cupcake project | 16: s’mores cupcake.

For a long time now, I have been on a mission to find the “best” marshmallow frosting. I have never been successful, all of the recipes I tried, while good, end up in a gooey mess once it’s piped/plopped on top of a cupcake. I don’t know if it’s the weather or if it’s just me. Haha.

By “best” I mean a marshmallow frosting that doesn’t melt into a gooey mess in hot/humid weather. I want a frosting that’s stable and sets up well. Any recommendations?

Anyhoo, in the two years that I’ve been baking, I have learned to embrace mistakes and failures. I know one day I’ll be able to nail that elusive marshmallow frosting. One day, you’ll see. :)

Because I am scared to try another marshmallow frosting recipe, I have put off testing a recipe I’ve bookmarked for uhm, more than a year now. S’mores cupcakes. I have tried another recipe from Heather Cristo and it was a huge success. I just thought of giving this recipe a spin, originally from Yummy.ph’s mini cookbook series, Bake, Give, Sell!

S’mores Cupcake
Adapted from Yummy.ph | Bake, Give Sell!

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup warm water
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup mini marshmallows
milk chocolate shavings, for garnish
6 pcs graham cracker squares, halved, for garnish

Marshmallow Frosting

1 egg white
½ cup sugar
3 tbsp water
½ tbsp light corn syrup
¼ tsp cream of tartar
dash of salt
½ cup mini marshmallows
½ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a measuring cup, stir together cocoa powder and warm water.

In a mixer bowl, cream butter with white and brown sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Lower mixer speed then add flour mixture alternating with the cocoa mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to medium-high and mix for about 30 seconds.

Fold in chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

Divide batter among muffin wells, filling up to 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool some more.

Make the frosting:

In a large heatproof bowl, combine egg white, sugar, corn syrup, water, cream of tartar and salt. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until sugar is dissolved and the temperature reaches 160F. Remove from heat.

Whip using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add mini marshmallows and vanilla. Beat until the mallows are melted and frosting is smooth.

Top cupcakes with a dollop of marshmallow frosting. Garnish with chocolate shavings and graham crackers when ready to serve to prevent graham from getting soft and sloppy.

homemade dulce de leche

Ever since I “mastered” the art of making my own dulce de leche, I have not stopped testing recipes with this delicious concoction.

What is dulce de leche anyway? Simply put, it’s sweetened condensed milk hundred times better. One of my guilty pleasures is taking a spoonful of condensed milk and spreading it on top of day-old bread and licking the excess milk from the spoon. Heavenly. Just imagine doing that with dulce de leche. Ooh la la, that’s heavenly ten thousand times over. :)

two cans of pure heaven!

Anyway, how do you make your own dulce de leche? Easy! All you need is a can of good quality sweetened condensed milk and a pot of boiling water.

There are a lot of ways to do it… Here’s a link the most comprehensive guide to making your own:

Homemade Dulce de Leche from Bakers Royale

In the past few weeks, I’ve made a lot of stuff with dulce de leche:

chocolate dulce de leche mini cheesecakes

dulce de leche brownies

chocolate whoopie pies with dulce de leche filling. (Sorry for the crappy Instagram photo!)

soft dinner rolls with dulce de leche filling.

chocolate dulce de leche cupcake.

---------

I have to admit, I’m still not over my dulce de leche craze. Case in point: I’ve made FIVE cans in one week… and only half a can is left sitting in my fridge!

I’m telling you, that thing is pretty addictive!

nutella chip cookies.

I am not a cookie person. I cannot recall a time I gobbled up a whole can or bag of cookies.

I am more of a cake-and-icing person. I just don’t find cookies attractive… That’s just for me. Whenever I go to a coffee or pastry shop, the first thing that calls my attention would be the beautifully iced cakes and cupcakes. Cookies? Hmm, they’re rarely decorated that way.

But then, not being a fan would not stop me from baking them. I can always give them away to friends as gifts, right?

That’s exactly what I did last week. And these cookies didn’t disappoint.

I baked around 3 dozen Nutella Chip Cookies and gave them to my friends when we met up for dinner.

