Chocolate Rapberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Topping

I had some raspberries in my freezer and since I'm craving chocolate at the moment, must be from my previous post about those Kahlua Cupcakes....I whipped up a batch of Chocolate Muffins, added raspberries and made a simple Raspberry Cream Topping. Mmmm heavenly! The rich chocolate muffin feels less heavy with this fresh raspberry cream topping...I know, cream isn't really light...but the taste of the raspberries adds freshness.


Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes, 12pcs
125 grams butter, room temperature
2 dl sugar (200ml)
2 egg
1 1/2 dl cream (150ml)
4 1/2 dl flour (450ml
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa, sifted
Raspberries

Raspberry Cream
Whipping cream
Raspberries, hand full


Preheat the oven at 175 degrees C.

Combine butter and sugar and then add the eggs one by one while whisking. Add the rest of the ingredients and place small dollops of batter in muffin cups placed in a muffin tray. Place 4 raspberries in each muffins and place another dollop of batter on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes or until a stick comes out clean.

Raspberry Cream
Whip your cream until fluffy and about a handful of raspberries, whip again until well combined and your cream has turned into a nice pink colour.




ENJOY!

Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm a big fan of Kahlua and Chocolate Cupcake,s so when I found this recipe I immediately put it on top of my baking list. The chocolate cupcake itself is moist and has a rich chocolate flavour and then it's drenched with Kahlua and topped with Kahlua buttercream. It's grown up cupcake for sure!



Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes, 21 pcs
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tbsp espresso powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water

Kahlua
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until completely combined or about 2 minutes.

While they are mixing, whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Alternating flour and buttermilk, add the flour in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides and only mix until combined.
Fold in the hot water and mix until combined.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 10 minutes then rotate pan. Bake another 5 minutes.

Cool in pans for 5 minutes then to a wire wrack to finish. While still warm, poke 8-10 holes in the cupcakes with a tooth pic. Using a brush, drench the cupcakes with Kahlua. Three times. Yes, you want LOTS of Kahlua in your cupcakes.

Kahlua Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2lbs (1 bag) of powdered sugar, sifted
2/4 cup Kahlua
In the bowl of an electric mixer using the WHISK attachment, whip the butter. One cup at a time, add the sifted powdered sugar. Scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition and mixing until thoroughly combined. Between each addition of sugar, alternate between adding the Kahlua and sugar. Whip on high for 2-3 minutes. Chill for 5-10 minutes before piping onto cupcakes. Dust each cupcake with dark chocolate cocoa powder.










ENJOY!

Whoppie Pie Inspiration

Whoppie Pies are amazingly yummie! A soft chewy cookie sandwiched together with a delicious filling. What's not to like?! Below are some great inspiring recipes for you and me to indulge in.



Perfect fall flavoured Pumpkin Whoppie Pies from Steamy Kitchen.





I love cookies with oatmeal so I couldn't resist these lovely Oatmeal Whoppie Pies from Oishii Treats.





Oh my, these look amazing!! Mint Chocolate Chip Whoppie Pies from Tracey's Culinary Adventures





Or these Chocolate & Salted Caramel Whoppie Pies from Erin's Food Files. They look rich and decadent, just the way I like it!





If you prefer something more refreshing why not try these cute Lemon Whoppie Pies  from Sweet Peas Kitchen




ENJOY!

Cupcake Inspiration

The weather has been super crappy in Stockholm today, a rainy and grey Sunday, so what is the best thing to do on such a day?! Baking and blogging of course:-) I've browsed through an obscene amount of food and baking blogs today to find inspiration for baking and to share some of my findings with you guys.

We all love cupcakes so here are a few mouthwatering recipes for your inspiration.


Why not try these decadent Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Just Putzing Around the Kitchen.






These Chocolate salted caramel Cupcakes sounds totally irresistible! Check out more pics at Brown Eyed Baker.





Yum Yum, sweet and citrusy Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes from Spabettie.





These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are on my baking list! I love carrot cake!! Check out Ambrosia's blog for more delicious recipes.






Bananas and chocolate is a heavenly combination, Easy Banana Cupcakes from Your Cup of Cake





ENJOY!

