Now the KitchenAid rests…

It’s 3:05pm on a Sunday dated 22 July and two girls were having lunch at MOS Burger @ Compass Point. Suddenly, one of them looks at the other and suddenly two smiles just broke out.

“We did it!”

Yes we did it. We baked for two whole weeks and packaged God knows how many cupcakes, muffins & cookies. I smelt like cookies and cupcakes for most of the two weeks. And I do think the butter has seeped into my pores. Maybe that’s why I feel heavier! This is what happens when you don’t have time for lunch and simply feast on your own cupcakes and cookies. Trust me, the smell just calls out to me. But it’s okay, I have time to go back to my usual running regime. hahaha….

So how does it feel? Good actually. Both Dot and I are satisfied with the bake sale and we’re glad we did it. Honestly, without her help, and constant push I probably wouldn’t have lasted the two weeks. I’ve had two previous bakesales both of which was a solo stint. Now that I have my dear Butterscotch, it’s so much more fun. She’s not just my lovely assistant but my cheerleader of a friend. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. When it comes to baking, lots of patience is needed! Especially since there’s the oven there and you know how edgy people get when it’s hot. I know I do. I admit there were times where I just felt agitated for no rhyme or reason. And when that happens, it’s good that the people around you understand and remind you of why you’re doing this.

This July Bake Sale was Cocoa & Butterscotch’s first venture and trust me, there’ll be lots more good things to come. In the mean time, I have one small favour to ask of those who bought our baked stuff:

If you’re free, drop a comment or email us personally at cocoabutterscotch@gmail.com to tell us what you thought of our cookies, cupcakes, muffins & lemon curd. Feedback is always good! oh yes, and you can always tell us what you like (or not) about the packaging too!

Oh, and THANK YOU for all your support. It was a great pleasure meeting you personally. I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you all – but that means you’ve met Dot (that’s in case you were wondering). Yea, sometimes when you bake, the oven doesn’t have a pause button!

There you have it, a closing post to end our July Bake Sale.

Though we are currently not taking any more orders, we welcome customised orders (ie. weddings) and we’re still selling our lemon curd but at a smaller scale – $10 per small bottle.

Take care ya’ll and have a fantastic week!

Blueberry Goodness

I was to bake something pretty, something photogenic yesterday. Due to a lack of time, I decided to go with my nutella cupcakes and blueberry muffins.

Actually, the blueberry muffins were kind of a last minute thing. That’s because a punnet was going at $2.95! I bought 2 punnets and went home feeling excited. Excited because it’s been quite a while since I’ve baked blueberry muffins. Blueberries don’t go cheap here in Singapore so I always wait till the prices drop – like now

The muffins were filled with so much blueberry goodness that I couldn’t help eating them once they came out of the oven. There’s nothing like warm blueberry muffins on a hot Thursday afternoon I tell ya.

Check out the moist juices and violet hue! Lovely…

I used a different recipe this time, one which called for a crumble topping. That’s why there are so many brown bits on my muffin crowns.

Some of the berries burst, resulting in a volcanic looking muffin:

But I still think they are pretty nonetheless!

I didn’t bother taking photos of my nutella cupcakes because I think they’ve gotten enough limelight :p

Here’s my muffins and the cupcakes all in a box, waiting to be photographed with me…

I won’t say much about the reason for the photos. Haha, all will be revealed in due time! Sooner than expected, trust me.

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Blueberry Muffins
From Williams-Sonoma Muffins

For the topping:
¼ cup (1½ oz/ 45g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons each granulated sugar and firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

For the muffins:
7 tablespoons (3½ oz/ 105g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (6oz/185g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2¼ cups (11½ oz/ 360g) all-purpose (plain)flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 fl oz/ 250ml) milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract (essence)
1½ cups (6 oz/ 185g) fresh blueberries or frozen unsweetened blueberries, unthawed.

Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 degree celcius) . Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavoured nonstick cooking spray

To make the topping, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut or rub the butter into the dry ingredients just until coarse crumbs form. Alternatively, combine the dry ingredients and the butter in a food processor and pulse just until coarse crumbs form.

To make the muffins, in a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each edition until blended into the butter mixture.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 2 increments, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold in the blueberries just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Take care not to break up the fruit. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim of the cup. Sprinkle each muffin with some topping.

Bake until golden, dry, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.

Pretty cupcakes all in a tier

Last Friday had me slaving in the kitchen for more than 6 hours. But you know what? It was all worth it – every single second of it. The above photo says it all.

Every cupcake was made with love. All 162 of it. haha yes yes the number sounds odd but heh, it’s just the number of cupcakes I could manage.

You know what? I’m really glad it went well – the entire wedding, Dom and Daph’s wedding which took place on Saturday (May 19). Both of them are two people from ministry whom I love and cherish and I was really excited when Daph tasked me to this wedding cupcake project. Really wanted to do something special for her wedding and am happy to be able to contribute to her big day. Thank God for that and thank God for both of them. They’re truly a match made in heaven. Those of you who know them would definitely know what I mean! Congratulations you two – have a blessed and blissful marriage!

