Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Angie at bakerella.com is the rightful owner of this red velvet cake recipe and I am so grateful she posted it on her website to share with us, because this cake is the hot selling cake of all the cake flavors I make. Children and adults like the flavor. The cake is rich and moist and is very easy to make.

I have made this cake flavor for birthdays & wedding anniversaries, and it is a special treat to make it for valentine's day.  The red color of the cake is inviting and one cannot resist eating this delicious cake.

Now you are lucky, my darling husband a professional photographer wanted to experiment food videography.  Lucky him, he turned around to me and said he would like to shoot a video of me baking and decorating cupcakes. I grew conscious of being on camera, and he assured me that I will not be seen in the video. It would be a cupcake tutorial.  So we worked it out, and I must say one must appreciate such videos as a lot of planning and efforts goes into making these.

To view the tutorial on red velvet cupcakes click here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDq-ewozuUo&t=10s

For the red velvet cake recipe click here: https://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake/


For the buttercream recipe:

1.  Beat 250 grams of unsalted butter (at room temperature) with an electric beater till light and fluffy.
2.  Add 1 tsp. vanilla essence / extract and mix well.
3.  Sieve 500 grams of icing sugar and add to the butter, one cup at a time and beat well after each addition.
4.  Then add 2 tbsp. of milk (at room temperature) and beat well till fluffy.
5.  Store in air tight container in the refrigerator.  Thaw at room temperature and mix well before frosting or decorating cakes.

I am sure you are going to bake these beautiful beauties soon.  Enjoy!!







 

Daddy's favorite Chocolate Walnut Cake

Daddy's favorite Chocolate Walnut Cake.

The very first cake I baked, turned out to be my daddy's favorite cake.  At first I thought he said that to encourage me.. but every time I would bake a cake daddy would say, "make sure it is a chocolate walnut cake", and he would relish it with his cup of tea.  This is a tea cake.

Sharing with you my chocolate walnut cake.... shhh!!! it is the family's secret recipe..  
So here we go....

You will need :
250 grams of all purpose flour
250 grams of granulated sugar (fine grain)
250 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature.
3 Tbsps. cocoa
3 tsps. baking powder.
1 tsp salt.
5 eggs at room temperature.
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp glycerin.
100 grams walnut cut into small pieces.


Roll up your sleeves and lets mix in the batter :
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Grease and dust an 8" round or 8" square x 3" high cake pan. 
Sieve together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt.
Coat the cut walnuts with a tablespoon of the flour mixture.

In a bowl beat butter and granulated sugar on high till nice and fluffy.
Then add one egg at a time and mix well on medium speed till all eggs are used.
If the batter begins to curdle add a tablespoon of the flour mixture and mix.
Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add glycerin and mix.
Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time and mix on low speed till all the flour is used.
Mix till all is well combined.  Do not overmix.
Add the walnuts and mix with the spatula using the cut and fold method.
Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan.  (Tip: Remember to fill the pan 3/4 only allowing space for the cake to rise).

Bake for 45-50 minutes at 180 degree C. (Tip: Always set timer 5 minutes less than baking time, as ovens differ in temperature).

Test if the cake is done using a cake tester or a wooden skewer. If the skewer comes out clean the cake is done.

 

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 10 mins.

Then turn the cake over to a cooling rack and let it cool for another 20 mins.

 

Cut the cake into slices and enjoy this cake with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

(Tip: Cut the cake as required. Wrap it in cling wrap to retain the moisture.)

Store the cake in an air tight container in the refrigerator.  

To take this cake to the next level,  drizzle melted chocolate on it and enjoy.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Baking Basics (continued....)

Baking Basic (continued …..)

When I said there is more to baking basic, I really meant it. 

And you can see why.... Amy says you should read the recipe completely before you begin baking. I would say you should read this from Amy before you start baking

https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2013/09/17/baking-basics-101/

So now you know why you should be
1. reading the recipe in whole, not parts.
2. know the importance of commas in a recipe, sift and then measured,  or measured and then sifted.
3. understand the language; sliced, diced, cubed, beaten, whisked, melted etc..
4. measuring dry and wet ingredients.


These baking basics covered how to handle the ingredients. Now let us see how to handle the heat, the actual baking in the oven which contributes to getting perfect bakes.

Every oven differs. or you could say; each oven is unique, and thus it is for you to learn your oven. This would mean a few burnt bakes or uncooked bakes.

Often I hear people say, "how do I know my oven is pre-heated to 180 deg. C.  Some oven don't have the pre-heat knob, indication etc.  This is where Oven 101 brought to you by Handle the Heat comes handy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uMWXYOKpy0  watch the video to learn more about understanding your oven.

While we are on Oven temperatures here is a simple conversion of gas mark / Fahrenheit / Celsius which will also help you understand your oven and oven temperature requirements as mentioned in the recipe.

Gas mark	Temperature (°F)	Temperature (°C)	Description
1/4	225	110	very cool
1/2	250	130
1	275	140	cool
2	300	150
3	325	170	very moderate
4	350	180	moderate
5	375	190
6	400	200	moderately hot
7	425	220	hot
8	450	230
9	475	240	very hot