Chocolate Cupcakes!!

mmm...some of my favourite words: chocolate, and cake ^^ Had the urge to make some chocolate cupcakes in attempt to get rid of some of my ingredients =]

This time the recipe was from Lovin' From the Oven she's got some great stuff (and beautiful pics) so check it out if you have time! I'll just copy the recipe over...

Chocoalte Cupcakes

•2 cups sugar

•1 3/4 cups AP flour

•3/4 cup HERSHEY's cocoa

•1 1/2 tsp baking powder

•1 1/2 tsp baking soda

•1 tsp salt

•2 eggs

•1 cup milk

•1/2 cup vegetable oil

•2 tsp vanilla extract

•1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour 2 9-inch round baking pans or line muffin cups with bake cups.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on med speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter onto prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes if doing 9-inch round pans, 22-25 minutes for cupcakes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans/cups to wire racks and cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream:

•1/2 cup or 1 stick butter

•2/3 cup HERSHEY's cocoa

•3 cups powdered sugar

•1/3 cup milk

•1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter, stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.

And there you have it! I love decorating cupcakes, you can do so much with them! =] Sprinkles, fruit, buttercream, chocolate...just to name a few ideas ^^ Have fun~

Swiss Rolls Galore!

I love swiss rolls <3 I love eating them and I love makin em, but they never seem to turn out pretty like the pictures in the books...but they're fun to experiment different fillings with, and they taste great so that's all that matters right? =] Anyways, I made two swiss rolls this month:

A chocolate strawberry swiss roll, and a mango mousse roll =]

The chocolate strawberry roll is filled with whipped cream and strawberries, whereas the mango mousse roll is filled with, well, mango mousse and mangoes xD

For the sponge cake, I tried using a new recipe, from the book, 日嚐甜品（第二版）/Everyday Treats-Anita&Sanny@Jam Bakery and it turned out pretty well i think ^^ Here's the recipe converted into mLs:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, line a 12x8in. rectangular baking tray with parchment paper(i used a 13x9in. cookie sheet)
2. In a large bowl, whisk 4egg whites(room temperature would be best)  with an electric mixer at medium speed until foamy. Gradually add 52.5mL(3.5tbsp) of granulated sugar ad whisk until soft peaks form to make meringue. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk 4 egg yolks untl foamy. Gradually add 17.5mL(1tbsp + 1/2 tsp) of sugar and mix with electric mixer for at least 2 minutes until pale yellow and stiff.
4. Add in milk *53mL(about 3.5tbsp) if making a vanilla roll, and 65mL(about 1/4 cup) if making a chocolate roll* and 52.5mL (3.5tbsp) of oil and whisk well.
5. Sift in 70mL(about 1/4 cup) flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. baking soda and mix with electric mixer until just combined. *Sift in 2 tsp. of cocoa as well if making a chocoalte roll*
6. Fold in about 1/3 of the meringue into the batter, being as gentle as possible.
7. Then fold all of the mixture into the meringue.
8. Pour the mixture into the baking sheet and smooth the surface.
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
10. When it's cooled down a little, lift the cake up with a small knife, and peel off the parchment paper.
11. Laying a new sheet of parchment paper down on a clean work surface, place the cake onto the parchment paper, and use the paper to roll the cake up loosely lengthwise(so the short sides are on your left and right) and allow the cake to cool like this.
12. When you're ready, unroll the cake and spread on the filling of choice, thinning it out as it reaches the 3 sides away from your body.
13. Add fruit (if desired) on the side closest to you.
14. Roll the sponge cake into a swiss roll, using the parchment paper to help. Wrap it well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Fillings:

The recipe I always use for whipping cream is:

• 250mL whipping cram
• 1 to 2 tbsp. sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. rum
• Just mix them all together until it holds soft peaks

For the mango mousse:

1. Mix two packs of gelatine (7g each) with 1 tbsp. sugar and 65mL(about 1/4cup) hot water. Put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds to melt the gelaine fully.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk 250mL of whipping cream, then add the gelatine mixture along with 1 tbsp. of rum, 2 drops of lemon juice, and about 90g of mango puree (i used mango pulp) and mix together.

et voila! enjoy =]

Mango Mousse Cake

When I think asian cake, the first thing that comes to mind is mango mousse cake, and I've already made it a couple times, the most recently made one pictured on top here. Had some fun playing around with strawberries and chocolates, but not sure about the taste of it since I did a couple variations different from the one on the bottom. This was a cake order by the way, so I don't get to eat it =[ But I'm guessing the taste should be similar since I used the same recipe. All I changed this time was putting strawberries on top, and using cake flour for a lighter sponge cake.

