Cupcake Trio: Lemon, Coffee & Chocolate

We went to a gathering this afternoon for Risk (the board game) and fireworks. In the past we usually would bring in a dozen of cupcakes from Waitrose. But now I am a baker (well, sort of) so it becomes unacceptable (at least for me) to bring any store-brought cupcakes. What happened was: I woke up at half eight to try out a new recipe which I had been studying for 2 days, with an ambition to bake something French & fancy. By 11am, unfortunately, the whole plan was proven to be a DISASTER. Lesson learnt. Never ever try to attempt any untested recipe for a purposeful bake again. Plus, choux pastry is not easy!

Overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment, I almost thought maybe I should just go to Waitrose again. Then I suddenly remembered the marble cupcakes I made last month (which I still haven't had time to blog about yet!). That recipe was very easy and reliable. Because I made a Victoria sponge using a similar formula too (which, again, hasn't been blogged yet. Doh!). Looking at the clock, I still got 2 hours. Should be enough. Just enough. Most importantly, I got all the necessary ingredients at home.

However, I got a personal goal to try out 10 new recipes every month. I just couldn't do the same marble cupcakes again. I need to do something different! How about a marble cupcake trio with three flavours? Yet it's too risky to put three flavours together in one single small cupcake. Wait... Maybe just 3 batches of cupcakes in different flavours? The upside of this idea was... with 3 different cupcakes to choose from, my friends should have higher chance to find something they like from my cupcake basket?

That's how I ended up in baking 20 cupcakes in 3 different flavours in 2 hours.

The result was quite pleasing. Everyone loved them. All but two were gone when I left the house after 5 hours. The most impressive thing was, when the host handed the cupcakes to a late-coming friend, the guy shook his head and said, "Nah.. I only like the home-made ones." -- Judging by the look and colour, he thought they were brought from a bakery! And after a bite, he liked it.

I think I'd love to call it a minor triumph. A very minor one, but still, a triumph.

Loosely based on:

"Chocolate Marble Cake" by Emma Lewis on BBC Goodfood.

Original Ingredients: (Makes a 20cm round cake): 

• 225g butter , softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 225g self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Original Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C/gas 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper. If you want to make life easy, simply put all the ingredients (except the cocoa powder) into a food processor and whizz for 1-2 mins until smooth. If you prefer to mix by hand, beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
   
   
2. Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Take 2 spoons and use them to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the tin alternately. When all the mixture has been used up (and if young kids are doing this, you'll need to ensure the base of the tin is fairly evenly covered), tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren't any air bubbles. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.
   
   
3. Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.

My Ingredients: (Makes 20 small cupcakes, each about 4cm across the base):

For Cupcakes:

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2.5 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp expresso powder
• 1 lemon, juice & zest  (yielding about 1 tbsp zest)
• 15g walnut, crushed
• 18 pieces of chocolate drops or pieces

For Buttercream & Topping:

• 90g butter
• 120g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• (Lemon Buttercream only) extra 1 lemon, 1/2 tbsp milk
• (Coffee Buttercream only) extra 1 tbsp espresso
• (Chocolate topping only) Chocolate sauce & mini marshmallows

My Method:

1. Heat oven to 170C. Prepare lemon zest & juice. Crush walnuts. Dilute 1 tbsp of espresso powder with 1 tbsp of hot water. Place cupcake cases on two cupcake trays.
   
   
2. Beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of milk until the mixture is smooth.
   
   
3. Divide the mixture among 3 bowls:
   (For lemon cupcakes) Stir in 1 tbsp of zest, 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tbsp of milk.
   (For coffee cupcakes) Stir in 15g crushed walnuts, half of the espresso solution, 1/2 tbsp of water.
   (For chocolate cupcakes) Stir the cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of milk.
   
   
   Mix well after stirring in the specified ingredients.
   
   
4. Each bowl of the cupcake mixtures can approximately fill 7 cupcake cases to half full. Bake the cake for 22 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.
   
   
5. Put the icing sugar & butter into a large bowl, then beat together until light and pale. Divide the buttercream among 2 bowls:
   (For Lemon buttercream) Add 3/4 tbsp of zest, 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tbsp of milk. Mix well. Then use a piping bag to decorate on lemon cupcakes.
   (For Coffee buttercream) Add the remaining half of the espresso solution, 1/2 tbsp of water & 1 tbsp of espresso powder. Mix well. Then use a piping bag (either another piping bag or after washing) to decorate a coffee cupcakes.
   (For Chocolate topping) Squeeze about 1/2 tsp of chocolate sauce and stick a handful of mini marshmallows on.

