Vanilla Cupcake

 I had so much fun baking and decorating these yummy vanilla cupcakes. I got the cake recipe from the blog site, ``Cupcake Project.`` They truly are the ultimate vanilla cupcake. It was my first time using vanilla beans, and I have to admit they really do make a huge difference. The vanilla flavor is multiplied by 100%. This cupcake was honestly delicious and so simple.

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

•1 C granulated sugar

•1 vanilla bean

•1 3/4 C cake flour

•1 1/2 t baking powder

•1/2 t baking soda

•1/2 t salt

•1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature

•2 large eggs, room temperature

•1/3 C full-fat sour cream

•1/4 C canola oil or vegetable oil

•1 T pure vanilla extract

•2/3 C whole milk

1.Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

2.In a small bowl, combine sugar and seeds from the vanilla bean.

3.Using the back of a spoon, move around the bowl and apply pressure to break up any clumps of seeds and to better infuse the vanilla flavor into the sugar. Set aside.

4.In a medium-sized mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5.Add the vanilla bean sugar and mix until well combined.

6.Add butter and mix on medium-low speed for three minutes. 

7.In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

8.Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined.

9.Slowly add milk and mix on low speed until just combined. 

10.Fill cupcake liners just over 1/2 full.

11.Bake for 14 minutes and then test to see if they are done. They are done when a toothpick comes out without wet batter stuck to it. 

12.When the cupcakes are done, remove them immediately from the tins and leave them on a cooling rack to cool.

You can top this cupcake off with your favorite frosting. The great thing about vanilla, is that it goes well with everything :).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Double Choco-Oreo Cookies

So I know I'm only supposed to post new cupcakes that i bake every week. But this is my blog and I make the rules lol, plus I just made these crazy delicious choco chip Oreo cookies for my brothers, and i wanted to show them off. They were amazing! Fluffy, extra chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges, just how I like them. I have never been able to find a cookie recipe that i absolutely love, and I'm pretty sure that I've found the winner today. I baked 24 cookies 10 minutes ago, and I'm now down to 4 haha.

I got the recipe from the, "Chef at home" cookbook, and added my own little tweaks to it. Here is the final recipe :).

Double Choc-Oreo Cookies

• 1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 t pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 C dark chocolate chips
• 6 semi-chopped up Oreo cookie

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together and set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. If you don't have a stand mixer, beat vigorously by hand in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating until well combined. Scrape down the bowl and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped Oreos.
5. Scoop out a big tablespoon ball of dough, roll it for a moment in your hands and then drop it onto parchment paper. Slightly flatten the balls.

For a soft, chewy cookie, bake for exactly 12 minutes. For a cookie with a bit of crispy crunch, bake for exactly 15 minutes.

Hope you guys try out these tasty cookies, let me know what you think of them and how they turned out :).

Next week I'm thinking of baking the, ULTIMATE VANILLA CUPCAKE! From the blog site called, "Cupcake Project." I'll be putting a little Halloween touch on them. I'm also baking a french toast cupcake with maple buttercream frosting for my brother's breakfast party!

Have a great week :)



Chai Tea Cupcake with Cinnamon Frosting

I ended up making the chai cupcakes with cinnamon frosting from Baa Baa, Cupcake this week :). The flavor was amazing, but i found that the cake was way too heavy. My dad and I came to the conclusion that it was dense, due to the recipe having no eggs in it, since it was vegan. Besides the weird texture of this cupcake, the frosting I have to say was soooooo good. It had just a hint of cinnamon flavor that didn`t overpower the chai spices in the cupcake and it was silkyyyyy smooth, YUMMY. I would definitely recommend this frosting, but would choose a different cake recipe to go with it next time. Maybe you can use your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe and add chai spices to it. I`ll have to try that out and let you know how it turns out.

I topped this cupcake off with edible gold flakes, that i found went great and looked amazing with the frosting`s color :)! Got a new piping set, still have a lot of practising to do with it lol. Here`s the recipe!

Chai Tea Cupcake with Cinnamon Frosting

Makes 4 dozen mini

• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 5 black tea bags
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• pinch ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Line mini cupcake tin with paper liners
2. Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil.  Add the tea bags and cover.  Remove from heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, squeeze the remaining milk out of the tea bags.  Remeasure the milk and save one cup of it (drink the extra as a mid-baking pick-me-up!)
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, yogurt, sugar, and vanilla into a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.  
4. Add the tea mixture and mix until well combined.
5. In a medium bowl, add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and pepper.  Mix with a whisk.
6. Add the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl.  Mix until well combined.
7. Fill paper liners 2/3 full of batter.  Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cinnamon Frosting

Enough to cover 4 dozen mini cupcakes

• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 T milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you have added 2 cups.  Mix well after each addition. 
3. Once you have added 2 cups of confectioner's sugar, add the milk and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Add the cinnamon, mix well.
5. Add remaining confectioner's sugar to achieve desired consistency. If you accidentally add too much sugar and the frosting becomes dry, add a little more milk.  

And there you have it! I`m thinking about baking a cupcake that incorporates coffee since i didn`t do it this week, but i can`t seem to find a recipe that catches my eyes or looks good. I did find a cool snickerdoodle cookie cupcake that looks interesting from a blog site called, cupcake project.

Until next week everyone :)

BON APPETIT

 I don`t really know why I'm doing this. Maybe because i see all these cupcake blogs, and tell myself, I love baking and eating cupcakes just as much as all these other people do. So why not start a blog of my own ? I might not be as good or knowledgeable as some of these fellow bloggers are, but hopefully Ill get great advice back and grow as a baker!

  I`ve been thinking long and hard about what I want my concept to be, actually just since yesterday night lol. The first thing that came into my mind was the movie, Julie & Julia! I don`t know why, but it just did haha. I want to bake a new cupcake every week! Either my own recipe or cupcakes from my all-time favorite pastry books and online sites. Ill always put the recipe because I HATE IT when I see something yummy online and the recipe isn`t posted GRRRRRR. Ill also explain how it turned out, and what my secret taste testers thought of them. One of them being my toughest judge, ``The Boyfriend.``I still havn`t been able to bake a cupcake that he loves. So far I have a cake he thought was great, and a chocolate cream cheese frosting he liked. Hopefully doing this mini enjoyable challenge of mine, will help me bake Jonathan's favorite cupcake. If not, that will be a whole new concept ill have to try out :) !!!

This week I`m thinking about either baking a chai cupcake with cinnamon frosting from one of my favorite blog sites called Baa Baa, Cupcake.

 Or a cupcake that incorporates coffee in some way. HMMMMM... what to bake, what to bake? Ill have to decide pronto, since we are Tuesday and I only have 5 more days to make a not so easy decision.

Until next time cupcake lovers, hope everyone has an AHHHHHMMMAAAAZING week! :)