Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Hellooooo there! I'm back here, keeping the promise I made last Friday, to bake a cake. Well, I baked cupcakes! Yesterday was my friend, Cheese's birthday. She loves cheese!(like duh! I mean, why else would I call her Cheese?) Haha! I didn't want to make cheesecake though, so I googled for a regular cupcake base with a cream cheese frosting (I didn't wanna make red velvet either :P) and out popped "Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting". Gingerbread cupcakes? Cinnamon cream cheese??? I was pleasantly surprised. Upon looking at the beautiful pictures of the cupcakes, I knew I had THE recipe.

I love cinnamon. It's a really sweet smelling spice that goes with everything! Oatmeal? YES! Coffee? Do you even have to ask? I sprinkle it everywhere!!! And there's gingerbread cupcakes which look, sound and taste really good. These cupcakes are moist, delicious and pack a punch with the spices. What's not to like? One thing about these cupcakes though. They are a tad too sweet. Next time I make this, I'm going to cut down on the sugar.

With the whole baking hiatus, I think I lost my touch!!! Yes, I've turned rusty!!! *NO!screams in sorrow* But I'm serious, today was one of those days in the kitchen that I was really flustered. I ended up burning myself. Thrice. That's a record! I must be lacking practice. :(
Overall, it was great to get back in the kitchen and cook. I really miss this feeling. Will be back with more recipes!(psst, I think I'll be making pastries next!)

Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe, from The Cupcake Diaries
Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

3 tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves(I replaced with allspice)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons butter at room temperature

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups molasses(I substituted with honey)

1 cup hot water 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a standard cupcake pan with baking cups.

2. Sift together the dry ingredients(flour, spices, soda and salt) except for the brown sugar and set aside.

3. Cream the brown sugar and butter together in a mixer for 3-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the molasses, mixing until well-incorporated.

5. Add one third of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/3 of the water and mix thoroughly. Repeat, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the last of the dry ingredients and the water and mix thoroughly. Batter will not be that thick - don't worry.:)

6. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups until about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Recipe, from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Ingredients:

225g cream cheese

3 cups icing sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
2. Pour frosting into an icing bag with any decorative icing tips of your choice and pipe. Enjoy!

 

Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars

It’s been a crazy week. I’d just finished my exams. Can I say happiness? It’s been a really tough week and I was pretty stressed out. So stressed to the point I suffered from a pretty bad sore throat. That means no sweet treats for now. :( But I promise, on Monday, I will cook up a sweet treat, even if I can’t eat it at all. Except for a bite, or two, or maybe a small portion? XD  

So today, we have oatmeal snack bars! Now, don’t look at me as if I’m crazy and slowly retreat from this snack. It really is healthy, nutritious, and tastes good! (my youngest sis doesn’t believe me though.) My 2^nd sis, on the other hand, loves it! Really! She took a bite and asked for more!

This recipe is very versatile and you can use your favourite type of nuts, fruits or even add chocolate chips like me! All you need to make it is a bowl, a spoon and the ingredients. Mix it all up, pour it in a pan, bake it and voila! There you have it, your healthy and delicious treat.

Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars, adapted from Kath Eats Real Food

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds [or any nuts you like]
1/2 cup dried fruit (any you like)[I substituted it with chocolate chips]
1/4 cup black sesame seeds [or any seeds you like]
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk(whole, skim, up to you)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp dark brown sugar* 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Add the milk, vanilla and egg with the dry ingredients. Stir until combined.
4. Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.
6. Cut and serve.
*For the original recipe, the sweetness of oat bars came from the dried fruits, so add in 1/4cup to 1/2 cup sugar if you like. (I know I didn't add in a lot of sugar)
  

 rawr!(aka product of a bored girl + camera)

Family Breakfast - Croque Madame

Exams are coming soon. Don't ask me why I still woke up early in the morning to cook breakfast when I could have been studying. I'd just been eyeing this recipe for quite a while and thought, why not?
Anyway, I made up for it by spending my entire afternoon studying. :)

Instead of the sunny-side ups I usually do for my family, I decided to take a chance and try eggs over easy. The steps seem easy. As you can see in the picture above, that is how eggs over easy should look like. (And that was my first attempt ever! *pumps fists in the air*) However, I am sad to say my 2nd and 4th egg failed. Anyway, practice makes perfect, so I'm going to practice when I can. :)

this is what i mean.

Of course, you can have lettuce at the side(if you're health conscious like me), or load it up with streaks of bacon, like the rest of my family. Anyway, I've got some studying to do. Toodles!

Bechamel Sauce, adapted from Eggs by Jodi Liano
Ingredients:
2 tsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Method:
1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add flour and whisk until well incorporated, about 1 minute.
3. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the milk and whisk constantly until it comes to a boil and thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

lettuce on the side with a little extra virgin olive oil...yum:)

Croque Madame, adapted from Eggs by Jodi Liano
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Bechamel sauce (See recipe above)
8 slices good quality bread(white or wholemeal, up to you!)
3 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
125g of gruyere cheese (I used mozeralla and cheddar)
8 slices of thin country ham
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp parsley

1. Prepare the bechamel sauce and keep warm.
2.  Lay the bread on a work surface and, using 2 tbsp butter in total, butter one side of each slice. Turn 4 slices over and brush it with mustard.
3. Heat a large non-stick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Lay the bread, without the mustard, buttered side down. Spread each slice with a spoonful of bechamel sauce. Cover with enough cheese and top each with 2 slices of ham. Put one of the remaining bread slices(with mustard), buttered side up on top of the ham.
4. Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is nicely browned on both sides, turning once, 3-4 minutes. Press gently on the sandwiches to help melt the cheese.
5. Meanwhile, spread the remaining butter in another large non-stick frying pan. Crack the eggs into the pan (as many as your pan can accomodate, I did it 1 by 1) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6.[if you're making sunny side up] Cook until the whites turn opaque, 2-3 minutes.
   [if you're making eggs over easy] You'll notice that the eggs have 3 parts, the yolk, the inner white and the outer white. Once the outer white is cooked, take a deep breath and flip the egg over. START PANICKING! No, just kidding. Let the egg cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you're doing it right so far, you won't be seeing any runny yolk in the process.
7. To serve, place the sanwich on a place, top with a little bechamel sauce and place the egg on top. There you have it!