One-line Verdict:

An easy cupcake recipe derived from from classic Poundcake forumla. Almost fool-proof.

Note:

• It's quite hectic to prepare a "Trio" with three different flavours, but I wanted to make sure my friend can find something they love in my cupcake basket, so I just tried my best to come up with three distinct flavours. In fact, it just took me a little bit over two hours to finish the whole preparation, baking & decoration even I had to wash and wipe the mixer and piping bag after doing each flavour. 
• I was planning to do a chocolate ganache topping but I didn't have enough time. The marshmallows were a pure improvisation. I wasn't too happy about it. :(
• This cupcake trio used the classic Poundcake formula with equal proportion of flour, butter and sugar. The texture was rather dense compared with some other cupcakes (such as The Hummingbird Bakery cupcakes) which has significantly higher sugar content and less flour. I added an extra quarter teaspoon of baking powder for a lighter texture.
• For simple butter cream using only butter, icing sugar & milk or water, I usually like to have a 1 to 1 butter-sugar ratio for plain or vanilla butter cream, but this time I increased the sugar ratio by 30% to compensate the sourness of lemon and bitterness of coffee powder. The degree of sweetness, surprisingly, turned out pretty well. My friends loved them.
• To carry 18 cupcakes with frosting to my friend's home, I used a big 5.5 litre Lock & Lock container which I purchased as part of this set from Amazon. An exact dozen of cupcakes can fit securely in the box without moving around. For the chocolate cupcakes without frosting, I just stacked them into a small tupperbox.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £6

Carrot Cake

A little confession time: I never ever liked carrot cake. After knowing today's baking class was about making carrot cake, I was struggling -- Should I just skip the class? Skip another class? I skipped last week's class because it was about donuts -- I don't hate donuts but I honestly can't imagine making half dozen, bringing them home and finishing in 2 days...

I finally decided to go. Yea. Should really give carrot cake a second chance. I've never made any carrot cake before. Maybe with some modifications, I'd love carrot cake better? Also I'd love to learn how to make marzipan carrots. Christmas is coming, I'd love to make some festive cake with marzipan decorations.

Therefore I went to the class, back with a box of carrot cakes that I quite liked. :)

Did I enjoy making carrot cakes? Well. It's not too bad. Will I make carrot cakes again? Definitely!

("What carrot cakes? They're homegrown carrots from my garden!")

Adapted from a recipe used in a baking class held by Tower Hamlet Idea Store.

My Ingredients: (Makes 1 deep 8" round cake OR 1 shallow 8" round plus 4 cupcakes)

• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 150g butter
• 125g muscovado sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• about 265g grated carrots (275g raw before peeling & grating)
• 1 small ripe bananas
• 30g walnuts
• 20g pecans
• a bit of natural marzipan
• food colourings (yellow and red)

My Method:

1. Preheat oven at 170C
2. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda) in a bowl.
3. Smash the walnuts & peacans by a rolling pin or chop the nuts by a knife. Grate the carrots.
4. Add muscovado sugar into a mixing bowl. Make sure there is no lump or use fingers to reduce the lumps. Cream the butter with the muscovado sugar until lighter & paler.
5. Add the well beaten eggs into the butter-sugar mixture in 3 batches, mixing well each time.
6. Add the dry ingredient mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix well -- it is okay to mix really hard without any fear of over-mixing.
   
   
7. Place the batter in a greased , floured tin and/or cupcake cases. Baking time depends on depth of the tin:
   - All batter in a deep 8" pan: 1 hour
   - Half of the batter in a shallow 8" pan: 45 minutes
   - In cupcake cases (medium ones, not those for muffin nor fairy cakes): 25 minutes
   
   
   
8. Meanwhile, prepare marzipan carrots. Videos or tutorials can be easily found on Google.
9. Check the cake is cooked or not by piercing the centre with a clean small knife. It is cooked if it comes out clean. Or press the surface with a finger to see if the cake bounces back.

One-line Verdict:

Without the sickly sweet frosting, this homemade version tastes great!

Verdict:

• Never a fan of carrot cake. I find it too dense, too moist, too cinnamon-y and too sweet. The original recipe I got from the baking class includes the method to make butter cream topping but I just skipped it. Indeed I love the cake better when it is served alone without any sweet topping. It can be the best carrot cake I have ever had -- not because it's a good bake (I think it wasn't) but because I could and had tailored the cake to perfectly suit my taste!
• The cake is less dense and a bit airier because of the use of extra leavening agent in self-raising flour. For a more traditional texture (i.e. DENSE, which I don't like), plain flour should be used instead of self-raising flour; levelled (but not heaped) teaspoons of baking agents should be added.
  
