Be My Valentine?

Instead of merely asking this question to your future date, why don't you send your message with something extra-special? CUPCAKES!

Minnie mouse vs. Angry birds!

Hahaha! One of my church mates commissioned me to make a cake for her birthday celebration! But she wanted a cake that her two kids would enjoy. One likes angry birds like who doesn't? right? and their cute princess goes gaga over minnie mouse. My mind went raveling with tons of ideas the moment she told me minnie mouse and angry birds! But hey! good news everything went smoothly into place

I had a little emergency with the ready made fondant that I bought though...

You see the cracking on the brown surface? Never had those problems with mm fondant.

 Everybody just loves angry birds

 Every bit of detail, I love making in this cute cake!

 and look how posh Minnie is?

I finished it up with grass and flowers to make it more alive and funky!

XOXO

 

Arah

yumminess at it's best(not referring to me okay? but the blog of course!)

Strawberry Shortcake with a twist!

Wheeew! What a hot day, isn't it? This hot weather is really ticking me off! Don't get me wrong guys I'm not hating the sun for doing its job like 150% efficiently. It's just that I love the rain more!

So just to quench this hotness! ooohhh... hahaha here's what I got for you.... 

But hey! Don't ya worry just now.. I included a recipe and tutorial just for you! Give it a try!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of canola oil

8 egg yolks

8 egg whites

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups (14 oz) cake flour

1 1/2 cups (7 oz) firmly packed sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 recipe of fresh whipped cream

1 cup caramelized cashew

fresh strawberries

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place the rack in the middle of the oven.

2.  Line 2 8" round pans with baking paper. Grease with oil or shortening and dust with flour.

3.  Sift together all the dry ingredients and dry whisk flour. Set aside

4.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the oil and sugar together until combined

5. Add egg yolks one at a time beating well every after each addition. 

6. Add water and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined.

7. Whisk in the flour mixture until well blended but do not over mix.

8. In an oil free bowl, whisk egg whites until it reaches stiff peak stage.

9. Combine 1/3 of the whites into the batter and mix with an electric mixer. Fold in the rest of the whites just until well blended.

9. Divide the batter into two and transfer to the baking pans. Tap 3 times just to release excess air bubbles and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested.

10. Cool on a rack until its cool to touch.

 Ribbon formation when whisk is lifted

It's so fluffy!

fresh whipped cream

For this recipe, I infused the whipped cream with mashed strawberries to have an added berry flavor.Make sure to chill your bowl and whisk for 15 minutes just before whipping your heavy cream.

Ingredients:

Chilled Heavy  Cream

4 tablespoons of sugar (or to taste)

1/2 cup of mashed strawberries

Whisk the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add sugar gradually and whip it some more. Fold in the mashed strawberries. Chill in an airtight container until ready to use.

caramelized cashew

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 cup sugar (or to taste)

1/4 cup water

1 cup of chopped roasted cashew

Line cookie sheet with baking paper (not wax paper!) and grease it with shortening. Scatter the cashew on sheet. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine all the ingredients together and let it boil without stirring. You can either clip a candy thermometer or do the candy test but make sure to remove the pan immediately from heat once it reach hard ball stage (250 F). Pour the candy on the cashew nuts and let it cool. (About 30 minutes)

Once cooled, separate your caramel from the paper and crack to small pieces (about half inch) using the back of your knife.

To assemble

Slice any excess on top of your cake. Place your cake on the cake board upside down. Smother with a generous amount of whipped cream.

 Top with caramelized nuts

 Arrange strawberry halves

 Place a dollop of whipping cream on top. Level.

 Place the second cake on top and cover the whole cake with whipping cream, smoothing the edges and sides.

Place some of the cream in a piping bag with a closed star tip and pipe nests for the strawberries to sit on.

Voila!  Enjoy!

P.S. Eat the cake right away after assembling the cake! or else the sponge will become soggy because of the whipped cream.. You can refrigerate it for a few hours not later than 1 day as the cake will dry.

ARAH♥♥♥

re-post! Handy Dandy Frosting Guide

Okay! no blogs from me today but hey I just found this post from the no. 1 cupcake blog Cupcakes Take the Cake and I can't help it but to re-blog /re-post it. To make everything clear, I'm not sharing (me) here so I did not make these okay? 

Just to sprinkle something from me... These kind of photos encouraged me to make something delectable as these.. I hope I motivated your tummies as well! Go ahead and give it a try !

Here is a direct link for the original post:http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2012/01/handy-dandy-frosting-guide.html

Starbucks' Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino Cupcakes

Remember my last post, The Perfect Comfort Food tutorial? I know! I wasn't able to take pictures of those mouthful cupcakes! I made them again and this time I made them extra special!

I bet you're gonna love them too!

 

Isn't this the best idea for these cupcake?

The Perfect Comfort Food

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I have this weird strong feelings for caramel! It's like I can eat it for a month (I wish without having diabetes!). For long have I been in search for a perfect cupcake flavor that would really go well with caramel sauce.. Eureka! Thanks to Darla of Bakingdom for sharing this awesome recipe on her blog. My heart goes to you!

