Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Last time I baked a cake with this recipe (the one decorated into Rilukkuma teddy bears in Japanese hot springs bath) it became a big hit. Also I myself wanna eat more :D So I baked it again but this time in form of cupcakes.

The cake texture was incredibly soft. Both the sponge and the frosting smelled and tasted fantastic. Thinking that peanut butter should taste good when pairing with chocolate, I melted some and drizzled it on top -- they did make the cupcakes taste better! I could never stop at just one piece each time I started nibbling those yummy cuppies :)

The recipe is from Martha Stewart. I must say I really love it and will definitely bake them again.

Lemon Meringue Pie

 

Lemon meringue pie has always been my hubby's favourite. So I decided to make one for his birthday this year.

For the recipes, I picked the pie crust from "The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook." Simply because it seems simple and down to earth for me. Lemon curd + meringue from Emilie S.'s "Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie" on AllRecipes.com. I guessed the 4.5 star rate with 1,138 reviews might be a taste guarantee in some way. Lol. Well, I rarely bake pie. It could help add a bit confidence ;)

I was quite happy with the result, both its look and its taste.

Ruffle Cake

I love the elegance this cake brings to a dessert table.

The ruffle, especially in pastel shades of colour, gives this cake a very lady-like look. Though it seems somehow complicated (in my opinion), it's not that difficult to make. All you need is a piping bag and a great willing to do the labour work. Also, bear in mind that the decoration calls for more buttercream. In my case, it took approximately 3 times more than usual.

As it was my first ruffle cake, the piping wasn't so neat especially at the ending part on top of the cake. So I just cover it with a buttercream rose ;) But it helps make the whole cake look a bit sweeter, doesn't it? Hehehehehe.

An idea for your upcoming Valentine's?

Strawberry Marble Cupcakes

I like marble swirls, especially of those marble cakes, and been wondering whether it'd look nice through cupcake paper cups too. So I baked some.

Is there a spy among us? Lol :D

I picked the recipe from Martha Stewart in the book "Martha Stewart's Cupcake". In the original recipe it is suggested to serve these cupcakes 'naked' with a lightly springkle of icing sugar. But I'd like to utilize leftover strawberries. So I made extra strawberry buttercream to give those cuppies a little 'icing on the cake' ;)

Nutella Devils

Who can resist the aroma of the hazelnut and chocolate paste called Nutella? Even only the name can provoke our test buds :)___ ....And what if Nutella becomes devil's food cupcakes? A double dose of pleasure, I think.

These cupcakes are a combination of Martha Stewart and Hummingbird Bakery creations. The base cake is Martha's devil's food cupcakes. But I adjusted the amount of sour cream to see how it would affect the finished goods. For the frosting, I took the recipe from "The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook." But I reduced the amount of icing sugar to control the overall taste not to be too sweet.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Its name is 'pie' but actually it is cake. I love Boston cream pie for two reasons: chocolate and pastry cream. Well, that's two out of its three elements already :D The cake is a combination of 3 things: plain vanilla cake + pastry cream filling + chocolate topping.

As many other cupcakes, Boston Cream Pie is originally made as layer cakes. In this version, they are baked into little cuppies.

A twist in cupcake version: instead of spreading the cream between cake layers, core cupcakes and fill in the pastry cream. I followed the the recipe from Une Deux Senses, except the cream filling because it's hard for me to find instant French vanilla pudding mix. I used this universal pastry cream recipe from Raymond Blanc instead. Turn out that it tasted fabulous together!! As other sweets with pastry cream, these cupcakes are best to be served chilled. I'll definitely make it again :)

Sugar Cookies

There are moments when we browse through online shopping websites that those dazzling goods widen your eyes and make your heart racing. Then your head starts to imagine yourself equipped with them and how good your life with those goods could be.

Lately I'd seen a set of cookie cutters despite the fact that I'd never made sugar cookies nor planned to do soon. But then those cutters seems too cute to pass. I finally got one :P

They had been sitting in my cupboard for several weeks until an occasion pop up. One of my cousins's got a scholarship at Harvard. I was so pround of him. Also, his birthday was coming up. Here come an opportunity for me.

After chilling overnight, the cookie dough was cut up into pieces.

When out from the oven. Ehhhh... looks like they're overbaked, losing their edges and letter print. Need to cover it up!

So I decided to paint over them, ignoring all the letter press.

Some sources for sugar cookies recipes:
~ Ideal Sugar Cookies by Martha Stewart
~ Sugar Cookies from Gourmet Magazine via Epicurious
~ Basic Sugar Cookie by SweetSugarBelle
And a complilation of recipes on
~ Delish.com

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Though not a big fan of chocolate mint, I couldn't resist the color of its minty green frosting. Too cute. Thus, Chocolate Peppermint Cupcake was the first recipe I baked after I'd got the recipe book by Cupcake Carousel Bakery.

March of the {Royal} Swine Troop!

