Blueberry Velvet

I was inspired by the Blue Velvet cake I had from Milk Cafe & Ice Creamery the last time I was in LA. With blueberries in seasons, I whipped up a batch of cupcakes almost like it.

Cupcake batter can be like a work of art, especially when food coloring is involved! I tried to use as minimal amount as possible because what goes in must come out, and it won't be as pretty as before.

I love blueberries. They are great snacks filled with anti-oxidants and vitamin C. I kind of over added blueberries in the cupcakes though. The texture of the cupcakes differ depends on how much you add. If you want mushy blueberries in every bite, then add more! If you want more cake, then add less.

Whipped up enough for my relatives who came over to visit.

Bluish green inside since I didn't add too much food coloring. It is still a blue velvet though!

Moist and sweet, but not overly sweet.

Oreo Cupcakes

This cupcake was inspired by the ever delicious Anthony's Cookies 'N Cream cookie. It's one of the chewiest and freshest cookies I'd ever had. I personally think that Oreo cookies by itself are already overly sweet, so I was expecting the ones from Anthony's would be overly sweet also, but it wasn't. It was perfect! The cookie wasn't big also, it was a little bigger than a bite size which was perfect for satisfying my sweet tooth.

Anyhow, onto the cupcake! So the cupcake itself contains crushed oreos. I didn't add as much sugar in this cupcake since I think it would put my sugar level beyond what my tongue and body can handle. I use both the cookie and cream fillings of Oreos, so right away I knew the batter would be thicker. I should have added a little less flour, but I didn't, so the cake was a bit on a denser side but still moist though.

The frosting on the cupcake is just vanilla buttercream but I made it runnier than the average ones so that it can be creamier. Lastly, I sprinkled some crushed Oreo cookie crumbs onto the frosting and garnished it with 1/4 of an Oreo cookie.

Orange Raspberry Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes awhile ago and decided to make some mini ones for potluck at work. These are inspired by Giada DeLaurentiis' Todd's Orange and Raspberry Cake recipe. I tried this recipe both in cupcakes, mini cupcakes and regular cake form. They all worked very well.



I also modified the recipe bit just a tiny bit. Instead of using creme fraiche, since it's hard to find sometimes, I use Greek yogurt. The texture of the frosting still turned out very smooth, velvety and tasty.

Here is the recipe from Giada if you like to try it out! Its super easy and delicious!

Honey Lemon Cupcakes

I was inspired to make this cupcake when I saw a photo of cupcakes with some candy bees in Women's Day magazines. I was really excited to make the bees more than the cupcakes actually, haha.

I used yellow peanut M&M's for the bees. In the magazines, they use toosie roll for the stripes, but I am not a big toosie rolls fan, so I used chocolate.  I melted some chocolate and with a fork, I put eyes and stripes on the bees. For the wings, the magazine used clear spice drop candy, which I had no idea what it is, so I used sliced almond instead.

The frosting for my first batch was  super duper sour. So I tasted the frosting as I mix the second one. Working with lemon is tricky since they are so sour.

Buzzzzzz....

Happy Valentine's Day

I am always glad that strawberries are in seasons around Valentine's Day. Strawberries are perfect for chocolate dipped strawberries or any dessert on Valentine's Day since they are brightly red!

So with all the excess boxes of fresh strawberries I have, I decided to make cupcakes with them. First thing I wanted to include into this cupcake is chocolate! So I am going to make a strawberry cupcake with whipped cream filling and white chocolate frosting.

I garnished it with a strawberry. Then I decided to smother some melted white chocolate onto the strawberry to make it even chocolatier. I should have dip the strawberry first. Next time!

Sorry for the image of the short cupcake. I chose the most imperfect one out of the batch to cut open so I can share the prettier ones with my little cousins. Haha. The strawberry whipped cream just ooozes out...delicious!