Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cupcakes. Show all posts
The Ugly Cake Shop: Sweet nothings and a {GIVEAWAY}
From one 2-in-1 foodie and baker to another, one can be sure that Lisa Tan knows what she's talking about when it comes to cakes. Her labor of love, the Ugly Cake Shop churns out confectioneries both toothsome to the palate and sweet to the heart; armed with a belief to spread the love, Lisa has pledged to donate 20% of the proceed to support the meals of undernourished kids in Timor-Leste. Delicious artisanal cakes for a worthy cause.
One thing to note, if you do have pre-conceived notions about cupcakes being just dried out mini cakes with a ton of sickly sweet frosting over the top, be prepared to have these challenged when you get a load of Lisa's handmade versions. Using only high quality basic ingredients such as cocoa powder, butter and chocolate, the results speak for themselves in the form of rich, moist petit cakes that are even addictive on its own. Lisa then kicks it up a notch, employing her marvellous pastry skills to produce silky smooth frostings, both ganache and Italian meringue buttercreams which leaves a pleasant mouth-feel (accompanied by numerous eye-rolling motion).
Some of her signature flavors include Zesty Zee ($4 per cupcake and $55/7 inch, $70/9inch). My personal favourite, Sally, featuring an indulgent dark chocolate cake crowned with a delicate wisp of peanut butter frosting, a little salt thrown in for good measure. Cross over to the dark side with her Big Daddy Junior ($3.50/cupcake), guaranteed to please any chocolate snob in the room.
Another crowd pleaser is the ever so popular salted caramel cupcake named Juliana, recent R&D efforts in the kitchen have blessed these beauties with a magic dusting of sea salt flakes, pushing this creation across óut-of-this-world' boundaries.
Melissa is the newest addition to the group, made similarly out of an addictive dark chocolate cupcake base christened with an innocent looking strawberry frosting, hiding a deep dark secret of its salacious hook up with rum.
Thanks to the kind folks at Ugly Cake Shop, Fundamentally Flawed is holding a {GIVEAWAY} where you'll stand a chance to win a box of 4 cupcakes, each box containing one Zesty Zee, one Melissa, one Sally and one Big Daddy cupcake!
All you have to do is
- Like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/snapeatlove and comment on this blogpost with your favorite cake flavor in the world (including your name and email address)
- Follow fundamentally_flawed on instagram
and you're in the running to win a set of these wholesome cupcakes from UGLY CAKE SHOP. Hurry as the contest closes on the 11th September!
UGLY CAKE SHOP
e: uglycakeshop@gmail.com
t: 8288 8300
The Audacious Cakery: Weird is the word.
Labels:
cafe,
cakes,
chinatown singapore,
cupcakes,
desserts,
everton park,
hidden finds,
macarons,
outram
·
Audacious, it is to present a table full of sweets and desserts to four extremely judgemental palates.
Did Audacious Cakery eventually take the cake?
Unfortunately, not for me.
Located in the newly spruced up Everton Park region, you're cocooned within its rather warm, softly lit interiors. The cafes' simple layout and charming decor fitting in with the "hidden-gem" theme of the neighbourhood: think clear glass panelled windows bathing the room in natural light. The menu, an impressive spread of sweets ranging from signature cupcakes, petite entremets to the more finicky macarons.
With the macarons ($2.50-$2.80), a variety of herbs and flavors take centerstage. Sadly, these did not float my boat given their less than crisp shells and stingy fillings. Kudos to the Lemongrass and coconut combination though, I just wish there there was a slightly better balance of sweetness and muted acidity.
