A Bitter-Sweet End of an Era/Nutella Cloud Frosting.

     

    Hey there everyone! Sorry, I’ve been MIA for quite some time now. I was busy dealing with College coming to an end. It’s funny how in such a short period of time you make friends and memories that may stay with you for the rest of your life. You learn so much in these few years; Trying to fit in, in the first few; Trying to keep up with the assignment deadlines in the next. The petty tiffs, the making up.The group studies that has hardly anything to do with studies. ;) Then trying your best to scrape through the tests. :P In short, College life is like a whole life time in itself. And I’m gonna miss it all. I want to share something with you that made a lot of sense to me; When you land up in a job, the salary is not the only thing that will make you happy. Sure, It’s important to pay your bills. But someone who is paid more doesn’t necessarily have more fun or friends. It’s what you do with what you have. It’s all about the journey, how meaningful you make it for yourself and the people around you.

    Ah well, to end on a sweet note, here’s a recipe for a yummy Nutella cloud frosting I came across over the internet on Sweetapolita. I’ve already shared the recipe for Chocolate cupcakes before. To revisit them click here. Enjoy! :)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ingredients:

1 cup/227 g unsalted butter, softened but cool
1 1/2 cups (190 g) icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (125 g) premium bittersweet chocolate, chopped, melted and slightly cooled
1/3 cup (100 g) Nutella
1 tbsp milk
pinch of salt

 

Method:

1. In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the icing sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.
2. Add vanilla, and beat on low speed until well combined.
3. Add the melted and slightly cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the Nutella, milk and pinch of salt, and beat on med-high speed for another minute. If too thick add small increments of more milk and blend until smooth.

Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes or simply smear it on and decorate with some sprinkles and enjoy :D

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Who would have thought you could bake an equally delicious cupcake without the very obvious ingredient “Egg”. At least I never did, until I came across this wonderful vegan chocolate cupcake recipe on allrecipes.com. These cuties fluff up so gorgeously in the oven; it is almost bewitching to look at. And the recipe is ever so simple. To get more of the chocolaty yumminess with every bite, I tossed in small chunks of milk chocolate in my batter! The result was splendid as you can see. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 cups white sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups water

3 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into lined cupcake pans 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

 I thought I should start with somethin’ Chocolate. A yummy moist Chocolate Cupcake maybe? I stumbled upon this wonderful recipe a few months back on a lazy Sunday afternoon while browsing online for some new recipes to try. I don’t remember which website it was! But Cheers to whoever the recipe belongs to! :D  The original recipe had butter cream to go with their chocolate cupcakes but I went with chocolate glaze for mine! And don’t they look just heavenly!!!  You need these in your life. I tell you.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I made the vegan version of these Yummies  for the girls at a mini-potluck we organized in college recently… And they loved the cupcakes so much, bless them. How do I know? Compliments aside, I was left with an odd fallen crumb or two. And I’m not complaining, no.

The cupcakes turn out sooo good… there will surely be calls for an encore by family and friends! Beware! Hehe! Here’s the recipe for the cupcakes and the chocolate glaze. Happy Munching!! 

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

(makes 40)

Ingredients:

2 Cups boiling water

1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 3/4 Cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Cup butter

2 1/4 Cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180. Whisk water and cocoa together until smooth, then refrigerate until room temperature. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one by one and mix in the vanilla. Add the flour and cocoa mixtures alternately, in fourths. When fully combined, pour the mixture into lined cupcake pans 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in middle. My cupcakes took 25 minutes to bake. . . Allow to cool to room temperature.

FOR THE GLAZE

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup milk, warmed

2 tsp vanilla extract

100 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 cup icing sugar

Directions:

Combine butter, milk, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the icing sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the cupcake tops immediately. Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.