Strawberries and Cream Cupcake

 Why can't 'fat' be the new 'fit' , why can't 'shape' zero be the new 'size' zero , why god .....why ......These are the rantings of a mad fat woman , that is ME . I have a wedding to get to in a couple of months and need to lose a few pounds ,well more actually but I can settle for a few now ( if that is possible) . So for the time being  I thought of sealing my lips shut from all the gorgeous treats out there of my fellow bloggers ( keeping my fingers crossed ) and also I apologize for not visiting and commenting on your blogs coz I am trying to lose some fat , which seems to have fallen in love with me , fat and I are BFF's , we are that close ;p . This might be my last post for sometime on sweet treats . These are moist , soft , full of strawberry flavour cupcakes topped with sweet whipping cream and fresh strawberries ( OMG !!! that was quite hard ) . Here goes enjoy ................

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup frozen strawberries thawed and mashed through a sieve
1/2 cup milk approx
1 and 1/2 cup all- purpose flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt

for the frosting

250 ml whipping cream
2-3 tbsp or more if you like icing sugar

fresh strawberries for topping

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy .
Add the eggs and the vanilla essence and beat well .
Meanwhile mix all the dry ingredients together .
When you mash the strawberries through the sieve , you get 1/2 cup of strawberry puree approx and then add in enough milk to make it one cup .
Now add the dry and wet ingredients alternately ending with the dry ingredients .
Grease or line a 12 hole muffin pan .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min .
Cool on a wire rack before frosting .
Whip the cream with the icing sugar till stiff peaks form .
Swirl onto cupcakes and top it with fresh strawberries and enjoy .

Pinacolada Cupcakes

Whewww!!!! What a hectic week I had  , I  wanted to make Lizzy's cheesecake but did not get time to do it , I am still salivating over her cheesecake , hopefully this week I can try it out , but in the meanwhile , I was browsing through my food photos and found out that this recipe was not posted . these are soft , moist coconut cupcakes with bits of pineapple topped with a delicious coconut whipped cream and pineapple pieces coated with toasted coconut . These were an instant hit in my house so here goes...........................

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup of light coconut milk
1/4 cup of syrup from the canned pineapple
1/2 cup of chopped pineapple

for the frosting 

350 ml whipping cream
2 tbsp coconut milk powder
5 tbsp or more icing sugar
pineapple pieces dipped in toasted coconut for garnish ( optional )

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy .
Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat again .
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Mix the coconut milk and the syrup .
Now add in the wet and dry mixture alternately in the batter ending with the dry ingredient.
Fold in the chopped pineapple .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min or till the tops are springy to the touch .
Now for the frosting , whip the cream , icing sugar sugar and coconut milk powder till stiff .
Pipe swirls onto the cooled cupcakes and top it with the pineapple pieces .

Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Whewww!!!!!! That is one long name for a little thing and I am tired from typing it ;) . These cupcakes are soft , moist , chocolatey , caramely ...... I could go on and on and on describing it coz it's just that good and the frosting is just yummy . It's just chocolate ganache whipped up to give a nice fluffy smooth frosting , it's just too good so here goes..................

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 and 3/4 baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup canola oil or any flavorless vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup nestle caramel treat or caramel topping

for the frosting

200 gms dark chocolate chopped
1 cup whipping cream

METHOD

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl .
Mix all the wet ingredients together except for the caramel topping .
Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix it well till you get a smooth mixture .
Now fold in  the caramel topping into the batter . Don't over mix it .
Grease or line the cupcake tin.
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 15-20 min or till the tops are springy to the touch .
Meanwhile make the ganache by heating the whipping cream in the microwave for 1 min .
Add the chopped chocolate in the hot cream and stir it till you get a smooth mixture.
Now keep it aside to cool.
When the ganache is cooled whip it using a beater till stiff .
Pipe the whipped ganache onto the cooled cupcakes and enjoy :D.

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Fool Filling

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes. Remember my last post where I said I was taking a break for a couple of days from all the unpacking , well I am still on it . Never got back to unpacking , just dumped everything in the garage and waiting for some magic where the cartons will unpack by itself ( still crossing my fingers and hoping for it ).
While I am waiting for a genie to grant my wish , I thought I would sneak in a post fit for this month  .Sweet and moist lemony cupcakes with a tangy and tart raspberry fool filling , so here goes..............

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe lemon cupcakes

for the filling

3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup or more icing sugar
1 cup liquid whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

Make the lemon cupcakes according to the recipe given  and leave it to cool .
Using a fondant heart cutter , cut out in the middle .
Now for the filling , mash the raspberries and icing sugar with a fork .
Whip the cream till stiff .
Fold in the mashed raspberries .
Fill the cupcakes with the raspberry cream and sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy.

Lemon and Mint Lassi Cupcakes

The temperatures have started rising , the dreaded summer is on it's way and drinking lassi is one sure way to beat the heat .Lassi is an indian smoothie made with yoghurt or buttermilk  . It can be flavoured with fruits and spices and I love all of those but my fav is the lemon and mint lassi coz nothing is refreshing as that and I wanted to incorporate this into my cupcake , I wanted to make something light and refreshing and I achieved  that .The cupcakes were really light and fluffy and the topping was tangy and sweet and very refreshing so here goes.......

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
grated zest of one whole lemon
juice of half a lemon
1and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1and 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup cold milk
3 egg whites

for the frosting

150 gms cream cheese
50 gms greek yoghurt / labneh
1/4 cup whipping cream
50 gms icing sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy
Add in the lemon juice ,zest and vanilla essence and beat well
Sift the dry ingredients and add this to the mixture alternately with the cold milk
Beat the egg whites till stiff and slowly fold into the mixture ( you get a nice light and fluffy batter )
Line  muffin mould and bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 15-20 min .
Beat the cream cheese , yoghurt and the whipping cream till stiff .
Fold in the lemon zest and mint leaves .
Frost the cupcakes and enjoy .

Strawberry Milk Cupcakes

What a wonderful and hectic weekend I have had . It was cricket world cup fever in my house  and over every other Indian's house and after about 28 years of waiting our wonderful team made us proud and brought the cup back home . It was an incredible moment when the team won it and wowoowowo what a win that was , Kudos to the Indian team for giving us such a fine game .
Coming back to today's post , I had a wonderful time with my school buddies and had made these cupcakes for them and was very glad that they loved it , it is a simple recipe and quick to make too . This recipe is just another adaptation of my vanilla cupcake recipe so here goes.......

INGREDIENTS

100 gms unsalted butter room temp
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup strawberry milk
1/2 cup milk ( fat , low-fat , anything will do )

for the frosting 

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cream cheese
2 tbsp or more icing sugar
pink food coloring

fresh strawberries for garnish

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy
Add the eggs and the vanilla, beat it well
Sift the dry ingredients together and fold it in the mixture
Now add both the milk and mix it well
Pour into greased and lined muffin moulds and bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20 -25 min or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean .
For the frosting , beat the cream , icing sugar , cheese and pink food coloring till stiff .
Pipe swirls onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with fresh strawberries .