Brownie Lime Cheesecake

I love brownies! I love cheescake! So when I strumbled upon this recipe for a brownie cheescake a while ago, I bookmarked it, then forgot about it....then I found it the other day going to my recipe book. And now it was about time to try it out! I'm a little disappointed though as I overbaked it a little bit, so it wasn't as sticky as I'd hoped it would be. So next time I'll make sure to NOT overbake it...I'll stick to the amount of time suggested  in the recipe....but the cheescake filling seemed too loose, so I kept it longer in the oven...bad choice! Next time, I'll stick to the recipe and I'm convinced I've got a winner brownie cheescake.

Brownie Lime Cheescake
150g butter
2 eggs
1,5 dl sugar (150ml)
1,5 dl crushed digestive cookies (150ml)
1tsp vanilla sugar
1tsp baking powder
1,5 dl flour (150ml)
4tbsp cocoa, unsweetened

Filling:
2 eggs
Juice from 1 limefruit
1tsp vanilla sugar
0,75dl sugar (75ml)
400g cream cheese

Preheat oven at 175 degres C.

Melt butter. Mix sugar and egg until fluffy. Add vanilla sugar, baking powder, flour, butter, crushed digestive cookies and cocoa, combine. Pour into a greased baking tin. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling. Whisk egg, limejuice, vanilla sugar and sugar. Add cream cheese and combine. After 15 minutes, take out the brownie from the oven, and gently pour the cheescake filling into the middle. Bake for another 30 minutes. The cake should be a bit sticky in the middle.

This is my contribution for Melting Moments linky party.


ENJOY!

Buns with Vanilla Cream Filling

Another word for these buns in Sweden are Sun Buns, because the middle filling looks like the sun. I like that name, it sounds cute and summery. The taste is absolutely heavenly, a soft cardamom flavoured bun with a vanilla cream filling. One of my favourite buns!

Buns with Vanilla Cream Filling, 16pcs
3dl milk (300ml)
150grams butter
50g fresh yeast
1,5dl sugar (150ml)
1egg
0,5tsp salt
1 tbsp pounded cardamom
11-12dl flour (1200ml)

Filling:
5dl milk, 3% (500ml)
1 vanilla pod
1,5dl sugar (150ml)
7 egg yolks
1,5dl corn flour (150ml)
50grams soft butter

Decoration:
butter
2 caster sugar


Add milk and chopped butter in a bowl and warm in the microwave until lukewarm (37 degrees C.)

Crumble the fresh yeast into the milk and butter liquid (if you use dry yeast, the milk and butter mixture should be warmer than 37 degrees C.) Let the yeast melt and add sugar, egg, cardamom and blend well.

Add the flour and combine to a smooth and silky dough. The dough should easily come off the bowl but be careful not to add to much flour as it will make your buns dry. You can put extra flour when you roll out the dough later on, if you need. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for about 60 minutes in a warm place. It should rise to about double the size. I usually put the oven on beforehand (200 degrees C.) to make the kitchen extra warm. Meanwhile make the vanilla cream filling.

Filling:
Use a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Add both the pod and the seeds in a small saucepan along with the milk. Bring to boil. Whisk sugar, egg yolks and corn flour airy. Pour the hot milk while stirring. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and carefully heat it while stirring. Don't let custard boil as it might hurdle. As soon as the mixture starts thickening pour it quickly into a cold bowl. Add butter and let it melt, and whisk. Set aside to cool down.

Tip the dough onto your flour powdered baking table and divide into 16 pieces. Roll each piece to buns, flatten a bit. Place on a lined baking plate, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 40 minutes. Fill a piping bag with the vanilla cream, and pipe  into the middle of each bun.

Bake in the oven for about 7-8 minutes in 200 degrees C. until golden. Let the buns cool a little bit before brushing them with melted butter and sprinkle caster sugar on top.

Enjoy!

Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

WOW! Rich, dark chocolate, chewie, brownie cookies smooshed together with sweet and salty peanut butter frosting!! This must be one of the most delicious and utterly happy marriages ever! They are insanely good and the ultimate cookie for every chocolate and peanut butter lover!  Another great thing, it's actually quite simple to make these babies.

Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting, makes 12
350g dark chocolate, chopped
40g butter
2 eggs
2/3 cups (150g) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (35g)  plain flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder, sifted

Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 cup (160g) icing sugar
1 cup (280g) smooth peanut butter
80g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract


Preheat oven at 180 degrees C. Place 200g of chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside. Place eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix for about 15 minutes or until pale and creamy. Stir through the flour, baking powder, chocolate mixture and the remaining chocolate and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Spoon tablespoon's of the mixture, at a time, onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until puffed and cracked. Allow to cool completely on trays.

To make peanut butter frosting, place sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the cream and mix for another 2 minutes. Spread half the cookies with peanut butter frosting and sandwich with the remaining cookies.

ENJOY!

Quick Berry Jam

When I make berry jam, I always make a quick jam. I let my berries simmer in a saucepan for a while and then I add my desired amount of sugar. I don't want my jam to be to sweet, I prefer it to be as "healthy" as possible cause then I can eat more of it:-) And, I want my jam to have maximum flavour from the berries and not from sugar. It literally takes 10 minutes to make this quick jam. However, I watched a TV-show with this Raw-food expert and she said that lots of the vitamins are lost when cooking the berries. And since berries are one of the healthiest and yummiest things you can eat, she suggested to make raw jam. So this Raw Cloudberry Jam that I made, is even quicker than my before so called quick jam.

This is how to do it: Add the berries in a bowl, no cooking, just raw and fresh berries, or defrosted frozen berries, add the desired amount of sugar, stir, taste, maybe add some more sugar and voilá, you have a super healthy raw berry jam. The sugar help to preserve the berries, but of course since no preservatives are added, you can't have it forever in your fridge. I tend to eat it rather quickly, in my porridge, yogurt or as a dessert with a smooth and creamy vanilla ice-cream. Yum Yum!

 

ENJOY!

Chocolate Muffins with Vanilla Cream

Chocolate time! I know chocolate isn't very summery, but I've been baking with mostly fruit and berries lately so I thought it would be nice with a little bit of change. They look like ordinary chocolate muffins, but once you take a bite you discover the sweet vanilla cream inside it, making these muffins not so ordinary anymore:-) The rich chocolate flavour from the muffin and the sweet vanilla cream makes a great combination of flavours, leaving this muffin a bit lighter and not so heavy.

Chocolate Muffins with Vanilla Cream
125 grams butter, room temperature
2 dl sugar
2 egg
1 1/2 dl cream (150ml)
4 1/2 dl flour (450ml
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa, sifted

Vanilla Cream
2 egg yolks
3 dl milk (300ml)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 vanilla pod

Divide the vanilla pod and place the seeds in a saucepan. Add the other ingredients and stir. Let the mixture simmer and whisk by hand at the same time, until vanilla cream thickens. Don't let the cream boil as it easily burns. Set aside, and let it cool.

Preheat the oven at 175 degrees C.

Combine butter and sugar and then add the eggs one by one while whisking. Add the rest of the ingredients and divide the batter in muffin cups placed in a muffin tray. Pipe vanilla cream into the center of each muffin. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes or until a stick comes out clean.

Don't miss out of My Sweet Party - July! The theme for this month is My Favourite Pie.


ENJOY!

Coconut Cake with Lemon Frosting

Coconut and lemon is a summery combination! It is a lovely cake, not too sweet and the lemon frosting adds a nice freshness. Next time though, I will add more coconut and use less flour as I would prefer it to be more coconut flavoured. This cake has no WOW factor to it, but it’s very enjoyable, and subtle in it’s flavours and great for your afternoon tea or coffee. You don’t always want an explosion of flavours, sometimes you like it simple and plain.

Coconut Cake with Lemon Frosting

150 grams melted butter

2 eggs

3 dl sugar (300ml)

½ dl desiccated coconut (50ml)

4 ½ dl flour (450ml)

2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ dl milk (150ml)

1 lemon, zest and juice

Icing sugar until frosting has the desired texture

Desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top of the cake

Preheat oven at 175 degrees C.

