White Chocolate Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I have to apologize for the lack of activities on Twenty Something recently. I'm now occupied with Project Mr. G. It's taking up a lot of my time because I'm too busy having fun. I'll be a little slow coming up with new posts but be patient and in time, I'll pick up my pace again (probably when Mr. G gets up to go to Sweden for 6 months - boo!)

I think I'm quite done with cupcakes. For now anyway. As much as I love them to bits, I think I'm a little OD-ed from it. The cupcakes were for a potluck party I was invited to. Besides J, I didn't know anyone else. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive but hey, what did I really have to lose? And I'm glad that I went anyway because I had a ball of a time and I met some very interesting people.

There were loads of Malaysian food and boy, those spicy dishes made me buzz. You know how it is when you bite into a chili and after the fiery aftermath your brains goes into this hyperbuzz that gives you a certain high? Well, I was on a high for sure.

I used to be able to take chili and lots of it. My family and friends can vouch for that. They think I'm mental when it comes to those tiny edible grenades. But since moving to Melbourne, my tastebuds have retired from its chili days and decided to chill. It's a little embarrassing actually. I don't exactly know how that's even possible but I guess it is.
Lemon & White Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ingredients:

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white chocolate, roughly chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, beat in one at a time. Add essence.
4. Beat in milk and then sifted flours, gradually in batches.
5. Fold in white chocolate, lemon juice and rind.
6. Divide mixture among cups and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
7. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.
8. Prepare frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat butter, cream cheese and rind in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar. Decorate cupcakes.

For the Chocolate Mars Bars Cupcakes with Whipped Cream recipe, click here.

Get paid to review my post - Read here for more details.

Cherry Ripe Chocolate Cupcakes

The girls and I are having a pizza & chic flick night. A rampage of emails usually fly back and forth a few days before because everyone’s excited to meet up. I personally think it’s so important for people to have their night with the girls or with the boys - depending on which company you’d prefer. Friendships are incredibly precious things to me and I’m fortunate to be surrounded by good people.

I’ve been thinking about making these cupcakes for a long time. And in Impatient Vocabulary, one week is a long time to wait. I run the process over and over again in my head and when I have a firm picture, things always go well. That’s me exercising visualization. Now, to visualize, money flowing into my account.

I am very pleased with the cupcakes as it came out fluffy and light. If you don’t have Cherry Ripe, not to worry, there is a substitute recipe. And I promise you, it’s just as good.

Cherry Ripe Cupcakes (makes about 18)
—————————————————-----------——

• 125g butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence*
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup Cherry Ripe chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour

———————————————————–

No Cherry Ripe? Replace it with:

• *1/2 tsp coconut essence (instead of vanilla essence)
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/3 cup red glace cherries, chopped coarsely
• 50g dark eating chocolate

———————————————————–

Milk Chocolate Ganache

• 1/4 cup cream
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely

Decorations

• 150g white chocolate Melts, melted
• pink food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan-forced. Line muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar and essence in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Incorporate eggs, one at a time.
4. Fold in milk, cherry ripe chocolate (or coconut, cherries and chocolate).
5. With an electric mixer, beat in flours.
6. Divide mixture among cases and bake for 30 minutes or until skewer comes out cleanly.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in small bowl, stir until smooth.
2. Cover bowl; stand at room temperature until ganache is spreadable.

Decorations:

1. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Tint it with food colouring according to your preference.
3. Make paper piping bags; spoon the chocolate mixture in and pipe coloured heart shapes onto baking paper-lined oven tray. Set in a cool dry area.
4. Wait for ganache to cool before setting the hearts on the cupcakes or the heart will melt from the heat.

Passionfruit Cupcakes

As strange as this may sound, I'm quite unused to blogger now that I'm working more with Wordpress (on Happee Monkee) . I know it hasn't been that long but really, there is that awkwardness when you change systems like for example between a Mac and a PC. I found when I was using Mac, it was rather difficult to switch back to a PC and vice versa. Or it's like, you taking a different route to work - and after two months you switch back - wouldn't it feel a little strange? We're after all, creatures of habit.

I should declare this week to be Cupcake Week. We seem to have a pattern here. And did I tell you that I just bought a new cookbook? All about cupcakes, cheesecakes and cookies! I love it to bits. Before I go to bed, I read it to myself like a bedtime story. Well laugh if you want, but those pictures are really pretty and I want to go to bed in a happy state of mind.