Moving on to the tarts; the Lemon Meringue ($5.80) and Chocolate Souffle Tart ($6.80); (for some strange reason, you can request for it to warmed up). Don't be fooled by its fuss free appearance, the former rebelliously flaunts the puckery nature of the lemon; creamy, buttery and gorgeously rich; this lemon tart was set to soar only to be knocked down by the mediocrity of the manufactured pate sucre base that lacked shortness and frankly, looked a little anaemic. With the chocolate tart, this was definitely the first time I encountered a choice of a souffle filling by a patissier and I was keen to try it out. Weird. The innards were ultra gooey, almost akin to a stringy soft cheese after being heated. Upon closer investigation, it was brought to our attention that the tart had been heated up before serving (apparently its been very popular eaten this way). I say NEH to the notion of direct heat since the egg white proteins would probably curdle and the crispy cookie garnish transforming into a chewy mess. Have it cold.
Then marched out the Cupcakes ($3.50). My favourite of the lot being the Black Sesame. Very potent in flavor, the cakes were in general very moist with a most huat kueh like texture. The fat-content in the Italian meringue buttercream could be toned down a notch as it left an oil slick on the lips after being noshed down.
Bottom plate (L-R): Forest Noir ($9.80), Chocolate Obsession ($8.80)
At this point, I'm thinking. I can't do desserts anymore. Yet, the allure of the mini cakes with their shiny glaze and petite garnishing tempts. Word of advice, stick with the cafes' chocolate offerings. The chocolate obsession being the star of the show with its slightly acidic dark chocolate mousse paired with a rich chocolate sponge. The Forest Noir, a spin-off the classic black forest cake may appeal to those who like a little alcohol in their desserts but certainly knocked my socks off with the extreme potent nature of the kirsch soaked cherries so deftly hidden within it's walls.
from L-R: Zacharie ($7.80), Faith, Strawberry Shortcake ($6.80)
Zacharie is a light cheesecake with a mango passionfruit jelly insert; despite it's pledge, I could hardly detect ginger in the biscuit base. For those who love the texture of tofu cheesecake, this is right up your alley. The Strawberry shortcake underwhelms with it's lack of general sweetness and depth of flavor.
Indeed, the food here casts good impressions with their attention to detail; regrettably, it doesn't deliver on a taste point of view. In this respect, there are loads of hits and misses with the desserts and it all depends on whether your choice matches up to your floating expectations. Good luck.
Audacious Cakery
Blk 2 Everton Park #01-161
Singapore 081002
Website: theaudaciouscakery.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/AudaciousCakery
TWD: Lots of ways Banana Cupcakes
One speckled banana sprawled hurt and neglected on the side counter. Who can refuse it's call to be used in the event of its short ripened life? Having almost been thrown into the dustbin for a case of old age, I was fortunate to be there, to hear its silent beckon during the weekly clear out sessions. A rescue was mandatory and in the end of it all, paid off well....
I don't know whether you guys noticed, but I'm not so much a big fan of bananas as a fruit given its correlation to certain painful competitive events in my younger days. Think about tortured lungs, throbbing thigh muscles and endless degree of slopes (yes, cross country runners did have a thing for eating bananas before a race). But once the lovely fruit has been incorporated into a mixture of brown sugar, coconut milk and toasted coconut; it's hands-up for me all the way!
This week, Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities has chosen A lot of Ways Banana Cake for TWD. I merrily halved the recipe to yield 12 cupcakes instead of a 9 inch cake only. To someones benefit too!
Somewhere along the way I managed to make a boo-boo but I'm relieved that all turned out well in the end. I'm sure that many bakers have the same experience with me. It's the part where you have placed the baking tin the oven and patted yourself on the back; you proceed with clearing out the used utensils and realise that there's still sifted dry ingredients in the bowl that you have forgotten to incorporate into the mixture. DARN IT! In a frenzied state, you consider swiping out the batter from the baking tin and doing a final mixture, only to be hindered by the lovely bubbles rising on the surface of the batter. You cross your finger and pray for a good ending, a upheaval of regret within.
All's well that ends well. I adore the crunchy bits throughout the cake acquired from the toasted shredded coconut. Thanks Kimberly for picking out this week's recipe!
A lot of ways banana cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
5/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
80g butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/8 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 ripe banana (preferably speckled and ugly)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl.
