A Bone, A Paw and Cupcake for Ah Wang

I was prepared to have a baking marathon for these birthday treats for our dear colleague, Ah Wang. He's our 'dog' in the office. Yes, we bully him quite alot as we treat him as if he's one of the sisters too.
So what did I intend to bake? A dog bone biscuit for our dear 'dog' and some cupcakes as well.

Preparing the aluminium sheet for easy rolling of choc dough.

Without bone cookie cutter, I used a knife to cut out the rectangle shape, and rolled 4 small balls before flattening them.

I know they weren't the best-looking dog bones but it was still hard work to make them. My partner at work commented that they looked like flatten lizard!

Now for the dog paw. Using free-hand as well.

It was time to rest after these cookies were done. Another round of baking awaited the next evening!

On 2nd evening...

I started with baking Nigella's Vanilla Cupcakes.

Looking bouncy and full, didn't they?

Now for Chockylit's Vanilla Butter Cream.

I simply love this piping.

Finally, choc butter cream. What do ya think I was gonna do next with?

I piped another round of choc butter cream on top. Something different I would say.

Now for the cookies...

I melted strawberry choc for piping Ah Wang's initials on the cookies.

These would be Ah Wang's present and should last him for the next few days.

As there were a few extra cupcakes I baked with some batter, I decorated with the choc butter cream and strawberry choc. Hmmm... maybe this might be a source of design for my next cupcakes.

Cheery Cupakes for the Oct's Gals; My 1st attempt with Buttercream!

It was my 2nd attempt at a fruity cupcake, and this time it's cherry cupcakes for my dear Oct gals from my Uni group. Ms A had also came back from KL for this important gathering, but you could never get a complete group as there're bound to have 1 or 2 MIA-rianz. Another great recipe by cupcakeblog - Cherry-Vanilla Cupcakes

I started with creaming the sugar into the beaten butter.

The batter after addition of eggs, flours, milk and vanilla.

I scooped them into this small white cupcases that I got them from Sunlik.

These cupcakes are the types that won't rise to a dome shape but will still rise alittle.

As per previous cupcakes that I baked, I cut out a cone from the cupcakes.

A tsp of cherry filling (that I made earlier) went into each cupcake.

I prepared these cupcakes the night before our gathering so tucked them away in a tupperware into the fridge.

The next morning...

Morning! I worked up my lazy bones to the kitchen and prepared the vanilla buttercream for the cupcakes I baked the previous night. It was my 1st trial and I was excited about it.

I didn't know it's so easy to prepare buttercream. What I had in mind was the hassel of whipping it up and piping it.

Not to mention, it's my 1st trial at piping too!

Not all perfect, but I'm getting the hang of it.

I sprinkled little colourful teddies on top of the cupcakes.

I love my first piped vanilla buttercream cherry cupcakes! They looked way tooo cool...

Cherry-Vanilla Cupcakes (http://cupcakeblog.com)

Cupcakes
Makes 22-24 regular cupcakes / 375-350 degree oven

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to two-thirds full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes).
6. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Blogger's note: These cupcakes tend to rise quite a bit and will overflow if you put too much batter in the cupcake paper. Keep it under two-thirds full. They also tend to pull away from the papers as they cool. It should be minimal if the cupcakes were baked enough and shouldn’t be an issue. (At least it isn’t for me.)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
6-8 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk

1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
2. Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy
3. Add half of the sugar, the vanilla and the milk. Beat until combined
4. Gradually add remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Cherry Filling
2 cups cherries, pitted, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Add cherries, water, and vanilla to a pot. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Stir together sugar and cornstarch then stir into the cherries.
3. Cook until thick, about 20 minutes.

Triple Vanilla Cupcakes for ST

ST is a new colleague of mine, and her b'dae was coming up on 5th Oct. She's extremely sweet tooth, as proven by Ms Yap's deadly choc cupcakes previously. Her favourite is vanilla, and what a great relief to me!

I decided to do a triple vanilla for her, from top to bottom.

I baked some vanilla cupcakes, a recipe I took from 500 Cupcakes and Muffins.

I bought 2 cones of vanilla ice-cream as filling for the cupcakes.

I scooped the vanilla ice-cream from the cones.

And added a touch of cherry filling as well.

Lastly, a vanilla buttercream by Chockylit.

I piped buttercream on the cupcakes in various styles.

I had some lime cookies from my last bake.

The lemon icing from Nigella's was tinted pink.

And I used a toothpick to 'write' her initials on the cookies.

Tadaa... the final piece of art!

Strawberry for Gerry

I'm baking some strawberry cupcakes for Gerry's birthday. Actually I was in a dilemma as to the flavour that I'll be baking. I was constantly baking choc for everyone's birthday or demands, and it kinda dawn on me that it's so routine and uninteresting. Simply said, I'm not a fan of choc!

