Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've been wanting to make Red Velvet cupcakes since way back when I started baking but I have no idea what's stopping me? Isit the amount of red colour that is part of the ingredient that scares me? Isit eating something red that scares me? Isit the thought of not successfully making my cupcakes red that worries me? In fact, now I remember.. I tried making it once but it came out brown.. not red.. and the boiled buttercream was a disaster.. And that's why I stopped the thought of making any red velvet up till now. 

First of all, you can't find red velvet easily in Singapore.. I don't travel to US or other countries where Red velvet is common anytime soon.. But my mind keeps thinking what the hell does it taste like?? I was so excited when I saw a Red Velvet cake at Island Creamery at King Albert Park.. I was so disappointed at how I have spent my $5+ on such a huge slice of cake which I couldn't even finish.. The cake was dry and it wasn't even cream cheese frosting but some awful tasting white cream.. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to demote that place.. Hey, I love Island Creamery but that cake truly disappointed me..  

Since, I'm not busy with orders this week, I decided to try it.. Plus I was kinda craving for a cream cheese frosting... After doing my research on what is Red Velvet and what it's suppose to kinda taste like and after searching, through so many recipes online, I made up my mind and tried one recipe and had no regrets.. The cupcakes were moist, delicious vanilla tasting cupcakes... With a hint of cocoa..

I was quite enthusiastic to make the frosting because I've never seen a frosting with so little sugar and uses heavy whipping cream. it was a creamier frosting, less sweet and more cheese taste which I totally love.. I was too lazy to pipe the frosting and it was to soft anyway. Maybe more sugar will help but I didn't want to affect the cheese taste. But maybe a few minutes in the fridge would enable me to pipe it nicely but I wanted to eat it right there and then! hahaha..

Red Velvet Cupcakes (taken from http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html) 

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup milk added with one 1/2 tbsp distilled vinegar)

1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1/3 cup (80 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (175 Deg C) and line 12 muffin tins with cupcakes liners. (I got 11 regular sized cupcakes). Prepare the home made buttermilk and put it aside.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. (I used regular cocoa) 

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (abt 1-2 minutes). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (abt 2-3 minutes). 

4. Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

5. In a measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk with red food colouring. With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in 3 additions beginning and ending with the flour. 

6. In a small cup, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and quickly fold into the cake batter. (The batter will be liquid-ey)

7. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of the spoon. (Since it's quite liquid-ey, what I did was pour the batter into a measuring cup with handle, and pour into the cups. I only managed to get 11 regular sized muffin cups 2/3 filled)

8. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean. 

9. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove them from the pan. Let cool completely before frosting. 

Frosting:

1. In a bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. 

2. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency. (More sugar will make the frosting stiffer, more cream to make it thinner) 

~I see you driving 'round town
With the girl I love and I'm like,
Forget you!~

Mango Cheesecake

This is a really late new year post.. I've been busy lately with a few orders.. And I haven't even got to touch my Daring Bakers Dec challenge.. Although I have bought the ingredients early.. I feel disappointed in myself..sigh~

Let's take a look at 2010.. It was a really bad start but eventually it got better.. Which year doesn't have its ups downs? I went through tumultuous times where I fell into a deep hole and had to get back up, myself ultimately.. But I think I couldn't do it without my friends.. I can't thank them enough.. and of course my boyfriend who's always there for me.. :) What I learnt is that you gotta stay strong and focus.. you'll get through it in time.. It will only get better..

As for my baking, I think I'm improving.. But there's always room for more improvement.. I managed to complete my very first PME Course in Sugarflowers.. To me, that was an achievement.. I totally enjoyed every moment of it.. I made my very first wedding order.. Feel kinda proud of myself that I manage to pull through.. From baking, I had to learn to become a botanist, florist, photographer, designer and many more.. haha.. I hope to become better in every aspect.. 

One thing never change though, I still do not eat much of my own baking AND I still don't like the taste of fondant.. hahaha.. I enjoy the process of baking and watching people eat the goods.. But I'm too critical of myself.. Nothing is ever good enough.. But I do bake some of my cravings a few times.. But I get sick of it the moment I bite into it.. Lol.. Don't ask me why.. I don't know, I guess.. Watching people happily eating, enjoying and finishing my baked goods makes me happier and contented than anything else..  