- Beat the butter till creamy. Add in both the sugars and beat till smooth.
- Add in the egg and the vanilla and beat in to incorporate.
- Mash the banana with a fork in a small bowl.
- Lower the speed of the mixer and add in the smashed banana and beat till well mixed in.
- Add the flour mixture and coconut milk alternatively into the creamed mixture in 3 batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
- Portion off 1/4 cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake for 20mins till golden brown.
- Stir in the shredded coconut in the final stage.
with a wink and a smile
Labels:
cupcakes,
face cupcakes,
orders
·
With a Wink and a Smile
Thru the bright streamers of light flowing in through the clear window panes of the breezy cafe, he caught sight of a girl. Owner to a beautiful smile, even brighter than the glaring reflections off the metallic surfaces as the sunlight hit the passing vehicles on the roads below. He was moonstruck and worst still, stranded with a deafening thudding of his limp heart to stifle. Leaning back against the safety of his arm chair, back facing his envisionment of Aprhodite, he caught his breath and prayed for a sign of requited love.
Then, swinging his head over the arm rest, he saw a shy image of a girl, angelic smile, with the cheeriest of eyes turned on him. He took it all in, his racing heart living and feeding on this very moment of existance. finalement they had found each other...
Marriage, that's one of those taboo topics you never talk about in your early 20s, especially in the knowning that the world is your oyster. Then slowly the years slip pass, you start tuning into shows like 'Say yes to the dress', then the gears in your head start spinning and you ask yourself that forbidden question. "Do I want to get married?". Well fortunately for me, I'm permenantly living in the stages of the early 20s, adopting a rather childish approach to life. Perhaps, armed with the knowledge that the next few years of my life are probably going to be a long shot off the description 'a bed of roses', that option is being pushed further and further down the priority list with each passing day. With regards to the matter, I shall patiently wait for the Lord to ring my bell should the perfect time arises. Only he would know... and I pray that when the time comes, I would abide and accept him wholeheartedly.
On a side note, Happy ROM anniversary to the happy couple Kelvin and Sharin. May God bless you with many more sweet years together!
faces..places...
Labels:
cupcakes,
face cupcakes,
orders
·
faces.. places
suffering in silence as i recieve text messages from the exhausted bf who is currently outfield. Can't hear his voice as he needs to be tactical. What crap...
Miss you.
Happy Birthday Yi Jie and Kai Xun
Happy Birthday Yi Jie & Kai Xun!
A Birthday Surprise that turned out to be not much of a surprise after all. But still it was worth the effort!!! The Bdae boy and girl, siblings in fact share the exact same birthday, seperated by a solid 2 years! Talk about coincidental.. now this makes the parent's life, a whole lot easier! haha.
The storm troopers rounded the church kitchen waiting for the two unsuspecting victims to enter the hall for their dinner only to be discovered much earlier than planned!?! darn it! But still, It was a wonderful get together us as we huddled amongst the piercing stares of the rest of the youth fellowship campers; mostly at the cake though.
The cake, which I had the honor of baking was a GIANT moist chocolate cake rounded up with chocolate ganache and strawberies ringing the top. This in mind with Kai Xun of course, distinctivly recalling the dinner where he gobbled up 5 chocolate cupcakes of mine and even asked for MORE! Needless to say, I relented to his dream of having a chocolate cake. so Viola! Even throwing in some monogramed oreo cupcakes along the way.
so glad I had that extra sugar cookie dough lying ard. With some royal icing flourishes, these were good to go!
So that's 'K' for Kai Xun and 'Y' for Yi Jie! Happy Birthday to the two of you!!!
face cupcakes
So many faces...I recall that when I was much younger I used to exhibit at least a little artistic streak to all my works. Whether it be a childlike drawing, a murry of colors and shadings, or flouncing about on my imaginary stage pretending to be superstar belting out song after song. Whether it was a hit or painful tune, I don't know now.
