Melted milk chocolate chunky chocolate chip ice cream cupcakes

When I'm baking cakes, I love to go all out... When I'm baking chocolate cake, I LOVE TO GO ALL OUT. Chocolate cake is waaayyyyy up on the cake food chain... 

Very creamy, very moist, very delicious, very chocolatey... Very EVERYTHING SWEET. If you're teamfitfam, you might want to run far away from this one... These cupcakes are everything you are running away from, because, you cannot just have one piece!!! I had 6 of them. One for "tasting, the second to confirm, the third to be sure of the second one, and then more... Yea, shame on me but hey, was well worth it. I'd eat them all over again sans regret. I had fun baking these, clean up was a breeze as I licked the bowl and spatula clean... Yea, I mixed by hand as I find it more relaxing, really... I'd rather eat the batter tbh. 

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these as much as I did. Happy Baking Weekend. 

Ingredients

250g butter, (unsalted)

3 cups, granulated sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup melted chocolate icecream, room temperature

1/2 cup full cream milk 

2 chocolate bars 

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup cocoa 

2 tablespoon instant coffee (dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water)

2 tablespoons, vanilla essence

Mix milk with melted ice cream, set aside. 

Sieve flour with cocoa powder and baking powder. 

Dissolve coffee in one tablespoon of boiling water, set aside. 

Chop chocolate into chunky pieces, set aside. 

Line 2 12 muffin molds with paperliners.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Difficulty level: just follow my instructions and you'll be fine. 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 150°C-160° (300°F-320°F) or gas mark 2-3. 

Now, for this cake, we are going to go all out. The secret to good, melt-in-your-mouth, tear-inducing-because-they're-so-out-of-this-world cupcakes is perfect creaming. We are going to cream the life into this one... 

In your mixer, cream your butter together with the vanilla essence for 5 minutes. With your mixer still running, add 2 cups of your sugar to the butter mixture. Allow to cream for 15-20 minutes.  (If you are creaming by hand like I did, make it 30 minutes)

Pause at intervals to scrape down the sides to ensure it is very well mixed. At this point, some of the sugar will melt in the process. Perfect. Turn off your mixer. Break your eggs into a bowl, add the remaining cup of sugar to eggs, whisk until really foamy. 

With your mixer on medium speed, gently pour your eggs into your creamed mixture, allow to mix well for 3 minutes. Detach bowl from mixer and pick up your wooden spoon. 

Divide your flour mixture into 3 unequal parts (recall the biggest, bigger, big format I showed you sometime? Yea) 

Alternately, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and icecream/milk mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Add dissolved coffee to batter, be sure to mix batter really well, but don't over mix, else your cupcakes will turn out as hard as rock buns...unless of course that's what you want. 😊😊😊😊😊

Using a tablespoon, add 2 generously heaped spoons of batter to each prepared cupcake case. Insert a chocolate chunk into each filled cup.

Place in the centre of your preheated oven.

Allow to bake for approximately 20 minutes, then begin to check

 for "doneness". 

You know your cupcakes are done when pressed in the middle, they are springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in mould for 5 minutes, then remove from mould to cool completely. 

So I ummmm...was feeling kinda, sorta fancy and stuff, so I bought some ice cream cones... 

I mean, these are ice cream cupcakes, so...

Here's what I did...

Place cones on plate, peel off the paperliners from each cupcake, place on the cone. Top it with your preferred icecream. Depending on the weather and type of icecream involved, it could melt right off the cupcakes but well, it will all end up in your belly, n'est ce pas? *shrugs*

Enjoy!

Eat responsibly. (LOL. I don't know how I said this with a straight face) 

Heyyyy!!! I'm back!

So, the past one month has been a rather really intense one for me. Positively and negatively... I fell ill at the beginning, hence I couldn't blog or do any work for that matter... Plus other really bad experiences. In everything though, I give thanks to God. I survived. I'm alive. And I'm here. On the upside, I had like 3 cool interviews. I trust y'all read them. Yayyy me! I'm now a "celebrity lite". LOL. I'm sorry I've been away for this long, it will not happen again. This time, the blog will carry more content... I'll be celebrating other bakers, reporting cake events and all the sweet, cakey stuff. Also, posts won't be on the weekends only. I will be posting on any day of the week. Thanks for all those that called to know how I was doing, I really appreciate you all. Thank you. 

