Red Velvet Cupcakes - Second Attempt

My first attempt at RVC yielded a densed yet soft and very moist cupcakes with a tangy sweet taste.
In fact it tasted better after a couple of days. There wasn't a hint of raw beetroot being used.
The only setback was its colour which did not live up to its name - Red Velvet Cake!

This is my second attempt and I like not only the texture of the cake but also the use of sunflower oil instead of butter because it's healthier!


Ingredients: (makes 12 cupcakes)

A
100g beetroot, cubed and later to be pureed
 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk


B
130 g Self-raising flour
5 teaspoons beetroot powder
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder


C
150ml sunflower oil
1 large egg
120g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Puree beetroot, lemon juice and buttermilk together.

2. Sift all dry ingredients together in A.

3. Whisk egg and sugar at high speed until thick and creamy. Add in oil and vanilla extract at medium speed.

4. Add some flour to the egg mixture and mix well. Alternate with beetroot puree and flour.

5. Mix well and fill cupcake cases and bake in preheated oven 170deg C for 20 to 25 minutes or until skewer test comes clean. Batter is quite watery but no worries as it will bake well.

Anxiously waiting for the baking to be done!

The colour is a deep red, in fact it's  maroon!

Well I will definitely make this again and frost the cake the next time time!

Red Velvet Cupcakes (1st attempt)

RVC - most recipes use red colouring.
I decided to use beetroot and raspberries to get the colour.
Acidic ingredients play a part to stabilise the colour.
But many factors can cause the colour change!
I am no expert in chemistry, therefore I cannot explain further.


Ingredients:

A
140g cake flour
1 and 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (don't use dutch processed because of alkali)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

B
115g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

C
65 ml buttermilk
65g yogurt
65 ml raspberry juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
75g raw beetroot, cubed


1. Place all ingredients in C into a blender. Puree the beetroot until fine.

2. Sift all ingredients in A together into a bowl.

3. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add one egg at a time and continue creaming and then add vanilla extract.

4. Mix in dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately.

5. Spoon batter into cupcases, 2/3 full.

6. Bake in preheated oven 170deg C for 20 to 25 mins or more. Test with skewer.

7. Cool and top with cream cheese etc.

They have a lovely red colour before baking!

They have a more brownish red colour after baking!

Cake texture is quite dense and wettish!

Tastewise is good - tangy sweet! No taste of beetroot!

Cupcakes full of Chocolate

My first bake of this new year and it has to be something chocolatey! Sheer indulgence!


Ingredients:

130g butter
160g caster sugar
3 eggs
125ml chocolate milk

170g plain flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Chocolate ganache for topping

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Mix in one egg at a time.

3. Add in sifted flour, cocoa and baking powder. Mix well.

4. Mix in chocolate milk and then chocolate chips.

5. Bake  cupcakes in preheated oven 170deg C for 20 to 25 minutes.

6. Let cupcakes cool and spread ganache on the top.
 Then eat and savour and eat and .................

Merry Christmas

Here's wishing all fellow bloggers and friends,

"A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2013!"

                                             (pic fr fanpop.com)

Crunchy Rice Crispies Jumbles

These are really crunchy and one piece is not enough! I baked these for my grandsons who are cookie 'monsters'. Hmmm.... which kid isn't?

Ingredients:

115g butter
90g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
175g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
75g rice crispies (I used Kellog's)
50g mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
a few glaced cherries, optional


1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add egg and vanilla essence and cream well.

3. Add flour sifted with bicarbonate soda and mix well.

4. Add rice crispies and chocolate chips and mix well.

5. Spoon mixture onto lightly greased tray, spacing the batter to allow for spreading.

6. Bake in preheated oven 150deg C for 25 to 35 minutes. Slow bake to get the rice crispies crunchy.

 

 

Rugelach

What is a Rugelach?
It's a cookie made with cream cheese dough, rolled around a filling of a variety of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate and jam.

I came across this recipe from Dorie Greenspan book. I wondered what it would taste like.
No wondering anymore! I baked it today and had a yummy time savouring a few pieces!

Ingredients: (from Dorie's)

For the Dough:

4 ozs cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Let cream cheese and butter softenn slightly.

2. Put flour and salt in a food processor and scatter cream cheese and butter and pulse the machine for 6 to 10 times or until the dough forms large pieces. Do not let it form into a ball.

3. Gather dough into a ball (no kneading) and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk and wrap in cling wrap individually and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.


For the Filling:

2/3 cup raspberry jam/ apricot jam/ marmalade, microwaved for 20s to liquefy
2 tablespoons sugar, mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecan)
1/4 cup moist dried currants (I used mixed fruit which is soaked in liquor meant for fruit cake)
4 ozs mini chocolate chips

Set aside until dough is ready.

For the Glaze:

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water
2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling


To shape the cookies:

1. Take one piece of dough and leave the other piece in the refrigerator.

2. On a floured surface, place a plastic sheet over the dough and roll it out into a 11 to 12 inch circle.(I rolled a 10-inch). Dough tends to soften quickly and get sticky.

3. Spoon a thin layer of jam over the dough and sprinkle half the sugar mixture. Scatter half the nuts, currants and chocolate chips. Place plastic sheet over and gently press the filling into the dough.

4. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 16 pieces. ( Easier to cut into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 pieces)

5. Starting from the circumference, roll each piece to the centre. Remove and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Glaze with egg and sprinkle some coarse sugar.

7. Bake in preheated oven 160deg C for 20 to 25 minutes.

All for Rugelach!

Unglazed!

Glazed and baked! They look like grilled ribs!

Tauhu Goreng / Fried Beancake with Peanut Sauce

Lunch was tauhu goreng. It was easy to prepare just as long as you have the ground peauts at hand, an essential ingredient for this dish.
I do not have specific quantities for the ingredients used. I just estimated the amount of this and that and go by taste with lots of finger-licking!

Ingredients:

Tau Kwa, pan-fried or deep-fried and cut to size
Tempeh, optiional (fermented soya beans), sliced and deep-fried
Taugay (beansprouts), scalded
Cucumber, sliced

Peanut Sauce: (to be prepared before frying the tau kwa etc)
Ground peanuts (I used store-bought)
Sugar and salt to taste
Lime juice to taste
Dark soya sauce to taste and colour
Garlic, minced, preference of how garlicky 
Chilli padi, preferred spiciness
Water

1. Place garlic, chilli, lime juice and a little water and mix well.

2. Add ground peanuts, sugar and salt and mix together and add some water and soya sauce while mixing to the consistency and colour preferred.

3. Taste and add more of whatever you feel is required. Spoon a portion of the sauce over tau kwa and other veggies and tuck in!