But somewhere down the line, all these little 'artistic expressions' just vanished into thin air... Perhaps you could attribute it to the regiments of the Singapore education system. Or perhaps it was my single bad experience (read: major flop!) with my acquaintance with the piano. It wasn't long before reaching age of adolescence that it was clear that there wasn't an ounce of artistic spirit left in me; in fact, with all traces wiped out, it appeared as if they weren't ever there from the start. Life went on, and with my new embracement of the sciences and math, I left the past in the dirt. Satisfied with the thought that I would never have to return to it again.
However, life with its many twists and awakward turns somehow lead me through a whole junkyard of battles in the jungle, conflicts with flight mechanics and then back into the arms of art once more. Baking with its uncomplexed beauty rose to a high status. And there you were, I was once again doing things I had never done again for a long time. My artistic soul rusty but rearing to go...
Had an order for some customised face cupcakes for a bunch of her frens. Best of all, I felt very involved trying to piece together a potrait of their faces thru a string of descriptive words; braces, thick eyeliner, botak, red cheeks, small eyes, braids, pouty lips. You name it and tried to recreate it. A fun experience thoroughly.
Hope that they will like it.
local play: the office party beckons and trip to malaysia! Woots!
TWD: Chocolate Chocolate-Cupcakes
TWD: Chocolate Overdose!Chocolate... a word that first pops to mind when you step into a cake shop. Simple unadulterated glossy rich goodness, all in the form of moist cakes, crisp waffles laden with a generous slathering of chocolate spread, heavenly chocolate ice-creams and pudgey eclairs bursting in its seams with thick chocolate pastry cream.
Funny thing is that chocolate has the opposite effect to me as do bananas. I do much prefer them in its solid state ( a.k.a solid bars of good quality chocolate) as compared to their many variations when incorporated into desserts. In fact, place me in front of a pastry display case and I'll be sure to choose that pistachio and apricot gateux over that lovely chocolate tart or eclair anytime!
But, no one can deny the 'happy' effects that accompanies every chocolate treats. And every once in a while, I'll reach out for that bar of white chocolate ( silly me..) or dark chocolate bar for that extra special reward.
Thanks Clara for choosing this recipe. Pity I didn't manage to decorate them with the halloween theme. For more cupcakes, visit the TWD Blogroll!
Cupcake Hero: Baker's Choice
Labels:
Cupcake Hero,
cupcakes,
events
·
Cupcake Hero: Baker's ChoiceAfter a long hiatus from the Cupcake Hero.. hmph. no exact reason why but somehow things just didn't work out with every season come and go. However, with the Cupcake hero's new website and big birthday.. i knew i had to make an exception for this occasion!
And to top the whole thing off, i swaggered a nice finish of italian meringue buttercream on the top.. and of course flavored heavily with MORE rum!!! With a dusting of lemon rimming sugar. This lovely cocktail cupcake was ready to go!!! the verdict... mum said it was nicer than my usual oreo cupcakes. That's a good sign, and the rum flavor was superb in the cake itself.. surprisingly... YAY! to be honest. I have only tried mojito as a cocktail once.. and that was eons again. Perhaps I should get myself a drink.. hmph...
Cupcake Hero: RED, WHITE and BLUE
Labels:
cakes,
Cupcake Hero,
cupcakes,
desserts,
events
·
July Cupcake Hero: RED, WHITE and BLUE
A Color theme for Cupcake Hero. I expected it to be a little easier as it would only mean having to gather ingredients of the different colors and putting them together. Right?
