The Baking Diaries since March 30th, 2011

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake:

Recipe: makes 6 ramekins

113g butter, 190g dark chocolate, 3 eggs separated, 50g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/8tsp cream of tartar, 1tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 190C.

Melt chocolate and butter in bowl over simmering water, mix until melted.

Remove from heat.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until pale, fluffy, thick. Add vanilla.

Fold in chocolate. 

Beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar, beat until soft, add 1tbsp sugar, beat until stiff.

Fold into chocolate mixture.

Butter 4 ramekins and coat with sugar. Pour in the batter into the ramekins until nearly full. Bake for 10 minutes. Top will crack. The cake will rise (like a souffle! but not that much)

Take out, use knife to loosen edges and invert the cake. Dust with icing sugar, and decorate.

blue christmas cupcakes!

chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting

recipe: makes 12 cupcakes

• 1/2c + 3/8c flour
• 1 cups sugar
• 3/8 c cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1 c milk
• 1/4c oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1c hot water

180C. 

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. Mix in sugar and mix until combined.

Beat milk, oil, eggs, vanilla. mix in with the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Slowly add hot water and beat. It should be a pretty thin batter, but not water like consistency. 

Pour in cupcake liners, Fill 3/4 full (or even less if you don’t want it to rise too high) and bake for 20 minutes. Once it’s done take out and let it cool.

Vanilla Variation: replace cocoa powder with flour, and reduce the sugar to 3/4c

Frosting:

180g butter softened

1c icing sugar

1tsp vanilla

blue food colouring

beat butter until creamy, sift in icing sugar and beat (you may need more, depends on how sweet you want it to be). Add vanilla and beat. Beat in a few drops of colouring.

Frost and decorate cupcakes

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

blue christmas cupcakes!

chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting

recipe: makes 12 cupcakes

• 1/2c + 3/8c flour
• 1 cups sugar
• 3/8 c cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1 c milk
• 1/4c oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1c hot water

180C. 

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. Mix in sugar and mix until combined.

Beat milk, oil, eggs, vanilla. mix in with the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Slowly add hot water and beat. It should be a pretty thin batter, but not water like consistency. 

Pour in cupcake liners, Fill 3/4 full (or even less if you don’t want it to rise too high) and bake for 20 minutes. Once it’s done take out and let it cool.

Vanilla Variation: replace cocoa powder with flour, and reduce the sugar to 3/4c

Frosting:

180g butter softened

1c icing sugar

1tsp vanilla

blue food colouring

beat butter until creamy, sift in icing sugar and beat (you may need more, depends on how sweet you want it to be). Add vanilla and beat. Beat in a few drops of colouring.

Frost and decorate cupcakes

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

christmas cake!

chocolate cake with snow flake stencil icing on top!

recipe: makes 1 8 inch cake

• 1/2c + 3/8c flour
• 1 cups sugar
• 3/8 c cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1 c milk
• 1/4c oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1c hot water

180C. Put baking paper in 8inch cake mould

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. Mix in sugar and mix until combined.

Beat milk, oil, eggs, vanilla. mix in with the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Slowly add hot water and beat. It should be a pretty thin batter, but not water like consistency.

Pour in cake mould and bake for 30 minutes. Once it’s done take out and let it cool.

If you want to have the snowflake shape like I have then you need to either make your own stencil or buy one from a store. There are also many other different stencil patterns!

Vanilla Variation: replace cocoa powder with flour, and reduce the sugar to 3/4c

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Christmas mustache cookies!

Gingerbread + sugar cokies

makes 100 cookies in TOTAL

Sugar Cookie Recipe 

• 170g butter softened 
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 310g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat butter with sugar until smooth, add egg and vanilla, beat. Stir in flour, baking powder. Form into dough, if too sticky add more flour until it’s firm enough to wrap into dough. Chill 1 hour. 200C. Roll it out, cut into shapes. Put on pan with baking paper Bake 6 minutes.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

200 g flour

200g butter softened

240g sugar

4 eggs

4tsp ginger

2tsp: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs, mix in flour and all the spices. Form into dough. If sticky, add flour until it’s not. Chill 1 hr. 180C. Roll out, cut shapes. Put on baking sheet on pan. Bake for 5 minutes

Royal icing:

3 whites

1/2tsp cream of tartar

480g icing sugar

food colouring

Beat whites with cream of tartar, then add icing sugar, beat until its really thick and really white. Test if its ready by using a spoon and taking a bit of the icinga nd putting it on a paper towel and refrigerating it, if it sets and hardens in 30 minutes, then its ready, if it still wont set, continue adding icing sugar until it does.

Decorate!

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

christmas tree cupcakes!

merry christmas everyone!! bit late i know…

recipe: makes 12 cupcakes

• 1/2c + 3/8c flour
• 1 cups sugar
• 3/8 c cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 1 c milk
• 1/4c oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1c hot water

180C.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. Mix in sugar and mix until combined.