Apologies.

Hello everyone, I trust you all had a good week. Please, there will be no blogpost this weekend because I've been quite sick and I'm recovering. Please, do beat with me and put me in your prayers. Looking forward to blogging again soonest. Thank you for or understanding. 

Crunchy Vanilla-Cinnamon cookies.

So I thought I'd do something different today... Yea, I've been baking cupcakes all week and I got bored doing that. I had some left over creamed mixture and had no idea what to do with it so I decided to just add flour to it and see what I would come up with and voila! I made these really delicacies cookies. Boy o boy!!! Were they GOOOOOOOD. So good I didn't believe I baked them. No really, they were so good, so good I just have to share with you all... I'm nice like that 😊😊😊😊😊😊

Crunchy, delicious, crumby, I present to you the "Very Crunchy Vanilla-cinnamon cookie". 

200g butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar 

2 eggs, room temperature, very well whisked

3 cups of flour, plus extra for dusting

3 tablespoons vanilla essence 

1 tablespoon baking powder (yea, I prefer to use this)

Now, you are going to need a dry and clean surface, a rolling pin and cookie cutters.

Preparation: very easy

Total time: 25 minutes 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sieve your flour together with baking powder and keep aside. Line your baking tray with baking paper

Add butter, sugar and vanilla essence into mixing bowl. With the mixer on a high speed, cream for five minutes. Gently pour in your beaten eggs and allow to mix for one minute. 

Detach the mixing bowl from the mixer and using a spatula, stir in 2 cups of your flour mixture. Pour onto clean dry surface. In small quantities,  keep adding the remaining flour, kneading softly with clean hands until it gets to a pliable consistency. 

Roll out (not too thin) 

Using your cutters, cut into any shape. Place on baking tray. Bake for 8 minutes. How to know your cookie is done? It will turn light/golden brown, and will be quite stiff to the touch. Remove from oven, lay them on a tray to cool. When cooked, dust with cinnamon and sugar. 
Enjoy. Serve with coffee, tea, ice cream... Anything, really. 

Eat responsibly. 

Chef Yougee's Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

The sheer pleasure of sinking your teeth into a really soft and fluffy cupcake and biting into really crunchy cookies. Bliss. Yup. Today's cupcakes are all shades of yummy. Covered in whipped cream and topped with another really delicious cookie, these are just so delicious. Shame on me, I helped myself to 3 of 'em... Sorry, not sorry. Totally worth it. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
 Difficulty level: Easy
Baking time: 45 minutes 

Cupcakes

250g butter (salted or unsalted)

3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups full cream milk

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

1 tablespoon butterscotch essence 

3 1/2 cups cups flour 

2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder 

2 cups chocolate cookies, crushed 

Frosting

3 cups powdered whipped cream

1 cup chilled full cream milk 

1 tablespoon vanilla essence 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 150°C-160° (300°F-320°F) or gas mark 2-3, depending on how intense your oven is (by now, you should have learnt your oven)
Place your cupcake paper liners into your pan.

Add half a cup of sugar to your eggs, beat your eggs until really frothy, place aside.
Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside. Repeat this process three times. 

Add butter, vanilla and butterscotch essence into the bowl.
Cream together this mixture for 5 minutes on a high speed, pausing at intervals to scrape down the sides. Gently pour in sugar. Allow to cream for 10 minutes or till mixture is pale white.

Add your beaten eggs to creamed mixture. 

At this stage, detach your bowl from the mixer and pick up your spatula. 

Divide your flour into 3 unequal parts

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour.

Now, add the crushed cookies to the batter. Mix properly.

Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pan to be approximately just over half full. 

Place in the centre of your preheated oven.

