Almond and Apple Cupcakes

I love almonds, and I also like apples. Those green, juicy, crunchy Granny Smith's apples, that make you salivate for more. When I was just 7 or 8 years old, I was always on the look out for those big, gigantic red apples which were only available from Singapore. At that time, big, gigantic Fuji like apples were a rare find in Malaysia, what else in Malacca. My siblings and I were fighting over those rare apples every time our Singaporean uncle gave them to our father. But there were no apples, instead it was only an apple (to tell you the truth)..hahaaha. So, everyone would fight for a slice of THE apple. I would laugh every time I thought about it. There is an old saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". So my love affair with apples would always be there even if I am more into green apples instead of red now. Back to the cupcakes, I have invented this recipe, just to use my extra ground almonds and darling green apples. I have intended to put just chuncks of green apples, so that I can bite into pieces of apples. Verdict- nice cupcakes with wonderful tastes, we have the sweetness of almonds and the raw sour apples all combined together. Have a try for this recipe....

Ingredients

1 green apple ( cut into chunks, or big dice)

1/2- 3/4 cup of unsalted butter

4 eggs

3/4 cup of brown sugar ( you can put less sugar as almonds are quite sweet)

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of fresh milk -squeezed with 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice ( let is set for about 2 mins)

1-2 tsp of freshly grated lemon skins

1/4 to 1/2 cup of ground almond

1 to 1 and 1/2 cup of plain flour or cake flour (cake flour will give you fine texture) -

depending on the amount of ground almond that you use.

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of soda of bicarbonate

##2-3 tbs of fresh milk (extra)

How

# Pre heat your oven 120C

1) Cream the butter and sugar (it will take you a good 7-8 mins)

2) Put the eggs into the batter, one by one. Put in vanilla

3) Sift together flour, baking powder and soda.

4) Now put in the sifted flour into the batter, followed by milk, mix well.

5) Put in salt. Put in ground almond. Put in grated lemon skins.

6) Lastly, put in extra milk (if you intend to put it)

7) Put cupcake cases into muffin pan.

8) Spoon batter into cupcake cases.

9) Put chunks of apples on top of the cupcakes batter.

10) Bake them, for about 20 mins, check if they are ready by inserting a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, your cupcakes are ready...

Have a good apple cupcake, everyone.....

Cupcakes are wonderful creations....

I've decorated these cupcakes as a challenge for myself

Close- up views

The colours are so yummy...

I have baked these cupcakes on 30th December and decorated them the next day, on 31st of December 2010. I could still remember the dates as my intention was to bring them for my students. These cupcakes are gone now and I only have the chance to rave about them, in 2011. I was busy then, never imagined that these cupcakes were such hits for my friends. I have posted these pictures on FB, and I could have never think of the responses they would receive, whenever my friends came across these humble cupcakes. To tell you the truth, I have never liked to decorate cupcakes. That is why my cupcakes are very simple. I would like to have less icing on my cupcakes. I am a person who is more into simplicity.

However, my college friend has started this baking project called bake-a-thon, where each one of us (there are three of us actually) will bake cakes or any baking delights and post the pictures on FB. The rest as we say is history as I was infected by the baking bug. My friend Fareen was doing all sorts of colourful yummy buttercream icing on her cupcakes, that I too- went ahead and joined the bandwagon. Then, my experiments of achieving colourful creations began, and yes - I was successful at the end, after mixing lots of colours.

To achieve these types of pastel colours, what you need is lots of patience and never ever give up. I have used the normal STAR brand essence (which we can easily get in Malaysian supermarkets ) instead of Wilton's. It is important that you get the basic colours of red, blue, and yellow. Use only a little drop of each colour, using the back of the teaspoon. With these colours you can just mix up, together with the white buttercream until you get the desired colours.

I would love to share the recipe of my tropical buttercream icing, with friends and alike.

Basic Buttercream Icing

( White buttercream icing)

Ingredients

1) 1/2 cup of not so pure butter ( fat spread-butter containing blended vegetable fats

and animal fats)

I have used Farmcows.