One important thing I find with this recipe is that the gelatine has to be melted properly, otherwise it'll turn out all bumpy like the pictue below sorta shows. This can easily be done by putting the gelatine and hot water mixture in the microwave for a couple seconds to melt the gelatine and provide a more smooth result.

But none the less, it's yummy, so that's all that matters =]

For the recipe, I used the one from All That Matters, but with a little bit of variation since that recipe is for a 7x7 cake pan whereas I used a 9in. springform pan.

The sponge cake recipe I used is the one I use for almost all recipes requiring a cake base:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, lightly butter a 9in. springform tin, line base with non-stick baking paper, and dust lightly with flour
2. Sift 1 cup of flour and a pinch of salt together twice and set aside
3. Melt 4tbsp. of butter and set aside
4. Half-fill a medium saucepan with hot water(not boiling) and set over a low heat. Put four eggs(room temperature) in a heatproof bowl which just fits into the saucepan without touching the water. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs at medium-high speed gradually adding 2/3cup sugar, for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is very thick and pale, and leaves a ribbon trail when the beaters are lifted.
5. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add 1/2tsp. vanilla essence and continute beating until the mixture is cool
6. Fold in the flour mixture in three batches, using a balloon whisk or metal spoon. Before the third addition of flour, stir a large spoonful of the mixture into the melted or clarified butter to lighten it, then fold the butter into the remaining mixture with the last addition of flour. Work quickly, but gently, so the mixture does not deflate.
7. Pour into the prepared tin, smoothing the top so the sides are slightly higher than the centre.
8. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until golden, and the top of the cake springs back when touched and the edge begins to strink away fro the sides of the tin. Place the cake in its tin on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely. Peel off the baking paper.

Here are the converted values for the mango mousse and mango puree topping, along with the recipe:

1. Slice the cake horizontally into 2 slices, and trim the edges to make the cake into an 8 inch circle.
2. In a mixing bowl, whip 1-3/4 cup of whipping cream with 4tbsp. of icing sugar to mousse state (about 80% thick, with peaks that stand up straight) Refrigerate to chill
3. In a small bowl, dissolve 3 packs of gelatine powder in 1/3 cup of boiling water. Make sure the gelatine is fully dissolved ( you may have to microwave the bowl for a couple seconds). Add 360g of mango pulp (no mango puree at supermarket, but this works fine...it comes in a 850g can usually in the oriental aisle of the supermarket). Add 1 tbsp of rum, and mix well.
4. Add the mango mixture to whipped cram. Mix well until incorporated.
5. Using the cake ring, place a layer of cake and pour in a little less than half of the mango mousse or use a large piping tip to pipe the mixture into the pan. Do take note of the corners. Add sliced up mango cubes (as much as you want) and cover them with some mousse, but make sure you leave at least half of the mousse for later. Let the cake set slightly in the fridge for 10 minutes.
6. Lay another cake layer and pour on the remaining mousse. Let set in fridge for another 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, dissolve 1 pack of gelatine in 1/3 cup of hot water for mango puree topping. Again, make sure the gelatine is fully dissolved. Mix in 180g of mango puree. When the topping is cooled, arrange fruit, or aloe if you want on top of the cake, then pour in the topping carefully. Let the cake chill for at least 3 hours before removing the cake ring and decorating.

“Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." - Julia Child

Baking? Yes, I'm passionate about baking, but am also lacking in skills, and experience.

I'm just your average full-time student with a sweet tooth, and what little time left between all the tests and assignments, shall be shared with you all on my adventures in the kitchen as I build up what little knowledge I have on the baking world.

Feel free to comment, constructive criticism and feedback are always welcome.

As a pre-warning: please excuse pictures of food that makes you wanna gag....they really do taste fine, or I wouldn't put it up =]