Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing | Recipe

This recipe makes the moistest and softest cupcakes ever! They are so buttery and fluffy and matches this buttercream icing very well. These are great for any celebrations or just to eat on their own. You have to try this recipe and you will never turn back to using those box cake mixes again!

Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe                                                                                                  Recipe by iSaamuel 
INGREDIENTS;
2 eggs,
120ml of milk,
100g of all purpose flour,
1 teaspoon of baking powder,
115g of unsalted butter,
100g of sugar

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
75g of unsalted butter,
165g of powdered sugar,
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Tip: Like with all recipes, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature so that they combine well. (e.g the eggs won't separate with the butter and the batter won't split.)

METHOD;
1. Whisk eggs and milk together until well homogenised. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into another bowl. Whisk and set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, add in the butter and sugar. Beat for 8-10 minutes until pale and fluffy. While doing so, start off on low speed and gradually increase to a high speed.
4. Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix briefly. While mixing, add in 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Let this mix until well combined.
5. Add in the second third of the dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix well before adding the rest of the dry ingredients and beating the mixture until completely smooth.

Tip: This is called the Alternating Creaming method and consists of alternating adding the dry and wet ingredients. (Starting off with adding the flour and ending with the flour.) By doing this, everything has an even chance of incorporating and the heavy ingredients (butter) gets introduced to the lighter ingredients (flour, milk)- think of it like lightening up a heavy mixture with egg whites or cream. The result gives a very fluffy and airy product.

6. Divide the mixture with an ice cream scoop between 6-8 cupcake cases. Each cupcake case should be filled about 3/4 way full, allowing room for the cupcakes to rise.
7. Bake at 180c for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each cupcake comes out clean. They should appear nice and golden brown.

 8. Once baked, let these cupcakes cool completely before decorating.

Vanilla Buttercream
1. Beat butter and gradually add in the powdered sugar. Add in the vanilla once combined.
2. Whisk this mixture on high speed for 5-7 minutes until the mixture adopts a pale yellow colour and it appears smooth.


Assembly
1. Pipe out the icing onto each cupcake. I like to use a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1M star tip/nozzle for a professional look.
2. Decorate with your favorite sprinkles or even chocolate chips.
Enjoy.

Oreo Chocolate Cake Recipe

A soft and rich Chocolate Cake sits on top of a crunchy, buttery Oreo base. All underneath a bed layer of whipped cream under a bed of fresh and sweet fruits.

Oreo Chocolate Cake Recipe                                                                                 Recipe by iSaamuel

INGREDIENTS;
15 Oreo cookies, crushed,
2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter,

45g of Bread flour,
2 Egg Yolks,
3 Tablespoons of Melted Chocolate Chips,
3 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder,
2 Tablespoons of Oil,
3 Tablespoons of Milk,

2 Egg Whites,
50g of Sugar,

Whipped Cream, Fruits, Oreo cookies, and Powdered Sugar to garnish.

Oreo Cookie base
1. Crush 15 Oreo cookies in a plastic food bag with a rolling pin. Get rid of your stress and whack the cookies hard into fine crumbs. You could also use a food processor, but that's not fun!
2. Mix the crushed Oreo cookie crumbs with the melted butter until they are moistened like wet sand.
3. Pour the cookie mixture into a lined cake pan and press evenly across the base. Set aside in the fridge.

Making the Chocolate Cake
1. In a large mixing bowl, place the bread flour, egg yolks, melted chocolate chips, cocoa powder, oil, and milk. Whisk everything for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture is thick, and gluten strands should appear.
2. In another bowl, whisk egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form and the mixture is glossy. Use your elbow grease or electric beaters if you'd like!
3. Gradually fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture gently, until everything is well combined. Do not over mix as this would deflate the air from the egg whites resulting in a hard, dense cake.
4. Pour the complete Chocolate Cake batter on top of the Oreo cookie base. Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes.Let the cake cool before decorating.
5. To decorate, whip 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 tbsp of sugar until stiff peaks form. Transfer this mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe and decorate!

Garnish the cake with fresh fruits such as raspberries and blueberries or chocolate shavings and enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe

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It seems that nowadays cupcakes are the next big thing, but I find that the ones from many bakeries are too sweet... The icing is packed full of powdered sugar, not to mention that the actual cake itself is loaded with a ton of butter and sugar, as if it wasn't sweet enough. Many cupcakes now come in endless varieties of flavors which then has a load of artificial flavor and coloring added- yuck!
I have come up with a recipe, that is much healthier and delicious, as I have cut down on the butter and sugar, and I also find that it has a softer texture than most cupcake recipes out there! I hope you enjoy me recipe!

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe                                                                                         Recipe by iSaamuel

INGREDIENTS;
2 Eggs,
1/2 Cup of Sugar,
1 Tbsp of Pure Vanilla Extract,
2 Tbsps of Melted Butter,
1/2 Cup of Fresh Milk,
1/2 Cup of Cake Flour.

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Eggs and the Sugar until the mixture doubles in volume and becomes thick and creamy. This step takes about 5-10 minutes to reach its maximum volume and texture!
2. Gradually sift in your Cake Flour and whisk gently to incorporate everything. Do not overmix otherwise you'll have tough bread-like cupcakes!
3. In another bowl, whisk Melted Butter along with Milk and Vanilla Extract and pour this mixture into your cake batter.
4. Stir gently until everything's combined but don't mix for too long as the cake batter will develop gluten! The cake batter should be at a nice and creamy consistency!
5. Line your Cupcake Pan with Cupcake liners and scoop the batter with an Ice-Cream scoop or with two spoons, and divide the mixture equally between the liners.
6. Bake at 180c for about 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a cupcake.

Enjoy and serve with your favorite icing or a dollop of whipped cream! :)

Sponge Cake Recipe

I've always wanted the perfect recipe for moist and soft cake... here it is! After weeks of developing and testing, I have finally come up with this perfect recipe! I love using this for my Birthday Cakes, or just sharing with friends and family beneath a blanket of fluffy whipped cream for a simple decoration- I hope you like this recipe

Sponge Cake Recipe                                                                                                                       Recipe by iSaamuel

INGREDIENTS; 
6 Egg Yolks,
6 Egg Whites,
150g of Sugar,
1 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract,
9 Tbsps of Milk,
110g of Cake Flour,
60g of Butter (Melted).

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Egg Yolks, Sugar, Vanilla until the mixture is light, thick and fluffy. The longer you mix, more air will be incorporated into the final result, making the cake extra soft!
2.  Add in your Milk and Melted Butter and whisk gently until well incorporated. The mixture should still be slightly thick.
3. Sift your Cake Flour into the Egg Yolk mixture, in three portions, mixing gently after a each addition with a whisk to prevent any flour lumps. Do not overmix, other wise you'll have a very dense and tough cake! Once all of the Flour are incorporated and well mixed through, scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula.
4. Your mixture should be nice and creamy but not too thick or dough-like.
5. Add your Egg Whites in a seperate large mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks are formed for about 3-7 minutes.
6. Gradually add your Egg Whites into your Egg Yolk mixture while folding gently to keep the air in.
7. Once there is no Egg White left, line two 10inch cake pans with non-stick parchment paper and divide the mixture evenly between the two pans. Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes at 200c. Be careful not to overbake as it will result in denser cakes.

Let your cakes cool and frost with icing to make a Birthday Cake or top off with Whipped Cream and Fruits for an elegant dessert! Enjoy.