A Bakesale for Two Amazing Little Girls

Dad forwarded me an email the other day from a colleague of his with a very sad story. Her name is Alice, she's only 1 year old but she had Non Ketotic Hyperglycinemia. This disorder is apparently extremely rare and Alice is currently the only survivor of it in New Zealand. Her parents were told that at 3 months old she wouldn't live much longer but she's still fighting! They are trying to raise money to fund research into the disorder and also to help another family with a child who was in their son's daycare class before she was diagnosed with cancer. At 3 years old she faces what many adults struggle with, being constantly sick and in hospital. Her name is Brianna and her parents are really struggling with her cancer and may have to sell their house if they can't raise enough money. This is such a sad story and I am amazed at the Underwood family who have so much compassion that they are trying to help another family with their sick daughter when their own daughter has such a rare disorder. I can't imagine what these people go through on a daily basis, and when dad asked if I could contribute by baking something for the bake sale I was happy to help in any way I could. It's part of "The Big Family Day Out" fundraiser for the children which is going to have lots of raffles and auctions and the like so go along to the Ngatitoa Domain tomorrow at 11 if you're keen to help out (or buy some baking!). I decided that a good, kid-friendly thing to bake would be some cookie dough and cupcakes mixed together! They turned out really well, even though I nearly forgot to put the cookie dough in!  Luckily I remembered. Hopefully they're a hit tomorrow!

PS: If you want to read more about the girls or make a donation, click here.
PPS: The recipe came from Recipe Girl.
PPPS: (Last one I promise!) This photo was published on FoodGawker! :D

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (makes 24)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4t baking soda
1/4t salt
115g butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
4T white sugar
4T milk
2t vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate bits

230g butter, softened and cut into cubes
100g dark chocolate bits
1 cup dutch-processed or other dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1t baking soda
1 1/2t baking powder
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2t vanilla extract
1t table salt
1 cup sour cream

350g butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
4 1/2T milk
3t vanilla extract

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to stir together the butter, sugars, milk and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the cookie dough is firm. Scoop out dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and place it on a cookie sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes. (You could also make the cookie dough ahead and freeze for a couple of days. Just take it out of the freezer when you make the cupcakes and it should thaw to the right temperature.) Also, the amounts of this part of the recipe made enough for me to make 24 balls of cookie dough and 24 mini cookies for garnish, which as you can see I ended up slicing because they were still too big. If you wanted small balls like I did (about a teaspoon of dough or less) and no mini cookies, then halve this part of the recipe.

Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line standard-size muffin pan with cupcake liners. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at a lower power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. This is what I did.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of the flour, baking powder and baking soda over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is and thick. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Plop one ball of cookie dough in each cupcake and push down a little until it sinks to level with the surface. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 30 minutes.

Cookie Dough Frosting:
In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Mix in the flour, milk and vanilla and continue to mix until all is well combined.

Looking After My Boy!

Third batch of cupcakes in a week! I was really keen on baking this week, and I kept seeing things that I wanted to bake. Cue Nutella Cupcakes, stage right. I've always wanted to try doing two-toned frosting but I in fact ended up trying three-toned frosting. Personally, I don't think it needs the vanilla. If you increased the measurements for the other frosting flavours by 1.25 then you would have enough for all of the cupcakes and they'd still look just as great. Still, Cam loved these! Probably not a great move on my part, I left 19 at his house. While he's there alone. Still looking for a job. Hm... I may have to steal a few tomorrow so that he doesn't eat them all... Not that I can blame him, because they were fantastic! They came from Good Life Eats and just wow. Just nutella wow. Make them.

PS: Notes on how to do the three/two-toned frosting are at the bottom of this post.

Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella, Peanut Butter and Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
2/3 cup nutella
1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (or just 2 1/2 cups plain flour)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2t baking soda
1t baking powder
3/4t salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups buttermilk

150g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2T butter, softened to room temperature
2 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
2t vanilla extract

150g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2T butter
1/2 cup nutella
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1t vanilla extract

150g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2T butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups, sifted
1t vanilla extract
NB: You may need a little bit of milk to bring the peanut butter frosting together.

Directions:
Line 2 standard 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners or grease using non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 180°C. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes, until it is pale and thick. Add in the butter. Mix until combined. Add in the nutella. Now, add in the buttermilk. Beat until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 increments and beat until smooth. Divide batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over-bake. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:Cream the butter and cream cheese in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixture. Add the vanilla. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar as you continue to cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed until fluffy and smooth, adding milk or additional sugar (if needed) to reach desired consistency.

Nutella Frosting:Cream the butter and cream cheese in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixture. Add the nutella and vanilla and continue to cream. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar as you continue to cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed until fluffy and smooth, adding milk or additional sugar (if needed) to reach desired consistency.

