Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Once you get the basics right then everything else is a breeze. My first cupcake was a vanilla cupcake. Somehow adding the chocolate as an additional step made it feel like advanced baking! Now here’s the best part. I made my first cupcake (in my whole life) in March last year! After which I've been stuck with the cupcake bug and been driven to try all kinds of mini joys. So now you know that I wasn’t born with a ladle in my hand nor did I have supreme baking talent. The key to success is the 3P’s - Practice, Practice, Practice! (Like the joke - Rumor is that a pedestrian on Fifty-seventh Street, Manhattan, stopped Jascha Heifetz (the greatest violinist of our time) and inquired, "Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?" "Yes," said Heifetz. "Practice, Practice, Practice!" So there you go … if I can bake, so can you. And starting you off is this Basic Vanilla Cupcake Recipe. And just to add some pizzazz, we have a nice and easy Nutella frosting. Have fun!

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Prep time: 10 mins

Baking time: 20 mins

Makes: 10-12 cupcakes

What you need:

½ cup unsalted Butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated Sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1½ cups Maida or cake flour

1½ tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Salt

¼ cup Milk, room temperature

For the frosting:

5 Tbsp Nutella

2 Tbsp Milk

What to do:

For best results,  follow the method in the given sequence as is. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degree C. Grease or line your muffin tin with paper cups. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. This ensures that all the three dry ingredients mix evenly and removes lumps.

With an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Start with a low speed and increase to high speed. This process incorporates maximum air bubbles, making the cupcakes, soft and airy.

Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time. Beat the mixture until smooth after each egg, about 30 seconds. If the mixture curdles, stop adding the eggs, beat until smooth before adding the remaining eggs. If you do not add room temperature eggs, the volume of the baked cupcakes will reduce. Add the vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes.

Now slowly beat the sifted dry ingredients into the mixture in three batches, adding the room temperature milk between each flour batch. Start and end with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required, and ensure that the batter is evenly mixed. Do not over beat.

-

Fill ½ to 2/3 of the cups in the first muffin tin. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Insert a toothpick into one of the cupcakes in the oven and ensure it comes out clean. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Now beat the Nutella with the milk until you have the consistency of hot fudge. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes once they have cooled completely. Simple and delish!

P.S. Click here for another version of the vanilla cupcakes. This current recipe makes a lighter, fluffier cupcake, whereas the older one is more moist. Take your pick J

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

A conversation about Wimbledon led me to bake these. I know the natural train of thought will be tennis and the Wimbledon cup and how the hell is it related to cupcakes? But let me lead you to it…famously….slowly …delectably. Now Wimbledon is synonymous with tennis but what it’s also famous for is the tradition of eating strawberries and whipped cream by the spectators. Every year about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, together with 7,000 litres of cream. Phew! I salivate every time I think about it!! My all time favorite dessert is Strawberries and Cream. There – I’ve said it and it’s official now. So next time I claim something else is my favorite dessert you know I’m lying! I always know when its strawberry season in Bangalore. Am I some kind of seasonal food specialist? – Hell no! I just walk over to Corner House and when they start selling their Strawberries and Whipped Cream, the season has officially begun! And man do I tank up on them like there’s no tomorrow! So this recipe is inspired by Wimbledon and Corner House in January and a gnawing urge to stuff my face with more of the good stuff!

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

Prep time: 20 mins

Baking time: 25 mins

Makes: 8-12

What you need:

75g unsalted Butter, softened

¾ cup or 150 gms Castor Sugar

1 large Egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

¾ cup plain Flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1/3 cup or 85 ml Milk

1/2 cup Strawberry puree

1/4 cup Strawberries (coarsely chopped to fold into the batter)

For the frosting:

1 cup fresh Heavy Cream whipped with 3 Tbsp Castor Sugar

2 Strawberries, sliced (to decorate)

What to do:

For the Cupcakes: Sift the cake flour with baking powder and set aside. Combine the strawberry puree and milk together, set aside. In another bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the egg along with the vanilla essence with the mixer on low speed for a minute. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and puree mixture and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined after each addition. Fold in the chopped strawberries gently.

Line a muffin tray with paper liners/ muffin cups. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups so that each is about two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven of 170°C, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown or till a toothpick comes out clean, about 25-26 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Next, remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting: Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the whipped cream (beaten  with the sugar) and decorate with a slice of strawberry. Are you in Wimbledon yet?

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes - for that Festive Feeling!

