Rocky Road Muffins

Is it just me or does the days going by way too fast? November seemed like it just started but it just hit me Thanksgiving will only be a few days from now. Next thing, Christmas will be around and we'll be welcoming 2012 --Ack, I'm certainly not ready for the holidays just yet.

There's been a whirlwind of events in my family lately: celebrating three birthdays in one week and a 11-11-11 wedding of my little cousin definitely made for a busy household. My busier work schedule this week have definitely made me feel like I can't seem to catch up! So an unexpected weekend off from work was just what I needed to slow down a little, take a deep breath and BAKE!

These Rocky Road muffins were very simple to put together. Chocolate and nuts along with marshmallows were stirred into a chocolaty batter and topped with even more chocolates and nuts; they made for a scrumptious muffin. While I was prepping my ingredients the night before,I realized I didn't have mini marshmallows on hand. I got too lazy and didn't really want to go out in the cold to buy them so figured I make them. Making marshmallows from scratch is really easy (and fun for me, watching my boys trying to handle the sticky goo). I've made marshmallows before, the recipe can be found here.

And apparently my pantry contained all the nuts in the world except walnuts, the ones originally asked for in the recipe. No matter, I just used a little bit of each nuts and even cracked several macadamias to add in there. I really like the result of putting a variety of nuts in these muffins, they gave a different flavor and texture to each bite. I would even go ahead and add more nuts next time I bake these.

So something chocolaty that's not overly sweet you can enjoy first thing in the morning. Truly a great muffin to start the day. Oh, but my family couldn't help themselves, we enjoyed these with a cup of hot cocoa, topped with marshmallows, of course! :)

Rocky Road Muffins

280g (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
15g (1 TBSP) baking powder
5g (1 tsp) salt
15g (3 TBSP) cocoa powder
60g mini marshmallows
75g milk chocolate chips
60g (1/2 cup) nuts
150g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
200g (3/4 cup) milk
2 large eggs
75g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven 400F degrees. Prepare muffin pan either by greasing or using liners; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Stir in the marshmallows and set aside.
3. Combine the nuts and chocolate chips together. Set aside 1/3 cup and add the remaining to the flour mixture.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, eggs and butter. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Portion batter into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle tops with reserved nut-chocolate chip mixture. Bake for 16-18 minutes.
6. Remove and let cool on rack for 5 minutes. Then remove from pan and serve.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting

This month marks the third year baking with The Cake Slice; we will be baking from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. The book have separate chapters from chiffon cakes to pound cakes, butter-based cakes and fruit-based ones, flourless cakes, mousse and ice cream cakes, even chapters on cheesecakes and meringue cakes. I'm very excited to be baking from this book and have many recipes already bookmarked!

I really like that the recipes are written including weight (grams and ounces) along with the volume measurements. American cookbooks are still slow in adapting this type of measuring. When I started measuring ingredients with a kitchen scale a few years back, I noticed a vast improvement on my baking -- and importantly, my baked goods came out with consistent results. (If you don't have one, I highly recommend making an investment and purchasing one; they are not at all expensive). I am just happy to not be wasting time converting measurements and get on to baking when I use this cookbook.

On to our first cake: Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting. A perfect cake to celebrate Autumn. Chunks of apples, tender and still slightly crisp at the same time, along with walnuts make up this cake, warmly perfumed by cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Topped with cream cheese with maple flavoring and dusted with freshly-grated nutmeg for a really decadent slice. It's a simple, unpretentious cake that can be enjoyed anytime.

 

You can read Tish Boyle's blog here: http://www.tishboyle.blogspot.com/
Please follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tishboyle


Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle
makes one 9-inch square cake, serving 12

181g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
217g (1 cup firmly packed) light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
160ml (2/3 cup) buttermilk*
120g (2 cups) peeled and chopped 1/3-inch pieces Granny Smith* apples
57g (1/2 cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease pan and line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides. Butter paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Place butter in the bowl of mixer and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping sides as needed. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the buttermilk in two additions and mix just until blended. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
4. Transfer batter into pan, smooth the top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and toothpick test is clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack.
5. Frost top of cooled cake with Maple Frosting.

Cream Cheese Maple Frosting
makes 1 1/3 cups

170g (6oz) cream cheese, softened
42g (3 TBSP) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp maple flavoring*
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
115g (1 cup) confectioneres' sugar, sifted

Using paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together at medium speed until smooth. Add extracts, spices and salt. Reduce speed to low, add the confectioners' sugar and beat until well blended. Raise speed to high until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

*I used homemade whole milk yogurt, Honeycrisp apples and maple syrup.