Allow to bake for approximately 15minutes, then begin to check

 for "doneness". 

Your cupcakes are done when pressed in the middle, they are springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in mould for 5 minutes, then remove from mould to cool completely. 

Frosting

Pour the milk into your mixing bowl. 

Using the electric whisk or mixer with the whisk attachment, pour the powdered whipped cream into the milk with the mixer on a high speed until it forms stiff peaks.

Pipe onto your now cooled cupcakes. Garnish with sprinkles, cookies or cherries. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy. 😊😊😊😊😊

Eat responsibly. 

Rum-raisin vanilla pound cake

This really rich, buttery, sweet, moist raisin cake spiked...scratch that...drenched with the best rum takes no prisoners.

Indulge yourself with this exotic dessert, preferably like me, with a larrrrrge steaming mug of hot black coffee... Or your favorite ice cream, or a tall glass of anything you fancy, really. 

Difficulty: not difficult

Total baking time: 2 hours

Ingredients

300g salted butter

5 cups granulated sugar

6 eggs, beaten, room temperature

3 cups yoghurt 

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoons baking powder

3 cups dried raisins

2 cups rum

3 tablespoons vanilla essence 

1/2 a nutmeg, grated 

Instructions

Soak the fruits in the rum overnight. 

Heat the oven to 190°C and arrange a rack in the middle. Grease and flour a 10 inch round bundt pan and set aside. 

Sieve flour together with baking powder and nutmeg. Set aside. 

Whisk your eggs till very frothy. Set aside. 

In your mixer, cream your butter together with the vanilla essence for 5 minutes. 

With the mixer still running on a low speed, add sugar to the butter. 

Increase speed and allow to cream for 10 minutes, pausing momentarily to scrape down the sides. 

Gently pour in your well beaten eggs into the creamed mixture, allow to mix properly for 2 minutes. 

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the yoghurt, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour. 

Add soaked fruits into batter. By now, the fruits have soaked in all the rum. Mix properly into batter. Pour into prepared pan. 

Allow to bake for 30 minutes, then check for "doneness". 

Your cake is done when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from mould onto cooling rack to cool completely. While the cake is still hot, using a toothpick, poke holes on top of the cake, pour rum over the cake.

Makes 15-18 servings. Enjoy. 

Eat responsibly. 

Very Zesty Lemon Drizzle Cake

There's nothing as refreshing as a slice of a delicious zesty lemon cake with a cup of tea on a rainy day. Or a slice zesty lemon cake with a scoop of your favorite ice cream on a sweltering hot afternoon. On our recipe today, we have the Zesty Lemon Drizzle Cake. The tangy taste of the lemon will tease your taste buds, have you reaching for another slice, and another. 

Difficulty: Easy

Preparation time: 1 hour 

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened

3 cups granulated sugar 

3 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten 

2 tablespoons vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups full cream milk

Finely grated zest (peel) 1 lemon 

3 cups finely sieved flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

A pinch of salt. 

1 3 1/2 x 7 inch loaf pan

Drizzle 

Juice of 2 lemons

100g granulated sugar

Instructions 

Heat the oven to 190°C and arrange a rack in the middle. 

Grease the loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together, keep aside.

Add butter, lemon zest and vanilla essence into the bowl
Cream together this mixture for 5 minutes on a high speed, pausing at intervals to scrape down the sides. Gently pour in sugar. Allow to cream for 10 minutes or till mixture is pale white. 

With the mixer still running, gently add your beaten eggs to the creamed mixture and allow to run for 2 minutes. 

Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, mixing thoroughly after each addition, and ending with flour. 

Allow to bake for approximately 20minutes, then check

 for "doneness". 

Your cake is done when pressed in the middle, is springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely. 

DRIZZLE

 While the cake is in the oven, mix the lemon juice with granulated sugar, stir till dissolved. After your cake is done and out of the pan, while still hot, poke holes on top of the cake and pour the drizzle over the cake. Allow to cool. 

Slice and serve. Makes 15 servings. 

Eat responsibly.