I wouldn't call myself a foodie. Am not the best when it comes to tasting food. Seriously. That's one of the many reasons why I don't cook. I am pretty bad at predicting the amount of sugar or salt needed. Though I have learned a few things from friends for the past few years. But I wouldn't take it up a notch and start experimenting with cooking myself. Not without the help of my friends of course. Hehe.
The one thing I really like and am keen on trying is baking or making dessert of any sort. I guess you can say I have a sweet tooth. A few years ago I started experimenting with baking here in Yogyakarta. One of the reasons is you can never find good cakes and cupcakes for an affordable price here. Even if you do, there's always something missing. I already have a small oven. So why not try experimenting right?
One of my favourite thing to make is cupcakes. Easy and simple. I even made it during midnight once cos my friends wanted it. For the last 2 weeks, I tried two new recipes and modified a pre-existing recipe.
The first was a Chocolate Mousse. It was my first time and I've never tried whipping cream. I was so happy when I managed to do it! Was sooo nervous about the end result cos you need to refrigerate it for at least 2 hours for the mousse to set. But after the first bite, am not gonna doubt this recipe!
Chocolate Mousse
(taken from Crazy for Chocolate by Periplus)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Makes 4
250g dark chocolate
3 eggs
1/4 caster sugar
1 cup cream, whipped to soft peaks
*This recipe required 2 teaspoons of rum but I changed it to vanilla extract
Instructions (summarized):
1. Melt dark chocolate over simmering water and set aside to cool.
2. Beat eggs & sugar for 5 minutes or until thick, pale and increased in volume
3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold melted chocolate & vanilla extract
into egg mixture, then fold the whipped cream
4. Spoon mousse into ramekins or dessert glasses
Refrigerate for 2 hours or until mousse has set
I decorated it with crushed chocolate biscuits and chocolate I melted & poured into heart shaped molds.
The second recipe I tried was Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake. I took the recipe for Sour Cream Pound Cake and changed it a little bit. The basic recipe is the same but I added vanilla extract, lemon juice and chocolate chips. Simple, light and yummy! The kind of cake you eat during tea time.
The third was a Faux-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes. Why I say faux-Nutella is because I didn't have nutella so I used chocolate spread instead. Mind you, Nutella here is quite expensive so I used a cheaper alternative. I got inspired for making this cupcake after reading this recipe. But I decided to use my favourite cupcake recipe which is the Sour Cream Lemon Cupcakes and added the chocolate spread in it. By golly, I now have a new favourite cupcake recipe! The way the chocolate melts in your mouth. Heaven. If I used Nutella I would probably reach cloud nine! Hehe.
After making the basic cupcake and pouring into the mold, add Nutella/chocolate spread
on top of it.
Using a toothpick, start swirling the Nutella/chocolate spread.
Since I used a cheaper alternative it was a bit hard swirling it but
if you use Nutella I think it would have been easier cos
Nutella is soft and smooth.
Budy Jam! My cheaper alternative.
The end result!
See how the chocolate spread kinda melts inside. Yummm!
Nothing beats a hot cup of Milo with freshly baked Faux-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes on a rainy morning!
Enjoy your weekend everyone and don't forget Mother's Day!