I liked them – they were chewy with a hint of Nutella and they baked up beautifully. I used a small cookie scoop (about 1-inch) and as they were cooling, they spread to about 3 inches.

I’ll try subbing the semisweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips the next time I bake them.

Photo from Instagram

Nutella Chip Cookies
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream butter until smooth, about 1-2 minutes with an electric hand mixer. Add in both sugars. Beat on high speed about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed.

With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute then add Nutella and mix until combined.

Slowly add dry flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop, form the dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake 6-7 minutes or until set.

Let cookies cool on baking sheet, about 5 to 10 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Best served with milk.

cupcake project | 15: cinnamon churro cupcake.

I admit this blog needs a little more lovin’… and while I have been baking boatloads of stuff almost every week, I haven’t really been posting much. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram or are a fan of my little Facebook page, your news feed might have been flooded (well, not so much really) with whatever that comes out of my tiny kitchen.

I have been on a search for the “best” chocolate frosting – something that involves little or no powdered sugar. I’ve tested a few recipes, but I still haven’t found “the one.” If you want to know what my “criteria” are… well, I really don’t know. My taste buds are looking for that familiar chocolate frosting I used to fancy when I was growing up. Hah. I found a close match, but I’m keeping my options open… (Uh, okay. This is beginning to sound so much like the search for the perfect job or partner! LOL).

While on Google last week, I chanced upon Tracey’s blog… I have bookmarked a few of her recipes in the past few months, but never had the chance to make any of them.

Last weekend was the best time to play around in the kitchen – the weather was cool due to an impending storm and I didn’t have anywhere to go.

First order of business was a small batch of Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes from Tracey.

These are cinnamon cupcakes filled with chocolate pudding and frosted with chocolate whipped cream. I skipped the chocolate pudding and used leftover chocolate frosting from an earlier experiment.

 

Cinnamon Churro Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
(barely adapted from Love and Olive Oil)
** Halved the recipe to make 6 cupcakes.

Cinnamon Cupcakes
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
3 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp whole milk
1/2 tsp meringue powder
Pinch of cream of tartar
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup cold heavy cream (I used 1/2 cup single/all-purpose cream mixed with 2 tbsp melted butter)

For the chocolate pudding recipe, check out Tracey’s post here.

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with 5-6 paper liners.

Sift/dry whisk flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In another bowl or a big measuring cup, mix together milk and vinegar. Add sugar, oil and vanilla, mix until incorporated. Pour wet ingredients over the flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Don't overmix.

Scoop batter into each muffin well and fill up to 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients except heavy cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

When ready, gradually beat the heavy cream into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Continue beating until fluffy and desired consistency is reached. Chill until ready to use. (I found the frosting a bit on the runny side - I decided to leave it in the fridge for over 6 hours and it piped beautifully.)

When frosting is ready, using an apple corer or the base of a large icing tip, poke a hole into the center of the cupcakes. Fill the hole with chocolate pudding (or in my case, chocolate frosting). Replace the top of the cakes and frost cupcakes.

* If you don't have leftover chocolate frosting, make the pudding first.
* You can also opt to make the frosting first and let it cool while baking the cupcakes.

Photo taken using Instagram. :)

These are best enjoyed with a mug of steaming tsokolate de tablea. Ooh la la. Perfect for rainy days like this!

What’s Baking

{Warning: This is a photo heavy post. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!}

I know... I have been MIA for 2 months...

I've had a lot on my plate lately, and blogging was the last thing on my mind.

It's weird, no... It's unfair to say that the last thing that I want to do is blog. When I was in college (and new to the blogging world), writing was my escape. I let my thoughts drift through the web and didn't care much about what others would say.

I write when I was bored, sad, frustrated, angry... Yes, I write better when pessimism gets the better of me. I rarely write when I'm happy.

You may be wondering, assuming that someone reads my blog (LOL), what I have been up to for the past few weeks that I've been away.

Let me tell you this - it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies. It's a mish mash of highs and lows, really. Mostly work-related, so let's not go there. ;)

I am just taking a quick break from work tasks, so  I'll let some photos do the talking.