Anyway, the cupcake tier was a simple one and I honestly didn’t expect it to turn out so well. Here’s how it looks like up close:

They’re not meant to be big, just sweet and handy. Daph and I sourced for the decorations and check out the cute sprinkles. Lovely aren’t they? Got them from Phoon Huat.

Vanilla cupcakes made with love – it can’t get any better than that. I heard from Flo that they were well received. Am just relieved I didn’t screw it up. Fr. William Goh came up to me in person to tell me he really liked my cupcakes!

I guess nothing much can go wrong if you have the right recipe and helpful hands – yes yes, Dot, I really want to thank you so much for your assistance. This babe helped me carry lots of heavy flour, eggs and sugar and she is a joy to work with. I couldn’t have asked for a better assistant!

Me and Dot posing with the cupcake tier (which by the way, hasn’t been replenished in this photo. haha). Love ya girl!

Oh, and thanks Joel, for making the tier – it looked really good.

Yes, that’s Joel in pink, with me and Dot.

Phew, my first wedding cupcake tier and I dare say it was a challenge but a fulfilling one and I’m glad I took it up. Thank God! If you’re wondering about the recipe, it’s the one used by the famous Magnolia Bakery in the States. Have posted the recipe here as well.

Speaking of which, I have to give it to Daph. I’ve never met a bride as meticulous as her. She wanted a pink theme and made sure the decor matched the entire feel of the wedding right down to the minute details.

Maybe you’ll understand when you see this:

Pink cones! Aren’t they beautiful? I think they are uber sweet and irresistible. You can’t get the pink paper anywhere mind you. It was designed especially for her wedding. Dot (she’s also a talented freelance designer) did it, together with the wedding invitations and wedding mass booklet. Daph wanted the cones to be filled with those sugar coated peanuts:

I happen to think that it’s a brilliant idea. It made the wedding really special. I mean, who can say they had a cupcake tier and a pink cone tier on their big day? Hats off to Daph and her keen sense of style. She’s one amazing woman! Oh and did I mention, beautiful?

Here’s a snapshot of the gorgeous bride with some of us Amplify girls…

Everyone looked so sweet in their elegant dresses, especially Daph!

Here’s a toast to Dominic and Daphne, the star couple who never fail to put God in the centre always.

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Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
Recipe from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey

For cupcakes:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cup self rising flour
1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For icing:
1 cup unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

To make cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

To make icing:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

My Deep Dark Desire

Lately, I’ve had plenty of cravings. One moment I would be hankering for hot chocolate, and the next minute, I feel like eating custard buns.

Yesterday, I had a really strong craving, not wait, I wouldn’t classify it as a craving. It was more like a desire. A deep, dark desire. A desire so strong I couldn’t ignore. So I didn’t ignore it.

I made sure I satisfied it.

By baking. Yes, I know, I haven’t been baking since I got so busy with school. But hey hey, the holidays are nearing. They’re just around the corner actually. I’m really looking forward to it because I really miss the smells and the excitement of baking.

So anyway, what the hell did I bake? Easy ain’t it? It’s so easy that I don’t know why I even bothered asking in the first place. Haha. My dear readers, you know me so well so you shall try answering it. Just remember it is:

DEEP,
.
..
…
….

DARK &
.
..
…
….

DESIRABLE!
.
..
…
….

Okay I can sense your mild irritation. Pardon me, I just feel restless! Here’s a clue, it really has got to do with the first photo up there. Man, don’t you just wish you could lick the screen and taste it? I know I do.

Guessed it?

Give up?

Whatever it is, I can’t keep it a secret for long:

BROWNIES!

Gosh you should have seen my face yesterday when I was baking them brownies. No wait, it first started when I got some Barry-Callebaut Carma 47% chocolate couverture from a friend:

My eyes widened with the possibilities.

The possibilities of what wondrous things that can come out of this 2kg block of ‘gold’. It was like a giant chocolate block. I imagined myself as an oompas-loompas, grinning from ear to ear, almost breaking in song (but heh I don’t think i sing too well)!

Naturally, I thought I’d make some brownies since it’s been ages since I baked some. Besides, I had a deep dark desire for some homemade ones. Warm, fresh from the oven brownies – nothing beats that.

I went to search for a kickass brownie recipe that would do the Swiss chocolate justice and I found a yummy-sounding brownie recipe in Martha Stewart’s Holiday Cookie Magazine. Double Chocolate Brownie it said. Sounds good to me! So I got down to preparing my chocolate, melting it with butter and unsweetened cocoa powder:

Don’t you just love the gloss? It makes me wanna squeal out loud and lick the entire bowl.

