Rosewater pistachio cupcakes

Rosewater and pistachios are interesting combination of flavours. We adults enjoyed them a lot, children weren't really interested. Although my oven wasn't working properly at that time and the cake itself was a bit too moist we still found them really tasty. I am pretty sure I will try this recipe again when my oven will be fixed and compare. For now please have a look on mine a little bit under baked cupcakes, with lovely mascarpone frosting.

The original recipe comes form this website.

Ingredients for 12 small cupcakes:

• 50g unsalted pistachios
• 60g ground almonds
• 25g flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 100g butter
• 100g sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp rosewater
• 1/ tsp vanilla extract

 Remove pistachios from their shells place the nuts in blender and blend them until powered. Place them in the bowl, add almonds, flour, baking powder and mix well

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Put the butter and sugar into an electric mixer bowl and beat them until pale. Add the egg while beating. When is incorporated add the milk, rosewater and vanilla. Wait again until well incorporated. Stop the mixer. Gently fold in the nut and flour mixture. Spoon the batter into paper cases, about 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Baked cupcakes leave in the muffin tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool down.

 In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 100g whipping cream
• 250g mascaropne cheese
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• splash of vanilla extract
• few drops of red food colouring

 Put all ingredients into an electric mixer bowl and beat them until smooth and creamy. Transfer the frosting into a piping bag with a nozzle. Decorate the cupcakes. You can also sprinkle them with chopped pistachio nuts.

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish 

Frosted chocolate cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting sounds delicious doesn't ? Rich chocolate cake with velvety chocolate cream mmhmm..... I was especially happy with this frosting as it turn out to be soft and creamy but at the same time kept the shape. Not to forget to mention that the frosting didn't turn dry on outside on the next day. The recipe comes form 'Easy cupcakes'.

Ingredients for 9 - 12 cupcakes:

• 115g soft butter
• 115g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 115g self- rising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 55g chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it down placing the bowl in microwave. Set the melted chocolate aside.

Place the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and cocoa in an electric mixer bowl and beat them together until pale and creamy. Then stir in the melted chocolate.

Spoon the batter into paper cases 3/4 full. Bake them for 15 - 20 minutes until well risen and spongy to the touch. Transfer them to a wire rack and leave them to cool .

While the cupcakes are cooling down prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 150g chocolate
• 200ml double cream
• 140g butter
• 280g icing sugar

Break the chocolate into smaller chunks and place in a medium size bowl.

Pour the cream into a sauce pan and heat it up until  boiling. Pour the cream over chocolate and stir until chocolate melts down. Set aside for about 20 minutes to cool down and thicken stir occasionally.

Put the butter into an electric mixer bowl. Beat the butter until fluffy adding icing sugar spoon by spoon. When smooth beat in the chocolate mixture. Chill the frosting for 15 - 20 minutes. Then spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitter with nozzle and pipe on top of each cake. You can add some chocolate decorations as well. 

Enjoy !

Sticky toffee date muffins

This is another delicious recipe of Ina Garten. Those muffins are soft, moist coated with sweet and sticky toffee sauce.We enjoy them very much I hope you will too.

Ingredients for 12 - 18 muffins:

• 225g pitted dates
• 450ml water
• 1 tsp soda
• 110g butter
• 90g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 vanilla extract 
• 300g flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp baking powder

To bake those muffins start with cooking dates.

Pour the cold water into a big pot add chopped dates. Bring to boil. Then leave to simmer for about 1 minute. Remove from heat stir in the soda. Be careful the mixture will bubble up. Set aside to cool down a little.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Cream the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time. Al last add flour and salt. This will create very lumpy mixture. 

Now it is a time to add the date mixture. Pour half of the mixture into the bowl with the lumpy batter. Mix well then add the remaining date mixture. At last stir in the baking powder. This will make the batter to bubble up.

Pour the runny batter into prepared earlier muffin cases. Fill them up to the top as they don't rise much. Bake about 20 minutes.

While the muffin are in the oven prepare toffee.

Ingredients for toffee sauce:

• 110g butter
• 120g brawn sugar
• 80ml double cream
• 1/2 vanilla extract

Combine the butter, sugar, cream and vanilla in a medium size sauce pan. Bring  to boil then reduce to simmer gently for a few minutes until thickened.   

When muffins are baked remove them from the oven and poke with toothpick. Pour over them the runny toffee sauce.

Let them set then spread another toffee sauce layer over each muffin top.

 Enjoy !

Gingerbread latte

Those cupcakes were very delicious. Gingerbread flavour, soft and rich cake with cinnamon and coffee butter cream. Perfect ! The recipe comes form 'Making cupcakes with Lola' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12-18 cupcakes:

• 120g golden syrup
• 120g black treacle
• 200g heavy cream
• 250g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 135g butter
• 125g brown sugar
• 2 eggs

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa, coffee, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg, salt into a big bowl and set aside.

Put the golden syrup, black treacle and heavy cream into a sauce pan. Heat the ingredients up until they turn into liquid. Do  not  let the mixture to boil.

Into an electric mixer bowl put the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 

In a meantime preheat the oven to 180C. line muffin tin with paper cases.