Since this cupcake is called Salted Caramel Mocha Frapuccino Cupcake, I followed my instinct and used Starbucks Caffe Verona whole bean coffee(Bold,Sweet Roast says on the label) which I have in my house for a decade waiting for me to use or even open it! Turns out my instincts were correct and the coffee flavor prevailed amongst the other ingredients.

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Next on my list are cocoa, vanilla beans, all-purpose flour, cake flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, unsalted butter, salt, eggs, and whipped cream! Nothing too hard to find!

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One of the problems that you may encounter in this recipe is losing the coffee flavor and aroma along the baking procedure. So instead of following the packet instructions for making the espresso, I changed the ratio of coffee to water doubling the quantity of coffee beans. (Instead of 25 grams for 500 ml of water, I used 50 grams of coffee).

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First, add the cocoa powder to the hot espresso and mix until combined. Set aside or place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

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Next, sift together all the dry ingredients. one trick is to dry whisk it after sifting to make sure everything is well combined.

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And the rest is pretty basic! Cream the butter until light and fluffy!

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Add the sugar few tablespoons at a time then beat in eggs one at a time until everything is incorporated

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Scrape your vanilla beans and add it to the batter 

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  Alternately add the flour and espresso mixture in 3:2 ration beginning and ending with flour.

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Beat in just until well blended

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Core the cupcakes

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Fill cores with caramel sauce, pipe cupcakes with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel sauce

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Salted Caramel Mocha Cupcakes
Makes 30 cupcakes
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES
2 cups (16 ounces or 500 ml) double fold strong brewed coffee, hot
1/2 cup (56 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups (192 grams) Non- self rising Cake Flour
1 1/4 cups (160 grams) All Purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (400 grams) firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 vanilla bean pods
1 recipe Whipped Cream (below)
1 recipe Salted Caramel Sauce
In a medium bowl, or a two cup measuring cup, stir the cocoa powder into the hot coffee until dissolved. Set aside until cooled to room temperature, or place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Once the cocoa/coffee mixture has cooled, preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined; stir in the vanilla. Sprinkle 1/3 of the flour mixture over the bowl and mix until just combined. Add 1/2 of the chocolate mixture, mixing again until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and chocolate mixtures, ending with flour. Mix only until flour is just incorporated. Do not over mix.
Place 2 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Once cooled, fill each cupcake with about 1 teaspoon of salted caramel sauce, ice with Coffee Icing (optional), and frost with whipped cream, vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, or another vanilla frosting. Garnish with more caramel sauce.

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Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Avoset Heavy  Cream
Chill heavy cream overnight. Place beaters and bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes before beating. Whisk heavy cream on medium high speed until firm peaks form. No need to add sugar! Refrigerate in an air-tight container until ready to use.

Salted caramel
Ingredients 1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of rock salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring to combine. Without stirring, bring to a boil over high heat, swirling the ingredients in the pan occasionally. Continue boiling until the mixture reaches an amber color (not too dark, or red). Remove from heat and very carefully (the mixture will quickly expand and sputter) add the cream in a slow steady stream, being sure to stir constantly. Once combined, add the salt and butter and continue stirring until both are completely melted and combined. Cool to room temperature before using.


P.S Sorry this cupcake didn't last long enough for a finished product photo shoot!

Enjoy baking!

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Day Off

Today I lost my white bunny Momo! I love him so much! He's so fluffy and sweet! So while I'm figuring out whether to continue finding him or to replace him, let's take the day off of the kitchen and give you a tour! Is that a deal?

Let's start this tour in Makati along Ayala. Probably you've been and passed by these stores but did'nt recognize them! Don't worry! This is a visual tour. It will help you next time you visit Glorietta!

First stop, Landmark Makati 3rd floor Baking Aisle
I wouldn't say they have all that I need but they have all the basics if your starting or planning to bake!

  This store we're going to next is my newly discovered baking haven!I still remember the first time I came here and it's like I was in a trance! I honestly was inside their store for fifteen minutes with my boyfriend waiting outside I almost forgot! hahaha For those people trying to find a store for hard to find ingredients, try this one! This store saved me when I was cramming for my Barbie Cake Post. They have the doll picks that Gourdo's didn't have. Plus they have a really nice staff! Swear!

Cooks Exchange

 Glorietta 4

3/F underneath G4 Cinemas, Glorietta 4
Ayala Center, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. 816-1633

They also have large varieties of flavorings.. yum!

My low technology phone can't capture everything but I tell you this is heaven! This is where I also get my Tahiti vanilla beans and vanilla extract! They also sell Valrhona cocoa powder!

Hey guys don't also forget my trusted online stores!

Love2Bake is no. 1 on my list! Ms. Karen, Ms. Joy and Sir Pax are really nice!
Since I started baking, I honestly bought all my gadgets and needs from them. Then, I would pick it up at RCBC Plaza, Makati. Visit them on Facebook and you'll be surprised they also got lots of stuff at a cheaper price! I bought my cupcake tower from them.. They have it for the lowest price!

6 C. Palanca St. BF Homes, 1702 Parañaque, Philippines
	Mon - Sat: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Sun: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm 8079178/ 0906-1493013

Second is bakingbuddies. They are also helpful and have lots of baking tools especially fondant- related! They only take deliveries by JRS.

Thanks everyone! Til the next tour! Toodles!

Happy weekend!