Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

This chocolate cupcake recipe is for my fellow chocoholics. I've feeling down lately. Mainly because my husband was awy on business trip. Nothing improves my mood better than chocolate. So I made these cupcakes, hoping that these will miraculasouly lift my mood.

It worked. These were a charm.

My husband and I are kind of close.  We spend our evenings, weekends, holidays together, as a family. Me, him and our two little birds. So when he goes away on business trip  , you can see how this deeply disrupts our routine.

There is nothing I hate more than a disrupted routine.

I’ve tried convincing myself that this is a opportunity for me to spend some quality alone time with the kids (as if i don't do enough of that already).  

I’ve tried to convince myself that its only five day, they’ll pass

I’ve tried to think of all the gifts he will get us.

Its not working. Am a nervous wreck.

 Meanwhile, I bake. Baking is my refuge. 

Since I think of baking as therapy. I decided to bake myself some super chocolate cupcakes. You know, nothings lifts my spirits better than a good chocolate dessert. 

Am glad to report that these cupcakes have kept me sane while the hubby is away.

Yep. These cakes have kept my company well.

But that is the kind of effect you would expect when you eat a dessert worth god only knows how may calories per serving.

I do hope your piping skills are better than mine, I hate how I clumsily frosted these cupcakes, but overall am very satisfied with how these things turned out. 

I could have far done worst.

Especially since the hubby is away.

P.S. the original recipe states to fill the cupcakes 2/3 which yields 24 cupcakes, but since am greedy, I filled them 3/4 and ended up with 18 cupcakes. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 For the cupcakes:

Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups or 177g all-purpose flour
• 2 cups or 408g sugar
• 3/4 cups or 90g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup or 250ml buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup or 115g melted butter
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
•  1 cup or 250ml freshly brewed hot coffee
• 1/2 cup or  semisweet chocolate chips

For the Frosting:

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

• 1 cup or 230g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2½ cups or or 317g powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup or 113g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled chocolate chips, for garnish

Steps: 

 For the cupcakes 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C /350 °F /Gas mark 4. 
2. Line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. 
3. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. 
4. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
5. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips.
7. Using a large scoop, distribute the batter between prepared cupcake pan, filling each well 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 
8. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

For the Frosting:

1. In a heat proof bowl, placed over your double boiler, place the chocolate over low heat. Stir occasionally till the chocolate melts.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the wire whisk attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scrape the bowl as needed.
3. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. 
4. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. 
5. Add the melted chocolate and whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Frost the cupcakes using your favorite piping head.

Garnish with chocolate chips.

 Devour & Enjoy.

Please share & comment. Leave a comment if you like what you see, oh and btw, am willing to share one of these if you share this post.

Nigella's No Bake Cheesecake

 
This was the first dessert I made in my life.

I like to think that I've a long way since then.

For someone who has never actually set foot in the kitchen before, I think this was quite an achievement.

Even my husband couldn't believe I made it...

He rolled his eyes when I was buying that 9" springform cake pan...
I bought it anyway...

He flinched when I said I want to make a cheesecake...
I didn't care.

He suggested we buy a ready made cheesecake.
I had other plans...

He Shrugged when he saw me pressing biscuit crumbs into the pan...
I moved on...

"You can't cook to save your life" he proclaimed...
"He might be right" I thought...

When he sampled it, he gave me a high five...
 In the end, I got him hooked...


Conclusion? If you've never set foot in the kitchen, even if you don't own an oven, but you plan to make a start. Start with this. Everyone will be impressed with your "culinary skills". You won't regret it.

There are many no-bake-cheesecake recipes. I've tried  A LOT of them, in the end this is the recipe I fall back to. It doesn't use gelatine, yet the cheesecake holds its shape pretty well (thanks to the whipped cream).

I've modified the original recipe by adding more cream cheese, sour cream & sugar. I had to make sure its heart clogging material, else I would not eat it.

No Bake Cheesecake

Adapted from Nigella Lawson
{Click here for printable recipe}

Ingredients:
For the biscuit base:

• 125 gram(s) digestive biscuits
• 75 gram(s) butter (soft)

For the filling:

• Three packs or 600g cream cheese (ex. Philadelphia cheese)
• 2/3 cup or 75g powder sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon(s) lemon juice
• 1 cup or 250ml whipping cream 
• 1 cup or 250g sour cream
• 284g cherry jam or any jam of preference (e.g., jar of St Dalfour)

Steps:

Prepare the biscuit base:

1. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until beginning to turn to crumbs.Add the melted butter and blitz again till the butter has been absorbed by the biscuits. 
2. Press this mixture into a 9" springform pan. 
3. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling:

1. In the bowl of mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the whipping cream,until soft peaks. Remove from the bowl, and put it in the fridge.
2. In the food processor, or the mixer, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice until smooth.
3. Using a spatula or metal spoon, gently fold the whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Poor the filling into the refrigerated crust. Smooth the top with a spatula. 
5. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
6. When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, unmold it and spread the black cherry over the top.