  
• Muscovado sugar is moist and lumpy especially when it has been opened for some time. Make sure the sugar is free or almost free of lumps before mixing with butter.
• The use of pecans and walnuts gives the cake some crunchiness. And the nuts go really well with nutmeg and cinnamon.
• Marzipan is made of sugar & almond which can be an issue for people with food allergy.
• Carrots can be replaced by 4 small ripe bananas (so a total of 5) to make a banana cake.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £4 (can be cheaper if not using nuts especially pecans)

Chocolate Walnut Brownies

Adapted from, with heavy modifications:

"Chocolate Chunk Cookies" from The Great British Bake Off.

My Ingredients: (Makes 24)

• 150g flour
• 125g unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g dark brown muscovado sugar
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 100g walnut pieces
• 50g dark chocolate (86% cocoa)
• good pinch of salt
• Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

My Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the walnut pieces on a baking tray and toast them for 6-8 minutes. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into smaller pieces. Use a knife if needed.
2. Put the soft butter into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg and the sugars and beat well.
3. Sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking powder into the bowl and mix in with a wooden spoon.When thoroughly combined, work in the toasted walnuts and chocolate pieces.
4. Spread the dough onto a baking tray lined up with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until the brownie is lightly golden. Rotate the tray halfway through the baking time so the brownie cook evenly.
5. Remove from the oven and leave the brownie on the baking tray to cool and firm up for 5 minutes. Cut it up into 2cm x 8cm pieces into mini brownies. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

One-line Verdict:

It's a MISTAKE.

Verdict:

• It is important to toast walnuts or any other nuts before baking because nuts can never get hot enough to toast while baking due to the presence of other ingredients surrounding them. Toasting nuts beforehand can help reduce the bitterness of raw nuts and give them some extra crispiness.
• After the test bake, I found that the cookies were more fudgy that I'd like and tasted more like brownies. Hence I baked the remaining dough into brownies in a tray. This change of texture could be caused by the reduction in chocolate so the same amount of leavening agent gives the "cookies" more "raise" and result in a "cakey" texture resembling brownies.

• I replaced half of the chocolate (100g) specified in the original recipe by 30g of cocoa powder as I want to have less chocolate-y bakes. I also used 86% cocoa instead of 70%. I should have added extra butter to compensate the loss of chocolate. The substitution should be: 40g of chocolate can be replaced by 30g cocoa powder plus 14g of butter. It means I should have added 35gram more of cocoa powder plus 35g of butter.
• The cookies/brownies are not too sweet but drier than most brownies as a combined result of the reduction in chocolate and the use of higher cocoa %. But honestly I am quite happy with the sweetness. If I make this recipe again, I might add 35g of extra butter but I won't use the chocolate bar with 70% cocoa as suggested.
• Muscovado sugar should not be replaced by golden caster or any other brown sugar because it is significantly moister than other brown sugar.
• Approximate cost of the main ingredients: £2

Banana Walnut Bread

Adapted from:

"Banana Bread" from BBC.

Original Ingredients: (Makes a 20cm x 12.5cm loaf)

• 285g/10oz plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 110g/4oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 85ml/3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Original Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture.
5. Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.
6. Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.
7. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

My Ingredients & Method:

• Basically followed the recipe word for word except the following modifications:
• I used 3 ripe bananas instead of 4 (as I misread the recipes, doh!)
• I used a 20cm (8-inch) round cake tin as my loaf tin is smaller than the suggested size.
• I reduced the baking time to 40 minutes.
• I added 30grams of walnut.

One-line Verdict:

An easy cake perfect for breakfast or teatime with coffee or tea.

Verdict:

• I misread the recipe and accidentally reduced the banana portion by a quarter. The resulting cake had a weaker banana flavour than most store-bought cakes. Oh yes, banana bread is technically a cake. The "bread" title has more to do with the loaf-shape then the texture.
• Tin sizes or shapes definitely affect baking time. This must be taken into account when substituting tins. A rule of thumb is to reduce the baking time by about 1/4 when using a shallower pan (in another word, a wider tin with larger surface on the top) than the one in the recipe. For a recipe with an original baking time of 60 minutes, start checking 40 minutes after start.
• Walnuts or any nuts should be toasted at 200C for 6-8 minutes before chopping and mixing with the batter. I didn't realize that from other online resources until I finished my bake!