Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

I was a peanut butter fan when I was younger, and then I stopped eating it for the longest time. Recently I bought a natural jar of it and couldn't stop indulging myself in it. I love spreading it on whole wheat bread. It's creamy and gooey; it brings me back to childhood memory of it every time.

Anyhow, so I decided to test and make some peanut butter cupcakes. I know it's going to be tricky since the consistency of the peanut butter itself is already oily, gooey and buttery...the amount of butter added would be a challenge. Indeed, my peanut butter cupcake turned out super de-duper moist and dense in the center but perfect texture outside. It's still edible but just a little too dense for my taste. I probably need to re-test this next time. But other than that I really like the flavor of it.

I decided to frost the cupcake with a lighter frosting. Instead of using a buttercream, I just used whipped cream...with chocolate! Chocolate peanut butter equals yummy!

Thomas Keller's Oreo Take Two...

I decided to make a third batch of TKO because I was not completely satisfied with the previous one. After experimenting with the dough a bit, I finally got the edge of the cookies to set better, and the cream filling better!

Never the less, this batch was 10X better than previous, look-wise especially! I do notice though the cream filling tastes better and gets a bit firmer after being in the fridge a bit. And after a couple days in the fridge, the cookies started to get lighter in color but they still tasted great! Yay!



Thomas Keller's Oreo

One of my favorite bakery is Bouchon! They made amazing macarons on top of other delightful treats such as their cookies and TKO...Thomas Keller's version of Oreos.

TKO from Bouchon

So I found a recipe in his Ad Hoc cookbook that results in similiar cookies as the TKO! All I had to do is try to make a cream filling for it! I decided to make one with white chocolate in it. Dark chocolate cookies and white chocolate fillings, yum!

MDO!

So I made and tested two different batches that resulted in different texture of the cookie. One of the batch tasted exactly like an Oreo cookie! Bingo! The other one resulted in flakier cookies, which I actually prefer if it's not cream-filled. The only trouble I had making these was shaping them right. I used the right cookie cutter and it looked perfect before they hit the oven. But while they are baking, they start mishaping.

After taste testing and baking these cookies, I am feeling a bit sick from overdosage of chocolate and sweetness. So, I decided to try making these again in the near future to try to perfect the shape then.

Matcha Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam

I always want to make a filled cupcake, and I know exactly what I wanted to use--raspberry jam. So I was thinking about possible flavor I can use it with, and I came up with chocolate and matcha. I made several chocolate cupcakes before and thought it's time to try something different, so I used the matcha powder that I have! I found this matcha cupcake recipe online by Martha Steward, then I just filled it with raspberry jam and made my own experimental matcha buttercream.

The cake is moist but too cakey for my taste. Don't get me wrong though, it tastes great and have a great texture, but I think it's more suitable for making a regular size cake. It's not as fluffy as I wanted it to be. I also think I need to get a stronger tasting matcha powder. The matcha cupcakes has only hints of the matcha taste, and this is speaking from a person who know what matcha tastes like. Otherwise, to most people who didn't know it has matcha in the cupcake, it would just like a sweeter version of vanilla cupcakes.

Coffee Addict

I am such a coffee addict! The first thing I think about after I wake up is coffee. I am picky about my coffee, it can't be super bold, and has to have at least 1-2 tablespoon of soymilk in it. I know. I rely on it so much to wake me up every morning, including the weekend.
Anyhow, I not only enjoy cup of joe, I also enjoy coffee anything! So when it comes to cupcakes, mocha is my next choice next to Red Velvet. I'd been wanting to make mocha cupcakes like forever, and finally, I made some! Yay!

I used Peet's Arabian Mocha Java, which is a bold and full bodied coffee, in the cupcake and the frosting. Oh, I used an aeropress to brew the coffee, so it's super smooth and silky! I also used a lot of unsweetened cocoa, so it overpowered the coffee a bit but I could taste a hint of it. I wonder if it's because the coffee already has a hint of chocolate in it, so it just adds to the chocolate flavor more than the coffee. Anyhow, I just used regular Toll House cocoa. I think I should upgrade and use an expensive one to pair with the higher end and delightful Peet's Arabian Mocha Java next time and see how that will turn out. But neverthless, the cupcake still turns out rich and fluffy. It's not too dense and too cakey, just exactly the way I like my cupcake! The buttercream is amazing! It's smooth, not bitter, and has great coffee flavor! I will definitely make that buttercream again. I think I can eat this buttercream shot by shot!