Beat milk, oil, eggs, vanilla. mix in with the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Slowly add hot water and beat. It should be a pretty thin batter, but not water like consistency.

Pour into cupcake liners. Fill it 3/4 full or even half if you don’t want it to rise too high, and bake for 20 minutes.

(For vanilla flavoured cupcakes replace the cocoa powder with flour and reduce the sugar quantity to 3/4c or even less)

Frosting:

180g butter softened

1c icing sugar

1tsp vanilla

green food colouring

beat butter until creamy, sift in icing sugar and beat (you may need more, depends on how sweet you want it to be). Add vanilla and beat. Beat in a few drops of colouring.

Frost and decorate cupcakes

Christmas mustache cookies!

Gingerbread + sugar cokies

makes 100 cookies in TOTAL

Sugar Cookie Recipe 

• 170g butter softened 
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 310g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat butter with sugar until smooth, add egg and vanilla, beat. Stir in flour, baking powder. Form into dough, if too sticky add more flour until it’s firm enough to wrap into dough. Chill 1 hour. 200C. Roll it out, cut into shapes. Put on pan with baking paper Bake 6 minutes.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

200 g flour

200g butter softened

240g sugar

4 eggs

4tsp ginger

2tsp: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs, mix in flour and all the spices. Form into dough. If sticky, add flour until it’s not. Chill 1 hr. 180C. Roll out, cut shapes. Put on baking sheet on pan. Bake for 5 minutes

Royal icing:

3 whites

1/2tsp cream of tartar

480g icing sugar

food colouring

Beat whites with cream of tartar, then add icing sugar, beat until its really thick and really white. Test if its ready by using a spoon and taking a bit of the icinga nd putting it on a paper towel and refrigerating it, if it sets and hardens in 30 minutes, then its ready, if it still wont set, continue adding icing sugar until it does.

Decorate!

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Christmas mustache cookies!

Gingerbread + sugar cokies

you must need a mustache shaped cookie cutter though!

makes 100 cookies in TOTAL

Sugar Cookie Recipe 

• 170g butter softened 
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 310g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat butter with sugar until smooth, add egg and vanilla, beat. Stir in flour, baking powder. Form into dough, if too sticky add more flour until it’s firm enough to wrap into dough. Chill 1 hour. 200C. Roll it out, cut into shapes. Put on pan with baking paper Bake 6 minutes.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

200 g flour

200g butter softened

240g sugar

4 eggs

4tsp ginger

2tsp: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs, mix in flour and all the spices. Form into dough. If sticky, add flour until it’s not. Chill 1 hr. 180C. Roll out, cut shapes. Put on baking sheet on pan. Bake for 5 minutes

For mustache cookies:

I melted dark chocolate and just spread it on. But you could always use royal icing and decorate if you want.

Royal icing:\

3 whites

1/2tsp cream of tartar

480g icing sugar

food colouring

Beat whites with cream of tartar, then add icing sugar, beat until its really thick and really white. Test if its ready by using a spoon and taking a bit of the icinga nd putting it on a paper towel and refrigerating it, if it sets and hardens in 30 minutes, then its ready, if it still wont set, continue adding icing sugar until it does.

Decorate!

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Christmas mustache cookies!

Gingerbread + sugar cokies

makes 100 cookies in TOTAL

Sugar Cookie Recipe 

• 170g butter softened 
• 200g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 310g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat butter with sugar until smooth, add egg and vanilla, beat. Stir in flour, baking powder. Form into dough, if too sticky add more flour until it’s firm enough to wrap into dough. Chill 1 hour. 200C. Roll it out, cut into shapes. Put on pan with baking paper Bake 6 minutes.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

200 g flour

200g butter softened

240g sugar

4 eggs

4tsp ginger

2tsp: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon

Beat butter and sugar until smooth, add eggs, mix in flour and all the spices. Form into dough. If sticky, add flour until it’s not. Chill 1 hr. 180C. Roll out, cut shapes. Put on baking sheet on pan. Bake for 5 minutes

Royal icing:

3 whites

1/2tsp cream of tartar

480g icing sugar

food colouring

Beat whites with cream of tartar, then add icing sugar, beat until its really thick and really white. Test if its ready by using a spoon and taking a bit of the icinga nd putting it on a paper towel and refrigerating it, if it sets and hardens in 30 minutes, then its ready, if it still wont set, continue adding icing sugar until it does.

Decorate!

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Banana Swiss roll

Recipe- 11x8inch pan

120g egg whites (around 8-10)

60g sugar

80g Egg yolk (approx 5)

20g sugar

60g oil

60g milk

80g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder and vanilla

1/4tsp baking soda

Whipping cream

Banana- around 1

180C

Beat whites until foamy, then add 60g sugar, and beat until stiff peaks. Set aside

Beat yolk with 20g sugar until pale yellow and stiff.

Add milk and oil, and beat, then add vanilla. 

Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda. Beat. 

