Caramel Cupcakes

Using one basic recipe, I made several variations and came up with one that I called Caramel Cupcakes.  By substituting granulated sugar with muscovado sugar, the batter smelled caramelly and when baked the cupcakes tasted like caramel cake.  I used one ounce cupcake mold and one ounce ice cream scoop to make equal distributions.  Let me know how yours turned out.

Caramel Baby Cupcakes

Makes 12 regular size cupcakes or 

38 mini cupcakes

180 gm all purpose flour

    6 gm baking powder

    2 gm salt

115 gm butter

200 gm muscovado sugar

2 large eggs

125 ml milk

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

- Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line pan with paper liners.

- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

- Cream butter and sugar.

- Add eggs one at a time until well blended.

- Alternately add in dry ingredients and milk, ending with dry ingredients.

- Stir in vanilla.

- Divide into pan.

- Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

- Cool in pan for 5 minutes.

- Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Happy Baking!

Home Baked Bread

The last time I baked bread was when I attended a special course on baking at the Asian Baking Institute under Chef Bejar.  As a special student, I got to choose the time and date when I would take the class on a one-on-one basis.  With all the ingredients and equipments at my disposal, my pandesals were perfectly soft, my loaf breads crusty on the outside and soft on the inside and my hopia squares were to-die-for, not to mention my enseymadas, spanish breads and cheese rolls.

This time, using a recipe I found on the internet (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/) I tried to replicate my previous success.  To my disappointment my pandesals were compact and my bread was on the heavy side.   I blamed my yeast, which I found out too late, was to expire this month.  And perhaps my rusty elbows which probably needed some greasing.

Both breads were delicious, albeit on the compact side and it made the house smell like a bakery.   I found out there are people who prefer compact breads and some people who prefer the fluffier breads.  I belong to the latter and therefore will continue to experiment until I have my perfect bread.

I find weighing my ingredients more convenient to measuring, therefore I will list the ingredients in both.

HOME-MADE BREAD

60 ml   (1/4 cup)         milk

21 gm   (5 teaspoons) sugar (or 1-1/2 tablespoons)

  5 gm   (1 teaspoon)   salt

21 gm   (5 teaspoons) butter (or 1-1/2 tablespoons)

  7 gm   (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast (or 1 package)

240ml  (1 cup)             warm water

300gm to 420gm (2-1/2 to 3-1/2 cups) flour

cornstarch or nonstick cooking spray (just to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan)

For a detailed instruction with pictures, check out:

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/

Happy Baking!

Cola Cake

I found the following recipe on the internet, contributed by Lee Avery Catts to "Atlanta Cooknotes" published by The Junior League of Atlanta,  and decided to do another experiment. I baked my version of cola cakes using two different colas to determine which cola tastes better.  

I began by weighing my dry ingredients, which I preferred because I found it more accurate for experimenting and less to clean up after and divided the original recipe in half.   I used Coca Cola in half the recipe and RC Cola in the other half.  

Cake Ingredients;

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups small mashmallows

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoon cocoa powder unsweetened

1 cup Coca Cola or RC Cola

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Preheat oven to 350c.  Grease 9x13 inch pan or 2x8 inches round pan.

- Sift together sugar and flour.  Add marshmallows into bowl and some into mouth.

- In a saucepan, bring to boil butter, oil, cocoa powder and cola.
- Pour over dry ingredients and blend well.  I used the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer set at speed 2.

- Dissolve baking soda into yogurt, just before adding to batter, along with eggs and vanilla extract.  Mix well.

- Pour into pan, lick bowl and paddle attachment. Arrange marshmallows evenly and bake for 35-40 mins or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

- Remove from oven and frost immediately.

- Cool completely before serving.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons cocoa powder unsweetened

6 tablespoons cola

16 ounces confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Bring to boil butter, cocoa powder and cola. 

- Pour over confectioners' sugar.  Blend well.

- Add vanilla extract and blend.

- Spread over hot cake.

The cakes came out fluffy and moist, but the frosting was far too sweet for our taste.  I would probably forego frosting and just dust with confectioners' sugar or serve plain.  

Both were sweet and caramelly with barely a hint of the cola flavor.  A couple of my tasters could not tell the difference.  But for those who did taste the difference, RC Cola was the choice.

Let me know the results of your own experiment.

Chocolate Madness Cake

The past few days saw me in a fit of chocolate craving and baking frenzy.  It was a mad combination.  I have not baked a cake in ages and I managed to bake 8 chocolate cakes, culled from 3 different chocolate cake recipes and bakers, which I switched around and finally came up with my very own version of Chocolate Madness Cake.
First recipe tested was Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake with Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Frosting, recipe found on every can of Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. The cake was too sweet but moist and fluffy.  The frosting not perfect at all.

Second was Nigella Lawson's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake, recipe found on the internet via the Food Network with how-to video on youtube. Again the cake was too sweet, crumbly and dry.   The frosting was a disaster.   But I take full responsibility for the disaster through no fault of the author.

Third was Dorie Greenspan's Devil's Food White-Out Cake, recipe found on page 247 of her book "Baking". The cake was bland and dense, again probably my fault,  but the icing was very good.  Dad even helped me scuplt the design.

Finally, my very own Chocolate Madness Cake.   The cake was a modified Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe with Dorie Greenspan's version of 7-Minute Frosting.  Success!

To break from all the chocolate madness, I managed to squeeze in Martha Stewart's Lemon Squares, recipe found on her website.  It was perfectly sweet and tangy.  

Note this Lemon Squares recipe was developed for very young bakers (kids!).  That should say something about my level of baking.  

Next project - Cupcakes!