Peanut Butter Frosting:Cream the butter and cream cheese in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixture. Add the almond butter or peanut butter and vanilla and continue to cream. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar as you continue to cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed until fluffy and smooth, adding milk or additional sugar (if needed) to reach desired consistency.

Doing multi-coloured frosting:
Lay your colors or flavors out in different containers to keep them separate. Fill three bags with the three different flavoured frostings. You will not add a tip to any of these bags. Just the bag and the frosting. Twist the tops of the bags and cut about a half inch of the ends of each filled bag. Then, you’ll take a fourth bag. Add your favorite piping tip to the bag. Now, load all three frosting bags inside the fourth bag with the piping tip. Twist the top of the fourth bag so nothing escapes and pipe as usual. I usually do a couple of test pipes on a napkin until all three frostings are evenly coming out and any air has passed.

Getting Drunk Off Cupcakes?

I really like new flavour ideas and when I find something cool I just have to try it. Of course anything with chocolate is always fantastic, but when I saw these cupcakes, the non-chocolatey-ness really caught my attention. I think the best mojito I had was actually at Evie's 18th birthday party, as weird as that may sound! I asked her about it the other day and she said that they had this apple and lime or apple and mint juice or something and they used that as the base, which is why they tasted so good! I tried making one the day I bought the ingredients for these cupcakes actually... Didn't turn out so well. I think they needed to be sweeter. And have more flavour. But oh well! That day was actually a few weeks ago now and the buttermilk was about to go off so I thought I better get cracking and actually make these! Luckily, my intuition was right and these cupcakes taste fantastic. It's like eating a mojito-really yummy! I used Becca's piping bag again too and I'm totally going to get one. They're amazing. Just like these cupcakes, which, btw come from Brown Eyed Baker. Enjoy!

PS: This photo was accepted on Tastespotting! :D

Mojito Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mint leaves, bruised
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/4t salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1 1/2 limes
2T white rum (e.g. Bacardi in New Zealand)
1t vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups icing sugar
2T lime juice
3T white rum


Directions:Combine the buttermilk and the ½ cup mint leaves in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm until just starting to steam (do not simmer), then remove from the heat and cover. Let steep for 15 to 30 minutes. Once finished, strain the milk into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. The milk may appear curdled or clumpy, but don’t worry, it will come back together. Press on any milk solids and mint leaves to extract all the liquid possible. Give the milk a quick stir to smooth it out and set aside. While the mint is steeping in the milk, preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and rum. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will all come back together, power on!) Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

Lime and Rum Frosting:To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice and rum and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached.

A Cupcake Competition

I've been in this new (ish) job for about 3 and a half months now and I've gotten to know some of the people pretty well. Us data entry girls seems to have a sort of running competition of who can out do each other with the IT boys whose office is on the other side of the wall from ours. One of them, Tristan, decided he'd like to rubbish my baking and was going on about how I burn things all the time (which I don't!!) and when I found out he could bake too, well. It was time for a little competition! I challenged, he accepted and we decided that cupcakes would be a fun thing to make. For mine I used the dark chocolate cupcake base that has become my go-to and fav and added graham crackers and a toasted marshmallow frosting. I didn't realise that Tristan had never made cupcakes before, so his were really pretty good for a first try! But, alas, I came out on top... His were actually really nice and I think it was a pretty good fight! Till next time ae?

PS: I actually made double the recipe this time because I wanted to have extra and it worked out to exactly 24 cupcakes, but this one makes 12. :)

Tristan's cupcakes-vanilla with lime buttercream frosting

Fierce competition...

Mine :)

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting a.k.a S'Mores Cupcakes

Ingredients:
115g butter, softened and cut into cubes
50g dark chocolate bits
1/2 cup dutch-processed or other dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (or 3/4 cup of flour and no graham cracker crumbs. Or digestive biscuits)
1/2t baking soda
3/4t baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1t vanilla extract
1/2t table salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Chocolate bits
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or digestives)
40g butter

• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line standard-size muffin pan with cupcake liners. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at a lower power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. This is what I did.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and baking soda over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is and thick. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Sprinkle chocolate bits and graham cracker topping over the batter, making sure you get the graham cracker topping right to the edges so that you can see it once the cupcakes are frosted. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before frosting, about 30 minutes. I used Becca's piping bag fitted with a large open star tip instead of my usual piping bottles because the frosting is quite thick. I think I shall have to invest because I have seen the light of piping bags again! It was so easy and her one is amazing. Sigh, I'm going to go find one next week. So after piping the frosting on, either broil them in the oven on the highest setting until the frosting turns brown (I didn't do this so I'm not entirely sure how it would work out...), or use a blowtorch to lightly brown the frosting. YUM.

