All posts filed under: Cupcakes and muffins

Coconut cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting

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Made these cupcakes for my friend’s baby shower. She is expecting a girl so I wanted to make her something pink, hence the strawberry cream cheese frosting. The best part about using strawberries is that you don’t have to add pink dye to make the cream cheese frosting pink. The colour comes naturally from the strawberries. Ingredients for the cupcakes 150g unsalted butter 100g caster sugar 150ml coconut milk 2 eggs 220g self raising flour 1 tsp vanilla essence 20g desiccated coconut Ingredients for the frosting 250g cream cheese (room temperature) 30g unsalted butter (room temperature) 40g icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 4 whole strawberries Directions  Preparation time: 10-15min Baking time: 15-20min or when the skewer comes out clean  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Prepare a 12 case muffin tin Using a whisk, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy Then add in the eggs one at the time and continue to cream. Add in vanilla essence Add in the flour and coconut milk, alternating between the two until a smooth …

Mandarin cupcakes

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I have been happily harvesting mandarins from my uncle’s tree that I ended up with way too many mandarins. Since there was no way that I could possibly finish all of them, I’ve decided to make mandarin cupcakes. I’ve learnt a couple of lessons when baking with mandarin. Firstly, they are best to be boiled till soft. I’ve tried juicing them (didn’t feel very smart doing that), zesting them (they were way too soft to be zested). However boiling it till it is soft and then blending it using food processor retains the flavour of the mandarin. But before blending it, remember to remove the seeds from the mandarin if not the cakes will have a bitter after taste – trust me, I’ve learnt this the hard way. Ingredients for the cake  3 large mandarins (or 4 small ones) 200g self raising flour 150g brown sugar 2 large eggs 100ml olive oil 1 tbsp poppy seeds 3 tbsp maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla essence Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting 250g cream cheese 30g butter 40g icing …

Mini maple syrup bundt cakes

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I bought this William Sonoma mini bundt cake tin last year and to be honest, I struggle with it. The cakes do turn out pretty but it is so difficult to clean. I literally use a tooth brush and spend 15 minutes trying to get rid of all the scraps. An absolute nightmare. Besides the washing up, I had lost count of the number of times when my cake got destroyed by getting stuck to the pan. Hence, I rarely use this cake pan. The ingredient of the week is maple syrup. Today, I’ve decided to take the chance to use this difficult cake pan and this time I made sure that I greased the pan properly with oil and flour. Despite my efforts, there were bits and pieces of the cake that got stuck again. Although it does not look perfect, it tasted perfect! Ingredients 100g almond meal 100g self raising flour 50g caster sugar 60ml maple syrup 2 eggs lightly beaten 100g melted butter (unsalted) 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder …

Red velvet cupcakes

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The classic red velvet cupcakes. I’ve tried so many different recipes for this cupcake and somehow none of them were to my liking. Finally I’ve adapted one of my own cupcake recipes and tweaked it to make this delicious red velvet cupcake! The essential thing for red velvet cupcakes is the buttermilk. I decided to make my own buttermilk by using 100ml of full cream milk and adding 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (alternatively, you can use lemon juice too). Let the milk rest for a while and it should start to curdle. I had a little mishap this morning and made a batch without adding oil. I didn’t realise it when much later when I was eating the cupcakes thinking there is something missing. It tasted fine but the texture was like a steamed sponge cake – so weird. When I finally realised that it was oil, I made a second batch again. Oh gully! Nutrition per cupcake Ingredients To make the cupcakes (one batch makes 12) 120g plain flour 20g cocoa powder 3/4 …