Are you Twitter-ing?

Have you been compulsively updating your moves (in 140 words) on Twitter 24-7? Seems like Twitter is the next big thing after Facebook. For those of you who aren’t quite familiar with it, Twitter is basically an online tool that allows your friends and family to communicate and find out what you are doing. As long as you are logged on, you can update your status and post pictures. Simply put, you can call it an online tracking tool. You can also follow other Twitter-ers and track their movements. I have been following Ashton Kutcher on Twitter and that guy is really entertaining. He is an avid Twitter-er and we followers get a behind the scene in to his life and movie set of his latest flick he is filming. Pretty cool, but other than that, unless you are always online, you may not be too into Twitter. Perhaps its more for movie stars and models who can delight their fans with their latest movements.

I am finally on leave after being busy for the past 3 months. Will be busy studying for the upcoming CPA exam in May, and hopefully catch up with some sleep as well. I bought this cook book from Kinokuniya ages ago and have yet to try any recipes in it. Even though I bookmarked quite a few. *hangs head in shame* These mini honey cakes are really easy to make and you can whip up a batch in half an hour. I use this brand of honey because it reminds me of my granny. She used to make me hot honey using this  Do use a good honey for the flavour will shine through in the cake.

Simple Honey Cupcakes

(Adapted from 100 cake recipes by Teacher Meng)

 

30g oil (any flavorless oil)

45g honey

3 large eggs

40g sugar

75g cake flour

½ tsp baking powder

 

1.     Preheat oven to 165C (325F). Line a 10 cup muffin tray or grease with cooking spray. Pour honey and oil into a cup (or bowl) and warm it over a pot of simmering water for about 10 minutes until honey melts. Stir mixture and leave it aside.  

 

2.     Whisk flour and baking powder together before sifting.

 

3.     With your stand mixer fit with whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar, gradually increasing speed from medium to high. The batter will gradually change to a pale yellow, 8 – 10 minutes. To test whether the batter is ready, lift the whisk attachment and allow the batter to trickle back into the bowl. The batter will not sink immediately. Continue to beat at low speed for 1 minute.

 

4.     Add in the dry ingredients and warmed honey and oil mixture into the batter. Stir quickly but gently until just combined.

 

5.     Divide the batter evenly, filling them up to ¾ full. Bake for about 16 – 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Makes about 10 – 11 cupcakes. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

 

Note: Pour 3 tablespoons of water into unfilled cupcake moulds before baking. This will help to prevent the moulds from distorting in the hot oven.

 

Hello, peak period…

Sorry for the lack of updates. The annual audit peak has come again. I have been very very busy the past 2 weeks, clocking an average of 15 hours a day (even during weekends). I will try to make time and bake every now and then. Still, it could be abit tough as I barely have enough time to sleep. I initially wanted to bake some cookies for the upcoming Lunar New Year but didn’t manage to. Instead, I made these little egg cakes. Similar to the fluffy asian cupcakes I made earlier, but they are a little firmer and do not shrink after they cool. My lazy streak made me pile all the batter into the 12-cupcakes. As a result, they overflowed during baking creating these little images of cupcakes wagging their tongues at me. Cute eh?

Little egg cakes

(Adapted from Teacher Meng’s 100 cake recipes)

 

120ml milk

2 tsp vanilla

40g oil

220g egg (About 3 large, 1 small)

120g sugar

3/4tsp salt

190g cake flour

2tsp baking powder

4 tsp milk powder

20g spongecake stabilizer (emulsifier)

 

1.    Line a 12-cup muffin tray with liners. Alternatively, you can grease the tray and flour it, tapping out excess. Preheat oven to 180C (360F).

 

2.    Mix milk, vanilla and oil together. Set aside for later use. Sift together the flour, milk powder and baking powder.

 

3.    Add egg, salt and sugar together in a mixing bowl. With the whisk attachment, lightly beat to combine.

 

4.     Add in the flour mixture and beat at medium high speed until the batter is thick and creamy. It is ready when the batter is milky white.

 

5.    Setting the mixer speed at low, add in the liquid mixture until combined. Let the batter stand for about 10 minutes before scooping into the muffin tray. Bake for about 22 minutes in the oven, or until the stick comes out clean when inserted.

 

 

One down, and many more to go….

I have a steadily growing to-bake list (I am sure many of you are guilty as well) which I try to shorten every now and then. Being an addict to sites like Tastespotting and Food Gawker certainly doesn’t help either. A couple of weeks back, I bought a huge block of cream cheese to tackle some of the recipes in the to-bake list. I stuffed it at the back of my fridge and promptly forgotten all about it. Mother gently (okay I lied. I meant loudly) reminded that the block of cheese was taking up unnecessary space in the fridge and preventing her from storing her precious herbs. Hmph. There is no love in this family. 

 

I took out the cream cheese today and proceeded to make to make some black bottom cupcakes, which I promised Mr DC ages ago. For some reason, my cream cheese remained grainy no matter how much I whipped them. With a sigh, I took out my mom’s dreaded chopper. With a few pulses, I got it to the smooth consistency I wanted. I gingerly scooped it out. No mess this time! Phew. The rest of the steps were easy enough. The cupcakes turned out super moist with the right amount of sweetness. The tangy cream cheese was a great contrast with the chocolatey cup cake. Yum! I got to get them away from me before I finish them by myself. :)

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
(from  David Lebovitz’s  The Great Book of Chocolate, as seen in Smitten Kitchen)

For the Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 tablespoons naturally unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup unflavored vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the Filling: Beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate pieces. Set aside.

Make the Cupcakes:
1. Adjust the rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 175°C. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line the tin with paper muffin cups.

2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix together the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring just until smooth. Stir any longer and you will over mix the batter and end up with less-than-tender cupcakes.

4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Spoon a few tablespoons of the filling into the center of each cupcake, dividing the filling evenly. This will fill the cups almost completely, which is fine.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed. These moist treats will keep unrefrigerated for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container.