Mocha Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I love cupcakes. Their really a cinch to make, fun to decorate and really easy to give away (especially to a certain group of greedy monkeys) . So I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes but this time added some freshly brewed espresso and a nice shot of kahlua into the batter. They (the greedy monkeys at the park) absolutely loved it. Topped with a swirl of Swiss Meringue buttercream, it was a dream.
Mocha Cupcakes
replace milk/water in the recipe with freshly brewed espresso. Add a shot (or two) of kahlua (coffee liqueur)

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
90g sugar
2 large egg whites
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 t vanilla
90g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa

Whisk the egg whites with sugar over a bain marie until warm. Transfer mixture into the mixer and whip until it turns white and about doubles in volume. Add the vanilla. Finally, add the butter a stick at a time and whip. When amalgamated and smooth, whisk in the melted dark chocolate.

Chocolate Valentino

I seriously can't believe that its the end of February. School has been really hectic and I couldn't find any time for myself, let alone time to bake. :/

Anyway, I finally completed it since this Daring Bakers' Challenge was pretty straight forward and simple. A flourless chocolate cake, served with home-made ice-cream. I paired the warm chocolate cake with a salted-caramel & almond ice cream. Overall, it was a really good combination and we really liked it alot. However, the cake had a rather weak structure and wasn't very easy to slice at all. But the flavour of the cake was intense! I used 72% cocoa chocolate and boy did it taste divine. It was moist, chocolaty and really really fudgy. (: (: (:

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino
adapted from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stick plus 2 T unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water and melt, stirring often. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed.With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F
Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Warm Mocha Tart

I had a post-it on this recipe for a really long time, so I thought I would bake this today. It was really really easy-made in less than 30 min? Taste-wise, the tart was rich & chocolaty with a very luxurious mouthfeel. The filling was silky smooth and absolutely delicious.
Warm Mocha Tart
Recipe adapted from Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. The tart dough was a pâte sucré made some time back and kept in the freezer. You will need a 9 inch fluted tart pan.

3 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 t instant espresso powder
1/2 t pure vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten

Place the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and cream in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture is blended and smooth and begins to simmer around the edges. Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder and vanilla. Just before the crust is ready, whisk the egg thoroughly into the hot chocolate mixture. Pour the filling into the hot crust and turn off the oven. Leave the tart in the oven until it quivers like tender Jell-O in the center when the pan is nudged, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

These Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes were made some time back when my sister asked me to bake cupcakes for a friend's birthday. These cupcakes always come out perfect & the buttermilk gives it a delicious tang. I mixed up some chocolate ganache frosting & added some colourful sprinkles on top.

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
this is my no-fail recipe for vanilla cupcakes. moist, buttery & golden cupcakes everytime!

245g (1 3/4 cups) cake flour
1/2 t salt ( I used Pink Himalayan Salt)
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter
110g (1 cup) sugar
2 large eggs
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (alternatively, use half sour cream & half milk)

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together cake flour, salt, baking soda & baking powder. Set aside. Beat softened butter until creamy, then add sugar. With the mixer on medium speed, cream the mixture until light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. On low speed, add 1/3 of the dry mixture followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat, ending with adding in the last 1/3 of dry mixture. Beat just to incorporate.
Portion batter into 12 cupcake liners and bake for 20 min, until golden. A tester inserted should come out clean. Cool for 5 min before turning out onto a wire rack.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
a really simple ganache. rich, dark & delicious.

220g good-quality dark chocolate (I used one with 72% cocoa)
1 C heavy cream
1-3 T sugar (add according to preference)
1 T unsalted butter
optional: 1 T liqueur (rum, brandy, bailey's, kalua)

Chop the chocolate into evenly sized small pieces. Heat the cream in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate. Let it sit for about 3 min before whisking until smooth. Add butter and liqueur (if using) and sugar to taste. Allow the ganache to cool, it will thicken up.

Once cooled, frost the cupcakes with a generous dollop of ganache.

C is for Cookie

Made these chocolate chunk & almond oatmeal cookies again today for those lazybums coming over to watch recorded episodes of thelittlenyonya. Crispy at the edges and almost chewy in the middle, these delectable cookies are chockful of dark chocolate chunk and chopped almonds.


Stella baked Devil's Food Cupcakes for us to take to the airport. Thank goodness for those, if not I wouldn't have survived the flight. (gross airplane food) They were really good!

Chocolate Chunk & Almond Oatmeal Cookies
250g rolled oats
100g plain flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
170g unsalted butter
180g Demarara sugar
1 egg
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate, chopped
120g almonds, toasted & chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.Mix together oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix in chocolate chunks and almonds, toss gently to coat. In a seperate bowl, cream butter & sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 min. Add egg and vanilla, beating to combine. Fold in dry ingredients by hand until incorporated. (Using a mixer here, might cause over-mixing)
Portion batter using an ice-cream scoop/teaspoon onto a baking sheet. Flatten the cookies slightly. Bake the cookies for about 10-15 min, depending on the size, until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.