Melt the butter. Mix egg and sugar until fluffy. Combine coconut, flour, baking powder in a separate bowl and add along with melted butter and milk to egg mixture. Pour into a greased and floured (I used desiccated coconut) baking tin, about 20 cm. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until a stick comes out clean. Let the cake cool and meanwhile prepare the frosting.

Combine zest and juice from 1 lemon with icing sugar until your have the desired texture.  I used juice from one large lemon and therefore needed about 5 dl (500ml) of icing sugar. I ended up with a lot of frosting! But I poured it all over the cake once it had cooled down. I thought it would be nice with a lot of frosting.


Don't forget to link up your contribution to My Sweet Party . The theme this month is Summer Fruits.

This is contributed to Foodie Friday and Sweets for Saturday.

ENJOY!

Raspberry Squares with Coconut-Caramel Topping

HAPPY MIDSUMMER'S EVE!!!! Today we celebrate Midsummer's Eve in Sweden, it's a solstice celebration where we celebrate the longest day of the year. It's one of our greatest celebrations of the year, almost as big as Christmas. So, yes, today we have holiday in Sweden and we eat a lot of food like; soused herring, the year's first potatoes, chives, sour cream, snaps, beer and the first strawberries of the season is a vital ingredient on the menu. If you're interested to know more about Midsummer's Eve, check it out here.

We usually eat a Victoria sponge cake, first layer filled with mashed bananas or thick vanilla custard and second layer with strawberry jam. Spread the cake with whipped cream and top with lots of fresh strawberries. That's a traditional Swedish Strawberry Cake. It's also very common to eat this kind of cake on birthday's.

But I wont bake a traditional Midsummer's Cake this year because we're having a picnic and the cake would most likely be ruined. But I will definitely eat a lot of strawberries today!:-) But plain fresh ones instead, not too bad:-).

I've baked Raspberry Squares with Coconut-Caramel Topping and I think it will be a great substitute:-) However for me it wont be squares because I couldn't find a disposable squared baking tin at the supermarket, only round ones. But hey, the taste will be the same:-) And I assure you, this is amazing! Sweet, summery, a little bit sticky and the coconut-caramel topping tastes like a sunny afternoon. I bet these squares are delicious too, without the topping and instead eat it with a creamy vanilla ice-cream:-)

Raspberry Squares with Coconut-Caramel Topping
150 gram raspberries, fresh
125 gram butter, room-temperature
1 1/2 dl sugar (150ml)
2 eggs
1/2 dl milk (50ml)
3 1/2 dl flour (350ml)
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Coconut-Caramel Topping:
3/4 dl cane sugar (75ml)
1/2 dl golden syrup (50ml)
3/4 dl double cream (75ml)
100 gram dessicated coconut
40 gram butter


Preheat oven at 175 degrees C.

Mix butter and sugar until soft. Add one egg at a time while mixing and thereafter milk.

Combine flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and then add to the butter mixture along with raspberries. Combine carefully and try not to crush the raspberries. The mixture will be rather thick.

Grease and flour a squared baking tin or cover with oven paper, and spread the mixture evenly. Bake just below the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes, or until a stick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare the coconut-caramel topping. Place all ingredients in a saucepan, let simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes, while stirring.

Take out the cake from the oven and spread coconut-caramel mixture evenly onto the cake. Adjust temperature at 200 degrees C. Place the cake just below the middle of the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, or until coconut-caramel topping is golden. Let the cake cool and cut into squares.

Don't forget to link up your contribution to My Sweet Party . The theme this month is Summer Fruits.

ENJOY and HAPPY MIDSUMMER'S EVE!

This was my contribution for Sweets for Saturday and Foodie Friday.

