HAPPY EASTER TREATS!! ^_____^

so its EASTER week! what to bake what to bake?!?! i actually had a joint house-warming party and easter one so i thought why not just bake mini cupcakes for everyone! :] these were are a great hit to my surprise! great recipe i must say!! its adapted from Simply Sweet Bake Shop took me quite a while to finish these babies as i fiddled with the fondant for ages hahaha!

PLEASE NOTE: those are NOT kittens; they are bunnies.
those are NOT ducks; they are chickens.

HAHAHAHA -_________- sigh! i'll try again next year to perfect them =P

pure strawberry cupcakes LVL☆☆☆☆
(i manipulated this recipe alittle - you guys would knw i dont like really sweet things, so all my recipes i will change them alittle =P)

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (i used unsalted)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tsp strawberry extract (i didnt have this, so i left it out, i used 1tsp vanilla extract)
• 1 cups pureed fresh strawberries (or alittle bit more =P)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 tsp teaspoon salt

method:

• cream butter&sugar till fluffy.
• add egg whites one at a time.
• stir in strawberry puree, strawberry (or vanilla) extract, sour cream
  (hint: i mixed the sour cream and strawberry puree together first)
• sift dry ingredients together
• add to butter mixture alternatively with sour cream mixture.
• pour into tin/ cupcake patties and bake until top is quite firm! :] yumyum~

i made the frosting myself. its a mixture of butter, icing sugar, dark chocolate and strawberry puree & cream. it was yummy~~ but i cant remember how much of each i put in .. i just randomly added hahahaa so i'll post up the frosting next time i do it again :]

*i didnt have my trusty camera on me this day so i had to use a phone to capture these =( so sad! hahahah! so sorry about the quality =(*

mille feuille & madiera cake & sponge rolls

another week at school! thats the apricot sponge rolls! they are yummy! but my sponge came out too thin =( bite-size & guilt-free i guess! =P

fine sponge sheet LVL☆☆☆☆☆

ingredients:

• 120g egg yolk (of 6eggs)
• 70g blanched almond meal
• 100g castor sugar
• 180g egg whites (of 6eggs)
• 60g castor sugar
• 80g plain flour

method:

• whisk yolks and 100g sugar till pale yellow. mix in the almond meal. set aside.
• whisk egg whites to full volume and gradually add sugar.
• fold a 1/3 of whites into yolk at a time.
• then fold the sieved flour in.
• line a baking tray with baking paper
• spread the mixture onto the paper making sure its not too thin or too thick!
• bake till set. we dont want cripsy!
  

this is the mille feuille ('thousand leaves') filled with creme patisserie.
how cute are the hearts!!! :]


and the madiera cake LVL ☆☆☆☆☆

ingredients:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 200g castor sugar
• 4 eggs
• 300g plain flour
• 12g baking powder
• 2 lemons - juice & zest

method:

• cream butter&sugar
• add lemon zest till light & pale
• add eggs one at a time. making sure each addition is absorbed.
• fold in sieved flour and baking powder and lemon juice. (if your using a machine, make sure you remove and fold the flour manually with your hands)
• put into cake tin and bake!
• you can garnish it with icing sugar or fondant :]
  

blackberry cupcakes w blackberry white chocolate buttercream ♥

i wanted to try something different from the whole chocolate phase! so i decided to bake 'blackberry cupcakes' =D i got the inspiration from Annie Eats.

its a great recipe!! except i manipulated it again =P so here is my version:

ingredients LVL ☆☆☆☆

• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (optional)
• 120g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 soya milk
• 1/2 blackberry jam (i didnt have the frozen fruits! but still good!)
  
  *you can lessen the sugar in the recipe if your using jam, but i found its not overly SUPER sweet so the recipe is fine :]*
  

method

• cream the butter and sugar
• add the eggs one at a time
• in another bowl, whisk the milk and blackberry puree together
• sift all the dry ingredients together
• then alternately add the dry and wet into the butter|sugar|egg mixture
• put into cake liners & bake in the oven!

i cut out the center of each cupcake and filled them with some whipped cream just to even out the flavour :] i give you blackberry cupcakes topped with blackberry white chocolate buttercream :] ♥

sigh at my piping skills .. still gotta practice .. look at the little bugger at the back.. hahahaha *shh* tried to hide that one =P