Fold in meringue, and pour mixture into pan, lined withbaking paper. Bake for 15 min

Take out and leave to cool.

Beat cream with some sugar until soft peaks (for whipping cream)

Spread cream on swiss roll and arrange chopped bananas on top.

Roll cake into a swiss roll, and wrap with cling film, then refrigerate for one hour.

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Strawberry Cream Cake (Birthday cake!)

Recipe: makes 2 8in cakes 

120g egg whites (around 8-10)

60g sugar

80g Egg yolk (approx 5)

20g sugar

60g oil

60g milk

80g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder and vanilla

1/4tsp baking soda

Whipping cream

Fresh strawberries

Fresh blueberries

180C

Beat whites until foamy, then add 60g sugar, and beat until stiff peaks. Set aside

Beat yolk with 20g sugar until pale yellow and stiff.

Add milk and oil, and beat, then add vanilla. 

Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda. Beat. 

Fold in meringue, and pour mixture into cake mould, lined withbaking paper. Bake for 15 min

Take out and leave to cool.

Beat whipping cream, and chop strawberries. Spread cream on top of one cake layer then top with chopped strawberries then put final layer of cake on top, coat entire cake with cream and finish by decorating with strawberries and blueberries. Dust with icing sugar.

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Strawberry Cream Cake (Birthday cake!)

Recipe: makes 2 8in cakes 

120g egg whites (around 8-10)

60g sugar

80g Egg yolk (approx 5)

20g sugar

60g oil

60g milk

80g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder and vanilla

1/4tsp baking soda

Whipping cream

Fresh strawberries

Fresh blueberries

180C

Beat whites until foamy, then add 60g sugar, and beat until stiff peaks. Set aside

Beat yolk with 20g sugar until pale yellow and stiff.

Add milk and oil, and beat, then add vanilla. 

Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda. Beat. 

Fold in meringue, and pour mixture into cake mould, lined withbaking paper. Bake for 15 min

Take out and leave to cool.

Beat whipping cream, and chop strawberries. Spread cream on top of one cake layer then top with chopped strawberries then put final layer of cake on top, coat entire cake with cream and finish by decorating with strawberries and blueberries. Dust with icing sugar.

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Crepes (well it’s considered pancakes at my house)

Recipe: makes around 8 6inch ones

1c SR flour

2 eggs

1/2c milk

1/2c water

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil

2.5 tbsp sugar

Sieve flour and salt together. Mix. Add eggs, milk, sugar, oil, salt, water. Beat with electric mixer. You want to be able to see tiny bubbles forming on the surface, and it should be a relatively thin batter (not water thin, but just slightly thicker- NOT LIKE CAKE BATTER). If it’s too thick, add more milk.

Heat up frying pan with oil, fry until golden brown.

You can eat it…

- plain

- spread peanut butter + condensed milk

- spread peanut butter + jam

- Butter + honey

anything you want really

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Vegan brownies

makes 16 - use 8x8 inch pan

1/3 c cornstarch

2/3c flour

1c sugar

1/2c water

1/4c oil 

1/4c + 2 tbsp cocoa powder ‘

1/2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2tsp salt

180C. Sieve flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder. Mix. Add oil, water, vanilla. MIX. Put in pan lined with baking paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Dust with icing sugar to serve

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Makes 12

1c flour

1tsp baking powder

pinch salt

75g butter

2/3c sugar

1 1/3 egg

1.5tbsp lemon zest

2tsp lemon juice

1/3tsp vanilla

1/3c milk

Curd:

1 egg lightly whisked

50g butter

2tsp lemon zest

1/4c lemon juice

1/2c sugar

180C. Beat butter and egg until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, zest. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with 2 additions of milk and lemon uice.

Divide among cupcake liners. Fill to THREE QUARTERS FULL (seriously)

Bake for 25 minutes.

CURD:

Combine egg, butter, lemon zest, juice, and sugar in saucepan. Cook at low heat and stir for 5 minutes until boil and thicken. (if u think its too sour add some milk- it’ll still thicken later, just mix it in)

Remove from heat, strain through sieve. Cover with cling wrap, make sure cling wrap touches surface of  curd to prevent skin forming. Put in fridge to cool and thicken

MERINGUE:

3 egg whites

some sugar, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar. Beat more, add sugar, beat until stiff peaks (super glossy). If you over beat it’ll look really foamy again. YOU DONT WANT THAT.

Put meringue in piping bag with a nozzle (or no nozzle, u choose)

Assembling cupcakes:

Use knife to cut small hole out of cupcake surface (on top). FIll hole with lemon curd (that has been thickened, left in fridge for a while) to the top. Then use some crumbs to sprinkle on top of curd to kinda cover it. 

Pipe meringue on top. Afterwards you can either put it in an oven that is heated for approx 5 minutes until meringue slightly golden brown, with lots of white colour of the meringue showing. I used 180C, u can use higher temperature, but just make sure you take them out earlier.

(Source: Flickr / bakingexplosion)