Eggless Mocha Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting

Super intense coffee cupcakes topped with soft buttercream vanilla frosting..This is hundred percent mochalicious pleasure. Here I am, presenting my best frosted cupcake so far. Let me confess something today, I dream of producing beautiful bakery style frosted cupcakes every time I make them. Luck has not been on my side and I have not been able to do so till now. Frosting looks like an easy thing when I see people doing it but I have been beaten by it royally.  Never mind!!! I am determining to go beyond homely looking frosting to bakery style sophistication. Be part of my journey..till then, let’s focus on the taste. ;P  One of my friend who tasted these told me that this is the best frosting I have ever done and she just loved it. See me flying Yeeeeeyyy….. As a home baker its immensely satisfying that people for whom you bake for, love your dishes and would like to try the recipes themselves. I started blogging with the intention to record recipes and share my ups and downs, learning and experiences so that any one could look at my recipe and start baking. Just one requisite, You need an OVEN!!! Do let me know if I have been successful doing that and you have baked something after reading my post. So check out how to make these egg less but extremely light and testy mocha cupcakes frosted with vanilla buttercream. For the Cupcake 1 Cup Curd 1/2 cup Buttermilk 1/2 cup Vegetable\Cooking oil 1/4 cup Black coffee or espresso, at room temperature 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 ¾ cup Flour 1/4 cup Regular unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup Brown sugar 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1 Teaspoon Baking soda 1/4 Teaspoon salt For The Vanilla Buttercream 6 Tablespoon Butter 4 Tablespoon Heavy Cream 3 Cup Icing sugar 2 Teaspoon Vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl whisk together the buttermilk, oil, coffee, and vanilla extract.  In another large bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with light hands using a spatula and stir only until the ingredients are combined. (Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough.) Divide the batter between 12 liners in your cupcake pan. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.  To make the frosting: Beat the butter until creamy, add shifted sugar in small amount and mix. Alternate with heavy cream and vanilla, until all the sugar is combined. Beat for 2-3 minute to make it smooth and light and its done.

Frost the cupcakes with buttercream and dust some coco powder. Decorate with coffee caramel toffee. Am I able to tempt you to try baking yet?? Do let me know...

Vanilla Bean Muffin with Cheese Cream Frosting - Baked in nostalgia of Coorg

Vacations are always good and those vacations where you have had a wonderful time lingers for long time on your mind. I have been really busy with work and so many things, on my to do list for few weeks now. As I was dealing with fatigue and stress, I just remembered my vacation in Coorg couple of months back. We all had awesome time in Coorg and even here I would like to thank, our host Mr. and Mrs. Ganapathi of Coorg Classic home stay. One of the exciting thing was to visit coffee plantation and there we got to see spice garden. It was so thrilling to see black paper bunch which was still green. Cardamom, Cinnamon and various other spice are grown in this region of south India along with coffee. The most exciting bit for me was “Vanilla Pods”. Its smell so awesome and induced appetite for cake. Apologies for not posting those pics due to some technical issue with them but here is the pic of my Vanilla Pods.

So I have brought quite a few pod for baking.  I had decided to do a recipe in which the vanilla bean will be the star and did not got a chance to do.  So now when Coorg poped up in my head again I decided to put everything on hold and take comfort in baking vanilla bean muffin.

It’s a very easy recipe, actually nothing much to do then mixing everything in one go.

Vanilla bean Muffin

1  cup Flour

1/4 cup Vanilla Custard Powder

1 tsp Salt

 2 tsp Baking Powder

100 gm Butter, softened at room temperature

 3/4 cup Powder sugar

1 egg (Use ½ cup of curd, if don’t want to use egg)

1 cup milk

1 Pod of Vanilla Pod scrapped (you can use 1 tps of real vanilla essence, if don’t get the pod)

Pre-heat the oven at 180 ºC

Line your muffin mould with butter and sprinkle flour evenly.

 (You can use paper moulds as well but as I don’t have them right now I am doing without it.)

Mix and sift are the dry ingredients together.

Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.

Add the egg (or Curd) and mix for 1 minute.

Then add the dry mixture small amount at a time and alter it with addition of milk.

Add vanilla beans in the batter. Mix well and pour the batter in muffin mould.

Bake at 200 ºC for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Let it cool in the oven then transfer on rack for further cooling.

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ Cup of Cream Cheese, Softened, at room temperature

 ¼ Cup Butter, Softened, at room temperature

1/2  teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Cups Powder Sugar

 Beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until creamy.

Add in the vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds.

Now start adding the powder sugar 1 cup at a time and beating in between each addition. You can make this frosting before and refrigerate. At the time of usages can give it a whisk and pipe.

I used a soft plastic bag for piping. Filled it up with frosting and pushed the cream in one of the corners and then tied a band to make my piping bag. Cut a moderated opening to pipe the icing on muffin. Start with outer edge and come circling till center. Drop some chocolate chips or colored vermicelli for fun.

You could see small beans in the muffin; they intensify of flavor and fragrance of muffins and make them shine.