When the butter and sugar turn into fluffy mixture add the eggs one at the time beating continuously. When the eggs well incorporated add half of the flour mixture and half of wet ingredients mixture beat until all ingredients combined and repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases about 3/4 full. Bake about 25 minutes. When ready remove form the oven and keep for a while in muffin tin then transfer to wire rack to cool down completely.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 120g soft butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• mixture of 2 tsp instant coffee and 1/2 tsp boiling water and  1 tsp cinnamon

Place the butter into an electric mixer bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla extract and sugar (reduce the mixer speed otherwise your kitchen will be dusted with sugar) and beat until well incorporated. The add the milk and increase the speed to high. 

In a meantime put the instant coffee, cinnamon and boiling water into a small bowl and combine them with a spoon until they turn into a thick mixture. When the butter cream is ready add thick mixture and beat until is well incorporated. 

Put the butter cream on top of each cupcake. Enjoy !

 

 

Pumpkin and pecan microwave muffins

If I didn't know I wouldn't guess that those muffins were baked in microwave. Only 4 minutes !(for 900-watt microwave oven). Those muffins were moist, reasonably sweet and crunchy. The recipe comes from 'The Australian Women's Weekly'.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

•  225g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 75g Dark Muscovado sugar
• 80 ml grape seed oil
• 2 eggs
• 200g pumpkin pure
• 60 ml thick cream
• 75g pecans

Place 6 silicone muffin cases on microwave plate.

Chop the pecans into small chunks.

Put the flour, spices and sugar into a big bowl and combine all ingredients together. Add half of chopped pecans, save the rest to sprinkle on the muffins.

To the bowl with dry ingredients add the oil, whisked eggs, pumpkin pure and cream and combine. 

Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cases, abut 3/4 full. Sprinkle with pecans. 

Cook one 6 muffins batch at the time, uncovered, on Medium - High (70%) about 4 minutes or until just cooked. Stand 1 minute before turning muffins onto wire rack. 

Repeat with remaining batter.

Banoffee cupcakes

Banoffee pie is extremely popular and delicious dessert. In my opinion those cupcakes taste exactly like one. They weren't difficult to make although it took a while to put all parts together. The recipe comes form Carol Pastor '75 best ever muffins' cook book.

Ingredients for 8 cupcakes:

• 75g butter
• 115g soft light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 225g flour
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 bananas
• 1 orange zest finely grated
• 30 ml buttermilk
• 8 tsp dulce de leche

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.
Into electric mixer bowl put the butter and sugar and beat them until creamy. Gradually add the egg.
Sift the flour and baking powder into separate bowl and set aside.
Mash the bananas and fold half into butter-sugar mixture. Then add the orange zest and half of the flour.
When all ingredients combined fold in remaining flour and bananas with a buttermilk, until just combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Transfer them to the wire rack and let them cool completely.

Make the cavity in the top of each muffin and fill with dulce the leche. I put 1 teaspoon into each muffin, but it is really up to you what amount of dulce the leche you put in.

For the frosting*:

• 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 tsp hot water
•  150ml double cream
• 1 1/2 tsp dulce the leche

*Those are original quantities while I doubled them as I think those cupcakes taste better with more cream

Pour the coffee, dulce the leche and double cream into electric mixer bowl and whisk the together until stiff. Spread over the cakes. You may put slice of banana on top.

For the coffee syrup:

• 2 tsp dark muscovado sugar
• 1 tsp boiling water
• 2 tbsp dulce the leche       

Dissolve the sugar into boiling water and add the dulce the leche. Drizzle over the cakes.

Chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter icing

These cupcakes were baked especially for my husband's birthday as he loves peanut butter. Chocolate cupcakes were an obvious choice, who doesn't like chocolate ? The peanut butter icing was chosen especially for him. Cupcakes were really nice, sweet chocolaty with salty topping mmmm.... Although, I would say this combination is rather for adults, as my children ate only the cupcakes leaving the icing for us. This is another Ina's Garten recipe. 

Ingredients for 12-15 cupcakes:

• 170g soft, at room temperature butter  
• 250g sugar
• 80g brown sugar
• 2 at room temperature eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250 ml buttermilk, at room temperature
• 125 ml sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp brewed coffee
• 230g flour
• 105g cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Few hour before  baking take out the butter, buttermilk, sour cream and eggs from the fridge to warm them up.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

In the bowl of and electric mixer cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Reduce the speed and add the eggs one at a time and vanilla extract.
In separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, coffee. In another bowl whisk together the flour, soda, salt and cocoa powder.
Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the egg and sugar mixture, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Mix only until blended.

Spoon the batter into cupcake cases 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes and transfer to the wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

after baking

In a meantime prepare icing.

Ingredients for icing:

• 140g powder sugar
• 260g peanut butter*
• 110g soft butter
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 75 ml whipping cream

 * I make my own peanut butter just blending in blender roasted and salted peanuts until creamy to spread on a toast.