But upon careful inspection i noticed that BLUE was listed as one of the compulsory colors. We're talking about independence day over here guys. Arghs... If only i could omit that one, then we could shift to patriotism for my country instead ( f.y.i i come from Singapore). So that got me thinking.. blue..what in the world is blue?!?! blueberries (which technically are purple), blue cheese? argh..tt would taste terrible in a cupcake. haha. well, lets just say in the end i cheated a little. *sniggers*
my final product uses this...
as my base ingredient.and tada.. presenting you my glorious concoction of tomato soup cupcake blah blah blah (you can read the description from the picture below)
So that's red for the tomato soup cake, white for the white chocolate centre, sprinkle of sea salt flakes and milk pocky sticks and finally blue for the blue tinted pandan coconut tainted cream cheese frosting! Done deal!
the tomato soup cupcake surprisingly didn't taste much of the condensed tomato soup yet it held the smell of the sour base rather well. Aside from that the cakes produced were ridicously moist, probably due to the tomatos added. A recipe worth trying out if you're feeling adventorous. (recipe follows)
Tomato Soup Cupcakes
makes 10 regular cupcakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- half a can of Campbell Condensed Tomato Soup (155g)
- 60g softened butter (unsalted)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1/8 cup water
- A bar of white chocolate ( i use Cadbury's Dream)
Baking Steps:
- Preheat the Oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Mix the butter and sugar together till fluffy and light
- sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and add it into the butter mixture
- Add the egg, water and tomato soup to the mixture.
- Blend till smooth
- Divide batter into cupcake holders and push in a cube of white chocolate into the middle of every cupcake.
- Bake for 22 mins or till cakes are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool on rack for 5 mins.
and after a bit of dressing up.. you will get the final product..
Hope that the others have just as much fun playing around this time round! looking forward to next month's theme!!!
Masterbaker
Firstly here's wishing all mothers a Happy Mothers' Day!after a whirlwind of baking activities the past few days. I'm back folks! finally got a good rest after days of slaving away in the kitchen. Settling in with a full mind of plans to offer sets in the future for upcoming festivites. Perhaps this would help immensely to ease the work load. So before i go catch some eye-shut. Here are some pictures of the lovely bakes I've done for mothers day. Not all, but a few that i have managed to capture on camera. Not easy considering the sugared and buttered fingers. Thanks to all the lovelies who have ordered from me. All your compliments and praises have made the sleepless nights all worth while!
Recipe for Vanilla Buttercake (adapted from women's weekly)
90g butter softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup(150 self raising flour)
8 tablespoon milk
- preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius. Line the cupcake trays with liner.
- Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, flour and milk to saucepan and just combined. Beat mixture in electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are just incorporated. Beat until mixture is pale in color.
- Divide into cases and bake for 20mins.
yum!!! swoons, warm cupcakes being served up immediately. hardly anyone can say no to one of these!
top row: Banana Chocolate Chipped cupcakes, Second row: Good Ole' Vanilla Cupcakes, Bottom Rom: Oreo Cupcakes
and tada! the final product for cupcakes sets for mothers day. adorned with the lightest swiss meringue buttercream. mmm.... i sneaked one of these for breakfast. woops.. naughty! but here's to all mothers around the world again. Its your day!
and finally, photos of some other baking orders i had to fulfill.
cookies for mum. Dark chocolate Valrhona heart-shaped cookies frosted a lovely tinge of pink and purple. 
and oreo cheesecake for a wife who's birthday coincidentally falls on mothers day. now i was thinking, that would be way too easy for the children in future. 2 in 1!
and finally, more cuppies! a fine mixture of chocolate chipped banana cupcakes with whipped ganache frosting and Cappuccino cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting ordered by a lady for her sweet colleagues. *smilez*
to end off the post, here's a lovely version of Stop and Stare by One republic. Enjoy...
Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be, oh
Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're 'here' not there
And you'd give anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, can u see what I see
next up: Lady Iron Chef's Food event at OChaCha. Its gonna be a green tea feast!
