STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES with STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

I know Summer is almost a year away (sadly!) but that doesn't stop me from baking with berries as long as I can get hold of some good ripe ones. I've been eyeing these Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes from Jaclyn's blog for the longest time now and there's no other perfect time to bake them than October as it's the breast cancer awareness month.It reminds me of all the pink goodies I used to see back in the day,when my blog was little during October. Now, I honestly get zero time to blog hop which in a way is good,since all those posts would make me want to recreate them all at home and everything eventually will find it's way to my hips!

These cupcakes are very moist and so full of fresh strawberry flavour,both in the cake and frosting. They are light and uses two egg whites along with a whole egg in the cupcake batter,which I think is a smart move to make some very light cupcakes. I tried them straight out of the oven,literally burning my hands as I held them...they were so good! Light and fluffy like clouds! Recipe testing with Amma is always fun as we hold our breath together while tasting what we made, to see and feel if it has turned out the way it described itself to be. These cupcakes were worth it's time and effort.

Many of you must have already heard about Susan.G.Komen and her initiatives.This October, you can make a difference just by baking and sharing cupcakes.Join KitchenAid to support Susan.G.Komen. Learn more here!

STRAWBERRY BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES with STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 2/3 cup cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 drops red food colour (optional)
1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries

Buttercream
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon strawberry puree
3/4 cup unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
4 drops red food colour (optional)

Method:Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a muffin tin.

Cupcakes:In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together buttermilk, colour and puree in a another bowl.In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high speed using your KitchenAid hand mixer until creamy and pale. Add in the whole egg and mix well to combine. Add in the egg whites one at a time and beat in well. Add the flour and buttermilk mixture alternately and gently mix it in. Fold in the diced strawberries and divide the batter among the lined muffin tin (about 1/3 cup full) and bake for 18 - 20 minutes.Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for several minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting: Cook the strawberry puree in a small sauce pan over medium low heat until it reduces to 3 tablespoons, about 15 minutes. Chill it well.
Cream butter and salt until almost white. Add the strawberry puree, 1 cup of powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat well to mix. Add in the remaining sugar and beat well.If your buttercream is stiff, adjust the consistency with heavy cream. Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Ian has his favourite flavour picked out for a cake,which by the way is Chocolate. He asks for the same old chocolate cake and chocolate brownies,so I rarely make any other flavour these days . If it's a Marble Cake,it's okay with him but other than that, if I were to give him a choice, he would always go with his most favourite flavour. So when I baked these, I made a separate batch of chocolate cupcakes for him. Even then, when he saw these pink cupcakes, he grabbed one and then he ate another one before bed. Today, as soon as he was back home from his Montessori, he casually walked past by the cake box and picked out one for himself.

I think that can only mean one thing, these turned out pretty good!

ABOUT AN INTERVIEW & CELEBRATION CAKES

This past week was one of my busy ones,as a food writer and food instructor. If you remember, I had mentioned it on our Anniversary that I write for a magazine called Malayali, every month. I write for their dessert column. Aaaand,I've been contacted by another upcoming magazine to write for them,about food, but with a twist. In the meantime, I was doing celebrity interviews too, for Malayali.In between all these writing stuff, I was planning the menu for the upcoming classes till December. Each one is different as I don't want any repetitions. So all these were to be submitted in the same week! My already full hands, were overflowing with projects.But,I am certainly thankful,for all the opportunities that have been coming my way!

So,while I was busy interviewing some, I was being interviewed too! This time,from Sulekha.com. As always,these kind of emails finds it's way into my inbox while I'm fast asleep. So when I see that email,first thing in the morning, it just brightens up my day,more than what it already is! You can read my interview here.

While I was in Kannur, I did make a few cakes, to order. I couldn't take pictures of all of it excepting for a few you just saw. It was from March - May and that's the most terrible time to make decorated cakes in Kannur. It's very hot and humid then.The buttercream roses fell off of the cake from one side as I was finishing the other.The fondant sweated and the chalice, that I painstakingly moulded with my hands, melted into a puddle by the time I left it to set. That fondant cake had to be delivered to a hilly area about an hour away from the town. Of course, once we got there, I had to touch it up quite a bit! It was fun, anyway!