Place the sugar, butter and peanut butter, vanilla and salt in the electric mixer bowl and whisk on  allow speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with rubber spatula. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Cream cheese muffins with almonds, coconut and white chocolate

I have been experimenting recently and I created my own muffin recipe. I used my favourite ingredients and, have to say, muffins were not only edible but tasty as well. To be completely honest they were I little bit thick for me but my family like them very much and they disappeared immediately.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 270g cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 5 tbsp cream
• 2 egg whites
• 7 tbsp sugar + some for dusting
• 100g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g white chocolate chopped
• 145g grated almonds
• 30g dessicated coconut + some for dusting
• 75 ml buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Put cream cheese, cream, vanilla, egg whites sugar and whisk them together, set aside.

In separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, chocolate, almonds, coconut. Sift dry ingredients mixture into wet ingredients, add buttermilk and combine all ingredients together. Spoon the batter into muffin tin, sprinkle each muffin with pinch of sugar and coconut, bake for 30-35 min. Serve warm or cold. Be careful, when they warm it is difficult to remove them from paper cases.

Apple crumble cupcakes

This recipe comes from 'Cake days. Recipes to make every day special. The hummingbird bakery'. This cookbook authors say that this recipe is for more experienced baker but I think it is for very patient one. This recipe involves a few stages and each stage result needs time to cool down before added to previous one so patience is a must. The result did no disappointed me. Cupcakes were very nice, spongy moisture with apple surprise in the middle, coated with vanilla custard and sprinkled with oat crumble. Delicious !

To start with this recipe is to make apple filling. I have to be honest I used ready one, which I bought in jar. I love these apples and always buy them for apple pie so I could not replace them, even with home made apple filling. 

Ingredients fro 24 cupcakes:

• 80g unsalted butter
• 280g caster sugar
• 240g plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 240 ml milks
• 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Put the flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into electric mixer and on medium speed beat them together until they remind fine breadcrumbs. In the meantime in separate jug combine the eggs, milk and vanilla paste. Pour this mixture into 'breadcrumbs' and beat for a while, increase the speed and beat until the batter is smooth. The batter texture is liquid. Spoon three table spoons of batter into each paper case, then place in the middle two tea spoon of apple filling. This will sink into the cupcake batter. Do not fill more than 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-20 min. Remove them from oven and place on wire rack to cool down. The cupcakes are soft be careful not to squeeze them while removing from baking tin. 

Ingredients for custard topping:

• 500ml milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 5 egg yolks
• 200g caster sugar
• 30g plain flour
• 30g corn flour
• 200 ml double cream

To make custard topping pour the milk and vanilla into sauce pan and bring to boil. In a meantime combine the egg yolks, caster sugar, flours to make a paste. If the paste is too thick add 1 tbsp of the hot milk to thin it. When the milk has boiled mix 4-5 tbsp with the paste, then add the paste to the remaining milk and stir well. Return the mixture to the hob. Bring back to boils stirring continuously. Cook further to ensure the flour is cooked. Ready custard pour into wide dish, so it will cool down quickly. Set aside for 30-40 min.

In the meantime prepare crumble.

Ingredients for crumble topping:

• 55g plain flour
• 55g oats
• pinch of cinnamon
• 55g unsalted butter
• 40g soft brown sugar

Put all ingredients into heat proof dish and rub them using your fingertips, until they come together in an even, crumb-like consistency. Spread this mixture evenly on the bottom of the dish and bake them for 15 min in 200C. From  time to time open the oven and shake the crumble or break with fork so it will be easy to sprinkle over cupcake tops. Remove from oven, set aside to cool down.

Go back to custard. Remove cream from fridge, pout into electric mixer bowl and whip until it forms soft peaks. Check the cool down custurd, mix it with spoon to break up any lumps. When whiped cream is ready add it to custurd and stir in.

With a spoon put about two table spoons of custurd cream over each cupcake and sprinkle with crumble. Enjoy !

 

Dulce de leche muffins

This recipe comes from Purple Cookie blog.  It was very easy to make these delicious muffins. I try not to count calories of these muffins, as I have already ate two of them. They  are very soft and spongy with crunch topping. Unfortunately mine turn out flat in comparison to the original. Probably because I used double cream instead of heavy one. And pecans, which should decorate muffins' tops, sank in the batter, luckily it did not change the taste of those divine muffins. And last but not least, I should have bake 15, not 12. When I divided the batter among 12 muffin cases it was too much of it and it leaked during baking. I have to remember all of this as I definitely will make them again. 

Ingredients for 12, or rather 15 muffins:

• 2 large eggs
• 160g sugar
• 250 ml heavy cream (I used double cream)
• 220g flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 200g +12 tsp dulce de leche
• 100g chopped pecans or chocolate chips (I mixed 40g pecans and 60g chocolate chips )

Chop the pecans and set aside. Mix the flour with baking powder and set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with large muffin cases.

With electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar until pale. Add half of the cream and all amount of dulce de leche mix until even in colour. Gently fold in the flour mix. At the end pour the remaining cream. The batter will have thick cream consistency. Spoon the batter evenly to the muffin cases. Sprinkle  each muffin top with pecans and chocolate and add one spoon of dulce de leche. Bake for 25-30 min. Check with toothpick if batter is baked in the middle. Cool them down on wire rack. Enjoy :D