German chocolate cupcakes

This is Ina Garten's recipe for German chocolate cupcakes . As usually cupcakes were divine. Spongy, chocolate cake with lovely rich custard frosting packed with coconut, almonds and pecans. I truly recommend it to everybody.

Ingredients for 24 cupcakes:

• 170g butter
• 150g sugar
• 120g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 125 ml sour cream
• 2 tbsp freshly brewed coffee
• 295g flour
• 41g coca powder (should be twice that much but I haven't got more in the cupboard)
• 1 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

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

Place the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt in a bowl and whisk them together.  In a separate bowl whisk the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee.

Butter, sugar and brown sugar beat in an electric mixer until fluffy for about 5 minutes. Add one egg at a time. When egg are well incorporated add the vanilla extract. Then beating continuously add alternately the flour and buttermilk mixture in three additions. 

Spoon the batter into prepared paper cases, 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Transfer baked cupcakes into a wire rack to cool down. In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Frosting ingredients:

• 170g butter
• 410g evaporated milk
• 230 g brown sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond essence
• 135g dessicated coconut
• 100g almond flakes
• 50g chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp salt

 Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Stir in the milk, brown sugar and egg yolks. Heat this mixture up stirring continuously. Cook for 15 minutes until thickens. Set aside from the heat and add the vanilla extract and almond essence. Then stir in the coconut, almond, pecans and salt. Set aside for an hour to cool the mixture down.

Spread the mixture over each cupcake top.

 Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

 

Coconut chocolate - chip muffins

Moist, delicately sweet, coconut muffins packed with chocolate chips. I baked them as we all were craving for something sweet. Preparation took only an hour and we all really enjoyed them. They disappeared very quickly. The recipe comes form 'The Australian Women's Weekly'

Ingredients for 12 - 14 muffins:

• 375g self - rising flour
• 45g dessicated coconut + 2 tbsp to sprinkle on top
• 165g caster sugar
• 90g melted butter
• 120g sour cream
• 80 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 100g chocolate chips

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

Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

In a large bowl combine the flour, coconut and sugar.

In a measuring jug whisk together the sour cream, milk and eggs. Pour this wet mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and stir everything until just combined. Then gently fold in the chocolate chips. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with some coconut on top. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Baked muffins transfer to the wire rack and let them cool down for a few minutes. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Snowballs - vanilla coconut cupcakes with sour cream frosting

Classic cupcakes, very spongy, vanilla flavoured batter with dessicated coconut addition, covered with thin layer of frosting sprinkled with coconut. They look like snowballs. They are perfect as an addition to warm tea or hot chocolate. The recipe comes from this website. 

Ingredients for 12-14 cupcakes:

• 220g flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 113g butter
• 160g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 125ml coconut milk
• 95ml sour cream
• 60g dessicated coconut

 

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

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl and set aside.

Put a butter into an electric mixer bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Then add eggs one at a time. Next add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk, when well incorporated add the remaining flour and milk. At last but not at least stir in the coconut and sour cream.

Spoon the batter into a paper cases, about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen and spongy in a touch. Leave them in a baking tin for a few minutes then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down completely.

In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting*:

• 35g soft butter
• 140g sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups icing sugar
• dessicated coconut

 * I would recommend to reduce the amount of ingredients about 1/2 as I have received to much frosting.

 

Place the butter, vanilla and sour cream in electric mixer bowl beat until fluffy. Then add 2 cups of icing sugar and beat on low. Beat until the frosting sticks to the beater when lifted without dripping of. If it is too runny add more icing sugar. I left mine a little bit runny.

Fill a small, shallow bowl with dessicated coconut. 

Spread the frosting over each cupcake top then stick the tops into a coconut to coat. Enjoy !

 

 

Chocolate muffins

Chocolate muffins. Who doesn't like them ? Those ones were very delicious. Very chocolaty, fluffy and moist inside with crunchy crust. Covered with icing sugar :) Really tasty. The recipe comes from 'Easy food'.

Ingredients for 12-14 muffins:

• 50g chocolate
• 140g butter or margarine
• 100ml sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 140g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 140g caster sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 85g glace cherries

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

Chop the cherries and set aside.

Break the chocolate and place into a bowl or in a sauce pan. Add the butter and melt them together ether in microwave or on the heat. Stir them well until smooth. Set aside to cool down.

Into a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, soda and cocoa powder. Then add the sugar and almonds and whisk well. Set aside.

