Refreshing New Year

Happy New Year to all!! This new year is quite special to me. I'm starting this year as a wife, I'm starting a new job which is a total switch to my previous job and last of all, I'm hoping for a new outlook on everything.

To start this new year, I wanted to share with you guys a refreshing cupcake recipe. It is refreshing to me because of 2 reasons. 1)It uses citrus. 2)It is the first cupcake/cake recipe that I made using heavy cream instead of the normal milk or buttermilk.

I'm actually staying at my husband's place while waiting for our own house to be ready which will be in the next 2 years. The best thing is, my lovely mother-in-law has the same interest as me which is baking. She shared with me her Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.It has a lot of awesome pictures of cupcakes and interesting recipes. One that caught my eyes was the Orange-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes. I always thought that it was a waste of money to buy the book as all her recipes are actually on her website. BUUUT.. It's totally different when you have the book. The pictures in the books are better for one thing. However the recipes and steps are easier to see in the book. ANND there are some information in the book that is not on the website. Hence, I still think it is a great buy. 

I was deeply curious about how the cupcake would turn out like or taste like with heavy cream as a liquid medium. I've tried using milk, buttermilk and sour cream but never heavy cream. I assume that it would be more moist and dense. The thought of the orange and vanilla just lingered in my mind the whole day. I knew I had to try it. 

I'm a fan of citrus recipes. I love vanilla and vanilla beans. And I simply adore Swiss Meringue Buttercream. So, this cupcake was awesome to me. The buttercream complemented the moist yet light tasting cupcake. It was not too dense but was just nice. And as you bite, you can see the speckles of vanilla bean in the cake which is so pretty and heart-warming to me. It was also my first try making the candied orange. I learnt a lot in the process. So, I heart heart heart the cupcakes. The recipe can be found here.

~A new year is unfolding – like a blossom with petals curled
tightly concealing the beauty within~

Rainbow Cake

My mom was hinting to me whether I would be making a cake for my niece's 3rd birthday. I was just recovering from making a 3 tier 1s birthday cake from last weekend. But I guess I couldn't disappoint my own family and my niece. 

My mom mentioned that she wanted something with flowers. My niece is this vainpot who likes pink. She looks like the younger version of me. But I was a tomboy, unlike her. I didn't really like pink. I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Mighty Max. Hahaha... She likes Dora and Barney. 

Since I made a 2 pink cakes for 2 little girls previously. I decided to go with a white covered cake and I made a edible pink crown using gumpaste and patchwork cutters. For the cake, I decided to make the Rainbow cake that I've been wanting to make as really inspired by 2 of my favourite bloggers.. Sweetapolita and Whisk Kid. You should check out their blogs. Very inspirational. 

I realised kids only get excited blowing candles and seeing how colourful the cake is. So, it was a perfect opportunity for me to try making this cake. 

It turned out really pretty. I thought the colours would be too dark cos I was quite generous with the colour paste. I decided to play around with gliters too. I wanted to put glitters on the flowers but I was to tired running around and cleaning up all the glitters that I stopped at the crown and the butterflies. Anyway, I was so anxious, waiting for the time to cut the cake. I wanted to see if the 7 layers worked very well and whether it tasted as gorgeous as the cake.

The cake was layered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I didn't dare to put too much buttercream in between because I was worried it wouldn't hold the weight of the fondant. But judging after cutting the cake, it was just nice enough for me. My sisters said it tasted yummy too. I was proud of this cake although I think there's some improvements I can do on the cake. 

Rainbow Cake (taken from The Whisk Kid)

White Cake (but not really)

2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp
2 1/3 c (426 g) sugar
5 egg whites, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 c (426 g) flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 1/2 c (355 ml) milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough!

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Oil and line how ever many 9” cake pans you have (I have three and I just reused them). (I used 8" pans instead)

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites (I cracked them all into one bowl) and add them a little at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the milk and flour mixture in two parts.

Divide the batter amongst 6 bowls (It's about 1 c each, but I did it by weight. Weigh your mixing bowl before you begin adding ingredients and then subtract the weight of the bowl from the final measurement after the batter is completed. Divide that number by six and add that weight of batter to each bowl), and then whisk a fair amount of the appropriate food color into each bowl. Keep in mind that the color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each.

When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. Then flip, cover, and stash them in the fridge to cool quickly.


Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream 
(This recipe makes more than enough for me)

To fill and crumb coat:
9 egg whites
1 ¾ c (350 g) sugar
4 sticks (452 g) butter, room temp
2 tsp lemon extract

To frost:
5 egg whites
1 c (200 g) sugar
2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp
1 tsp lemon extract

Cook the egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved (test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it's completely smooth, it's done). Pour into another bowl (a stand mixer is preferable) and whip on high speed until room temp. Then, on a medium-slow speed, add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and whip until it has come together, about five minutes. Add the extract, beat briefly and then use.

If the buttercream seems soupy after all of the butter is added and does not come together after whipping, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and continue whipping until it becomes fluffy and workable.

Assembly
Stack the layers in your preferred order and fill and frost as you would any other cake.

Once frosted, the cake can be left on the counter without any problems, but feel free to refrigerate it. Just be sure that the cake is at room temperature when serving or the frosting will be hard, not smooth. (Cake is taste nicer/better at room temperature when cutting and serving)


~Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true~

Strawberry Cupcakes

I have been delaying this post for quite a while now.. Been so busy and tired.. There's so much more recipes that I have yet tried.. Aaarrgghhhhh~ Haha..

I made these Strawberry cupcakes a while back.. on the first day of raya when I was sooo free.. I've been wanting to make it for quite long but I always do not have enough strawberries or I am not sure whether I should waste my strawberries on this.. Strawberries in Singapore are so expensive and I am so picky about getting pretty ones.. Haha.. If only all these fruits are grown locally.. It would be heaven for me...

These cupcakes are nice but I think the strawberry taste is too mild.. Maybe you can add a lil' of strawberry flavouring if you prefer a stronger starwberry taste.. But the recipe would do it for me.. It's not so sweet.. maybe cos the strawberries aren't sweet either.. However, the strawberries, will make the cake a bit moist.. So if you're looking for those dry texture.. this is not it.. Cos the finely chopped strawberries will make the cake moist at some parts.. Unless you used lesser chopped strawberries and substitute with flavouring or whatever not.. :) Also, it produces a nice flat cupcakes.

The blog where I took it from used Strawberry Meringue Buttercream but I was to lazy to do it and no one in this house likes frosting anyway.. Hence, i just used what I have.. My Buttercream Drem Icing.. But very little cos I think nobody would eat it if I put a dollop of it.. haha.. But kids seems to love it though.. Haha.. Sweet tooth.. Anyway, my purpose of it was to try out the cupcake recipe mainly..

Strawberry Cupcakes (taken from http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/ - makes 40-44 cupcakes)

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) (my notes in red - i did half batch and made 28 cupcakes using my Reynold muffin disposable aluminium tray)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour (not self raising)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 large whole eggs, plus 1 egg white (2 eggs plus ~1 egg white for half batch)

1 cup milk

2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus more for garnish

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350F (~180C). Line standard cup muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Put butter, sugar vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

4. Change the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well combined. Fold in the strawberries by hand.

5. Fill each paper liner with batter 3/4 full (the batter does not rise that much. So nothing lesser than 3/4 full). Bake, rotating the pans half way through, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20-30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out onto racks to let cool completely.

6. To finish, fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip with the buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Just before serving top each cupcake with a thinly sliced strawberry. (I did mine with the open star tip and a small swirl and top it with a drop of strawberry jam to make it look pretty).

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (my notes in red.. I haven't tried this but I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream before and here are my tips)

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries (8 oz), rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 1 /2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature (In our hot and humid weather in Singapore, please make sure the butter is not melting. I would put it a the fridge for a while after cutting it into small pcs.. melting butter or butter that is too soft would result in a failure!! I had to fail twice to learn that it is the butter's fault :(..was such a waste of food/ingredients... really)

1. Puree strawberries in a food processor.

2. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water (My water is still boiling but at a very very low heat). Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingerstips) (please test it with your fingertips, it may take a while to dissolve, approx. 3 min).

3. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until mixture if fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) about 10 min.

4. With mixer on medium-low speed (by this time, I would have change to the paddle attachment), add the butter a few tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with a flaxible spatula and switch to paddle attachment (those with no standing mixture, just carry on with the same whisk attachment, it would still work, trust me.. ). Continue beating on low until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Add strawberries and beat until combined.

5. Stir with a flexible spatula until frosting is smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using on the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to one month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 min.

** For a better explaination on how to make a successful swiss meringue buttercream, I relied on How to Eat a Cupcake's website..

~Kau takkan pernah tahu apa yang kau miliki

Hingga nanti.. Kau kehilangan..

Maka jangan pernah tinggalkan aku..

Oh Kekasih..~