Clementine Date Muffins for Muffin Monday

I am happy to welcome another week with these Clementine Date Muffins.

Just lightly-sweetened muffins filled with chopped dates and cashews, perfumed with zest of clementines. Freshly-squeezed juice along with yogurt and just a little bit of butter gives these muffins a tender and moist crumb. Surprisingly not a dense loaf I was expecting which I usually think of dates in baked goods.

Cinnamon in the batter gives them an extra spicy flavor with the option of adding cinnamon sugar topping. I opted to add sanding sugar for the sparkle. :)

Please click on over The Baker Street  for the original recipe and other variations from the rest of the Muffin Monday Bakers.

Clementine Date Muffins

makes a dozen regular-sized muffins

120g (1 cup) white whole wheat flour

120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour

96g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar

10g (2 tsp) baking powder

3g (1/2 tsp) baking soda

3g (1/2 tsp) salt

2g (1/2 tsp) cinnamon

zest from 3 clementines, finely grated (or up to 2 tsp)

80g (1/3 cup) freshly-squeezed clementine juice

56g (1/4 cup) butter, melted and cooled

160g (2/3 cup) plain, whole-milk yogurt

1 large egg, room temperature

90g (2/3 cup) dates, chopped

80g (2/3 cup) cashews, chopped

sparkling sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Prepare muffin tins by greasing cups or using liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon until well-combined.

In a medium bowl, combine orange juice, butter, yogurt and egg.

Add wet mixture into dry ingredients. Quickly stir until just combined.

Fold in dates and cashews.

Place into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with sparkling sugar.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.

Remove and let cool in pan for about 5 minutes. Take muffins out of pan and serve.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Zucchini Sesame Seed Muffins

I am pleased to welcome another week with a delicious muffin baked along the Muffin Monday bakers. This time, we give you a savory one. I have been looking forward each week to getting Anuradha's recipe, secretly hoping it will be a savory one. :)  It has been awhile since we offered Spinach Feta Muffins. We used zucchini this time mixed in with your herbs of choice, along with sesame seeds for a nutty crunch.

I used black sesame seeds to give the muffins a contrast in color and loved the results. My family loved them also though next time I would be more generous with my use of herbs. Maybe even use fresh ones.

Zucchini Sesame Seed Muffins
makes 12 regular-sized  muffins

(original recipe found in the book 1 Mix, 100 Muffins)

300g (about 2 medium) zucchini
240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
2 TBSP sesame seeds (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (I used cumin & oregano)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
240g (1 cup) plain yogurt
3 TBSP oil
3 TBSP butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Grease muffin tin with pan spray or use liners.
Grate zucchini, squeezing out excess moisture, set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, sesame seeds and herbs.
In another bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, oil and butter.
Add liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir quickly but lightly until combined.
Place into muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
Transfer to cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Then remove from pan. Serve warm.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Carrot Spice Muffins

I am not much of a fan of carrot cakes so was surprised to find these carrot spice muffins to my liking.

A healthy recipe using whole wheat flour and warmed up by spices that evoke Autumn. I liked that you can either use brown sugar or honey to sweeten it though decided to try agave syrup since I've been wanting to try baking with it. You may also use buttermilk or yogurt plus even more choices either using oil, melted butter or applesauce. I opted to use yogurt and applesauce since I just have made them earlier in the week.

I also added crushed pineapples in lieu of raisins plus cashews for crunch. I originally thought of adding a glaze but the muffins were sweet enough that decided they didn't need them. These were baked for our afternoon snack, hoping some will last for next day's breakfast. But of course that didn't happen.

Carrot Spice Muffins
makes 12 standard size muffins

The recipe is from Whole Foods for The Whole Family by La Leche League International Cookbook and can be found here.

180g (1 1/2 cups) white whole wheat flour
5g (1 tsp) baking soda
5g (1 tsp) baking powder
3g (1/2 tsp) coarse salt (optional)
2g (1/2 tsp) ground cinnamon
1g (1/4 tsp) nutmeg
pinch (1/8 tsp) ground ginger
pinch (1/8 tsp) allspice (I omitted this one)
108g (1/3 cup) agave syrup (or honey or brown sugar)
1 egg, room temperature
120g (1/2 cup) yogurt
80g (1/3 cup) applesauce
3g (1/2 tsp) vanilla
175g (1 1/2 cups) finely grated carrots
150g (1/2 cup) crushed pineapple
64g (1/2 cup) chopped cashews

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare muffin tray either by using paper liners of pan spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt (if using) and spices.
In another bowl, beat eggs with agave syrup, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, grated carrots, pineapples and cashews.
Add wet ingredients to the dry, stir gently until it comes together.
Divide among 12, about three-quarters full. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until it pass toothpick test.
Remove from pan immediately and let muffins cool on rack for few minutes before serving.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake for The Cake Slice

This will be the last month The Cake Slice will be baking from the book Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. I have not been very active this year with our baking group due to work so made sure I made time this weekend to bake Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake.