After making Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies, I made a batch of Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

My high school friend and a colleague from work requested for Yema Cupcakes. I experimented with a white cupcake recipe and homemade dulce de leche. I now have my own version of White Yema Cupcakes and Chocolate Yema Cupcakes.

May 11th marked the first time that I made cupcakes for a wedding. Close to 100 cupcakes in different flavors – Devil’s Food Cupcake with Cookies and Cream Frosting, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream, Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge and Chocolate-Coffee Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.

May 12th marked the first time that I made a full fondant cake! My friend requested for a fondant cake and 70 individually boxed cupcakes for the christening of her son, Cloud. I swear I almost gave up, but I’m glad I carried on. It was such a feat and I’m happy to say I came out of it alive. LOL.

I was so happy when I finally made a “stable” marshmallow frosting… But I forgot to write down the recipe… Or maybe I did, I just don’t know where I wrote it – I have more than 10 recipes for marshmallow frosting and I can never replicate the one in the photo! :(

If you happen to have a good marshmallow frosting recipe (one that’s stable, can withstand humidity and isn’t glossy/shiny), please let me know!

Trying my hand at “elegant” piping on a cake. I need more practice!

Searched for the “best” carrot cake/cupcake recipe… I think I finally nailed it. :D

Another request from a friend – Smores Cake and Cupcakes. This is heavenly. :)

 

Made my first Funfetti Cake and Cupcakes for my cousin’s 7th birthday. It’s also the first time I tried making French Buttercream and got very good results! I’m ready to tackle Swiss and Italian Meringue Buttercream. Hah!

New York Cheesecake has always been my favorite and I have never tried making it until two weeks ago. It came out perfect!

My most recent experiment – Banoffee Cupcakes. So much better than regular banana cupcakes. Really.

I’ll try to post some of the recipes soon… That is if I haven’t lost them yet!

Now… Please excuse me while I try to look for more recipes to try…

New Logo!

 

My new logo (and brand name) is finally done.

It may not be as catchy as other brand names BUT I knew I had to settle with something that’s meaningful to me. :)

I’m pleased with how it turned out. I hope you are, too! :D

cupcake project | 14: chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes.

Whenever I feel stumped at work, and no pep talk works, I try to steal a few minutes from my schedule to check on my favorite blogs.

That’s what I did a few days ago. I was bored and I still had 3 hours of work to do. I found another gem of a recipe from RecipeGirl and knew immediately that I had to bake it before I leave for work the next day.

 

Look at that cookie dough!

Photo taken using Instagram.

I have long wanted to make cookie dough cupcakes but the process always takes me aback. It seems so tedious that I put it off over and over. I was beyond excited when I read through Lori’s recipe and found it easy and fast.

I was also particularly fond of the way the cupcakes are prepared – in a blender! I followed the recipe to a T, but I think I’ll do away with the blender next time. It’s messier than I initially thought.

They were absolutely divine and sinful. If you can put those two words in a sentence… Then it must be really good. ;)

 

 

 

 

Click here for the recipe.

 

triple chocolate oreo chunk cookies.

Today, I decided to deviate from the usual.

I stopped myself from baking another cake or cupcake. Which was really hard since I wanted to try this recipe so bad.

So restrain myself, I did. And then I realized I also wanted to try a new cookie recipe I found the other day.

What do you say about the combination of cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped white chocolate and crushed Oreo cookies? I say, “I die!”

The moment I laid my eyes on the mouth-watering photos, I couldn’t resist baking them.

And what a good time it was since I had all the ingredients in my kitchen. Throw caution to the wind and bake, yes. That’s what you do when you see something as delicious as this. If I can eat it off my monitor, I would. Heh.

 

I only realized now that thetext I placed on the photos are so incorrect. It should've been CHUNK insteadof CRUNCH. All the while I was wondering why I couldn't find the"crunch" in these cookies. I had it all wrong. Bwahaha.

 

I found the screenshot of the recipe photo via Lori yesterday. The next minute, I found myself searching Google for the recipe. Thank God for technology, within seconds I found the recipe on Michelle's site.

