Mini Choc Mint Cupcakes

I made the most delicious mini cupcake for a friend's birthday party this week. They taste just like peppermint chocolate chip ice-cream. No joke.

The funniest part is that it all started with an aim to make a lovely triple tiered peppermint chocolate chip cake. Which failed... miserably. The third tier didn't bode well. Once the tin had completely cooled I opened it to place it onto the rack. The entire thing crumbled into pieces. It just fell apart in my hands. I blame the horrid vindictive oven! Then my icing wasn't right. It set. Hard.

So I channelled my hatred into tiny, cute mini cupcakes. And they were delicious! Yummy little bite sized treats that everybody loved.

Try them for yourself!

Mini Mint Choc Chip Cupcakes:

9 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
180g Plain Flour
3 Tablespoons Corn Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Bi-Carb Soda
115g Butter
300g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Coffee (I used a long black setting on my Nespresso Machine, but instant coffee is fine)
1/2 Cup Milk

Icing:
280g Butter
500g Icing Sugar
2 Teaspoons Peppermint Essence
150g Chocolate Flake
Green Food Coloring

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two mini muffin trays with mini cupcake liners

2. Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.

3. Sift together dry ingredients.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together coffee and milk.

5. Add eggs to the butter mix, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated.

6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mix, followed by half of the milk mixture. Repeat and mix until smooth.

7. Divide mixture evenly between cupcake liners, so they are filled approx halfway.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes until skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in tray until at room temp then transfer to a wire rack.

9. For the icing; Beat the butter until smooth, add icing sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth. Add the essence and coloring to desired color. Gradually mix through the flake pieces.

10. Pipe icing onto cupcakes. Voila!

Happy Baking!!!

Chewy Coconut Biscuits

Beware... These cookies are addictive. I took them to a picnic with my girlfriends and they were devoured!

Nice and chewy on top, a little bit crunchy on the bottom and melted chocolate on top. So so good!

Enjoy these... If your friends don't eat them all before you get to try them!!

Chewy Coconut Cookies:

1 1/4 cups Caster Sugar
4 Egg Whites
1 Teaspoon Honey
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
200g Desiccated Coconut
100g Plain Flour
Melted Chocolate to drizzle on top if desired

1. Half fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to the boil.

2. In a heatproof bowl, over the boiling water; whisk together the sugar, egg whites, honey, vanilla and salt until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture lightens in color.

3. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the coconut and flour.

4. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours.

5. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

6. Spoon tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet then flatten slightly with the back of the spoon.

7. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the tray, then bake for another 5 minutes until the edges of the biscuits are golden brown.

8. Allow to cool completely on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.

9. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.

Happy Baking!!!!

Noodle Night Market

On Friday night the little sis and I ventured down to the noodle night market at the Alexandra Gardens in Melbourne to indulge in some Asian food by twilight. 

The set up of bars with lounges to sit on and all the food tents set up was pretty good... Until everyone wanted dinner and then the lines were so mammoth they all intertwined with each other. 

The little sis is a big fan of Pad Thai since I dragged her to Thailand early this year so, Rekorderlig's in hand, we were headed straight for the tent with the Pad Thai. 

This was accompanied by some delicious pork buns and prawn and chive dumplings and before we knew it... We were stuffed!

Was very busy as it was a Friday night, the market would have benefitted from being a bit more spread out to allow for lines to vendors etc. but all in all a very satisfying Friday evening dinner!

Night noodle market is on in Alexandra Gardens until 30/11... If you want to head down there... And happy baking!!!!

Cinnamon Donut Cupcakes

"Oh no!" I thought "Bad craving for a cinnamon donut!"... Unfortunately it was 6pm and there are no open donut shops at this time around my area, because we are not in the USA, And I don't know about you but supermarket donuts just don't cut it for me.

But all was not lost, because while I don't like to fry my desserts at home (purely because I can then physically see all the oil that covers it) I was sure I could make a cupcake that, with my eyes closed, could fool me into thinking I was eating a cinnamon donut. And it paid off!

My only regret... I should have made them into tiny bite sized cupcakes rather than regular sized. But there is always next time. Try these beauties out for yourself! Let me know how you went!

Cinnamon Donut Cupcakes:

60g butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

100g caster sugar 

73g brown sugar

340g plain flour

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bi-carb soda

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

Glaze:

40g melted butter

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons hot water

128g icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

2. Beat together butter, oil and sugars until smooth.

3. Add eggs one at a time and mix on low until well combined. 

4. Add baking powder, bi-carb, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.

5. Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

6. Scoop into cupcake liners and bake 15-20 mins until bouncy when pressed slightly. 

For glaze 

7. In a bowl, whisk butter, sugar, vanilla and water until smooth.

8. Spoon a small amount of glaze into each cupcake and allow to set before serving.