Red Velvet & Chocolate cupcakes ! xx

Because of my girlfriend's 20th birthday, 'Aisyah on 22.08.11, I decided to offer my hand to make cupcakes for her surprise birthday party. Everything about the party were actually set up by another friend of mine, Mynn. - I'm just suggesting the place, which is Monsta Cafe at Taman Nusa Bestari, JB.

Little bit about the cafe :

Monsta Cafe is a great place for hanging out & having many type of celebrations. This is one of the coolest places in JB - and of course for coolest people only. LOL This cafe brings you a whole different concept that you all have been looking for - I'm talking about the design & decoration of the cafe. It is very colorful, with a touch of retro and old skool look. (by the way I just know old skool is from 'old is cool' then becoming 'old's cool' which then become 'old skool!' I AM NOOB haha) About the food there, I can't say more since I just went there once but from one time review, I found out the food was pretty average like any other cafe, doesn't mean it wasn't great, it just that great, not so impressive - at least to me ; more about the cafe would be on another blog of mine - I will link it in here one day insyAllah :)

Let's back to our main purpose here shall we ? ;)

The chocolate cupcakes actually were requested by Mynn since she's craving for it. Lol. And since I've been eager to try making red velvet cupcakes - I am really acting like a pathetic baker who wants to find out what red velvet should taste like. haha - and so... I did ! It was a success ! I tried out recipes from Allrecipes.com. I divided the recipe by half by the way since I'm making 16 cupcakes, which 8 cupcakes would be chocolate and the rest 8 is red velvet. 

Every cupcakes must go with a perfect frosting on top of it right ? So, after hours and days of choosing which is the perfect recipe to match, I finally decided to go with Bakerella's recipe for an easy buttercream icing for chocolate cupcakes, which I tinted it with a touch of pink! For red velvet cupcakes, I frosted it with cream cheese frosting, also from Bakerella. 

This is one of the sketch I made for the cupcakes. At the end, you can see that I chose to deco the top of the cupcakes with the simple one since I'm running out of time - doesn't include with how I'm struggling with my health condition.
- it just my finger by the way, it doesn't like me very much that time. lol ( don't worry I used something to cover it up - for those who may concern )

Yeah, this is what you got after you splashh it to people face ! LOL

This "unsupposed-to-happen" activity is unfortunately happened after Aisyah and Haziq which is Mynn's little brother can't find any flour, egg or even glitters to splash to each other. - fyi that day is Haziq's birthday too :)

Some pictures of amazing people at the partayyy ;)

This is the birthday girl, 'Aisyah Mohamed :) <3

with Lyshaimin Nazhikka (Mynn) xx

Fact : The cupcakes both were awesome. Especially the red velvet ones. Everyone loved it even for those who didn't know what the red velvet is at the first place. Go try it yourself ! Here the recipes :




Chocolate Cupcakes by Martha Stewart

Yield: 1 dozen
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup warm water

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons safflower oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
2. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, let cool completely.
   
   * The batter will be super runny / thin liquid texture, but don't worry it just how it should be.
   * These are light and airy cupcakes, not dense cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Allrecipes

Yield: 1 dozen 

115 g  butter

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 20 paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add in the buttermilk after mix it first with red food coloring.
3. In a small cup, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. Combine the flour and cocoa powder into the batter then stir into just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until just set and when inserted a toothpick, it comes out clean - 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter and frost with desired frosting.
   
   * Buttermilk can be substitute with one tablespoon of white vinegar and one cup of milk, and then stir. Let the vinegar and milk mixture sit for 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
   * You can always add more of the food coloring to your desire.
   * These are for moist, not too sweet cupcakes that surely perfect to go with frosting on top.

The icing tho it is not really come to the texture that I want, but the taste still great. - It bother me much that the fact if you want the buttercream frosting that stiff and thick till it can hold it shape very well, you have to put more icing sugar until it comes to your desire consistency - which it would become tooo sweet and it might make you just blurt out eeeeyuck! and put aside the whole icing. -.-

I actually dreaming off the gorgeous look of DC Cupcakes frosting. Well, I think I have to do a lot more research and try-and-error recipes from every website that I could found. lol

*I'm not prefer of using icing that requires too much egg whites although that will comes to perfection where you get an airy, light, fluffy frosting without being too sweet. 
When you come to think about more than one egg whites, you will think of meringue powder, but both doesn't feel right to me, it's like either you wasting of the yolks or wasting on your money since you have to spend much to buy meringue powder. For Wilton's I guess if I'm not wrong is almost RM100 here for a tin. - can't remember the gram tho. 
But here the recipes for both icing. I'm keeping these for awhile before I get the better version. But so far these one are the best :)


These two recipe, both by Bakerella !

Easy Buttercream Icing


225 g butter (room temperature)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

1-3 teaspoons milk, half and half or cream

1. Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth.
2. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more.
3. If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture.
4. Then, drop some food coloring of your choice.

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

115 g butter, softened to room temperature

225 g cream cheese, softened to room temperature

3 ½ cup icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-3 tablespoon milk

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
2. Add the vanilla.
3. Add the confectioner’s sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

Fact: More liquid (milk), the consistency of the icing will become thinner.