It just happens that my mother-in-law was also throwing a small party this weekend and she had put me in charge of desserts. I know that she adores fruits and streusel in her baked goods so made this cake for her.

The recipe asked for blackberries but blueberries or raspberries may also be used. I happen to have all three so decided to put a combination of all three berries. A simple recipe that uses only a little bit of butter with sour cream giving it richness. The batter is spiced by cloves and nutmeg while the streusel has cinnamon along with chopped pecans.

The party got a little hectic but was able to take a quick picture of the desserts table. Along with the Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake front and center, I also baked Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Muffins, Guava & Cheese Pastries, Leche Flan, Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, Coconut Sandwich Cookies with Passion fruit Cream and Brownies. My husband joined in the baking fun by making Cream Puffs and Seven-Layer Gelatin.

The cake was quickly eaten even with the assortment of other desserts on the table. I was glad I made time to bake this cake.

The Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake recipe can be seen at Amazon, just click the "look inside" the book function.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake for The Cake Slice

I'm finally baking! Just in time for this month's installment of The Cake Slice. We start off our third year of baking from the book: Cake Keeper Cakes, a promising cookbook filled with different types of cakes: from round ones to loafs, bundts to crumb cakes, chiffon and snacking cakes. I'm excited to get this year started with this book.

The first cake our group chose is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake to keep with the season's baking. October signals Fall and Halloween so a cake with pumpkin is a perfect choice. The addition of chocolate chips and walnuts along with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg truly fits in with the season. A great cake to enjoy with creamy coffee or tea, even a tall glass of milk.

My youngest son requested one without nuts so I obliged him and just added more chocolate chips. This is the picture you see here. (The first loaf were eaten right away that I didn't get a chance to take a picture!) Please see how other members of The Cake Slice did with this cake and get baking, just print the recipe.

Lumpiang Sariwa for Kulinarya Cooking Club

The Kulinarya theme chosen by Malou and Cherrie for this month is Lumpia, the Filipino version of springrolls. Since I have already featured Lumpiang Shanghai before, I thought of making something different: Lumpiang Sariwa.

The word sariwa means fresh in Tagalog which implies the freshness of the ingredients. This lumpia also got their name because they are not fried. Instead of using thin rice paper wrappers for rolling, delicate egg-y, crepes are used.


I am featuring my basic recipe for Lumpiang Sariwa here. Besides the initial saute of onions and garlic, this recipe consists of only four vegetables: sweet potato, carrots, green beans and mushrooms. I did this to show how easy this recipe can be. Once you get the hang of it, you could add other vegetables to your liking like cabbage, bean sprouts, singkamas (jicama), sayote (chayote squash), or even garbanzo beans. As the name imply, fresh also means using produce that are available in the season. My visit to farmers market lately showed crisp-tender green "Bagiuo" beans and unblemished shiitake mushrooms. Feel free to use any or all of the vegetables I mentioned here.

I also purposely left out any meat in this dish because I wanted to show there are dishes in Filipino cuisine that are cooked without them. You may add ground pork, shrimp, shredded chicken and/or tofu if you like for a more substantial Lumpiang Sariwa. However, this recipe cannot be called vegetarian since I use chicken broth to boil the vegetables which would then be used to make the sweet sauce. If you truly want a vegetarian lumpia, just use water or vegetable stock. I have yet to try so please let me know if you do.

Now, isn't Lumpiang Sariwa not only wholesome but a versatile dish, as well?


One last thing: For times when you are feeling lazy or just don't want to be bothered by making lumpia wrappers, no need to worry, you can still enjoy these. Just spoon them onto fresh lettuce and eat them just like that! (Just like those lettuce cups that are so popular right now.) But make sure to call them Lumpiang Hubad. The word hubad means "naked" - a play on words but pretty straightforward, I think. :)



Lumpiang Sariwa
makes about 10

For the wrappers:
2 eggs
1 cup water
2 TBSP vegetable oil
pinch salt
3/4 - 1 cup flour

For the filling:
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 medium sweet potato, julienned
6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
1/2 pound green beans, diagonally sliced
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 cups chicken broth

For the sauce:
reserved broth from above
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 TBSP dark soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch

For the assembly:
lettuce leaves
garlic, finely minced
peanuts, crushed


Make the wrappers:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, salt and oil. Strain flour through the sieve and over the egg mixture. Mix until no lumps appear.