Anyway I added more chocolate than required so do bear in mind that you could do that as well… just make sure you balance out the other ingredients. The adapted recipe is below, in case you happen to have a similar deep dark desire

Here’s the brownie batter in the pan waiting to be turned into dark luscious brownies:

Here’s how it looks after baking:

I love the crackling. It looks like earth. Like soil that’s dried out. Brownies look handsome with crackles :p

Ahhh….. I tell you, nothing beats the smell of freshly baked brownies. The house was filled with a chocolatey aroma that simply made my day. I missed it so much!

After cutting it into squares, I couldn’t resist popping one into my mouth. The verdict?

It was dark all right, and deep. You’re probably wondering how a brownie can be deep? When I say deep, I mean depth – how the bitterness measures out with the sweetness. I dig dark chocolate and I don’t like something that’s too sweet so I appreciate a deep brownie. Or rather, I try to get a brownie to be as deep as I like.

Mum loved it and Sis thought it was the best brownie I’ve made:

I can see why she said that. These brownies have a more dense cakey texture. It’s not exactly fudgey (I don’t really like those kinds…. well it depends!) but it’s not too dry either. One can taste the rich taste of the chocolate and the sugar doesn’t overpower it.

This is how brownies should be. No, I should say this is how I like my brownies

I was a very happy person yesterday. So happy that I bought Mocha Almond Chip ice cream to eat my brownies with….

Brownies. What would I do without them?

These pretty dark things made my day and I think I’m slowly slipping back into Ms. Baker mode! Hurray! Now will the holidays please hurry up – I have loads of recipes to conquer!

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Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Double Chocolate Brownie recipe

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter
7 and a half ounces (200 grams) good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed firm)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree celcius. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Put butter, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until completely melted. Let cool slightly.

3. Mix your flour, baking powder, and salt well and aside.

4. Using an electric mixer (or a handwhisk if you prefer), mix sugar, egg, and vanilla well until pale, about 4 mintues. Add chocolate mixture; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until well combined.

5. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer, when inserted in the brownie, comes out clean.

6. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes then lift out to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Choux Pastry Puffs

Every baker has their fears. This sort of fear comes naturally when attempting a new type of pastry. One can’t help but feel apprehensive about the outcome of a recipe – whether is it a good one, and whether it will be a success or a horrid disaster that ends up mostly in the bin.

It becomes worse when you know that you simply cannot screw up because you’re baking it for a party. You’ve went ahead on a whim, and promised to make something you’ve never made before. Now, that’s even scarier! Trust me, there’s simply no room for failure!

However, a baker like me is always geared up for a challenge and a simple fear won’t get in my way. To me, it’s do or die. If I don’t attempt it now, when will I?

So in I dived… into the wonderful puffy world of choux pastry.

I’ve always wondered how cream puffs were made and I always thought of it as very difficult to make. I mean, what if the puffs don’t puff! And how do they make it so hollow? Little did I know how ignorant I was.

Choux pastry is really easy to make. First of all, you got to have a good choux paste. The recipe is really simple and thank God for the one I got from “Joy of Cooking: All about party foods and drinks”. I love this book and look forward to using more of the recipes in it.

Anyway back to the choux paste. Yes, it’s so simple! All you have to do is get some flour, milk, butter, eggs, a bit of salt and water. That’s it!

Here’s how the paste looks like:

Looks very much like pure butter, no?

But the texture’s really gooey, kinda like wet play-doh. Sticky and soft.

Here’s how they look like, all piped in neat rows, ready to be popped into the hot oven:

Awww don’t they look cute?

Seriously, I’m impressed how these small lumps can grow and expand into golden choux pastry puffs. Really! They literally double in size, mind you. And to think I was worried at first, about whether the size I piped were too small…

Small lumps all lined up, eager to expand their way to ‘adulthood’. Haha. They look like Hershey’s kisses don’t they?

Anyway after about half and hour in the oven, here’s what I ended up with:

Aren’t they beautiful? I was so pleased that I didn’t screw up. This wasn’t that bad after all!

I’ve definitely overcome my fear of choux pastry puffs.

You can fill these puffs with anything sweet or savoury. I piped in tuna for the Christmas party. I suppose you can also use this recipe to make the puffs for chocolate eclairs! Love eclairs man… maybe I should try making some.

For those of you who want to try, here’s the recipe:

Choux Pastry Puffs
from “Joy of Cooking – All About Party Foods & Drinks”

Ingredients:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
Half cup water
Half cup whole milk
113g unsalted butter
Half teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Method:
1. Bring the water, milk, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat.
2. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan.
3. Continue to cook and stir the mixture for about 1 minute, to eliminate excess moisture.
4. Let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each egg.
6. Make sure paste is smooth before adding each egg.
7. Beat the dough till smooth and shiny.
8. Choux paste can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
9. When it is cold, you do not need to bring the paste to room temperature before baking.
10. Pipe paste onto pan according to desired size.