See you next recipe...

Cardamom and Pistachio Cake: A cake in dreams

 

This cardamom and pistachio cake is what we call cake elhail wl fustok. Cardamom (hail in Arabic) and Pitachios (fustok) are very popular in Arabian Cusisine. They are used in both savory and sweet food. To add to it, cardamom is also traditionally used in Arabic (or  coffee. The smell of cardamom always brings me back to my childhood, when I'd wake up to school every morning to the smell of my dad's Lebanese coffee infused with Cardamom. Lebanese coffee is the coffee we drink back home, usually at local coffee shops in Lebanon (absolutely not Starbucks) you can easily spot the smell of cardamom being infused into the coffee. Its amazing how sometimes the mere smell of good coffee can cure headaches..

Now to the cake... Where do I begin... All desserts are perfect to me. But this one is a special dessert. Its not a dessert you have everyday, nor is it a dessert that would make you go on sugar coma, this dessert will simply awaken your taste buds. Imagine a creamy texture that melts into your mouth, the nutty flavor of pistachios combined with the spicy taste of cardamom. It's truly a marriage of tastes.Its cake made in heaven. It's moist, but not too moist, sweet but not too sweet, nutty but not too nutty..

I've written this recipe based on several trial and errors. Am happy to say that to me, the proportion of cardamom and pistachio is ideal. Sour cream adds moisture to the cake, while the conrstarch gives the cake a light and fluffy texture.

I admit that this is not the fastest cake to make. Making your own cardamom spice is tedious. But you'll forget how tedious it is once you smell the fresh aroma of freshly grounded cardamom, aka hail...













 

 After you finish reading this post, please visit your grocery store, buy all the ingredients and give it a try. After all, its a bundt cake. Nothing is easier than a bundt cake.





 

P.S. You can also use a 9" cake pan (but it wont look as cute as a bundt cake)

Cardamom pistachio cake 

Source: my original recipe

{Click here for printable recipe}

Ingredients:
For the cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 300g
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ tspn salt
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup or 100g unsalted chopped pistachio
• 1½ teaspoon fresh ground cardamom about 20 pods
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 sour cream
• ¾ cup or 150g butter
• 1 ½ cup or 300g sugar
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs for coating the Bundt cake

For Rose water cream cheese frosting:

• 1 pack or 200g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 5 tablespoons rose water
• 5 tablespoons milk
• ½ cup or 62 gram powder sugar
• 3 tablespoons natural unsalted pistachios to garnish
• Melted Chocolate for drizzling

Steps:
Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to  180°C /350 °F /Gas mark 4.
2. Butter a 12 cup bundt pan and coat with fine dry breadcrumbs. Set aside.
3. On a chopping board, gently ponder the cardamom seeds till split open. Using your hands, remove and discard cardamom’s green shells. In the mortar, crush the cardamom seeds till powdery. Or use a small coffee grinder to grind the seeds.
4. In the food processor, blitz the pistachios until they are finely grounded.

The Cake:

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, cornstarch and baking powder three times.
2. Add the pistachios and cardamom..
3. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. About 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix just until combined. Then add the sour cream. Mix for three to four minutes or till combined.
5. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternate between the liquid and dry ingredients.
6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then ½ the milk, then 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then ½ the milk and finally the last 1/3 of dry ingredients.
7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan, spreading evenly.
8. Bake in the third rack of the oven, for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
9. Once done, allow the bundt cake to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before inverting it.
10. Let the cake cool completely before decorating and frosting.

To make the frosting:

1. Sift the icing sugar.
2. Add all the ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix until combined.
3. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl of the
4. Spread the frosting over the cakes. Sprinkle with pistachios & drizzle with chocolate then let the cake cool for one hour hours before serving.

Devour & Enjoy..

The cake of the month project: Swedish Saffron Cake

It's very easy to get caught up in recipes and forget about experimenting new flavors, I recently came to the conclusion that am basically relying on the same recipes over and over again. To spice things up, I’ve decided to start a new project. Every month I will bake a traditional cake from a new country. Something which is unique and tasty. Something I don’t have every day, and most importantly, something I have never baked before.