Graham Cracker Topping:

Melt the butter and process the graham crackers in a food processor until they are just crumbs. Then add the melted butter and process again until mixed.

Marshmallow Frosting:

The quantities of this recipe for the frosting are for 24 cupcakes, so adjust them accordingly.

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

Tupperware cupcake taker, isn't it cool??

A Cheesecake Dessert

On Thursday, my parents went away so Alex and I thought that we would have Becca and Ashleigh over for dinner. Dinner was easy, going to be wraps but I thought I'd be nice and make a dessert too. I saw this cheesecake on Love and Olive Oil which apparently comes from "The Loveless Cafe" in Nashville. I changed it quite a bit though because I wanted petite cheesecakes and the difference between American and New Zealand ingredients. But they still tasted amazing, even though Becca and Ashleigh wouldn't eat them. Who wouldn't eat cheesecake right? But Becca doesn't like cheesecake and Ashleigh doesn't like bananas, so they were both out of luck there! Still, if you do like banana and chocolate and cheesecake, then you'll really enjoy this recipe.

Banana Split Mini Cheesecakes (Makes 12)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup digestive biscuit crumbs
2/3 cup sugar
3T cocoa powder
5T butter, melted
250g cream cheese (Philadelphia of course!)
1/4 cup mashed overripe banana (2 small bananas)
1/8 cup sour cream
2T plain flour
2 eggs
50g chocolate bits, melted

Directions:Preheat oven to 150ºC. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Process the digestives in a food processor until you get fine crumbs and take out any large pieces. Add 1/3 of a cup of sugar and cocoa and process until combined. Then add the melted butter and process until the mixture comes together. Spoon 1-2T of the mixture into each muffin cup, until there is a layer covering the bottom and press down into the liners.

Filling:To make the filling, place the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, banana, sour cream, and flour in a food processor; pulse to form a smooth paste. With the machine on, add the eggs, one at a time; scrape down the sides and pulse briefly to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Measure out 3/4 cup of the filling and set aside. Pour the remaining filling into crust. Return 1/2 cup of reserved filling to the food processor. Add melted chocolate and pulse to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure the batter is evenly mixed. Spoon 1-2T of the chocolate mixture over each muffin cup, until the banana mixture is covered. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup banana filling over the chocolate in each muffin cup and use a blunt knife or bamboo skewer to swirl them into a marbled pattern; do not overmix. Bake in the center of the oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove the muffin tin from the oven when the centres are still just slightly jiggly. Return the cheesecake to the oven, turn off the heat, and let stand without opening the door for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in the pan on a rack until cooled to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible, to allow it to set completely. Enjoy!
Becca and I got bored that night so we took heaps of photos on my computer... This is my favourite. I hope you like it too! ;)

Baking Day with Evie Pt 3

So the last thing on our baking day was cookies. Unfortunately they were a little bit dry because I should have just pulled them out of the oven but I was like no, they can go a little longer... So I cooked them a little long. But other than that they taste great, so I would definitely recommend them!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Cookies

Ingredients:

125g bittersweet chocolate, chopped

75g milk chocolate, chopped

30g cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 eggs, at room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1/2T espresso powder or 1/2T brewed coffee

1t vanilla

6T flour

1/2t baking powder

1/8t salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Put chopped chocolates and butter (first three ingredients) into a sauce pan over low heat and melt. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Mix eggs, sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla. Add the melted chocolate to the egg/sugar batter. Mix well. Next add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the batter. Mix well. Lastly, add chocolate chips. Chill dough for approximately 60 minutes or until it can hold a shape. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet/tray with baking paper and scoop dough in small balls on paper and space about 2cm apart from each other. Press dough to flatten. Bake for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE!

Baking Day with Evie Pt 2

The second thing that we made yesterday was... Death by Oreo Cupcakes! These are soooo yummy. Especially for someone who loves cookies and cream. :D They were a little dry, but I think that's because we added all of the flour and ground oreos as well, so I've reduced the amount of flour in this recipe. I would even just eat a bowl of this icing. Mmmm...

Death by Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup & 2T unsweetened Dutch-process or dark cocoa powder

1/4 & 2T cup hot water

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1t baking soda

1t baking powder

3/4t coarse salt

175g unsalted butter

1 1/8 cups sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1T & 1t pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

1 pkt oreos

 

200g cream cheese, room temperature

115g butter, softened

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

1t vanilla essence

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 12 cup standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Process the between a 1/4 and a 1/2 of the packet of oreos in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Alternately, melt together in the microwave. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream and oreos, and beating until just combined after each. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Then pipe the icing on to finish off.

 

Oreo Cream Cheese Icing:

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, then add powdered sugar slowly until blended well. Put the cookies in the food processor and process until very fine and powdery. Add to frosting and mix well.