Super Nice & Moist Chocolate Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Bryans birthday recently and thereafter, I've a couple of requests from friends and relatives for the recipe.

These cupcakes are really nice, moist & super chocolatety so if you love a good chocolate cupcake, I urge you to try this! Do fill it up high to 3/4 full as it will not rise much but the taste is really OOMPH!

Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes about 16 regular cupcakes & 12 Medium size Cupcakes.

Ingredients

50g Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder
240ml Boiling Hot Water
175g All Purpose Flour
2 tsps Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
113g Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
200g Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 tsps Vanilla Extract

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.
   
2. In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let it cool to room temperature.
   
3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
   
4. With a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
   
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth.
   
6. Beat in the vanilla extract.
   
7. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated. Stop the mixer and make sure not to over mix.
   
8. Add the cooled cocoa mixture and using a spatula stir until smooth.
   
9. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter.
   
10. Bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
    
11. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
    
12. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.
    
13. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to make lovely swirls.
    

Bryan's 1st Birthday

Time flies and now it is just a day away from Bryan's 1st Birthday Celebrations.

I've improvised and made all this fondant toppers for the chocolate cupcakes that I'll be serving to all the kids.

It was really fun making these and even Hubby got interested and helped to roll the strips for the bumble bee. hahahahaha however, after rolling about 5 bumble bees strips, he gave up and declared that his fingers are cramping hahahahahahaha.....

These rainbows are so cute and easy to make and it will make the cupcake more special :) I curve the arches around my piping tip to get a nice & even arch.

Here is the Mickey Mouse 2-tier Mocha Pound Cake with Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream covered in Fondant and topped with Mickey Mouse cake topper that I bought online.

My Happy 1 year old son :)

My 1st attempt of Baking Bryan's 1st Birthday Cake

Ever since I started picking up baking again when I was pregnant with Bryan during my 3rd trimester,it has been my dream to be able to bake all his birthday cakes!

This year, I get get to fulfil that wish and dream despite my super nervousness on how the cake will turn out. As always, I'm stressing myself by going for a fondant cake! FONDANT CAKE!!!! That is BIG for me as I've never touch a fondant before and now I'm talking about making a cake with it!! AM I NUTS OR WHAT!

I love to challenge myself constantly and this is a huge challenge for me. Bryan's birthday is almost a month away and I just manged to settle my nerves to do a first test on the flavour of the cake.

I've selected Mocha Pound Cake with Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Since Bryan is only a year old, he will be having his own cupcake to enjoy while most of the adults will certainly prefer something that they're familiar with.

This cake texture is solid enough to withstand the weight of the fondant without collasping it...i hope.

After some test and trial, I got an all thumbs up for hubby and relatives so the cake is set!

Since I've more or less settle on the cake, now I have to try to cover it with Fondant. This is really something very new to me and after researching through the web, I've decided to use Petinice Fondant that I bought from Sun Lik. I pinched a little to try and was suprised that it tasted really nice and not overly sweet as I have thought.

So after a lot of kneading in the red colour that I've wanted, I slowly cover the cake. I'm really happy with the result and now I just hope that I can repeat this results for my son's actual birthday cake.

I tell you, my arms were seriously aching from the kneading of the blardy fondant! No joke! Luckily I've the good sense to knead more and I've enough left for the actual cake. I don't think I ever want to knead this much fondant with colour again!!!! ACHING ARMS!!!! OUCH.....!

Mum's Claypot Liver

My mum used to cook this for me when I was a kid as all old folks believed that liver is good for the blood so kids must have more of this hahahaha. I only take liver when it is cooked this way because the liver is nicely marinated and the sauce from this dish is so yummy with white rice!

When I gave birth to my son back in 2008, I started to read up more about cooking liver and if it indeed is good for my son. What I understand is that liver is encouraged but only in moderation as having too much of this can be toxic too. Well, in life, moderation is always the best bet :)

You can either use a claypot to cook it or any frying pan or HappyCall Pan as well. However, do omit the cooking wine if you intend to make this for toddlers or young children.


Mum’s Claypot Liver
(pre soaked the claypot overnight so as to avoid cracking the pot)


Ingredients

Pig’s Liver for 2-3 person
½ tbsp Sesame Oil
½ tbsp Cooking Oil
1 tblsp Chinese Cooking Wine
1 thumb Ginger
Spring Onions (Separate into the white & leafy parts)


Marinates for liver (marinate it for at least 1 hour in the fridge)

2 tbsps Oyster sauce
½ tsps Light Soy Sauce
A pinch of salt for 1 hour


Method

1. Heat claypot & add ½ tablespoon cooking oil and ½ tablespoon of sesame oil for cooking.
   
2. Fry ginger until golden brown, add 1 tablespoon of cooking wine
   
3. Fry the white part of the spring onion first, add liver and stir fry quickly.
   
4. Add in the leafy part of the spring onion and fry briefly for about 1 minute.
   
5. Do not add water to cook the liver as it will dilute the taste.
   
6. Cover the claypot and switch off the stove. Keep the claypot covered & after 5 mins, the liver is ready to be served.
   
   
   