I've never liked fondant from day one.. But I know I couldn't avoid it..  They make cakes really pretty and awesome looking but I just can't see how people can eat it.. For me, I don't have a sweet tooth anymore... Hence, too sweet a thing will just turn me off.. Thats the reason why I roll my fondant as thin as possible when I decorate cakes.. It has its pros and cons.. But I want to let people eat what I will eat.. If you get what I mean.. My principle has always been to make cakes that taste good.. It's hard to balance taste and looks at the same time, but I guess I just have to try my very best to fulfill it.. I'm just a firm believer in taste and quality..

Moving on, I've never really seen much places selling fruity flavoured cheesecakes besides strawberry.. Have you?? Hence, when a friend of mine requested for one, I was quite excited to try it.. 

I'm not a big fan of mango.. I do eat mangoes, depending on my mood... I dislike the drink and I don't really fancy the ice cream.. Cakes are not so bad.. But I know alot of people actually do like it a lot.. And since, I've never really seen any shops selling Mango Cheesecake, I will take the challenge and make my own.. I tried 2 different mango cheesecake recipes.. Both has their own like-ability factor.. In the end, I had to adjust a bit here and there to make the nicer version in my own terms.. :) However, I will share the recipes that I tried with you guys.. 

The first recipe I tried was from Catherine Lau's Cheesecake Seduction book.. The mango cheesecake came out really pleasant looking.. Nice colour, Firm and Refreshing mango hint in the cheesecake.. It baked nicely..

The 2nd recipe I made was from Giada De Laurentiis.. I simply adore her.. cos she's so pretty and has an amazingly seductive tonation and voice.. hahaha.. I know it sounds crazy but I would go ga-ga about her if i were a guy/man.. haha.. Her cheesecake had ricotta cheese and way more mango puree in it, which made the cheeseake softer.. richer.. nicer to some tasters.. But I think I baked it too short, hence the cheesecake was still soft.. The cheesecake didn't have a nice outlook because I do not have a food processor to smoothen the ricotta cheese.. Ricotta seems to coagulate into small globules while mixing using my KitchenAid.. Which becomes apparent when you slice the cheesecake.. I did bring the cheese to room temperature but the batter still didn't turn out smooth.. Guess it's time I invest in a food processor.. :)

Both cheesecakes are wonderful.. Which is better depends on the individual.. Most of my tasters preferred Giada's recipe but I think Catherine's recipe was less cloying and I would eat more than 1 slice of it.. So, why don't you guys try it out.. and tell me which is nicer.. ;)

Giada's recipe on the left and Catherine's on the right

Mango Cheesecake (taken from Catherine Lau's  Cheesecake Seduction)
(my notes in red) 

Base
110g Butter
200g Disgestive Biscuit, finely crushed
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
50g Cornflakes

My Version:

12 pcs digestive biscuit

Approx 1 tbsp caster sugar

Approx 4oz unsalted butter, melted

Filling
500g Cream Cheese, diced
120g Castor Sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Custard Powder, sifted
30g Cornflour, sifted
360g Mango Puree
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
200ml Whipping Cream

Topping
1 Mango, Sliced
40g Apricot Glaze
40 ml Water

1. Preheat oven to 150 deg C.

2.Prepare base. Melt butter over low heat. Add combined biscuits, sugar, cornflakes. Fry until fragrant. Press into a greased 23 cm springform of false-bottomed pan with your hands OR the back of a metal spoon. Cover cake pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
My version: Grind the biscuits to your own coarse-ness. Stir sugar into the biscuit and pour butter over the biscuit mix. Press the biscuit onto the base of a 9" springform of false-bottomed pan round pan with the help of the back of a metal spoon. Leave aside.

3. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, custard powder and cornflour and beat until smooth. (To lessen dishwashing chore ;), I sift the custard powder and cornflour on top of the sugar in a bowl).
4. On low speed, add mango puree. Slowly pour in the eggs and mix until just combined. Add cream and blend until mixture thickens.