2) 1/2 cup of of Creamwell (white vegetable shortening - you can also use the brand Crisco)

3) 2 tsp of unsalted butter

4) 1 tsp of salt

5) 2-3 cups of icing sugar (sieve 2 times)- to get rid of the lumps

4) 2 tsp of fresh milk (optional)

How

1) In a big bowl, put not-so-pure butter together with the butter, creamwell and salt.

Cream using the electric mixer.

2) Add in the icing sugar, bit by bit. Mix well. Put on the high speed button.

3) Lastly add in fresh milk. Mix again untill you achieve a stiff consistency. To test on

the stiffness, you should see whether the icing stay put on the back of the spoon and

will not drip easily.

To colour - just add any colours that you like, just put a little drop for each colour.

Happy creaming, everyone ;)

Bonjour 2011

As we say good bye to 2010

We dreamt of something better this year or even grander

Something that should be sweet and pleasing to the eyes

And simple in its own way .....

I need to do this entry. Simply needed to. I need to say this -thank you for following my journey all this while. This blog is going to be 3 years old in May 2011. There are good and bad moments but I have stayed on, simply because I loved writing, cupcakes, cakes and baking. I am humbled by the experience of baking, dissapointments and frustrations of not having good cakes, unreliable recipes. This blog has helped me in many ways. I could get some stress out of my system. I could take good pictures with the sole intention to post it in my blog. I could even smile after writing posts in my blog. Thank you once again, dear friends and readers. Have a good year ahead.

Bonjour 2011. Welcome aboard. May all your wishes come true, may cupcakes rule your heart, may I have the strength and energy to continue blogging about cupcakes and baking, may I discover wonderful recipes to share with all my friends. Happy days and moments to come. Bonjour 2011 from cupcakes-dreams......

Classic Butter Cupcakes

I have always liked classic butter cakes. Those melt-in-the mouth sensations when we bite a tiny bit of butter cakes could only be in our imaginations. Pure heaven... One thing for sure, I have always have these fond memories of my late maternal grandmother who would never failed to whip up a good home-baked marble cake. That is why I have always on the search for a good recipe of marble cake, just like my grandmother used to bake. I have never get hold of my grandmother's original recipe, my mother was never interested in home baking- (yes, surprisingly- if you may ask -I might get this baking bug passed from my late grandmother ), have been asking around my relatives- but my cousin kept forgetting to give me the original's. So, my search began and what a delight to have discovered a good reliable recipe. The one that came close to my grandmother's. As usual, I have adapted the original pound cake recipe by Susannah Blake to classic butter cupcakes. Here goes the recipe, as asked by my fellow friends ;

Ingredients

200g butter (unsalted)

280g caster sugar

6 eggs

270g plain flour

2 tsp of baking powder

4 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp of salt

* Variations for cocoa batter (if you want to do marble or just plain chocolate cupcakes)

## 3-4 tbs of cocoa powder

How

1) Preheat the oven t0 180C (350F).

2) Prepare your cupcake cases in the muffin pan

3) Beat together butter and sugar until pale and creamy.

4) Beat in eggs one by one.

5) Sift flour and baking powder. Fold in the the sifted flour into the mixture.

6) Stir in the milk and vanilla.

7) Spoon the batter into cupcake cases. (until 3/4 full)

6) Bake them for about 30 minutes ( they can be less - check if they are ready, by inserting a skewer in the centre. If the skewer comes out clean - the cakes are ready)

## To do marbling, just put aside half of the butter batter, sift the cocoa powder, add the cocoa powder into the batter. Spoon the butter batter, followed by the cocoa mixture, and lastly put another spoon of the butter batter.

Happy baking, everyone!

Violet Cupcakes

1) Classic butter cupcakes iced with violet and pinkish buttercream

2) Violet cupcakes

3) The cupcakes as decorated by the kids

I have promised my 9 year-old niece many times- that is to do a baking project, cupcakes project actually. However, I never kept my promise. But today, I give in-knowing that promises shouldn't be broken especially to children. I have baked butter cupcakes to be frosted with buttercream icing. At first, I have wanted to do baby pink buttercream, but I have mistakenly put a drop of blue icing colour just to be adventurous. Apparently, I have got violet buttercream with a tint of pink. I have piped different styles of icing- as in Pict 1 and 2 ( for adults' point of view) and Pict 3 (for kids' point of view). You could see the difference as children are never afraid to explore their own creativity. My son and niece are ever ready to sprinkle as much things on top of their cupcakes, while I- being me- is so afraid to venture on. I kept my frosting simple as I have always liked simplicity in life.