Side note: Lori is hosting a giveaway of Cookie Cravings, the e-cookbook where this recipe is

Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies
Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Original from Two Peas and their Pod

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped white chocolate
1 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.Set aside. 

With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract. Mix until blended.

Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix until flour disappears. Stir in chocolate chunks and Oreos.

Scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. I use a small scooper, around 1-inch in size since I am not a fan of big cookies. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Don't over bake. 

Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

** I halved the recipe and got around 25-30 medium-sized cookies.

cupcake project | 13: banana caramel cupcake

{Hello! I'm back! So so sorry for being MIA in the last couple of weeks -- I had to much to do, so little time. Tss.}


I had overripe bananas in my fridge again. Sigh, when will I ever learn not to stock up too much on perishable items?

That isn’t a problem for me though, as I am perpetually itching to bake something. That was exactly my dilemma over the weekend. I wanted to bake but didn’t know what to bake. I am also low on funds as this month has been terribly busy and slightly costly. It was one of my college best friends’ wedding the other week, you see. And being “stage” friends and it being the first wedding in our bunch, we wanted everything to be memorable. More on that in a future post, which will hopefully be written within the next few weeks. If you’re curious about the wedding preps and whatnots, you can check out her “wedsite” here. You can also check out their fabulous photos at MyPhotato’s Facebook page.

So, as I was saying... I wanted to bake over the weekend. Oh, not to forget, I made my first real and successful Italian Meringue Buttercream AND homemade caramel, too! I can just die, I feel so fulfilled, really. Meringue buttercreams used to be the death of me. I’m proud to say, “Not anymore!”

Hmm, bananas + caramel + real buttercream. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Of course, there can be no better combination than banana and caramel! Okay, Nutella comes close, too. And chocolate.

I decided to make banana caramel cupcakes with caramel buttercream. Ahh, cupcake heaven.

I wanted to make these, but it called for 6 eggs. I didn’t want to use all my eggs since I still have other cakes to bake this week. Maybe next time. I settled for some other recipe instead, and I couldn’t be happier with the result – moist and with just the right amount of sweetness, although I wish it was fluffier than dense.

I will only be posting the cupcake recipe – I am too lazy, I know. 

Caramel sauce recipe can be found here. For the Italian Meringue Buttercream, I used Butteryum’s recipe. I promise I’ll post my own versions within the week. {pressure}

Banana Caramel Cupcake
Adapted from Bakers Royale and Annie’s Eats

For the Cupcakes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 – 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/3 – 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the Caramel Buttercream
1 cup Italian Meringue Buttercream
3-4 tbsp caramel sauce, plus more for drizzling 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add mashed bananas and mix until incorporated.

Add in flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk and mix just until combined. Don’t overmix. 

Scoop batter up to 3/4 full (I filled mine up to 2/3, but it didn’t rise as much). Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool in cupcake pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

For the Caramel Buttercream: 

Mix Italian Meringue Buttercream and caramel sauce together. 

Assembly: 

Once cupcakes are cool, core cupcakes using an apple corer or a paring knife. Fill cupcakes with 1 tsp caramel buttercream. Replace tops on cupcake..Frost cupcakes as desired. I used Ateco tip # 855 – my current favorite. Drizzle with caramel sauce.

Devour! 

TGIF: Take Every Chance, Drop Every Fear.

Thank God it’s Friday! I can feel the weekend air hovering above me, but I’m still stuck in the office while everybody’s out partying. On a regular day, I would’ve been out of the office and tucked in bed while watching my favorite TV shows. But this week is a bit different; I had to move my schedules around so I can attend meetings. It’ll probably be like that until further notice. Hohum. I’m missing my 9-6 schedule.

Anyway, the weekend is almost here and I don’t want to spoil it by moping around. I haven’t baked a cupcake today, but I received a sweet surprise in the form of a meme from one of my favorite bloggers, Krissy of Krissyfied!

- Post these rules

- Post 11 random things about yourself

- Answer the questions that the tagger set for you in their post

- Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer

Random Things About Myself (I know I just posted 7 Random Things, I’ll try to wrack my brain for more random things.)

