black bottom cupcakes.

I tried baking black bottom cupcakes last weekend, but sadly, they were a big fail. I didn't like the cupcake base so much (no eggs!) and since I didn't have cream cheese, I tried to use a white chocolate filling that didn't work well cos they burned the tops.

Anyway, as my friend would tell me, "Nothing stops a passionate baker." Hell yeah, I would never back down until I get it. So, after a few days of baking relapse, I tried my hand at it again. This time, I didn't use the original recipe I got from Joy of Baking. I didn't even use it as my inspiration. I used a completely different recipe, but they're kind of the same - no butter, just oil. I used Joy of Baking's Chocolate Banana recipe and just omitted the bananas. It was also my way of experimenting with the cake, to see if they'll still be moist even without the bananas.

So here's my own Black Bottom Cupcake version.

For the cupcakes:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Bensdorp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup whole milk / 1/4 cup evaporated milk diluted in 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
custard filling (recipe follows)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin.

Scoop (I used a 2oz ice cream scoop) batter into muffin tin, just until they're half full. Scoop custard filling on top.

Bake at 180C (160C for my turbo) for 18-20 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

For the custard filling:
2-3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks, beaten

In a sauce pan (a double boiler might be better to prevent curdling), melt butter. Once butter has melted add sugar little by little. Once incorporated, add in cornstarch. Pour in milk, stirring slowly. Let mixture simmer. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat once mixture is smooth and thick.

It's like leche flan in a cake! Yuuuum!

Black Bottom Cupcakes With Custard Filling

pad thai with chicken.

I made Pad Thai noodles with chicken about a month ago. At first, it seemed a bit daunting, but I soon discovered that as with anything you do for the first time, it may be hard but after going past that stage, it gets better everyday.

So I made this dish again on Friday. This time it took me just about 20-30 minutes. Amazing.

I searched for the recipe and I quickly found a lot of results. The recipes vary, but what's important is the sauce. You can make your own topping, use any kind of meat, but you gotta have the "authentic" sauce.

Having said that, let me start with the Pad Thai sauce:

You'll need:

3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (I used the brand Thai, bought it at Landmark or SM, I forgot.)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce, + more to taste
1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Just mix everything in a cup or bowl.  You might also want to double the recipe if you want to have more sauce for your noodles.

To complete the recipe, you'll need:

8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people), linguini-width, available at Asian/Chinese aisle in the supermarket
1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced into strips and marinated in 2 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 fresh red chilies, chopped/snipped (I use a pair of kitchen scissors) roughly
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup baguio beans, sliced diagonally
3 spring (green) onions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
canola oil for stir-frying

Bring a large pot of pot to a boil and remove from heat. Dunk in your rice noodles. Allow noodles to soak while you prepare the other ingredients.

Note: The noodles will be fried later, so make sure that they're not toosoft. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Stir-fry chicken strips until half-cooked. Set aside chicken and marinade.

In the same pan, saute minced garlic and chilies. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken strips and marinade. Add chicken stock if the pan becomes dry, don't add too much though cos it might make the noodles soggy later. Add in carrots and baguio beans.

Add noodles and pour in Pad Thai sauce (you can leave a bit of sauce for later). Stir noodles using two wooden spatulas (or whatever you use for stir-frying). Toss and turn the noodles gently until everything is coated. If the pan becomes dry, push the noodles to the side and add a little oil.

Add in carrots and baguio beans. Sprinkle pepper. Continue tossing the noodles until it's firm but not hard or crunchy.

Taste-test noodles, add more fish sauce and more pepper if needed.

Once desired flavor is reached, plate noodles and top with green onions, cilantro and roasted nuts. And of course, enjoy!

spinach fettuccine with chicken and mushrooms.

I made Spinach Fettuccine with Chicken and Mushrooms for lunch today. I got this recipe from my cousin when I came home for a week-long vacation last week.

What I like about pasta is that it's pretty easy to make, and you can experiment with different sauces. I love cream-based sauces over tomato ones, but I'm trying to be more adventurous with my food experiments lately.

This is also the first time I'm trying a different kind of pasta, which makes the flavor fuller than the regular wheat pasta.

Serves 6 to 8.

1/2 kl chicken breast fillet, cut into cubes and seasoned with salt and pepper
500g spinach fettuccine
extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks onion leeks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms (I used the canned pieces and stems)
1 cup milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp dry sherry or apple cider vinegar
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup grated cheese plus more for garnish

Cook pasta according to package instructions or until al dente.

Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan large enough to hold the chicken. Saute chicken until half-cooked. Set aside.

In the same pan, saute onion leeks, garlic, and mushrooms for 1 minute. Add chicken. Stir for 30 seconds and add milk. Slightly stir together and add  flour.

When sauce thickens a bit, add grated cheese and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add dry sherry or apple cider vinegar and nutmeg.

Stir in pasta, making sure that everything is coated. Alternately, you can remove the sauce from the pan and just leave enough to coat the pasta. This is what I do, I just drizzle the sauce once it's ready to be served.

Garnish with finely chopped parsley or onion leaves and cheese.

Yum-o! :)