What do I learn today? I have learnt that children are fun as they are not afraid to try new things in life, they like a little bit of adventures, where else -we, adults are so boring as we do things as simple as we could. We are just afraid to try new things, and that is why being children are more fun... ;) That is why we- adults would always envy the carefree days of our children. Deep in our hearts, we know that we are missing those days, we keep reminiscing our own childhood moments.

As I sent my back niece this evening, I could not help but noticing this - my niece went back happily, holding tight the green food container containing various designs of cupcakes. I did not know what made her really happy. The cupcakes or the experience of designing her own cupcakes. She was happy, and so did I.....

Saying Good Bye Is Difficult

Seeing small crabs making "signs" in the sand

A stolk (Bangau in Malay)leaving the beach

(it's such a long time I haven't encounter a stolk in the West of Malaysia)

Morning in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu

The horizon is wide here....

Tanjung Aru is such a beautiful beach, unspoilt.......

Swallows nesting in the 2nd lobby of

Shagri-La Tanjung Aru

(Who would have guessed, right?)

The MUIS building (Majlis Ugama Islam Sabah)

This brings back memory- the cinema is housed in an "antique" building. Narnia is showing here..

Kota Kinabalu- 6.30 p.m. (Maghrib is early here)

I need to say good bye. Saying good bye is actually difficult to say, especially when you haven't got the time to explore a town and see its own characters. Things that are not commercial. Things that do not matter for jet-setting tourists. I have always liked to explore places for their own specialities, simplicities and cultures. Kota Kinabalu, has opened my eyes. It has made me think of the need to conserve things and buildings of yesteryears. Kota Kinabalu is actually what Malacca was in the 80's before its commercialisation. Before the massive traffic jam in the city. Kota Kinabalu does not really have traffic jams, it still has roundabouts, it still has fishermen throwing nets in the river near the city. I hope it stays like that, with its alluring beauty, friendly people and unspoilt sceneries. It is a beautiful town (a city- actually, according to the status). In fact, famous cities in the world are known for their cultures and preservations. Kota Kinabalu could still woo tourists with its plus points- the beauty of its simple life and slow-paced movements and not forgetting unspoilt sceneries. Thus, saying good bye to a beautiful place is somehow a difficult thing to do. Good bye, Kota Kinabalu. I might be coming again....

Going East

What a beautiful world-sunset in Tanjung Aru,

Kota Kinabalu

Dinner at Nelayan Seafood Restaurant

Having coconuts at the Philippines Market

Green Connection, Kota Kinabalu

Yes, this is Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Oogling these jewellery Trinkets and pearl bracelets
- Philippines Market, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

1 Borneo- the biggest shopping mall in Borneo (hence, the name...)

Breakfast- Having omelette in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Taking the flight after a hiatus of 10 years

I went east, more or less to the East of Malaysia. This was my first time, being in Sabah, Land Below the Wind. Overwhelmed yes, sheepishly embarrassed yes... Simply because I have never been to Borneo through out my whole life. Yes, I've been to Singapore, the UK, Ireland, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and even Switzerland. But I have never been to Borneo. I've spent my student's days traveling to Europe and after that, spent years working in a remote area in Johor. After that, I've got married and settled down in Shah Alam, Selangor. Frankly speaking, it's been 10 years since I took the aeroplane. I kept planning for foreign vacations, but never been able to do that. Now, I am going east, so I need to think as a tourist, act as one ;). Those pictures speak for themselves. Kota Kinabalu is definitely a beautiful place, this place reminds me of my hometown back then in the 80's. The scenery is wonderful and the people are very friendly and helpful (never mind that transportation is a tad too expensive- I've spent RM55 on the taxi fare just to go the Philippines Market, Kota Kinabalu from my hotel in One Borneo and from the Philippines Market back to my hotel). Kota Kinabalu, has charmed me in a very simple way- life is slow and serene and there are many friendly people in this east side of Malaysia. Yes, look to the east- we need to learn something. Wealth and materials are not the most possible happiness in life.