I'm more into berries and all... =D

I came across this Strawberry Cupcake recipe by crazyaboutcupcakes.

I started with getting ready the creaming.

And the slicing of strawberries.

I spotted a heart shape in a strawberry! Amazing! Fated! My Love! hahahaha....

I used a box out of 2 for the recipe.

I finally found these white cups but it was a 'medium' size.

The creaming started with butter and sugar 1st.

The strawberries and vanilla were the last to be folded into the mixture.

Papa gave me this giant spatula.

It cleaned out everything from the bowl!

I waited for the cupcakes patiently, and increase the timing as they didn't look totally cooked.

They looked like some mousse instead, right??!

And they had torn themselves away from the cups 'cos of over-baking =(...

It's tooo wet! I can't believe it. And there's no picture as to how the cupcake would look like and neither the texture as well on the website.

Strawberry Cupcakes (http://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/recipes.htm)
Ingredients:
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners.
2. With an electric mixer on medium speed cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Mix for 3 minutes. With a spatula fold in the vanilla and strawberries.
5. Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

With the disappointment I had in the day, I jumped to the next strawberry cupcake recipe that I found under howtoeatacupcake. I wzs tempted to try as the result was a really sweet and cool pink one.

I sliced the other box of strawberries and squashed them in a bag. More fuss-free this way. Sugar is added and set aside.

Next, boil the strawberries that the flavour ia already well enhanced by the sugar.

Blend the hot strawberries into juice form. Careful it's hot!

It's so yummy!

The strawberry juice was then added to the creamed butter and sugar with the milk.

I didn't get a pink mixture though. And it's pretty runny too.

They were ugly! And wet too, just like the batch in the morning!

I was disheartened. I was thinking am I that bad a baker??

As time was running out, I decided to use Nigella's vanilla cupcake and the remaining strawberry juice.

I love the way Nigella works around her kitchen. And I love her kitchen! I took the recipe down as she was demonstrating it over on SCV one day.

They are just simple cupcakes but look pretty enough to fall in love with.

To make strawberry jam, I added cornstarch bit-by-bit (depends on the thickness preference) and vanilla essence (about 1 tsp) to the strawberry sauce.

Finally, I saw some 'light'.

I cut a cone shape out of the cupcakes and pour a tsp of the strawberry jam in.

Then cover the top back, but of course you'll need to cut off the excess cake off the 'hat'.

I followed Nigella's lemon icing as well. It was lemony delish, alot better than my first trial of the Royal Icing!

The idea started with a drop of strawberry jam on the center of the lemon icing.

But I suddenly thought of a pattern made with cuppacino via a forwarded email. I did this with the help of a toothpick, drawing from the middle of the red dot and to the end.

Strawberry Cupcakes (http://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/recipes.htm)

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners.
2. With an electric mixer on medium speed cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Mix for 3 minutes. With a spatula fold in the vanilla and strawberries.
5. Fill the cupcake liners one-half to three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Strawberry cupcakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting
(http://howtoeatacupcake.blogspot.com/2007/05/strawberry-cupcakes-with-strawberry.html)

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup strawberry sauce
1/4 cup milk

strawberry sauce:
2 cups of fresh strawberries, cut in half and stem removed
sugar to taste
cream cheese frosting:
8 ounces or 1 package of cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar approximately
1/4 cup of strawberry sauce

cupcakes:

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Measure out milk and strawberry sauce together.
4. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
5. Add about one third the milk/strawberry sauce mixture and beat until combined. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
6. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to three-quarters full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes). Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350F until a cake tester comes out clean.

Strawberry sauce:

1. Macerate strawberries with about 1-2 tbs sugar for 15 minutes.
2. Put strawberries in a small saucepan and heat under medium heat with lid on. Cook strawberries for approximately 15 minutes till strawberries cook down and become soft and saucy.
3. Adjust sweetness with sugar until you get the desired sweetness.
4. Using a hand blender, puree until you get the desired smoothness or chunkiness. Cool before using in recipe.

Cream cheese frosting:

1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, beat until combined.
3. Add strawberry sauce until you achieve the right color and flavor, making sure not to add too much or the frosting will be too soft. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Nigella's Vanilla Cupcake

(I)
125g unsalted butter
1/2 cup + 1tbsp castor sugar
125g all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsps vanilla essence

(II)
2 tbsps milk

1. Blend all ingredients in (I) until pale and fluffy.
2. Blend (II) into step 1 for around 5mins.
3. Fill up 12 cupcake liners and bake for 15-20mins in preheated oven of 200 Deg C/ 400 F.

Lemon Icing

350g icing sugar
2 egg whites
A squirt of lemon juice (half lemon)

1. Blend icning sugar and egg whites.
2. Add lemon juice and con't to blend.