a New Year, a Step Further.

Consider that I've always baked cakes without creams and frosting, I decided to buck up on my decorating skills. Like every weekend, I always find the right excuses to get to my favourite baking ingredient shop. Whether it's to get a bag of flour, enquire about classes, grab some cake pans or buy cook books. It's amazing how I never get bored of the same ingredients sitting in their position as I visit them every once in a while. They never left their racks and yet I look at them as I've never seen them before. Picking them up and putting them back down. Thinking back at my deeds, the shop keepers must be pretty sick of me already.

Finally, I opened my mouth to ask how to make fondant decorations. The very helpful lady boss showed me the ready made gum paste and taught me how to do it. It was just like plasticine I used to play when I was little. These are my first decorated cupcakes. Frosting and buttercream is not my kind of thing as they were only for decoration purpose, to me but I decided to take a step further this time. Something new to achieve for 2010.
After some time running around the bush thinking of what to make for my family's New Year's Party, from a Yule Log Cake to cookies and lastly I decided cupcakes would do. Besides, it was our usual buffet-style pot-luck so it would be much easier to be picked up from the table.
Cupcakes would be a breeze. There was no need of dealing with eggs or whipping anything to it's peaks but I have overestimated my patience for the fondant flowers. My plans for gym distrupted as I sat down at my dining table cutting these flowers when the lovely saturday afternoon passed over. At one point, I thought the frosting would not make it.

With much endurance(very unlikely of me), my cupcakes made it. So did the frosting all over my kitchen, but I had to admit they were much fun. Although they were not properly decorated but just by staring at these cupcakes, the whole Saturday I spent became worthwhile.

I'm not a very buttercream or frosting person so I can't tell much about the frosting which I obtained from Obsessed with Baking but you should stop by to check out the awesome comments about it.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes Recipe
(makes 24 cupcakes)

230 unsalted butter
230g caster sugar*
4 eggs
200g self-raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100g chocolate chips
1tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Preheat oven to 175C. Place cupcake cases into muffin tins.Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a medium size bowl. Add in eggs one at a time. Continue beating until incorporated. Add in sifted flour and cocoa powder. Fold in chocolate chips and vanilla essence and mix until combined. Spoon batter into prepared cases. Bake for 20mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and cool for 5mins, then remove the cupcakes from the pan to cool on a wire rack.


Flour Frosting Recipe
(enough to frost 36 for me - adapted from Obessed with Baking)

1 cup milk, divided to 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
1 cup (225g) sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup (227g) butter, room temperature but not too soft

Method:
Heat 3/4 cup of milk, sugar and salt in a pot over medium heat until sugar dissolves but not until it comes to a boil. Make a slurry with corn starch and the remaining milk. Stir until cornflour is nolonger lumpy in the mixture. Pour the corn starch mixture into the pot of sugar mixture. Stir slowly and cook for 2-3mins until mixture thickens. Do not let the mixture come to a boil. Once mixture is done, pour it into a bowl of standing mixture to cool to room temperature. On low speed, add butter one tablespoon at a time into the starch mixture and beat until it is incorporated. Increase the speed until the mixture comes together into a fluffy and soft frosting. Add vanilla and mix in low speed for 1min.
Frost immediately or else frosting has to be re-whipped.