   

Beefy Mash

Suitable For 7 months old

1 tbsp Olive Oil1 small Onion2 Large Tomato, diced
1 Medium Carrot, washed, peeled and diced
1 clove Garlic, mashed
150g Minced Lean Beef
2 Medium Potatoes, washed peeled & diced
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1/4 cup Vegetable stock /water

Methods

1. In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and sauté onion until fragrant and translucent. (about 5 mins)
2. Stir in tomatoes, carrot, peas and garlic. Continue to sauté for another 5 mins.
3. Add minced beef and stock/water; bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for about 25-30 mins. (until meat is thoroughly cooked).
5. Save the stock.
6. In another small saucepan, boil potatoes until tender; drain.
7. Once all the ingredients are cooled, use a hand held blender or food processor, puree meat
   mixture and potatoes.
8. Add a tablespoon of left over stock at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
9. If you find that the puree is still too thick, you can add more stock.
10. Pour the puree into the baby cubes or ice cube trays and freeze.

Notes:·

I pack each baby cube with approx. 75ml of puree for convenience. Yields 8 cubes· You may double the portion to achieve more.· This stew is like our shepherd’s pie but baby version :P

Chicken & Apple Delight

Chicken & Apple Delight
For 6 -7 months old

2 Small Organic Fuji Apple, cored and quartered. Leave the skin on.
50g Minced Chicken
1 cup Vegetable stock or water
2 tbsps Apple Juice
(approx.)

Methods

1. In a steamer, steam apple with the skin over boiling water for about 15 mins. Leave it to cool.
2. In another small saucepan, add 1 cup of either vegetable stock or water and boil the minced
   chicken for about 5-10mins. Ensure that the chicken is fully cook (no more red
   bits and meat should be white).
3. Once the chicken is cooked, leave it aside to cool.
4. Scrape the flesh of the apple with a teaspoon and discard the skin.
5. Use a hand held blender or food processor, puree the chicken& apples. Add a tablespoon
   of apple Juice at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
6. If you find that the puree is still too thick, you can add more apple juice.
7. Pour the puree into the baby cubes or ice cube trays and freeze.

Notes:·
I pack each baby cube with approx. 45ml of puree for convenience.· Yields about 4 baby cubes (45ml each).

You may double the potion to achieve more.· Good introduction of meat to babies as it is mixed with their familiar fruit. Really Yummy !

Vegetables & Brown Rice

Vegetables & Brown Rice
For 7 months old

1 cup Broccoli florets, washed and discard yellow bits.
1 Medium Carrot - washed, peeled and diced
2 cups Vegetable stock or water
1/3 cup Organic Brown Rice, grind to a finer grains.

Methods
In a saucepan, add 2cups of either vegetable stock or water and boil the carrot & broccoli for about 10-15mins. Simmer with the lid on to prevent evaporation of stock.

Once the vegetables are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables. Save the
stock.

Pour the organic brown rice into the saved stock and cook to a boil. Stir once and reduce heat.

Cover the saucepan and simmer for about 50mins. Once done, remove from heat and let it
stand for 10mins. Save the stock again.

Use a hand held blender or food processor, puree rice & vegetables. Add a tablespoon of left over stock at a time to achieve the desired consistency. If you find that the puree is still too thick, you can add more stock.

Pour the puree into the baby cubes or ice cube trays and freeze.


Notes:·

I pack each baby cube with approx. 60ml of puree for convenience.· You may double the potion to achieve more.. I find that it is a lot easier to cook when the rice grains are grinded.

Chicken Macaroni Stew

Chicken Macaroni Stew
For 7 months old

Ingredients

100g Minced Chicken
½ tsp Tarragon leaves (optional)
1 Medium Carrot, washed, peeled and diced
1 cup Broccoli florets, discard the yellow bits
1 stalk Celery, washed trimmed and thinly sliced
1 Small Onion, cut into quarters
1 Large Potato, washed peeled & cut into cubes
2 ½ cups Vegetable stock or water
1/3 cup Macaroni


Methods

In a medium pot, place chicken & tarragon in water and bring to a boil.

Add macaroni, celery, carrots, onion and potato; reduce heat and simmer for about 25mins or until the vegetables are tender. Keep the pot partially covered.

Stir occasionally, the consistency should be that of a thick stew and if there is too much liquid, remove the lid and continue to simmer for 5-10mins more.

Once the vegetables & macaroni are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove. Save the stock and leave the macaroni mixture to cool.

Once cooled, use a hand held blender or food processor, puree macaroni & vegetables.

Add a tablespoon of left over stock at a time to achieve the desired consistency. If you find that the puree is still too thick, you can add more stock.

Pour the puree into the baby cubes or ice cube trays and freeze.

Notes:·

I pack each baby cube with approx. 60ml of puree for convenience. Yields 8 baby cubes (60ml each)· You may double the potion to achieve more.·

This stew is so fragrant that I feel like eating it myself :P