Hit hard with 2 Choc Swiss Rolls

It was during one chinese variety show that featured old bakery house that sells traditional swiss rolls sparked me to try baking one.

It wasn't that hard, I thought. Simple ingredients + simple steps = no problem.

I looked up the websites for the recipes.

But it wasn't as easy as it looked. I tried 2 recipes but both flopped. I turned to peanut butter cupcakes in the end, which didn't look that fantastic either. A friend couldn't even taste the peanut butter and asked me if it's choc?!

I think I must be too disappointed with the recipes, which I've deleted from my laptop. I couldn't find it in my recipe folder at all!

Recipe 1

The result was a really light and fluffy swiss cake. Unsatisfied, I continued to bake with another recipe

Recipe 2

This is worse! It looked more like choc cake.

Since I've promised my colleagues I'll bring one over to them, I decided to use back the 1st recipe and bake an unsuccessful choc swiss roll cake.

Maybe I felt I needed to bake one more time, but a better cake, to make myself feel better.

So I scroll to my folder and located a Peanut Butter Cupcake recipe.

Hmmm... I didn't manage to taste it and I can't remember why. Probably the failures before this set in pretty hard.

Here's the recipe for Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Servings: Makes 12
Ingredients:
For cupcakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powderRounded
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup whole milk

For icing
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

Special equipment: a muffin tin with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups and paper liners

Preparation:
Make cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
3. Beat together peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, then mix until just combined.
4. Divide batter among lined muffin cups (about two-thirds full) and bake in middle of oven until pale golden and a tester inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Turn cupcakes out onto a rack and cool completely.

Make icing while cupcakes cool:
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth.
To thicken icing to spreading consistency quickly, spread it on a metal baking sheet and chill until thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Scrape icing back into bowl and stir until smooth. Spread icing on cupcakes and sprinkle with peanuts.

Cooks' notes:
• If you aren't pressed for time, chill icing in bowl, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes before spreading on cupcakes.
• Iced cupcakes keep, chilled in an airtight container, 3 days.

So what did I do with the swiss roll cakes? I slapped choc frosting that I kept away in the fridge for some time already and snadwiched the cakes.

=( No words to describe my great disappointment!