1. I used to be a call center trainer before I moved to Quality Assurance. I can still remember my first day of training in one of the call centers in Quezon City. I thought being a trainer was cool and awesome and I wanted to be one ever since. My journey to fulfilling that dream has been long and bumpy, I got rejected more than I care to know, but I have always taken that as a challenge. When I finally became a trainer in my previous company, the joy was just overflowing. Two years into the job, I got laid off along with other co-trainers. I accepted a different position and now I am one of the QA Specialists in my company. I still want to be a trainer and I intend to make that dream a reality before the year ends. 

2. I would know where and when we met just by the name you’ll call me. Most of my high school and college friends call me Bags. For most acquaintances and friends, I go by the name Barbie. My eTelecare teammates called me Juliane. My co-trainers in Transcom call me Barbiekels, Barbiebelles, and Barbiekins. 

3. I’m a kid stuck in the 90’s/early 2000’s. Most of the songs in my player are from those years. I think it’s one of the best years in the history of music – foreign and local scene. 

4. When I was a kid, my Mom often joked about how I eat too much rice. She’d always refer to my eating habit as that of construction workers, no offense intended. I always ate with a mountain of rice and a few pieces of viand. 

5. My favorite fruit is green mango. I can eat it everyday and not get tired. During summer, we get one or two big baskets of fresh harvest and that’d be the best days of my teenage life. I love to dip it in bagoong made by my Dad or a mix of soy sauce and vinegar. Oh my, just thinking about it makes my mouth water! 

6. Some three or four years ago, I used to be a heavy drinker. Every afternoon after work, my workmates and I troop to the nearest chill place and drink until 12 midnight. That explains my beer belly. :)) 

7. I was once a college groupie. My friends and I always made it a point to go to at least one UP Fair night. We’d look forward to all the bands play and stay until the wee hours of the morning, even if our class the next day was at 7 AM. 

8. Visiting UP gives me a different kind of high. It’s like coming home and being welcomed by a big, warm and fuzzy hug. UP Diliman has been my home for almost 5 years and will always be a part of me even if I already live in a different city. 

9. I can live on chicken and shrimp everyday, even if they give me the worst allergies. 

10. Once a year, I get struck by a weird ailment called post-nasal drip and laryngo-pharyngeal reflux. I get sick during the summer months (like now) and would not go away until summer is almost over. I really don’t know what causes it, must be the weather, but I’ve been getting sick for the same reason for three years now. There are rare times it happens on non-summer months, but it never fails during summer. 

11. I have declared the Orion as my own constellation. When we were younger, my cousins and I would sit atop their old van and look at the sky and marvel at the stars above us. Since we lived islands away from each other, we promised to each other that whenever we missed each other, we’ll just look at the sky and spot the Orion, and we’ll know everything would be alright.

Answered questions of the tagger:

1. What do you like most about me?
I like your happy disposition. You always seem so happy even if things don’t go your way. I know bad times happen and I’ve always admired your positive outlook in life. 

2. What do you like least about me?
I have yet to know! 

3. What is your favorite childhood memory?
I have always looked forward to going home to my Lolo and Lola’s house and spend the whole summer with my cousins. We’d play hide-and-seek, patintero, and tumbang preso with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. 

4. What is your favorite Disney movie and why?
Aladdin! It shows us that love doesn’t choose a person’s wealth or place in society. If you’re meant for each other, all other things would fall into place regardless of all the challenges ahead of you. 

5. What is your favorite thing about summer?
The beach getaways and the fruits of the season! 

6. Who is your favorite superhero?
Batman, Daredevil and Spiderman. They were “normal” people. They didn’t have superpowers, they just worked within their means to help those in need. 

7. If you were a boy for a day, what's the first thing you would do?
Try to pee standing up. I am really curious how guys do it! 

8. Do you think heaven exists? What is your idea of heaven?
Yes. Heaven is when everyone is at peace and no longer holds grudges against one another. Heaven is a happy place free from hatred, greed, wants and needs. 