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Hmmm...what shall I begin this post with? Sometimes I feel I should have blogged anonymously and never let go of my identity here. I'm not a secretive person at all hence you know a lot of stuff about me including my real name and how I look to the colour I like the most and what keeps me up dreaming all night!

Now, the situation is if I want to write my heart out here...I cannot. That's because my entire family including my extended family and their relatives and their neighbours and my neighbours and all their friends and family reads this...reads whatever I write here. When people meet me at parties, they identify me saying 'Hey, you are that Ria of Ria's Collection!'.They discuss with me the things that I have written over this space. It is indeed a proud moment for me and I will never deny that fact! Infact my cousin Tia was telling me that she introduced my blog to her neighbour and whenever her neighbour meets her, she tells Tia that she is addicted to my blog and that she even browses my blog randomly before going to sleep! Now that is something...I mean if my blog is becoming a bed-time story book it does mean something to me. I have some cookbooks piled up on the floor next to my bed and I browse through it before I sleep...just simply flip through, see the photographs and get the idea of how things are done and how people manage to keep their spirits up even when the most beautiful thing turns into a disaster and how many pounds of butter goes into one small piece of cake etc.

I consider that to be a book's success. I am not sure how many of you think that way.So I am very happy if my blog is becoming a bed time story book! :) At the same time, everyone knows about what I think, what I do. It's part of being out in the public.I know it but I never knew what I was getting into when I got into this whole thing called blogging! So I don't know if people can tell me, 'You should've known!'.

There have been days when I wondered that I should just quit and stop everything. Yes, stop blogging. Stop dreaming about food. Stop thinking about food. Stop taking pictures of what I cook. Stop blogging, completely. If you noticed, I never said, stop cooking . That's not possible because I have to feed the two of us and it's me who has to do that.

Now, after writing all this, I feel I should just delete everything I just wrote but no, I won't do that. That's the problem with me.I don't like to delete and type sentences because it wouldn't be the way it comes from my heart...it would be my brain's work then :) I admire people who think with their brains first simply because I can never do that!

Okay,now that's enough of rambling for the day. So by now you all know that I have a sweet little brother and that he scored some awesome marks for his 12th board exams!He joined college today and he is leaving home. I was sad when I spoke to him because all my life when I think of him,I know he is at home...walking the way he walks ...swaying his arms and never smiling (especially when he sees me) even though he has a great smile ;-) Now he won't be at home but away in a hostel. Anyhow, he is joining college and I wanted to bake him his favourite Chocolate Cupcakes that he used to ask me to bake  after I once baked it for him long long ago...almost 14 years ago. I found this recipe on Hindu (newspaper) and didn't know it would be this good. I was just 12 years old then so I cut that part out and stuck it onto Amma's recipe Diary and she still has that copy! When I grew up, I wrote it down in my own Diary . I don't know how he remembers it as he was just a 4 yr old but he used to ask me always 'to make those chocolate cupcakes' which I never did...until 2 days ago. So this is for you Ritchie Kutta, have a fun time in College! Study hard and not hardly ;-)

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
250 g all purpose flour
350g sugar
375 ml yogurt
75 g cocoa powder
100 g unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:
Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line 2 regular sized (not mini)cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In a bowl,beat all the ingredients together on medium-high speed for 2 mins. Pour 1/4 c of the batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 30 mins or till a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Verdict: Delicious soft chocolate cupcakes which are super easy to make and please :-) I don't think there are many recipes which can give you 24 cupcakes with just 100g of butter! Isn't this recipe a winner??

He always asks me 'Did you try out anything new?' whenever we speak over the phone and I list out all what I tried and he just asks 'Hmm,Nallatha (did it taste good)?'. I know he misses my experiments at home( inspite all the wonderful goodies Amma makes ) which he used to gobble up once he gets back from school...Amma confirms it :-) So this time when I am home, I am baking this for him :-)
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The giveaway is extended till Monday as some of you wrote to me saying there is a problem commenting on my blog. Till then, go through the wonderful stories you all came up with! It's hilarious!


Happy Friday guys!

