Went on a complete baking hiatus due to the untimely end of my poor lil hand mixer. I've been swamped with the insane contact hours and workload that I have this semester. Only six weeks left to my degree!
So yesterday, I finally bought a new (and hopefully more competent) stand mixer from Harvey Norman which took a chunk out of my September allowance. It's only the second day of the month and I'm... already... broke...
I celebrated my new purchase by baking up some ultra cool cupcakes! 8) Notes about these cupcakes: the frosting is to die for! Yum yum, unlike most frosting recipes which uses tonnes of confectioner's sugar, this recipe only requires one cup!
Make them now please. And report back to me asap.
Chocolate Cupcakes
from Joy The Baker
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 cups cold water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla extract and vinegar.
Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients being careful not to overmix. The mixture will be quite wet, but that’s ok.
Pour the batter until the cups are two thirds full and place in the oven for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cup comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.
Peanut Butter Frosting
from Barefoot Contessa at Home
by Ina Garten1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
My bestie just got me these goodies! If you can't read Japanese (I can't either), they are DIY candy-making kits. It's absolutely fabulous and childish but I love them! The Japanese are so high-tech. If you want an idea of how to actually make them, watch this:
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| My 'takoyaki's. NOM NOM. |
