Cupcakes for Spring

Friday night - Late at work. Wrap up work. Thank the lord! Check weekend forecast. Sigh..yet another rainy, cloudy, gloomy weekend.
Saturday morning. In bed. Sun peeps through window. What do you do? Jump out, open all the windows, dance(..sorta..) in your PJs!
Sometimes I love it when these weather forecasts are proven wrong. Easter weekend had a similar story. This weekend was another pleasant surprise.
After days of grey, today anything bright and colourful had such a calming affect on me. Spring is here. Let us celebrate.

Did I tell you I have bought dozens of new silicone moulds? Today was the perfect day to do justice to them. The cupcakes themselves are pretty basic. I refrigerated the batter for an hour while I went out for some grocery shopping - hence the domes.




Cupcakes for Spring
Here is the recipe (from the joyofbaking.com)

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2. 2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar
3. 3 large eggs
4. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5. Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)
6. 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
8. 1/4 teaspoon salt
9. 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Brush your muffin tin with butter or line them with cupcake liners. I used silicone moulds.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

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Jelly roll

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After my 2 ambitious and failed experiments, I decided to make something simple. And this is probably that last of my summer berry-licous posts! This time it is blackberries that I used. As usual, it can be replaced with any berry, even a frozen one. In fact, any kind of fruit preserve goes great here as well. A Jelly roll, also known as a 'Swiss Roll' or just a Roulade. Even though it is called a Swiss Roll, it isn't really a cake that originated in Switzerland - just happens to be one of those things where adding the word 'Swiss' would imply quality, precision and elegance. Not sure why we need them for a recipe as simple and quick as this!

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare the cake tin by lining it with aluminium foil and grease it with oil/butter/cooking spray. Use a larger than usual cake tin for this recipe. I used a cookie sheet because this cake needs to be thin and long.


Here is how I made it. You need
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
3/4 cups flour
powdered sugar
1 cup blackberries.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoon for making the jelly (As usual, you may want to increase the sugar to 3/4 cup. I don't like it to be overly sweet.)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (Or vanilla extract if you have)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Take a large bowl and begin adding the ingredients. First crack the eggs, and beat them so they are light and airy. Add in the sugar and continue beating. Now add the water and vanilla. Now slowly add in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder. Continue beating. Once it is all mixed in, pour it into your prepared cake tin. Bake for about 15 minutes. Once done, take it out of the oven. While still hot, take the cake out of the tin, and roll it up. I used a kitchen towel to hold the cake as I couldn't handle the hot cake. Once rolled, allow it cool for about 10 mins.
Prepare your jelly filling. Wash the blackberries, and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Use a muddler to crush the blackberries until they are reach a slight jelly consistency and are spreadable.
Unroll the cake, spread your jelly evenly, and roll the cake again. Sprinkle some powdered sugar, and enjoy!

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My long weekend and failed macarons!

Holidays are just so therapeutic! So relaxing, and rejuvenating no matter how tired your muscles maybe! Of course, that depends on the kind of holiday you like - just lazing around at the beach, or something more active - hiking/trekking/cycling etc. I wouldn't say I am on a holiday, but just took a long weekend, and boy, am I loving it or what! While my husband plays the Xbox with friends to his heart's content, I have been on some wild online shopping sprees, and devouring blog after blog, recipe after recipe, and really gawking at some amazing food photos!
I quite liked it when I saw my Nectarine Pie on the 'Daily Specials' at Foodbuzz today. It's probably not such a big deal, but I liked it still :-)

Well, despite the long weekend I haven't managed to post anything. And that happens to be coz I get too ambitious sometimes, and embark on some really tricky recipes. I had 2 failed experiments yesterday - one with a macaron, and another an Indian dish called - puran poli.

Here is a picture of my failed macarons. I didn't get the coveted 'feet', and neither was the the top smooth and silky :-(. I will try the following the next time around
- Tap the sheet pan to remove air bubbles
- Let it rest for about 40 minutes before popping into the oven
That is really what I can think of. Maybe when I am successful, you shall hear from me on the tips. Of course I shall keep my eyes and ears open if you happen to have some tips for me!
I wanted to make it again today, but didn't. But I am sort of under the spell of French baking at the moment. I think I shall make some almond-tuiles tommorow, or maybe something else. Let's see. Until then, ciao. Have fun y'all! Share