Very Chocolate Whoppie Pies

Chocolate Whoppie Pies for the chocolate addict! These are rich, decadent and heavenly for the chocolate lover! Two very chocolaty soft and moist cookies sandwiched with a delicious chocolate filling, what's not to like?!:-). The chocolate cookie itself can be described as a Devil's Food Cake in a cookie form. And we all love a Devil's Food Cake, don't we;-)

Chocolate Whoppie Pies
60 grams butter, room temperature
2 1/2 brown sugar (250ml)
4 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla sugar
4 dl (almost) flour (400ml)
1 1/2 dl cocoa unsweetened (150ml)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 dl milk (250ml)

Chocolate Filling
3 dl icing sugar (300ml)
1 dl cocoa (100ml)
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
3 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C.

Whisk butter, brown sugar and oil until combined. Stir in egg and vanilla sugar. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder and add to the mixture. Whisk at low speed. Add the milk and stir until you have a smooth batter, a bit thick.

Place small dollops of batter (or use a piping bag) onto an oven paper covered baking plate. Bake your whoppies for about 7-10 minutes. The tops should spring back when you lightly press the whoppies. Let the whoppies cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile make the chocolate filling by combine everything together. Then pipe chocolate filling onto the flat side of the whoppie and press another whoppie on top.

The assembled cookies can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days, if they last that long...


Don't forget to link up your contribution to My Sweet Party . The theme this month is Summer Fruits.

This is my contribution for Sweets for a Saturday and Foodie Friday

3 x Amazing Custards

If you've tried home made custard it's very hard to go back to shop bought ones. When I first tried one of these custard recipes I thought I was in heaven:-) Yummy Yummy Yummy! Need I say more?! Here are three great recipes for vanilla custard.

1 Custard, serves 8
1 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks
1 dl sugar
6 dl whipped cream

Use a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and vanilla seeds light and creamy. Whip the cream airy and and blend carefully with the egg mixture.



2 Custard,serves 8
5 dl milk, 3%
1 vanilla pod
1,5 dl sugar
7 egg yolks
1,5 dl corn flour
50 g soft butter

Use a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Add both the pod and the seeds in a small saucepan along with the milk. Bring to boil.

Whisk sugar, egg yolks and corn flour airy. Pour the hot milk while stirring. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and carefully heat it while stirring. Don't let custard boil as it might hurdle. As soon as the mixture starts thickening pour it quickly into a cold bowl.

Add butter and let it melt, and whisk. Let it cool down before serving.



3 Custard, serves 8
5 dl milk, 3%
1 vanilla pod
1,5 dl sugar
7 egg yolks
0,75 dl corn flour
25 g soft butter
2 dl cream

Use a sharp knife, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Add both the pod and the seeds in a small saucepan along with the milk. Bring to boil.

Whisk sugar, egg yolks and corn flour airy. Pour the hot milk while stirring. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and carefully heat it while stirring. Don't let custard boil it might hurdle. As soon as the mixture starts thickening pour it quickly into a cold bowl.

Add butter and let it melt, and whisk. Let it cool down.

Whip the cream and blend carefully with the cold custard.

Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Glaze

This is a perfect cake for chocolate lovers!!! My brother just came back from London and since he is a true chocolate lover, this is especially made for him.

Apple Crumble with Cardamom Yoghurt

This Apple Crumble is perfect when you have little time for preparing a dessert for your guests, or if you crave something sweet immediately and have no patience to wait....The best thing is, that's it's not super unhealthy either. This recipe has no real measurements so just take a little bit of everything...it's as simple as that.

Quick, easy, few ingredients, no baking needed, almost healthy..what's not to like?! :-)

Chocolate and Cardamom Cupcakes

It's getting colder and colder here in Sweden, even if the weather is still unusually warm for the time of year with temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius, it still feels cold..and soon the snow will probably start to fall...and on top of it all, it gets dark already around 4-5pm! Don't get me wrong I actually love wintertime, and it's amazingly beautiful on a sunny winter day with the sparkling white snow. One of the best things to do on a winterday like that, is to dress warm and go out for a long walk on the countryside and afterwards stay at a cozy café for a "fika". You out there who are not Swedish may not be familiar with the "fika" culture we have in Sweden. Basically it means to have a coffee/tea/hot chocolate/cold drink-break with something sweet to eat, or sometimes a sandwich. So, even if I do like wintertime and especially Christmas, I must confess that I do miss Singapore...with its warm and sunny weather:-).