Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

For those of you who have been following my blog, you might have noticed that I have taken a new interest, that is baking.  Honestly speaking, after my few quite successful (ahem...) in baking, I am thrilled as well as my family.

Even my friends are excited (cos' they got to be my guinea pigs besides my family!) and their expression would be like "Wow, you can BAKE???" or "Never know you have interest in baking..... blah..blah....".

I have also tried various cupcakes which is very easy and even my girls have no problem trying their hands in it.  This Chocolate Chip Cupcakes is my first cupcakes experience and we like it very much.  Since then, we have fun creating different flavor of cupcakes according to our palate and stay tuned for more cupcakes to come.

Recipe source : Wokking Mum (with minor modification)

Ingredients :

- 220 gm butter (soften)

- 180 gm sugar

- 4 eggs

- 220 gm self-raising flour

- 150 chocolate chip

- 1tsp vanilla

Method :

1)  Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2)  Add 1 egg at a time and continue beating.

3)  Add vanilla and mix well.

4)  Add in flour and beat well till mixture is smooth and pale.

5)  Fold in chocolate chip till combined.

6)  Spoon batter into muffin cups.

7)  Bake for 20 minutes in pre-heat oven at 180 Celcius.

8)  Cool on rack.

Easy peasy cupcakes 

Great to serve it for breakfast or tea time

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Canadian Lemon Pound Loaf

Know what?  I am in cloud nine ever since yesterday!  A dear friend, Shane, gave this Canadian Lemon Pound Loaf recipe to me quite sometimes back and I have doubts that I am able to bake it successfully.  Still remember my Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake where I failed at my first attempt and only succeeded thereafter?  Yes, I have this fear and doubts and worst of all, no self-confidence to try my hand at this Canadian Lemon Pound Loaf.  So, in order to have more baking skill practices, I have tried baking a few easy peasy cakes and they did give me quite good results.  Hence, yesterday, I told myself, it's time for me to give a try on this Lemon Pound Loaf.

My family members are thrilled (ahem..) to see that I can produce a cake like this and are very excited too.  While I was clicking away at my "beyond my expectation cake", hubby also busy clicking away and sharing it with his sisters and nieces.

As usual, my cake still cracks but to me, it's perfectly ok as long as the cake is delicious and beautiful.

See.... get what I mean?  This lemon pound loaf is very moist, soft, lemony and beautifully glazed with sweet, tangy lemon icing.

Recipe source : Shane (with minor adjustment)

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp grated lemon rind
- 1 tbsp  lemon juice (I used 1.5 tbsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (I used superfine flour)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 baking powder
- 1/2 cup light sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (I used 1.5 tbsp)

Method :
1)  In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time.

2)  Beat in lemon rind, lemon juice and vanilla.

3)  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder; stir into butter mixture alternately with sour cream/yogurt, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of sour cream.

4)  Scrape into greased and floured 9x5 inch loaf pan.

5)  Bake in 160°C oven until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let it cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.

6)  Turn out onto rack; let it cool completely.

Glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk sugar with lemon juice; pour over cake, spreading over top and letting the icing drip down sides.

This cake if wrap in plastic wrap can be stored for up to 2 days or wrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 1 month.

This Canadian Lemon Pound Loaf is a very wonderful versatile cake.  You may serve it as a snack, breakfast, dessert or for tea time.

If you like cakes, then, this recipe is a keeper!

If I can do it, so CAN YOU!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and do have an awesome week ahead :)

*Shane, the first song is specially dedicated to you :)*

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Rolled Oat Apple Bread/Cake

Who doesn't like quick and easy as well as hassle-free baking?  As for me, I am always on the look out for such recipes.  Moreover, when comes to baking, I am hopeless. So when I happened to see Ann's Oat and Pear Bread, wow, I told myself, this is indeed absolutely easy peasy and even no kneading or bread machine is needed!  That means, less washing, hehehe... Without wasting anytime, I immediately tried my hands at it that very night with whatever ingredients that's available.  

Luckily I still have rolled oats in the pantry as nowadays I used to have overnight oat for breakfast.

A peek at my usual healthy breakfast which consists of overnight oat

Overall, the bread or should I say cake (as the crust tasted like bread but inside it tasted like cake) is good and healthy too. The bread cake is more yummy the following day. It's soft and moist. Give this a try if you need something fast and quick for breakfast the next morning. Thanks Ann!

So, here is the recipe with some modifications according to my available ingredients, hehehe...

Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 65g rolled oats
- 60g butter (softened)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 60g sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 175g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 chopped red apples

Method:
1)  Preheat oven to 180C. Grease  pan with butter.

2) Combine and mix milk and rolled oats in a large bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes to soak.

3) Add butter, egg, sugar and vanilla to oat mixture. Stir to combine. 

4) Sift flour and baking powder over oat mixture. 

5) Add chopped apples and stir to combine.

6) Transfer mixture into greased pan. Sprinkle extra oats on top. 

7) Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

8) Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.   

Serve

Do enjoy  :)

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