Recipe by Julie Le Clerc

Passion Fruit Cupcake (makes 12)
—————————————————————–

• 75g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 small eggs
• 1/4 cup passionfruit pulp (2 fruits)
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbs self-raising flour

1. Heat oven to 180C. Grease or line 12 muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in passionfruit pulp, then fold in sifted flour.
4. Half fill paper cases with mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of one cake comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Passionfruit Cream Cheese Frosting
—————————————————————–

• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 passionfruits

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and icing sugar together. Don’t over beat the frosting.
2. Fold in pulp from one passion fruit. Mix well.
3. Swirl frosting on cupcakes. To decorate, squeeze some pulp on top.

Lemon cupcakes

I was instructed to post something pretty. So here it is.

Lemon Cupcakes

(Yields 40 2oz cupcakes at 19gms per cupcake)

225 gms self raising flour

225 gms butter

225 gms sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Rind of 1 whole lemon (or more, if preferred)

Put everything in the bowl and beat on high. Try not to overbeat it as this will cause the batter to break. You want to stop when the batter is very fluffy and stiff.

Spoon batter into cupcake cases and bake at 180 Celsius for 20 minutes or till slightly brown.

You don't want to over bake the cupcakes as it was cause the cupcakes to be dry.

Once cool, mix a batch of buttercream and let your imagination run wild.

Finally, Eat.

notes: To make sure you get batter of nice consistency, try not to use butter that has been out too long. Butter that has been out too long will cause the batter to be slightly runny.

Use large eggs to ensure that the cupcakes have enough moisture.

Green Tea Cupcake

Hello, I'm writing this post at Mr. T's place because my laptop is in the workshop as we speak. A couple of weeks ago, it lost its voice. I thought the 'sore throat' would go away but Mr. G eventually work out it might be a hardware problem. So it's at the doctors having it's tonsils removed. Apparently, it's all ready to come home so I'm relieved. How lonely my days have been...

Anyhoo... it hasn't stopped me from baking.

Got tired of the usual chocolate and cheese so I thought I made something 'different'. The result? Milky yummy cancer-fighting cupcakes! Dessert that's good for you! Whee! We need more of those in the world.

Now, for the recipe.

Green Tea Cupcake (Makes 12)
----------------------------------------------------------
175g butter, softened
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted
85g instant green tea powder
3 tbsp milk

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160c.
2. Cream sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until fluffy.
3. Add flour and eggs. Beat till smooth.
4. Add green tea powder and milk.
5. Line a cupcake tray and fill the cup 3/4 full.
6. You know it's ready when you can smell cupcakes in the air. Seriously. But for an idiot-proof method, skewer it and if it comes out clean then it's done.
7. And if you think those holes are unsightly, then frost it with basic icing.


Twentysomething Notes:
Creaming the sugar and butter together gives cakes and cupcakes a lighter, fluffier texture. Its like biting into a cloud thereafter. I also used an instant green tea drink mix that had non-dairy creamer and sugar. If you're using green tea powder without sugar, then add an additional 1/2 cup sugar to the recipe.

Apricot Cupcakes

Another twenty-something and I were in the mood for some cupcakes. In fact, she's been in the mood for cupcakes for ten years. While we were sweet-young-things (SWT) i.e. in college, I made her a batch of apricot cupcakes and for years after that she has been pestering me to re-bake them. I ran out of excuses and decided it was time to pay my dues.

The recipe isn't quite the same, but it does the effect (i.e. eyes roll back, lips pursed, followed by, waves and waves of satisfaction).

Apricot Cupcakes
----------------------------------------------------------
5 cups self-raising flour, sifted
2 cups caster sugar
375g butter, melted, cooled
2 cups milk
5 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 dried apricot, finely diced

Icings (if you, like me, require a daily sugar fix)
500g packets pure icing sugar
2 passionfruit, pulp removed
1 lime, rind finely grated, juiced

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Line the muffin pans with paper cases.
3. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
4. Mix butter, milk, egg and vanilla. Pour into the well.
5. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine.
6. Fill paper cases with mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Passion fruit icing
1. Sift 1 1/2 cups icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons passion fruit pulp. Mix well.
3. Resist temptation to lick icing and spread on cup cakes.
4. Allow icing to set (yes, leave the icing alone!).

Lime icing
1. Sift 1 1/2 cups icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add lime rind and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Mix well.
3. Resist temptation to lick icing and spread on cup cakes.
4. Allow icing to set.