Heat a crepe pan or non-stick skillet over low flame. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter and swirl, covering the bottom of pan. Cook for about 2 minutes then turn over and cook another minute. Remove and let cool.

Continue until all batter is used. You may stack together. Keep them covered to prevent drying out.


Make the filling:
Heat oil in wok (or large saute pan) over high heat. Cook onions until limp, about a minute. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not brown.

Add sweet potato and mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the carrots and green beans, cook for a minute. Add soy sauce and freshly-cracked pepper if you like. Add in the broth and bring to a boil, covered.

Once it boils, lower heat and cook until potato is tender, about 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain through strainer immediately to stop vegetables from cooking further, reserving the broth. You want to keep the crispness of the vegetables. Set vegetables aside to cool.


Make the sauce:
Return reserved broth to the pot. Stir in the sugar and soy sauce and bring to a boil.

Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water to make a slurry. Stir into boiling broth until broth thicken. Turn off heat. Transfer to serving bowl.


Assembly:
Place a lettuce leaf in middle of lumpia wrapper.

Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup vegetable filling. Close wrapper over the vegetables.

Ladle sauce on top and sprinkle with fresh garlic and crushed peanuts. Serve.


Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine. Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.



Please visit my fellow Kulinarya members for their Lumpia creations:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/
Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com/.
Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com/
Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/
Kat - http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/default.aspx

If you'd like to learn more about our Filipino cuisine, please read Tracey's (of Tangled Noodle) latest post on Filipino Food: Of Thin Skins and Filipino Food. She had eloquently written about the multiple facets of our cuisine and dismissed the negative notions of what the uninformed public perceive Filipino food to be - a very frustrating subject among fellow Filipino food bloggers like myself (or for any Filipinos). I applaud her for articulating so well what I have thought about many times but can never quite convey. Tracey also has a recipe for Lumpiang Sariwa so you can see for yourself how really versatile this recipe is.

Happy Macaron Day!

A few weeks ago, I found out from a little bird that March 20th is Macaron Day. So to celebrate, I figured I'll try making some macarons again. I just recently found out about MacTweets blog dedicated to the macaron and wanted to join their monthly round-up. I had planned on making macarons last weekend but my husband, Mr. Feijoada, made plans for our kitchen, too! He decided to make ketchup from tomatoes he got a great deal on from the farmer's market. So I got kicked out of our small kitchen and never made the round-up deadline.

I was still determined to make them but this week flew by so quickly! I finally had time to bake macarons yesterday. I went to bed a happy girl because their feet decided to show this time. YAY!


I made the macaron shells plain and filled them with White Chocolate Blood Orange Ganache by yesterday afternoon. Please visit the MacTweets blog for their helpful resources; I used Helen's (of Tartlette) Basic French Meringue Macaron recipe found in her tutorial (same one featured in Desserts magazine). For the filling, I adapted her White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache and substituted the raspberry jam for some homemade Blood Orange Marmalade my husband made last year. I guess good things can come up from being kicked out of the kitchen. :P

Just a note: I found a Calamansi tree! That's the one behind the macarons in the picture above. I see Calamansi Macarons in the future, I can't wait! :)

The Cake Slice: Mississippi Mud Cake

Time for cake! This time it's a gooey, sticky, chocolatey one that is so easy to bake. Haven't had time to update my blog due to work. Luckily, I had a day off today and this cake was made in no time at all.




My boys and I were playing Lego while the cake was baking. When it was time to take pictures, the boys thought it would be great for their Lego Star Wars to be in the picture. Then I decided they should be in the picture, too! :)


All that marshmallows was a hit with the kids they didn't even mind the pecans that were in the cake. Overall, a fun cake!

Rainy Days

Today, I woke up to the sound of rain rapping on my window panes. My husband had already left for work and my boys were already busy watching their Saturday morning cartoons. These past several Saturdays have been the same since we've moved to our new place. I am slowly getting used to it. But today, it is raining and it is different somehow. It made me miss my husband more.

I baked these little cakes for him. And while I ate one with my boys today, how I wished my husband was with us, enjoying them together.


Sweet Potato, Yogurt, Brown Butter & Hazelnut Cakes
makes about 20 mini cakes

300 g sweet potato (about 3 medium-sized)
100 g butter
130 g hazelnuts
160 g all-purpose flour
40 g hazelnut flour
4 g sea salt
4 g baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
100 g homemade yogurt (or substitute store-bought whole milk yogurt)
100 g brown sugar
50 g sugar
3 eggs, room temperature, slightly beaten
zest of half an orange

Make sweet potato puree: pierce sweet potatoes and place on baking tray, roast at 425F for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Let them cool, scoop out the insides and mash with fork. Set aside. Lower oven to 350F.