Take the melted chocolate and add the sour cream and beaten eggs. Pour this mixture into a dry ingredients add the chopped cherries and stir together. 

Spoon the batter into muffin tin. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Leave them in baking tray for a few minutes then transfer to the wire rack.

In a meantime prepare the icing.

Ingredients for icing:

• 140g icing sugar
• 1 tsp custard powder
•  water
• chocolate sprinkles

Mix the sugar, custard with a bit of water to make a thick icing. Spoon the icing over each muffin top and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles. Enjoy !

 

Gingerbread cupcakes with orange icing

This is Ina Garten's recipe so it has to be delicious. If only you like moist, spicy filled with fruits cupcakes with sweet and fruity icing you will be delighted. Although  I reduced the amount of raisins as we don't like that many. And unfortunately  instead of thick icing I made thick sauce which was delicious too, but slightly messy.  

Ingredients for 12 big cupcakes:

• 150ml rum or water (originally 250ml)
• 130g raisins (originally 220g)
• 115g butter
• 185g black treacle (originally 16 tbsp)
• 200g sour cream
• 1 orange zest
• 350g flour
• 3/4 tsp soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 70g diced crystallised ginger

Place the raisins in a saucepan pour over the rum or the water and heat up until the liquid starts boiling. Then remove from the heat, cover with lid and set aside. Dice the crystallised ginger.

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

Into a separate sauce pan pour the black treacle add the butter and heat up until starts boiling. Then pour this mixture into an electric mixer bowl. 

While this mixture cools down prepare dry ingredients. Sift the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a bowl and whisk them together. 

Add the freshly grated orange zest into a black treacle mixture, then add sour cream and beat them together. Beating continuously add the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth gently fold in soaked raisins and diced ginger. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases about 3/4 full bake for 20 -25 minutes. When well risen remove from the oven, leave them for a few minutes in the muffin tin then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down.

While the cupcakes are cooling down prepare the icing. Unfortunately mine icing turn into a sauce, was a little bit runny but was really tasty.

Ingredients for icing:

• 225g cream cheese
• 115g soft butter
• 1 orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g icing sugar
• crystallised ginger for decoration

Place the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla extract in an electric mixer bowl and beat until all ingredients well combined. When ready add icing sugar and again beat only for a while. What I did wrong was that I was beating the mixture for too long, that is way it was too runny at the end. 

When cupcakes are cooled down spread the icing over each cupcake top, decorate with ginger and enjoy :)  

Chocolate sour cream muffins with white chocolate

Chocolate sour cream muffins are very rich, dark, chocolaty  with white chocolate spots. This is the mixture of moist and slightly bitter cake with soft, melting pieces of sweet white chocolate. If you like this combination of flavours you will find those muffins delicious. The recipe comes from this website. Those muffin are in a way similar to the double chocolate muffins  which I baked some time ago.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 225g plain flour
• 55g cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 115g brown sugar
• 150g chopped white chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml sour cream
• 100ml milk
• 6 tbsp oil

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

Chop the chocolate into a chunks and set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt into a big bowl. Whisk all ingredients together. Add the sugar and whisk everything again. Then add the white chocolate chunks.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs add the sour cream, oil and combine all ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients mixture and stir in. If the batter is too thick add the milk. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases, 3/4 full. Bake 25-30 minutes. They are very tasty warm. Enjoy !

Snickerdoodle mini muffins

Those are one of my favourite muffins. Soft, nutmeg cake hidden inside crunchy cinnamon and sugar crust. They are perfect !

Not to mention that they are very easy to make :)

The recipe comes from this website.

Ingredients for 30 mini muffins:

• 113g margarine or butter
• 113g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 125g thick sour cream
• 300g flour

Ingredients for cinnamon sugar coating:

• 100g sugar
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

To make cinnamon sugar coating sift the cinnamon and sugar into a small bowl and mix them together. Set aside.

Put the butter, sugar and vanilla into electric mixer bowl and beat together until smooth. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated

In a meantime sift the flour, baking powder, soda, cream of tartar and nutmeg into a bowl and whisk together. 

When the wet ingredients mixture is smooth and creamy start adding the dry ingredients alternately with sour cream. When batter is ready set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease mini muffin tin. Do not use the paper cases as the cinnamon and sugar crunchy crust may stick into the paper.

Take the bowl with batter and small bowl with cinnamon sugar. With a small spoon form small balls of batter, place them one by one into sugar mixture. Cover evenly with sugar and drop each into each muffin tin hole.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy warm and cooled. :)