Baking Mondays - A is for Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

This is the first batch of cupcakes as part of my A... B... Cupcakes project and I must say it was a lot of fun! We had to choose from apple, almond, apricot or angel food, and almond was the hands down winner. So I decided to make a chocolate and almond cake, with a chocolate easter egg hidden inside of it, topped with almond swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) and a chocolate covered almond. All in all a winning combination I think. Here is one of the cupcakes in all its glory:


Oh and you read right, I made my first ever batch of SMBC! I am happy to report that it was really easy - and I am now in love with both SMBC and my KitchenAid. The only thing is I probably should of mixed it for longer to get rid of those air bubbles - but unfortunately little Zoe needed some attention ;)

Now for the ratings:

Me - 5/10, I know that doesn't sound very good but I used almond essence in the SMBC, and I must say that I am really not fan of that at all! Apart from that strange flavour the texture of the SMBC is amazing - I love SMBC!! The cake had a strange texture - it was slightly dense and I am guessing that is because of the almond meal. The cake was pretty moist, but unfortunately the flavour was a bit so-so, nothing amazing really.

Mat - he really liked this cupcake and especially the SMBC - a big fan of the texture and the fact that it isn't overly sweet. In regards to the cake I think he pretty much agreed with my points.

Dad and friends - they tell me that this is one of my best cupcakes yet and that I should have to pay for their dentist bills :P

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes (from Better Homes and Gardens Easter Issue 2009)
Makes 12

100g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup almond meal
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
12 chocolate eggs (the recipe called for caramel filled Easter eggs, but I wanted to keep things simple)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Put the butter, sugar, water and cocoa in a saucepan and cook, stirring over a low heat, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Here we go in to the pan:


And stirring...


Let the chocolate mixture cool for 10 minutes, then add the beaten eggs and stir until combined. Stir in the almond meal and flour until combined, then transfer the mixture into a jug.

Remove foil from Easter eggs and put 1 egg in each cupcake liner...


Pour the cupcake batter into each liner until three quarters full...


Bake for 15 minutes (or until firm to the touch). Note: my oven is crazy so you may have a different baking time. Cool the cupcakes in their tin for 30 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool...


Almond Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Made more than enough for 12 cupcakes - probably enough for 18.

4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
250g butter
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond essence

Combine the egg whites and sugar into a heatproof bowl and whisk over a saucepan of simmering water until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is as hot as you can get it without the egg whites cooking.

With the whisk attachment on your mixer whisk the egg white and sugar mixture on high speed until a stiff meringue is formed and the mix has cooled down to room temperature. Look at the KitchenAid going...


Now put the paddle attachment on your mixer and with the mixer on a low speed add a tablespoon or two of butter at a time. Once all the butter is incorporated turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix until the mixture is light and fluffy again.

Add the vanilla extract and almond essence and mix on medium speed until the SMBC is a good piping texture.

Pipe the SMBC onto the cupcakes and then top each cupcake with a chocolate covered almond.


Stand back and marvel at their beauty.

Baking Mondays - Chocolate Cupcakes

The KitchenAid has officially been broken in! Last night I baked chocolate cupcakes using Martha Stewart's one bowl recipe (thanks to Cassie from How to Eat a Cupcake for posting the recipe). It was an incredibly easy recipe and using my KitchenAid made mixing it up a breeze! Loved it!

I really wanted to make a chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, but it wasn't to be. By the time I got around to baking it was too late in the evening and I ran out of time. So I just made a normal chocolate buttercream since that is always quick and easy. The KitchenAid gave it such a good consistency - way better than the old hand beaters. Next time I need a buttercream though I will definitely be going the swiss meringue route - I need to know what it tastes like and how good the texture is - can't wait to experiment!

So the rating?

Me - 7/10, cake was moist and had a good texture, I think I could be a bit richer though. Also normal buttercream is getting boring - I think I need to move on :P

Mat - 5/10, cake was moist and good, but he isn't a huge fan of chocolate. The buttercream is way too sweet and overpowering.

She has arrived...

That's right - my KitchenAid is here :). I'm going to give her a whirl tomorrow and I can't wait! I am going to bake some chocolate cupcakes and then make my first ever batch of chocolate swiss meringue buttercream - I hope it goes well. I'm still considering name options for the KitchenAid, Ivonne popped in my head, but I'm not sure about that - I think I'll decide after I give her a spin tomorrow afternoon.

In other news Mat and I have been discussing potential a potential cupcake business - I have some research to do!!

One thing to check off of my kitchen wish list...

That's right people - I am getting a KitchenAid! I have longed for one for some time now. I think the novelty of using hand beaters for all my baking adventures has definitely worn off. I was going to squirrel away a little bit of money each week to save up for my mixer, but my ever so lovely husband told me that we could afford one right now! So I went online and ordered my very own KitchenAid. I chose the colour Ice since my future dream kitchen is going to be turquoise and red themed. It will be quite lovely when it becomes a reality, but that will be some time away.

I can't wait until it arrives it is going to make baking so much more enjoyable - and I will finally be able to make some swiss meringue butter cream. I'll have to give her a name once she joins the household too - there is something to think about!

Kitchen wish list

Every time I make anything in the kitchen I am reminded of all the things that I would love to have but can't afford. Unfortunately our kitchen leaves a lot to be desired, it has next to no storage space, a single basin sink, an oven that can't hold a steady temperature and an exhaust fan that barely works. It does tend to make baking and cooking a tad bit difficult - but I still soldier on week after week. In the long run when I am no longer a stay at home mum and we have two incomes again we will renovate the kitchen and make it into a wonderful place for me to cook and bake to my hearts content. In the meantime I am starting to make my wish list for my future kitchen and here are the first four items....

1. A new oven - with a gas cooktop and electric oven such as this one from smeg.

2. A cute apron from Jessie Steele to do all of my baking in.

3. A whole heap of storage jars for all of my baking/cooking ingredients from ikea.

4. A KitchenAid - need I say more?