One of my BFF since childhood loves baking and making desserts, in fact it's been her life. She's been into it since at very young age. Almost every birthday celebration she's the one who baked. Everyone knew, without any actual agreement, that if she was invited, just left the cake issue on her. She would be the one responsible for it -- yet impressed us every time. Now she owns the phenomenal dessert cafes, with 4 branches in Bangkok and still growing.

Sadly, on the birthday of her who baked us decent cakes, we could only order some store bought cakes for her. So this year, as I'm climbing up my baking ladder, another friend of mine suggested I bake 'pig-theme' cake for the birthday gal.

At the beginning, I planned the theme would be a combination of piggy (her fav creature) + royalty (she's the dessert "princess"). Somehow at this point, I think it might be wonderful if I can personalize the cake to be more spoken -- to be hers, and hers only.

That further touch could be but her beloved famous dessert cafes. But the addition must harmonize with the main theme. Think.. think.. think.

Logo should be the most obvious element to stand for the brand. So I'd play around with it. The original one is ram head in scallop border. So I made a mimic one featuring a pig head in the same gesture ;)

 Let's see the work

The {mimic} logo and the heads

The crowns for little piggies

Here they come!

 

 The base cupcakes were Maple Walnut Cupcakes and Monkey Devil's Food Cupcakes (Devil's Food cake with bananas). You can see the recipe on my earlier posts.

• Maple Walnut Cupcakes
• Monkey Devil's Food Cupcake

Monkey Devil's Food Cupcakes

Airy texture, intense flavor

 i L-O-V-E chocolate. It was almost impossible to me to pass this recipe without try it out. Besides, seeing people raved over it in reviews, I was curious how sour cream would make differneces in chocolate cakes. However, as I love the combination of Banana + Dark Chocolate, I added banana into the recipe. So these cake should rather be for 'monkey' devils. Lol.

Whenever working with chocolate recipes, use only the FINEST chocolate / cocoa powder you can find. Trust me, the results form different qualities are distinct. 

Maple Walnut Cupcakes

The original recipe can be found on Martha Stewart's website. Somehow I think coffee might complement the rich flavor of maple syrup in the frosting. So it was added into the milk required in the cake recipe. Also, I added more nuts than in the original recipe.

 { Bear in mind }

* Nuts should be gently heated in the oven before use. The heat releases the oil in nuts, enhancing their flavor and aroma. I like to 'roast' them either when preheating or cooling the oven. But be careful. Nuts can get easily burnt. Do not leave the oven unattended when roasting. Take them out once you smell the aroma.

* Frost buttercream less than usual, for this given recipe, due to its strong flavor especially the sweetness.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Scent of lemon is charming to me. It brings the sense of freshness and delight, brightening up those around them. So I decided to make birthday cupcakes of something lemon for my sister-in-law to reflect her being optimistic and gaily.

Lemon Zest // Butter & Cream Cheese

I paired lemon cream cheese frosting with cream cheese cupcakes. The subtle tang and creaminess of cream cheese goes well with lemon scent as well as lemon zest. Cream cheese cupcakes also taste nice on their own. So I made it more than needed to have it without frosting later. Hehehehe :P

The birthday girl, with her beloved son, at her vanilla moment

Strawberry Cupcakes (with Recipes)

And so I did it again.... Strawberry Cupcakes from Spinkles Cupcakes Bakery.
But this time I only did one batch with lots of strawberries stirred in the batter as per request of strawbery-lovers. This earlier post shows the last time I baked it.

Above is how I puree strawberries for the buttercream with a knife. Such a labor work. I should consider getting a blender ;P

Strawberry Cupcakes

I live in tropical area. Winter is the season for strawberries. So I made some strawberry cupcakes as a 'test bake' for the upcoming Valentine's Day. The recipes are from the renowned Beverly Hills cupcakes bakery "Sprinkles Cupcakes".

Rilakkuma (リラックマ) Double Chocolate Cake

My nephew would turn 1 this month. I wanna to make a special cake for his very first birthday.

I chose Rilukkuma (リラックマ) as the theme. It is Japanese cartoon character. The name 'Rilukkuma' derives from Rilak (relax) + Kuma (bear) hence meaning bear in relaxing mood.

via (clockwise from top-left) : {1} {2} {3} {4}

For the cake, I went for chocolate cake with airy texture which would be a compliment to milk chocolate ganache. I used milk chocolate instead of my usual dark chocolate for the ganache to give light brown color to match the color of the bear. Also its sweeter and creamier taste should be more kid-friendly than dark chocolate ganache.

Then it's time to cover the cake. I decided to leave the texture unsmooth so that it looked like stuffed toy bear. At first I made a yellow circle from tinted white chocolate ganache at each of its ears but it was too runny. So I took it out and just left the ears plain brown. The white section at the nose was made from whipped cream. The eyes, nose and mouth was made from melted dark chocolate.

Now he's ready to wish the boy a very happy birthday!

Everyone especially the birthday boy's parents were so excited. Lol. They also enjoyed the double chocolate cake. Hope my nephew will be happy too when he grow up and see the picture of his first birthday.

I really love the vanilla moment a cake can bring to a special occasion :)

Great-grandfather was giving the boy a piece of cake.