    Featured in TasteSpotting.com - 5th Jan 2012 and Yummly.com - 23rd Jan 2012

Deck the halls with boughs of holly (fa la la la laa, la laa la la), Tis the season to be jolly (fa la la la la ….and thereabouts)! Yes, there is definitely something festive in the air this time of the year! Better TV programming, people getting drunk on home made wine, Brigade road lit up with fairy lights… Oh yes there’s something festive! I’ve always had a double whammy during this time, Mom’s birthday is on the 24^th and then comes Christmas! The co-resident insisits on buying me presents and who says no during the season of giving ;) So it’s only fair to say, it’s my favourite time of the year! (Apart from my birthday of course, which I always thought should be declared a national holiday…No? Ok fine… half a day? No?… Grinches!) Anyway this brings me to the Triple Chocolate Cupcake. Yes, you heard me right – it's Triple = Three = Tres = more the merrier! It’s a Chocolate cupcake with dark Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Frosting. Too much? But we already established that ‘Tis the season to be jolly’ right? Go ahead lick the cream off one ;)  Happy Birthday Mumma and Merry Christmas Darlings!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep time: 10 mins + 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Makes: 10-12 cupcakes

What you need:

For the Cupcakes:
½ cup unsalted Butter
1 cup granulated White Sugar
2 large Eggs
¾ cup Maida
½ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
½ cup regular unsweetened Cocoa Powder (not dutch processed)
½ cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 cup mini dark Chocolate Chips

For the Frosting:
1 cup granulated Sugar
3 Tbsp Maida
1 cup less 2 Tbsp Milk
3 Tbsp Cream
¾ cup unsalted Butter
½ tsp Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Chocolate Sauce (Hershey’s)

What to do:

For the Cupcakes: Pre-heat the oven to 170 degree C. Grease or line your muffin tin with paper cups. Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. This ensures that all these ingredients mix evenly and lumps are removed. Mix the milk and vanilla extract in a cup

With an electric mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Start with a low speed and increase to high speed. This process incorporates maximum air bubbles, making the cupcakes, soft and airy. Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time. Beat for 30 seconds after each egg.

Now slowly beat the sifted dry ingredients into the mixture in three batches, adding the milk between each flour batch. Start and end with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required, and ensure that the batter is evenly mixed. Do not over beat. With a spoon, stir in the chocolate chips.

Fill ½ to 2/3 of the cups in the first muffin tin. Bake for 24-26 minutes. (I use a convestion oven). For a regular oven 23-25 mins should be fine. (I would use this time to make the frosting). Insert a toothpick into one of the cupcakes in the oven and ensure that it comes out clean. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Ensure that the cupcakes are completely cooled before you start to frost them.

For the Frosting: Mix sugar and flour in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add the milk and cream and bring to a boil. Simmer and stir frequently for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Set aside to cool. Beat the mixture for 5 minutes, add the butter and beat for another 5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and beat for 1 minute. Add the Chocolate Sauce and incorporate.

Make it look Pretty: Ensure that the cupcakes are at room temperature. This is very important. Lay the cupcakes on a flat surface. Fill a paper cone or a piping bag with a medium tip and frost each cupcake with the frosting. Mmmmmm............ :D

(Recipe Adpated from The Cupcake Project and Bite Me Company)

Here's what was featured in Tastespotting.com

Yummly.com featured me in their lucious frosting post on 23rd Jan 2012. 

http://www.yummly.com/blog/2012/01/luscious-frostings-to-top-your-favorite-desserts/

Nutella Cupcakes

Here’s a little treat for my sweet tooth! One – it’s a cupcake, Two – it’s got frosting, Three – Its nutella frosting. I nicked this recipe off the official nutella website – not promoting them, but boy was it worth it! You can’t really replicate the taste of nutella with anything else. Am I glad my supermarket had a buy one get one free offer. Considering the co-resident finished one whole bottle by just digging in a spoon and licking it all off, I needed to use up the other in more productive ways. So yes, this is an attempt at productivity – though it resulted in sheer indulgence!

Nutella Cupcakes

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Makes: 12

What you need:

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature

What to do:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes. 

Dreamy Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

 Oh yes we like this one! Happy, fluffy and creamy… and if I might add, at the cost of sounding cheesy … quite dreamy!  Cupcakes bring back memories of schooldays and lazy summers, of the guilty pleasures of licking the cream off the cake and then off your fingers, of having something special just for you. Oh yes we like this!  If something can make people forget that age is pulling them in the wrong direction, then this is it. Why, I feel like a little girl of five when biting into this buttery heaven! Enjoy…

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting


Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: Makes 12 cupcakes

What you need:
1 ½ cup all purpose Flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine Sea Salt
½ cup unsalted Butter, softened
¾ cup granulated Sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp Vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole Milk
For the Frosting: (enough for 24 cupcakes)
100 gms Butter
3 cups Icing Sugar
3-5 Tbsps Milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Food Colouring (if tinting frosting)

What to do:
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease or line the cupcake pan with wrappers. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just blended. Beat in Vanilla. Add the flour mixture and milk; mix thoroughly. Fill each cup 2/3rd full and bake for 18-25 mins. (Or till a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean). Cool completely and frost as desired.

For the frosting: Place the butter in a large bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy. Stop the mixer and add the icing sugar, 3 Tbsps of milk and the vanilla extract. Blend with the mixer on low speed until sugar is incorporated. (1 minute). Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add upto 1 Tbsp milk more if the frosting seems too stiff. Decorate cooled cupcakes with a frosting bag or just smear the tops with the frosting using a butter knife.

Note: These pictures are from a photoshoot I did for my friend, who bakes the most adorable cupcakes. Her catering unit is called “LITTLE BITES” and you can get in touch with her @ +91 9845235638. You can see the rest of the goodies she makes at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Little-Bites/157898974231630