5. Pour filling on biscuit base. Place cake pan in water bath. Bake for 1hr 15min or until filling is set but slightly soft in the centre.

6. Turn over off. Leave cake in oven for 30 minutes with the door closed. Remove water bath from oven. Leave cake to cool completely in oven with the door ajar.

7. Arrange mango slices on cake. (After cheesecake cools, I refrigerate the cheesecake overnight or at least 4 hrs. I arrange the mango slices on it after I took it out from the pan and then decorate it. It looks fresher and mango taste fresher this way).

8. Stir apricot glaze and water over low heat until glaze dissolves. Glaze top of cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6hrs before removing from pan and serving. 

For Giada's recipe, just click here. I would like to try the Basil Lemon sauce someday. It looks really interesting..

~Let's conspire to ignite

All the souls that would die just to feel alive~

Sugar Cookies

When I was young, maybe around 12-13yrs old, I remember making sugar cookies with my 3rd elder sister for Hari Raya.. We followed this Pillsbury recipe book.. I remember vaguely she said to me that Sugar Cookies actually must be rolled and cut using cutters but she lazy and we shall take the easy way out. So we end up making Drop Sugar Cookies and sprinkle some rainbow sprinkles.. It was one of my favourite Raya cookies that we made.. Those were the years when she was still free to bake and I would be helping her around... I love and miss those times actually..

I never knew sugar cookie dough was so hard to handle till now.. I tried different recipes and all the receipe, the dough became soft and sticky and I just had no idea how to solve it.. My incessant trips thru and fro the fridge was useless.. and I still ended up with ugly cookies that I was not satisfied with. But I never gave up trying new recipe and reading up and watching videos on sugar cookies.. Asking fellow bakers around for a good recipe and method.. And whether they face the same problem.. I can never understand why the recipe I made is so hard to handle, it's just sticky and I can't even cut it nicely.. And I will end up getting frustrated and just blame the weather in Singapore.. Hmmm..

But.... I was fortunate enough to found this sugar cookie recipe.. And it was so much easier to handle.. It wasn't sticky and it's a faster way and definitely less hassle. All thanks to being a member of the Daring Bakers. :) It was the Sep challenge where they had to make decorated sugar cookies..

Sugar Cookie are naturally sweet if you can't tell by their name.. haha.. However, I realize that I have no patience to decorate with Royal Icing flooding method.. The top reasons being I have to let it out to dry, I worry that the cookies become soft after exposing it in the air so long. Secondly, I realize the flood makes the cookies soft and lose the crunchy texture of the cookies.. Hmmm.. Or isit just me?? hahaha.. Last reason why I dislike flooding is, it adds more to the sweetness and the cookie become excessively sweet.. Just too bad I no longer have a sweet tooth but I'm pretty sure kids will like it.. I stick to Royal Icing in medium consistency as it dries faster and you can always use fondant too.. :) Fondant is good because if you're not a fan of fondant, you can always peel it off.. Hehe..

This recipe has a whole different method and it works really great and much faster and I totally dig it.. You roll the dough before putting in the fridge.. That's the secret to efficient-ness.. But it's really sweet.. Maybe I should lessen the sugar.. Oh, Make sure you prepare alot of parchment paper..

Basic Sugar Cookies (taken from Sep challenge of the Daring Bakers by Mandy of "What the Fruitcake?!")
(my notes in red)

200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

1. Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. (Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape).

2. Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms. (Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid flour flying everywhere).

4. Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces. ( I divided into 4. Smaller sizes makes it easier to keep in the fridge; takes up lesser space).

5. Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)

6. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins. (Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker).

7. Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface. (I didn't have to flour at all cos it is not sticky at all to me. Adding no flour is good news to me as adding more flour will makes dough tougher and will end up will tougher cookies, I think.. haha).

8. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.

9. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour. (Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking).

10. Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.

11. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

12. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies. (Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in some cookies being baked before others are done).

13. Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.

14. Leave to cool on cooling racks.

15. Once completely cooled, decorate as desired. (Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated cookies can last up to a month).

~You know I'm such a fool for you
You got me wrap around your finger...~