Brown the butter: place in small saucepan and heat on medium-low heat, stirring ocassionally. Butter will foam, keep stirring until it turns golden brown. remove pan from heat. Set aside.

Roast hazelnuts: place raw hazelnuts in baking tray and roast at 350F for 6-8 minutes. Place hazelnuts on kitchen towel and cover with another towel. Rub between the towels, skin will com off. Chop them roughly and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine by whisking together the flour, hazelnut flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl, combine the sweet potato puree, brown butter, both sugars, eggs, yogurt and orange zest. Whisk to combine.

Pour the wet onto the dry ingredients and whisk until fully incorporated. Fold in all but 1/4 cup of the hazelnuts.

Pour the batter into molds (or muffin tin) three-quarters of the way. Sprinkle tops with the 1/4 cup hazelnuts and bake for 16-18 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Adapted from Canelle et Vanille

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club: Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes

My apologies to the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club for the late posting of this month's cupcake selection. I have been called to work this week which meant 14-16 hour work days, reporting at 8AM and not coming home until midnight. I finally got to baking these cupcakes after a short work day (8-hour day).

Got home at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and started baking. I took these pictures before sunset; the cupcakes were still warm so I didn't put frosting on them for the photos. The cupcakes were good with or without frosting. I omitted the nuts, though since I know my kids wouldn't like them.

I had to buy some zucchinis at Trader Joe's for the recipe since my plants got too tired to produce anymore zuchinis. My zucchini plants produced plenty early in the season, now it would produce buds then die out :( I picked out the buds for the photos, my husband cooked them the next day. I didn't get to taste them since I was back at work. I brought over a few of these cupcakes to work and my Brazilian guests loved them!

Thank you to fellow MSC member Tracey of Tracey's Culinary Adventures for this great selection this month. The recipe can be found on page 44 of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. Thanks to Sugar Betty for starting this wonderful group, check out the new website to see how the other members' cupcake creations.

My First Macarons

I attempted to make macarons for the second time yesterday and realized I never posted my first time from a few weeks ago. I followed Tartlette's recipe to the letter found in Desserts Magazine.

These turned out so much better than I hoped! I remember when I was baking these, I told myself not expect much, this is just a trial run. I'm normally a very optimistic person overall, but on this baking project I had to psyche myself down (does that make sense?) I've read all the other blogs and read all the challenges and problems others experienced making these. As I stated in my earlier post, I really wanted to make macarons. I had some egg whites left over from a making creme brulee so decided to finally try since I've been putting it off for a long time.

They didn't come out perfect. The domes are too high and not that smooth. A few got cracks and some got ring marks from the piping. I would say they are more on the rustic side. I think it's because I used raw almonds WITH SKINS ON and I didn't sift them enough to get rid of the bigger pieces. But I'm just glad they got feet! I felt just like that bird on top of the crocodile. :) My husband thought I've gone crazy when he saw me jumping around the kitchen.

I just spread Nutella inside since I didn't even plan ahead for the cream filling. I was just worried about getting the shells right. They were pretty tasty so I'm hooked. Did I fare better on my second attempt? Stay tuned.

The Cake Slice: Pistachio Petit Four Cake

This month, The Cake Slice Bakers chose a cake modeled after petits fours, those tiny creations of cake layered with jam, marzipan, chocolate or fondant and decorated with a piped icing flowers. I was just glad I had to make it on a much bigger scale! This sure was a challenge to me since it was my first time to work with marzipan.


Even though assembling the cake involved many components, it was a thoroughly enjoyable process. It seemed complicated at first so I made sure I organized my work space and everything went smoothly. One hitch, I ran out of marzipan so I didn't get to try on making the roses needed to decorate the top.


The cake has pistachio butter cake layered with a spread of apricot preserves, topped with a disk of marzipan, then a little pouring of dark chocolate ganache. Repeat this two more times then comes my favorite part: pouring a bowlful of bittersweet ganache all over the cake! I find this is the most simple but elegant way to decorate a cake.


Every bite gives you a different dimension of flavor with the bittersweet ganache tying everything together. My kids, who are milk chocolate lovers, didn't even complain about the dark chocolate and everyone else enjoyed it. And why the blue flowers? I think my Kuya (big brother) would like it much better if they weren't pink since I made this for his birthday.


This is the printable recipe for this wonderful cake or just get the book Sky-High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes since all of the cakes are great. Also, please head on over to our blogroll for my fellow bakers' creative interpretation of this cake.