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA SQUARES

Oh, it's not that easy being a Gemini. I think that should talk enough for this whole post. You know what? We are a crazy bunch but I still will and forever fight back if people say we are double-faced. We all are, it's not just the May 22 - June 22 born fabulous people alone :-)  I'm in a good mood today...to whine! I mean, I was so happy on Sunday when my little brother topped his school in Business Studies and grabbed a 'Distinction' for his board exams and till I decided to bake a cake to celebrate !

Why is it so difficult for me to chose one recipe and then stick onto it? Why do I want to experiment all the time? Why do I go to the kicthen with my mind fixed on one (I start with an Oreo Pie) but ends up making a 'totally different' something ( a Sorbet!!!) which has absolutely nothing to do the former idea(Am I being repetitive?)? Why do my mind wander so much? Why do I dream so much?Why am I whining so much on a Thursday when I'm usually very happy about the next day, Friday?

Ah! That word Friday just cheered me up, peeps! It's the day I look forward to from Sunday. What is so special you may ask? I have no answer to give you for that. It just like any other day, but there's something about Friday! Jobin tells me  that I forget how to cook on weekends, maybe that's why! So it's Friday tomorrow and it's a long weekend this time! Yay! I'm super happy now! See how my mood changed from what you just read above? Life of a Gemini!

I  baked these eggless cakes using Aparna's recipe a while back and since I didn't bake a cake to celebrate Ritchie's success, I thought I'd just use this instead...after all I promised you guys a cake! :)

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA SQUARES
Ingredients:
75g butter,softened at room temperature
3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 large banana
2-3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional)
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c semi sweet chocolate chips

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F and prepare your cake tin. You can use your regular square cake tin or use a tin like mine, if you have one.

Puree the banana with milk , vanilla and cardamom powder,if you are using.
In another bowl, beat together butter and sugar till it's creamy and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add the pureed banana to it and beat on medium till well incorporated.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl and beat on medium speed till it is incorporated.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin  and sprinkle some extra chocolate chips if you'd like.Bake for 20-25 mins (for my kind of tin) or 30-40 mins for the bigger tin (8 inch square). Cool in the tin for 5 mins and then unmould it and cool on wire rack.
This cake keeps well for almost 4 days.

Verdict: You can never miss the eggs in this cake. It's really nice and soft with a subtle banana flavour. I'm sure you can eat this for breakfast too!

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH GLOSSY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

The first batch of cupcakes that I ever tried baking were for my brother when he was as little as 6 or something. Now he is writing his 12th std board exams! Time sure flies!  I got a recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes from 'Hindu'(an Indian Newpaper) and I promptly cut that out and stuck it on my mother's recipe book since I didn't own one then. We didn't have cupcake liners at home then, so I made the whole thing as a cake. There was a recipe for a frosting too which called for 'cooking chocolate'. Even today, it's hard to find 'cooking/baking' chocolate in Kannur, so you could have imagined the situation 12 years ago! So, we went with my favourite chocolate, Cadbury's Dairy Milk  and tried melting it in the microwave. I had no idea that the chocolate will maintain it's shape unless we stir it...sadly it was burnt in the centre.

But, I didn't give up, I scraped out the good parts and made the frosting with it. It came out really good.He loved the cake and from that day on he used to ask me to bake the same cupcakes and I always ...always postponed it. I have made him so many other stuffs, but never got to baking those chocolate cupcakes as 'cupcakes'. I will bake it for him the next time I'm home :) You will see the recipe here, very soon! :)

Those cupcakes look cute, don't they? I made these cupcakes for Jobin to take to work last week. They smelt so good while they were baking and was even more tempting after I pulled it out of the oven. I really couldn't resist clicking a picture of these cuppiecakes!

I frosted them with a simple frosting which was so glossy that I could see my reflection on it. I kept everything simple even though I wanted to do those fancy swirls with the 1M tip, but then he would have had a hard time taking it to office . Actually, I would have given him a hard time saying, 'Keep the box straight, okay? No,no! Don't press on that! Argh! You are not going to keep the swirls in place...Just give that box to me...I told you not to do that!' Blah Blah!

