Desperate Cupcakes...

Photo credit - http://onlyhdwallpapers.com

Mrudula and Srini's anniversary is a day away and she wanted to make cup cakes because Srini loves them. (Aside...Srini loves most things edible and just about vegetarian). So...

Now. Mrudula bakes in her mom's oven. This is an aluminium round contraption that was born when an electric heater met a largish tin can. A constraint if want to make lot of cupcakes.

After writing her a longish mail to 'help', I realized that it will make for a good read for a whole lot of people. Of course the references are Mumbai (Andheri) centric but that can be easily overcome. So.. here goes.

First I asked her to have a look at http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/ and then I wrote...

"You can (and perhaps will) waste a lot of time looking for recipes and stuff. Here is what I would do:

• Divide the effort estimate into two parts:
1. The cup cake
• I am assuming you have the baking tins for muffins/cupcakes. If you don't:
• Borrow them from me along with the liners today
• Buy them from Arif Le Mould (Get out of Andheri West station at the end of the road that passes by the McDonalds . Please buy normal liners. The fancy liners look pretty when you buy everyone ignores them when wolfing the cup cake down and you are not going to have a photo-shoot... So...
• Please go buy three Betty Crocker instant cake mixes (Suggest 1 chocolate, 1 vanilla or something like that, 1 pineapple cake or something).
  Suggest you don't experiment with the Indian cake mixes. They make drier cakes and are slightly less tolerant to mistakes than Betty Crocker.
  With these:
• It is easy to divide into half or quarter
• Just crack an egg and add some oil and you are done with the batter
• The other easy recipe is to have a 1:1:1 ratio of butter/oil, egg, and flour, add sugar, a pinch of salt and a little baking powder. Mix the solids together and then the liquids/butter separately. Sieve the solids into the mixed liquids and you are ready to bake :)
  Short-cut tip - If you add mashed banana into this, you get banana cup cake :)
  
2. The cup cake decoration:
1. Buy. Don't make as far as possible, since you have a small oven and part of a day:
• I believe people eat cupcakes since they look pretty. So so and buy multiple colours of ready made icing. They squeeze out from tubes like tooth paste, cost quite a bit and save enormous amounts of time
• Buy a can of 'spray-on' whipping cream or a pack of Blue-bird instant cream
2. If really want to make from scratch make a chocolate ganache and dunk cupcake tops into it and put sprinkles or stuff on it.
   This explains how to make it...
   http://eatbhaieat.blogspot.in/2011/04/chocolate-ganache.html
3. Here are some decoration ideas:
• Put whipped cream on top of the cup cakes and:
• Add a couple of pink or other coloured marshmallows on top
• Add a tinned or fresh fruit like cherries, orange bits, banana, pineapple etc.  The fruit crunch and citric element balances the flavours and texture of the cake
• Coloured icing from the tubes I wrote about earlier
• Want to really get the taste-buds go bonkers? Top with canapés (e.g. Monaco biscuit with a lump of cheese etc.)"

It sounds a bit domineering but then...

Chocolate Cakey Brownie Cupcakes

The Mumbai rains have started the steady staccato beats across the senses. Guru and Subha just had a son and the weekend expected that I go an meet the trio. 

I was contemplating what to make and take along when Harini chattered over the phone demanding a birthday cake. This combination sparked the idea of either a cheese cake of some sort of a brownie. The latter was a known devil, so after procrastinating the weekend away I decided that a twist to a know devil would do that trick. 

I pulled out a the bake stuff and took a cup of atta (whole wheat), half a teaspoon of baking powder, and less than a cup of sugar. I also got a couple of sachets of instant coffee to substitute the standard spices.

I cracked three 50gm eggs and ...

...dunked the sugar...

...and the coffee into the mixing bowl...

I washed and got the silicone muffins moulds washed and ready before starting work.

I took about 180gm of butter and 160gm of dark compound chocolate out. (Don't worry about the arbit grammage I just made sure I got almost equal quantities of everything and then weighed them to reassure myself that "all is well" :) )

While the oven pre-heated, I whisked the eggs and the sugar...

... and the butter and chocolate melted in the microwave...

... I stirred the chocolate mix to get rid of any lumps and added it to the eggs and sugar...

... and mixed it in with the atta...

Then I quickly poured the heavenly mix into the moulds and in they went into the oven.

I pulled them out when all of them were a little plump (turning them around once) and soon had Harini calling me to hurry up and get to the car...