This month’s cake will be from Sweden.

I have this fascination with Sweden that I can’t justify. Maybe it’s because everyone there is tall and blond, or because of IKEA, or because they are the most eco-conscious country in the world. I have secret plans to move to Sweden one day. But before I do that, here are the top ten things I have to do before:

1. Learn Swedish.
2. Loose some weight so I can blend in with the blond & slim population.
3. Dye my hair blond so I can blend in with the blond & slim population.
4. Increase my coffee consumption. Apparently, the Swedes drink a lot of coffee.
5. Know to exchange value of Euro.
6. Exchange my entire life savings to Euro. Does anyone know the equivalent of 100 Kuwaiti dinars to Euro? A small fortune maybe?
7. Be on time. The Swedes are punctual.
8. Start to like winter, especially long cold ones. If not, antidepressants were made for a reason.
9. Understand what a carbon foot print is & become more eco friendly: is it really this difficult to stop using disposable bags?
10. Get used to the fact shopping time ends at 5 pm. And stop complaining that the mall in Kuwait closes early at 10 pm.

Unfortunately, people who are not slim, blond, coffee drinkers, euro users, winter lovers, eco-concious, always late & shopaholics have little place to fit in the Swedish community. Therefore, all my plans to move to Sweden will be put on hold. Meanwhile am going to feed my never ending fascination with sweden with a cake like no other.

Saffron cake.

In Kuwait, saffron & cardamom is a popular cake. Although the Swedish & the Kuwaiti version both use saffron, the test is completely different. Kuwaiti version usually involves adding turmeric, pistachios, cardamom & sometimes rosewater. While the Swedish cake is saffron only. I think both cakes are a treat to taste buds. But hey who am I to judge? I like all cakes. So don't take my word, try this cake.

When making this cake, make sure to use real saffron. Not an artificial colored turmeric powder with synthetic flavor and a “E” additive on the label.

Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice by weight. Its usually sold in grams, luckily, a little goes long way. So you don’t need to spend your life savings to devour in a little saffron pleasure.

Honestly, I was little worried that I would not like the cake. But when I sampled it, I couldn’t stop, aside from its aromatic smell, it was light and moist and had just the right amount of sweetness with a it had pungent flavor & a honey like taste.

This cake is fairly easy to make. The hardest thing was whipping the eggs and sugar till they are frothy. But I found a little pink machine that does this well, it’s called Kitchen Aid & I treat it as one of my own children.

The rest is easy. Am sure you all know who to melt butter and fold flour. Although I was lazy to fold the flour and I used the whip attachment to fold the flour. Which probably explains the crack in the middle. 

 If you really liked the post enough to make the recipe, share your photo on Facebook page here.

Swedish Saffron Cake

Adapted from: delish.com who adopted it from Allt om Mat

{click here for printable recipe}

Ingredients
1 cup or (200g) butter, melted
½ tsp (0.5 g) of saffron
1 tsp sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/3 cups or 300g sugar
1 cup or 250ml milk
1 2/3 cups or 210g all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
Confection sugar for decoration
Whipped cream or strawberries, or raspberry jam.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C /350 °F /Gas mark 4.
2. Butter and flour the sides and bottom of a 9” springform cake pan. Line the pan with parchment paper.
3. In the mortar, mix the saffron with 1 tsp of sugar until it’s a powder.
4. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment or a handheld electric mixer whisk, beat eggs & sugar until frothy about five minutes on high speed. The mixture should be very thick and mousse-like. Add the saffron and sugar powder.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter & the milk. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the liquid ingredients to the egg and sugar mixture.
6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and baking powder into the bowl.
7. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The cake should be golden brown, slightly shrunken back from the sides.
8. Leave to cool for 30 minutes on the wire rack. Release the sprinform clips, and leave to cool completely before removing from the bottom of the pan.
9. Powder with confection sugar before serving. Serve with whipped cream, or strawberries, or raspberry jam. 

See you next recipe...

Nutella Molten Lava Cake | نوتيلا مولتن لافا كيك

This is just another typical example of why I shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen.  I made these beauties a few days back they took me 20 minutes to make, 15 minutes to bake, and 5 minutes to eat. They were gone before i could blink. Luckily i managed to rescue one them and save it for a photo shoot.. If you are drooling already, please feel free to skip immediately to the recipe.

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE: Celebrating Wataniya telecom's birthday

I made this cake when Wataniya telecom announced a bake-a-cake competition. Don't be intimated. this cake is easier than it looks.