So to prevent all that, this the best frosting I could do. You let them set for a while and then it doesn't even stick to your fingers nor leave a mark on it unless you poke your fingers into it like I did later just to see whether the glossy frosting can yield at some point,atleast! :) The recipe for these cupcakes was in my recipe diary from a very long time, even before I started blogging and I have no idea where I got it from. I am sure it's from some aunts of mine :) Whoever it is, Thank you so much! I had used the same recipe for my Craisin-Orange Squarecakes where you also get to  see a step-by-step process of how these babies are made.

VANILLA CUPCAKES with GLOSSY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Recipe source for frosting- Alice Medrich (She calls it Fast Fudge Frosting)

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (omit if you are using salted butter)

1 c sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter ,room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glossy Frosting: (I made only half the amount and I still had some left over)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 c granulated sugar
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method:
Cupcakes:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F and position the rack in the centre.
Prepare a 12- cup muffin tin by placing the cupcake liners in it.

Sift the dry ingredients together, if possible, thrice.
Cream the butter and sugar for 3 mins.Add in the eggs one by one and beat it will for 1 minute after each addition.
Next with the motor running,add the flour and milk alternately starting and ending with flour.
By now the batter should be light and fluffy.
Spoon it into the cupcake liners, about 2/3 rd's full, which will be about 2 1/2 tbsp.
Bake for 20-25 mins or till the top is lightly golden brown in colour and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from the tin immediately and let it cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
In a saucepan,melt butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa. Gradually stir in the cream.
Heat over medium heat, stirring till everything is mixed well and is smooth and hot but not boiling.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and a pinch or two of salt, to taste.
Set aside to cool. Dip the cupcake upside down in to the frosting and let the excess drip off.
Turn the cupcake and place it on a plate/rack and let the frosting set.

Verdict: Very soft buttery cupcakes! The frosting is such a charm to work with...gives you perfect shiny results every time you dip the cupcake into it! :)

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CUPCAKES

Talk about cravings! I get very specific cravings all the time! A few days ago I was craving for a homemade chocolate cake and this is what satisfied me! It really did satisfy the chocolate hungry girl in me!

I have read in many places that a girl should have a good chocolate cake recipe with her, just like a LBD. I would say, in my case, this chocolate cake would be my Lil' Black Dress! :-) The simplicity of this recipe and the amazing result it gives you, you can never go wrong. There was a frosting recipe for the cake and I didn't do it because I am trying to divide my butter intake in 2 cakes rather than in 1 :-)

I couldn't wait for the cupcakes to cool down, got Jobin also along with me. So, as soon as the tray popped out of the oven, we both gobbled up  one each. B.L.I.S.S.
Some of our friends ( I would say LUCKY!) dropped by that evening, so we shared some with them as well.I think my life has a new motto now...bake & share! :-)

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CUPCAKES
Recipe source : Alice Medrich



Ingredients:


Flour-1 c
Unsweetened cocoa powder-1/4 c + 2 tbsp
Baking soda-1/2 tsp
Salt-1/4 tsp (omit salt if you are using salted butter)
Unsalted butter- 1 stick/ 113 g
Brown sugar-1 1/4 c, packed
Eggs-2
Vanilla extract-1 tsp
Hot water- 1/2 c

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C /350F. Prepare your baking tin.
• In a heat proof bowl, melt butter and allow it to cool slightly.
• Add the sugar to it and mix it up using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon.
• Add in both the eggs & vanilla together and mix till combined.
• Dump in all the dry ingredients (no sifting needed unless cocoa is lumpy) and mix till flour is just incorporated.
• Add in the hot water and mix till everything blends in well.
• Pour into the baking tin and bake for 35-45 mins.
• Cool the cake in the tin for 10 mins and then demould it and let it cool completely.
• I baked them in my silicone cupcake moulds and this batter yielded 12 cupcakes.

Verdict: How can a chocolate cake get more simpler? It's a one bowl, mixer-free,easy clean up cake recipe! An absolute winner! Try it for yourself and see!

This is going to be my most fave chocolate cake until I find the next one! Usually my search for the perfect chocolate cake never ends, but after trying this one, I think I can rest my search! Phew!