Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Assalamualaikum!

The last time I made chocolate cake, it was my first time using buttermilk. I bought the whole carton. So since I have some left, I made pancakes and of course more chocolate cake.  This time however, I tried using the same recipe to make cupcakes. If there were ever baking fairies, they’d sing me a song by now!

This is by far, the BEST recipe ever.

Head on to my previous post and get the chocolate cake recipe,here!

Additional steps

(makes 29-30 cupcakes)

• Line the cupcake pan
• Fill in  ¾ of the cupcake liners
• Bake for 15 minutes in 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Done!:)

Pure BLISS.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

1 cup of shortening

1 cup of butter

3 cup of icing sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

¼ cup of cocoa powder

2 ½ oz of chocolate squares, melted

1-2 tablespoon of milk

1. Melt the chocolate squares using the double boiler method.
2. In another bowl, beat the shortening and butter until soft and creamy.
3. Mix in the sugar, cocoa and melted chocolate.
4. Add vanilla extract and continue mixing.
5. If the icing is too thick, add the milk, if not, omit.

Voila!You could easily freeze or refrigerate this icing ahead of time! The thing I like about this recipe is that it tastes great! Not too buttery, not extremely sweet (despite the whole bag of sugar used!).I’m still working on the texture. There are still rooms for improvements!

Aren't they lovely?:)

Sigh.back to studying...

Happy Sunday!

Wasalam

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Chocolate Rosette: Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Cheesecake Filling

 Assalamualaikum!

Finally it’s the weekend,again. FINALLY!

This semester is crazyyyy!I have so many things to read, to write, to memorize..I really feel like dying my hair blonde. Right.

When I am stressed out, what do I doooo? Everyone say….BAKE!!!=)

Anyways,my current favorite show is Cake Boss. Noreen, if you’re reading this, you’ll have to bring me to New Jersey next time you head home.

We did a surprise birthday party for Trisha-lala and Justine two weeks ago. I had the cake planned in my head for a few months ahead. I planned to use fondant but it was such a hectic week and I really don’t have time to play around with it. Not to mention that I wanted to bake the night before and I couldn't find my electric mixer! When I looked at the recipe I realized I don’t need a mixer. A ha! Then I realized I don’t have enough chocolate. Oh my God! Not long after Fajr I texted Illya and headed to her place and borrow her mixer and then went to Provigo and bought me-self some baking chocolate and cocoa powder. I’m all set!Phew. 

Since I don’t have time for fondant, I went online and looked for inspirations. I remembered once  I saw rosette cakes on YouTube and I googled it again. Found  a great blog while I was at it.

So here you go, my first Rosette Cake; Chocolate cake with Strawberry Cheesecake Filling covered in Chocolate Buttercream. To be honest, this is the recipe I love best.Easy peasy, airy and Dih-licious.

I got the recipe of Chocolate cake from here.

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Cheesecake Filling

(Makes 2 8-inch layers)

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups hot water

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper, and butter paper.
2. Sift cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl.
3. Beat in oil, buttermilk, vanilla, eggs, and hot water one at a time, using a mixer set at low.
4. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. Pour batter into pans. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Strawberry Cheesecake Filling

1 1/2 cup creamcheese

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1/2 cup cut fresh strawberries

1. Cream the cream cheese until light and fluffy using electric mixer
2. Beat in Strawberry jam until well incorporated
3. Using a spoon, mix the fresh strawberries into the cream cheese mixture.

Sifted dry ingredients

Doesn't exactly scream beautiful.I know

Pink goodness

Yes.thats my study table.I'm a student remember?

Trim the top and spread the pink sensation!

Giant sandwich!

Pipe the sides and top

Add strawberries on top!:)

Sigh. My hands are itching to try some other new stuffs!Went half crazy at the art store last friday.Sobs.:(

Oh yes, the chocolate buttercream recipe would follow soon.insyaAllah!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Bundle up!It's getting colder!Brrrrr.

Wasalam

Till then, Goodnight!

Loves,

Anggerik

Chocolate Mousse

Assalamualaikum!

I am now back in Montreal. Back to reality. No more food made by mom, I have to pay my own bills, buy my own grocery and do my laundry. Me don wan….=.=’Right! I was being all pampered back at home in Malaysia. My summer break was short but Alhamdulillah so much fun! The family is doing amazing and our living is room is always a mess because that is our Umar’s “bedroom”. Bottles on the left of the room, his diapers on the right and his box of clothes is under the TV, his mat and quilts are in the middle of the living room with his play gym. That's our baby alright. The most beautiful, perfect bundle of joy!

He is the darling-est of all babies. Yes. I say that because we’re related. I love every inch of him. His chubby cheeks that jiggles, his geram-stick, his breath that always, ALWAYS smells like milk, his small hands and feet. I swear, when my sister was not looking, I bit him. That boy is a living Dough Boy. So delicious!(Hi kak!=P)

call me bee, chub-bee

Okay, so back to Chocolate Mousse. When I went back, my sister and I planned a few cooking/baking projects in the kitchen. All of these plans depended on how well Umar behaved because if he wasn't, my sister had to tend to him. On that day, our Umar was such a darling so we brought ourselves to the kitchen and started experimenting!

I’ve been meaning to make mousse since the end of last year but never got around to make them. Not until my sister suggested that we try making the mousse together. Both my sister and I had been watching Laura Vitale on Youtube the whole summer so we decided to use her recipe. We made some changes of course. You can get her recipe here.

Chocolate Mousse

1/3 cup of Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 Tbsp of Water

1/4  Tsp of Instant Coffee

1 Tbsp of Butter

1 Egg Yolk

1 Egg White

1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp of Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup of Heavy Cream

1. In a bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks, set in the fridge while you work on the rest of the recipe.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes or until it becomes thick and pale in color and the sugar dissolves, set aside. 
3. In a small saucepan, add about an inch of water and bring it to a simmer. Place a small bowl over the saucepan and add the chocolate, water, coffee powder and butter and over very low heat, cook everything together just until the chocolate melts. 
4. Spoon ¼ of the chocolate into the egg yolk mixture and mix it just enough to combine. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the small bowl over the simmering water in the saucepan with the remaining chocolate mixture, add the vanilla extract and stirring constantly, cook over low heat for a couple minutes or until the mixture thickens. Let it cool for a few minutes stirring frequently.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the egg white in the cooled chocolate mixture.
6. Fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped heavy cream being careful not to over mix otherwise the heavy cream will lose its texture.
7. Pour the mixture into cups and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours.

Egg white, beaten yolk and choc chips

Pure.Evil

This is the part where you go..Good Lord!

Simple yet divine!

Do me a favor and spread some love..

It is so creamy and heavenly. I suggest using small bowls/cups because if it’s too much, you’ll get sick of it quickly. So keep in mind of the portion that you’re serving beforehand! I didn’t have any strawberries or whipping cream on hand so I can’t really decorate the end product well. =/ So I ended up sprinkling icing sugar on the top. When you try this recipe, do me a favor and put strawberries and whipping cream on top. Thanks. Plus oh! It would be a sin, a complete sin, not to drizzle the whip cream and strawberries with chocolate syrup. I mean, come on…

Wasalam!

Till then, Bonsoiree,

Love,

Anggerik.