The Oreo crust was simple to make. Just some butter and cookies blitzed in the food processor. Needless to say I munched on a few cookies in the process, am sure the calorie fairies will forgive me, after all, who can resist caramel Oreos? I would also like to confess of having a few spoonfuls of the buttery Oreo crust. It was just too good to missed.

Divin moelleux au citron (French Lemon Cake)

How to describe a lemon?

Bitter, tangy and yet sweet. Yellow, round, and grow on trees.  Juicy, sour and so moist. Its one of the few fruits that can be used for making juices, marinades, garnishes, and cakessss. Need I go more? Its loaded with vitamin C, antioxidants, and lots of other good stuff. But the best thing about it? Its smell. There is a reason to why all the cleaning detergents have two smells: original or lemon. Its because nothing is fresher than a lemon. Absolutely nothing.

Today, I want to share a little obsession.

The first time I had moelleux au citron was Paul’s Café & Bakery in the Avenues. Needless to say, I fell in love. I couldn’t get enough of it. When I came home, it was I could think of. I knew I wanted to make something to resemble it. Who am I to try to copycat Paul’s cakes? But I wanted to try. After several (and I mean SEVERAL) recipes and failure I was devastated. I couldn’t find a recipe to taste so soft and cloudy. I became obsessed. I tried every lemon cake recipe I could find, but I was never satisfied. Every time I baked a cake, I went back to Paul and ordered moelleux au citron, my heart was weeping. I had fantasies of stalking the chef and stealing the recipe… I became obsessed.  I was so close to losing hope until I found this recipes. In English, it means divine lemon cake. I gave it a try, and indeed it was divine. True to its name.  My search was over. My obsessions was cured. I can now go back to living my life happily baking a lemon cake when I craved one, not fantasizing about stalking other chefs for recipes. Am still going there every time I crave moelleux au citron, but Paul I know your secret. This recipe is as close enough as I can get to your cake. For now.. Am still searching for more lemon-y recipes, but am cured.
 

The most important thing to remember when making this cake is to use cake flower as specified & to whip the egg whites until they are shiny and glossy.

This recipe calls for cake flour which i can’t find anywhere i Kuwait, but fear not, I’ve got a great DIY cake flour.

For every 130 g of cake flour (1 cup): 

• 105 grams (3/4 cup) all purpose flour plus 30 grams (2 tablespoons) cornstarch.
• Sift the flour and cornstarch four times before using in the recipe to incorporate air into the flour and voila, you got a cake flour ready to be used.

Whipping egg whites:

• Use the freshest eggs you can find.
• Its best to separate the eggs when they are cold.
• Separate the egg whites from the yolks and ensure no egg yolks get into the whites.
• Use an egg separator or separate the eggs in three bowls. One for the yolks, one for the whites, and one to use while separating the ehh whites. Sometimes the egg yolks break into the white, so to be on the safe side, use the third bowl to separate the whites, and when done, transfer the egg white to the remaining egg white mixture.
• Bring the egg whites to room temperature before whisking.
• Add a pinch of salt to the eggs.
• Start whipping the egg whites with a pinch of salt at a medium low speed, once the egg whites are foamy increase the speed to high while watching the egg whites closely. They should become shiny and glossy.

Divin moelleux au citron (Lemon Cake) 

Adapted from here 

Needed: 

4 eggs, separated 

130 g icing sugar (2/3 cup)  + 10 g (2 ½ teaspoons) 

Zest and juice of two lemons 

80 g (1/3 cup) butter, melted  

120g cake flour (1 cup) (100 g all purpose flour + 27 g cornstarch) 

11 g (2 ½ teaspoons) baking powder 

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C /350 °F /Gas mark 4. Butter and flour a 8" cake pan (I used 9"). Set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar lemon zest and juice until creamy and well incorporated. Gradually add the butter, flour and baking powder.
3. Transfer the mixture to another bowl. Wash the bowl & whisk attachment and dry completely. (If your bowl or mixture is not completely dry, the egg whites will not rise, the cake will not be as light as it should be)
4. Add the egg whites to the mixer’s bowl with a pinch of salt. When the egg whites are foamy, add 10 g of sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are shiny and glossy.
5. Fold the egg whites into the cake gradually. Use a flexible silicone or metal spoon. Fold the egg white in three stages,  1/3 at a time. Fold  until just incorporated. Make sure not to “break” the egg whites.
6. Transfer the cake batter into the cake pan.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, invert into serving place, dust with icing sugar or melted white chocolate.

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