its softness and was too hard in the mix (maybe my fault for under cooking??).

The Millet cupcakes were vanilla and macadamia nut to enhance the millets nutty flavor…this was not an exciting cupcake to rave about. I then decided to use the millet as a texture not as a flavor profile and added chilli, chocolate and cinnamon to the mix. The outcome of this was great, the texture of the millet is really soft and light and adds a texture pop to the treat. As for the Freekeh…it may just be a lost cause but I’m sure I will try again in the near future.

Ingredients:

Millet:

180g millet
360g water
30g butter

Cake:

1 egg
100g sugar
90ml buttermilk
90ml canola oil
30g cocoa powder
1 tsn ground cinnamon
160g flour
½ tsn baking powder
¼ tsn bicarbonate of soda
Pinch salt
¼ tsn chili powder

Frosting:

200g icing sugar
30g cocoa powder
100g butter
¼ tsn chili powder
½ tsn ground cinnamon

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 175c degrees and line a 12 capacity cupcake tin with patties.
Place the millet in a frying pan on high and stir until the millet is slightly golden.
Add 360ml water to the pan and turn the heat to a simmer stirring.
Add the butter, stir and leave the millet to 90% absorb the water.
Take the millet off the heat and leave aside to cool and absorb the liquid fully.
Place the egg and sugar in a bowl and using electric beaters whisk until pale and fluffy.
Add the oil and buttermilk and whisk for 1 minute.
Add the remaining ingredients (the dry ingredients), stir with a spoon until just combine.
Beat with the electric beaters until smooth and silky.
Add the cooked millet and beat until combine.
Pour the mix into the patties and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Set the cooked cupcakes aside to cool.
To make the frosting place all the ingredients into a bowl and using electric beaters whisk until fluffy and combine.
Once the cupcakes are cooled using a piping bag and a star piping nozzle frost the cupcakes.
Enjoy.

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Whisky Chocolate Cupcakes with Spiked Ganache

Posted on January 3, 2016 Posted in Cupcakes .

Whisky Chocolate Cupcakes with Spiked Ganache

Ok so this is a little similar to recipes I have made up in the past but I promise it is still experimental.

I don’t actual think I have ever consumed whisky before, in fact, I know that buying it for this recipe was the first time I have ever purchased the liquor but after a few interesting conversations with whisky lovers I was inspired to experiment with whisky baking.

After I had the whisky I brought a few different types of chocolate and did the taste test thing. Outcome, dark chocolate was a goer and to be honest the subtitle whisky flavor against the rich chocolate was actually quite appealing (even to a non drinker)!

After a bit of playing around with ratios I finally came to a recipe that I was quite happy with.

And how do you top a moreish and rich cupcake? With a moreish and rich spiked ganache!

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

200g brown sugar
125 butter
90ml Whisky
100g dark chocolate
150ml milk
¼ tsn salt
2 eggs
120g self raising flour
60g cocoa powder

Icing:

375g dark chocolate
30ml Whisky
135ml cream

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line 20 medium sized cupcake patties in a cupcake tin.
Place the sugar, butter, Whisky, chocolate, milk and salt into a saucepan and stir continuously on a simmering heat until smooth.
Take off the heat and allow to cool in the pan completely.
Using a hand whisk beat in the eggs one at a time into the Whisky mix.
Sift the flour and the cocoa to the Whisky mix and whisk until well combined.
Pour the mix into the prepared patties until ¾ full.
Place the tin in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave aside to cool completely.
To make the icing, place the cream in a bowl in the microwave and heat until boiling.
Add the chocolate and leave for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth and glossy.
Add the Whisky and whisk until combine.
Place the icing in the fridge for 20 minutes to thicken and cool completely.
Place the icing in a piping bag fit with a star nozzle and pipe the icing over the top of the cupcakes.

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Semolina Spiced Mini Cakes

Posted on December 21, 2015 Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes .

Semolina Spiced Mini Cakes

Recently I have been playing a lot with syrups for cakes, which has resulted in quite some playing with a variation of spices and essence (some I am familiar with and some not so much).

One of the syrups I made up was so amazing that I decided to create a cake purely based on the key spices and essence.

After thinking about what cake foundations would best hold and complement my new favourite spices and essences I ended up deciding on a semolina (almost polenta) cake.

It did take me 3 tries to get to this final recipe:

Attempt 1 – was to produce a thin syrup, which just overtook the cake and flooded it.

Attempt 2 – was to make the syrup more of a caramel consistency, almost to a praline level. This just didn’t suit the cake, it needed to have an ‘icing’ element that would work with the strong spices and tone down the sickly sweetness.

Attempt 3 –I gave up on the syrup idea and decided that this cake would be best eaten with ice-cream and cream as it would work wonders with the strong moist richness of the cake. Therefore whipped up some cream and success!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup sugar
180g butter
1 tsn vanilla
1 tsn cinnamon
1 tsn cardamom
½ tsn star anise
6 threads of saffron
½ tsn rosewater essence
240g natural yoghurt
1 cup semolina
½ cup self raising flour
½ tsn baking powder

Topping:

300g cream
2 + ½ tbsn icing sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and fill 2 x 12 cupcake tin trays with cupcake liners/cases.
Using electric beaters beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, rosewater, saffron diced and star anise until light and fluffy.
Add the yoghurt, semolina, flour and baking powder and beat until the mix is just combine.
Spoon the mix into the 24 cupcake patties.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a cooling tray until cold.
Meanwhile to make the topping whip the cream and sugar in a bowl with electric beaters until peaks form.
Using a piping bag and star nozzle pipe the cream on the top of the cold cake.
Remove the cakes from the patty cases and sprinkle with a little cinnamon on top.

Notes:

I have decorated the cakes with a sugar almond on top.

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Chocolate Vegemite Cupcakes

Posted on January 19, 2015 Posted in Cupcakes .

Chocolate Vegemite Cupcakes

Ok so I know this doesn’t sound that great but hear me out. I have made some weird baking combos with chocolate…chocolate bacon, chocolate zucchini, chocolate cocoa-cola, chocolate red wine…and the list continues…

So I ask you, have I ever failed you before? Two of the above cakes mentioned were the moistest and luscious cakes I have ever made. While the bacon and cocoa-cola cakes, well they both amplified the chocolate flavour and created chocolate intenseness!

Not a fan of vegemite? As I mentioned the vegemite amplifies the chocolate so don’t be scared and give it a go!

This is an addictive treat, particularly the caramel-vegemite icing!

Ingredients:

140g brown sugar
2 eggs
85g butter
35g vegemite
130g milk
100g dark chocolate
250g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
1 tsn bicarbonate of soda
1/ tsn baking powder

Icing:

140g butter
300g icing sugar
100g brown sugar
5 tsn vegemite

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c degrees and line a medium sized cupcake pan with 20 paper cases.
Place the chocolate in a saucepan over boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted, set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the sugar and butter with electric beaters until creamy and caramel in colour.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating with each addition.
Add the vegemite, milk and melted cooled chocolate and beat until well combine.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, soda and baking powder and beat until well combine and caramel silky smooth in texture and colour.
Spoon the mix into the 20 paper patty cases then place the cupcakes in the oven for 20minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes in the tin then remove and place on a cake rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, to make the icing place the butter, vegemite and brown sugar on the stove on a medium heat.
Stir the mix on the heat until the sugar has melted and the mix is fully combine.
Once the caramel mix has cooked place into a bowl, sift in the icing sugar and beat with electric beaters until light and fluffy.
Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe on the top of the cooled cupcakes.

Notes:

I have decorated with shaves chocolate, chocolate pieces and Ferrero’s.
Don’t be scared off by the Vegemite, it complements the chocolate and extends the flavour without overpowering.

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