Cupcake Hero: Marshmallow
Labels:
cakes,
Cupcake Hero,
cupcakes,
desserts,
events
·
and so for this round of cupcake hero, the theme as proudly presented to us by the cupcake hero team was MARSHMALLOW! *thinks twice*.. oh well, ain't got the hots for this one either except the occasional barbeque on a stick resulting in a toasty marshmallow, crusty on the outside and gooey on the inside. Just the way i like it...well, rules were established that marshmallow had to be used in the cake, frosting or filling. hmph.. marshmallow flavored cake or cake with the texture of a marshmallow. Chewy cake?.. tt sounded so wrong to me. Pardon me for my rather disjointed thought process. But yesh, i did settle for the latter two for the presence of my marshmallow in this themed cupcake. here;s a sneak preview just for u guys... heh.
and since i was in the mood for a single color (purple this time), i picked and altered several recipes along the way and combined it to form.. *drum roll*.. the Globe Thistle! named after a beautiful breed of purple colored flowers that looked like mini balls of fluff except that the fluff were replaced by miniature crests and peaks..for the cake, it was in my intention to find a more tangy, less sweet and definitely fruity flavor to compliment the overdose of sugar found in marshmallows that i was going to incorporate in the filling cum frosting (a double whammy yes!). And wat best than to use blueberry(myrtille) yogurt from Elle A Vive! by the way, I used tiny blueberry flavored marshmallows i had found on the shelves of Japanese section of the supermart. Strangely, they tasted pretty good on their own; thats a feat especially for someone who doesn't have a penchant for these little nibbles.
Blueberry Yogurt Cake (recipe makes 17 cupcakes)
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tubs yogurt (equivalent to 250ml)
200g sugar
80ml vegetable oil
2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla powder
1 tblspoon light rum
1 tblspoon strawberry creme liquor
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
- Sift the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, soda into a bowl.
- In your mixer, mix the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla, rum and liquor till well blended.
- Fold in the flour mixture till no streaks of white are visible. Make sure not to overwork your batter.
- Pour into Cupcake Tray. Filling each cup till 1/2 way full.
- Bake for 13-16 mins till skewer comes out clean and dry.
the cakes emerge from the oven, soft and springy plus incredibly moist. and they do stay that way even after being chilled. the beauties of using oil and yogurt instead of the usual butter, the moisture added just enhances the texture of the cake. The colors weren't as purple as i liked them to be though, infact they appeared a little closer to shade of black sesame macaron as opposed to the barney the dinosaur.
After cooling, i poked a hole throught the middle of the cakes and filled them up with the loveliest marshmallow frosting imaginable... *yumz*. followed by spreading some generously over the domed tops of the cakes and created little peaks to be scorched by the flames of the blowtorch. It was soo much fun!
Seven minute Marshmallow Frostingingredients
2 unbeaten egg whites
6 tbsp cold water
few grains salt
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
12 large marshmallows
- Combine the ingredients sans the marshmallows in the mixing bowl on the top of the double boiler over briskly boiling water. Stir with a whisk till mixture is blended.
- Add in the marshmallows into the hot mixture and whisk till completely melted.
- Add in 1 tsp of Vanilla extract.
- Immediately beat with beater until frosting stands in stiff peaks (approximately 7 mins)
finally. we can first pipe some of the ready frosting into the holes to fill the cupcakes and then spoon the frosting generously on top and arrange the spikes. then it comes the fun part. the blow-torching! it was overwhelming watching the peaks of marshmallow goodness swivel and shrink in the heat. almost enlightening i can say as the white tips slowly turn to charcoal, a crisp shell enveloping over the soft gooey centres of the toasted marshmallows.
with a dash of purple sanding sugar over the crowns of the cupcakes, they were all dressed up and ready to go. Like a troop of flowers, globe thistle in full bloom. in fact, this was the show-stopper at work. With many doubting my handiwork of course... oh well.. its not like an extrovert cannot find pleasure in baking ok? *bleah*.. the funny thing was that I never saw myself as an extrovert. haha. 
With this I wrap up the marshmallow saga. I have met the challenge with some purple monstrousity; blueberry yogurt cupcakes and toasted marshmallow frosting. moving on to the next Cupcake Hero soon! *cheers*
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