9. What is your favorite body part?
My eyes and lips. I can’t say they’re expressive, but of all my body parts, I think they’ll be left unchanged whether I become thin or chubby. 

10. What is your biggest regret?
Not taking the course I wanted in college. Don’t get me wrong, I love Speech Comm, but I believe it lacked the courses that we wanted. In the United States, Speech Communication is one big umbrella with a lot of branches and course offerings. Only UP Diliman offers the course, and sadly, it isn’t as complete as we would want it to be. 

11. Not to sound morbid or anything, but what would you like your epitaph to read?
My epitaph at the office during Halloween reads: “She didn’t retire, she surrendered!”

New set of questions:

1. What is your ultimate pick-me-upper?
2. Are you living your dream career? If not, what is it?
3. Fill in the blank: When I grow up, I want to be __________________.
4. If I were to bake you a cake, what kind would it be?
5. What is your birthday wish for this year?
6. What is your favorite song of all time?
7. How do you handle stress?
8. If you were to have a superpower for a day, what would it be?
9. If you were given a chance to move to a different country, where would you go?
10. What is your dream vacation?
11. What is your favorite milk tea/coffee drink?

 
Wow, that was long and fun! :) Now I’m tagging Czar, Sassja, Ate Dea, Vera and Chi!

    Source

Happy Weekend, loves!

cupcake project | 12: banana cupcake with nutella cream cheese frosting.

If there’s one fruit that’s a constant in my pantry, that would be bananas.

Whenever I go to the market, I always make it a point to grab half a cluster of bananas. I love pairing it with my morning cereal. It’s also a great source of energy, especially if there’s nothing else to munch on.

I have recently gone back to my “cereals-for-breakfast” routine and once again, I have bananas aplenty. If there’s one thing I don’t like about the fruit, that would be that they can easily turn brown. Probably due to too much oxygen? Or something. I really dunno. If that happens, I transfer them to the fridge or freezer and let them sit there for a few days. I love over-ripe bananas for baking.

Today, I had one banana sitting in my chiller waiting to be baked. It just had the right softness and sogginess. What to do with it, though?

Since I was pressed for time, I Google-d “banana cupcakes.” I knoooow, I can’t believe I still don’t have a go-to banana cake recipe. Well, I think I do, I just don’t know where I placed it. I have the best chocolate banana cake recipe, but I wanted to stay away from chocolate today, so, search I did.

I got a few good responses and settled for the one I saw on Food.com since it said “best ever banana cake.” I am a sucker for recipes with that kind of description. LOL.

Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
Slightly Adapted from Food.com 

1-2 large ripe bananas , mashed
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8  teaspoon salt
6 tbsp butter , softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk 

Preheat oven to 275°. 

Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. 

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside. 

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. 

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. 

Stir in banana mixture. 

Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

* Recipe recommended to freeze cake for 45 minutes immediately after baking - it makes the cake moist. I didn't do this since I brought them to work after frosting. 

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup nutella
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 

In a mixer bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and nutella until smooth. 

Gradually add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. 

Pipe on cooled cupcakes. I scooped the frosting using a 2oz. ice cream scooper and then spread it with a spatula.

Makes 12-14 cupcakes.

 

Always Check the Expiry Date.

I was doing last minute grocery shopping last week (when do I not go on emergency grocery trips?!) when I chanced upon boxes of Pour ‘N Whip and Value Pride ready-to-whip pastry topping. I was so excited to grab a few boxes of Value Pride, but when I checked the expiry date, it read… “2/12/12.” I was looking for an attendant, but didn’t see anyone around, so I placed the cartons back in the chiller and made my way to the cashier.


Earlier today, I was on a last minute grocery shopping trip again. I had to get a few tubs of plain yogurt for my homemade yogurt experiment tonight. I once again saw the same cartons of ready-to-whip pastry topping. I checked the expiry date, and it showed the same date - “2/12/12.”





Since the manufacturer didn’t include the format of the date like MM/DD/YY (some do), I am not sure if it should be expired by February 12, 2012 or December 12, 2012.


I don’t know about you, but it has always been my practice to check  the dates.


It’s better to be safe than sorry.