Salted caramel cupcakes.

For me, Christmas is the time for baking, eating, and filling the house with sweet festive smell. I love the idea of handing homemade baked goods when people come over during this time of the year.

I made these cupcakes using my homemade caramel sauce. It's actually my first time making my own sauce and I failed the first try (good thing I have enough ingredients to make another batch). Caramel sauce can be really tricky to make but it's all worth the effort and time!

For Chocolate Cupcakes:

Yield: 12-15 cupcakes

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 cup of granulated sugar

⅓ cup  of Cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of salt

1 egg, at room temperature

½ cup of buttermilk, at room temperature

½ cup of strong

 black coffee, hot

¼ cup of vegetable oil

1½ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

For Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue buttercream:

5 egg whites, at room temperature

1¼ cups of granulated sugar

1 ½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup of homemade salted caramel sauce

2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

For Salted Caramel Sauce:

2 cups of granulated sugar

12 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

1 cup of heavy cream, at room temperature

1 tablespoon of fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt flakes

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners

2. Sift together all the dry ingredients, and mix it in a large bowl

3. In a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients using a whisk

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined

5. The batter will be thin. Divide evenly among the cupcake liners

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Then cool cupcakes completely.

For the salted caramel sauce:

1.  Melt the sugar in a saucepan. Keep whisking until everything is melted. When the sugar is melted, stop whisking and just swirl the pan to move the sugar around

2. Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches a deep amber colour (Make sure you don’t burn the caramel!!!).

3. As soon as the sugar reaches the dark amber colour, CAREFULLY add the butter. Whisk until melted (you can definitely switch to a wooden spoon)

4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the heavy cream. Whisk in the sea salt until completely combined

5. Let the caramel sauce cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Pour the caramel into a jar and cool to room temperature. Put the sauce in the refrigerator and you can store it for about a month

For the meringue buttercream:

1. Whisk together sugar and egg whites in a heatproof mixing bowl over a simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved completely. Remove from heat

2. Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg white mixture until stiff and glossy peaks form (~10 minutes)

3. Add butter one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. Mix the salted caramel into the buttercream

5. Use immediately!

Merry Christmas everyone and I'm wishing you all the best in life!

Happy baking & see you guys next year!

Much love,

Jedi

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Christmas truffles.

Hello everyone! It's December and it's that time of the year again when

a lot of people eat a lot (based on my on experience anyway. haha). Parties here and there, potlucks, desserts, and pretty much tons and tons of food. It's that time again when Christmas music is everywhere. Happy shoppers and some stressed ones too. Christmas decors everywhere and you can just feel the Christmas spirit.

I'd like to share to you a very simple yet chic dessert that you can make to share with your friends and family. It could be a great gift as well since they are so pretty (and who doesn't like chocolate, right?). Oh, did I mention? You don't need an oven. It's totally a no brainer dessert. 

This recipe yields for ~ 36 truffles

You will need:

38 oreo cookies

1 package (8 oz) of cream cheese at room temperature

Candy melts

(That is it folks!)

1. Crush 38 oreo cookies (with the filling) in a food processor 

2. Add in cream cheese. 

This step will get messy. Mix it with your hands and make sure that everything is incorporated.

3. Roll cookie mixture into ~ 1 inch balls

I used a round tablespoon and scooped the mixture so that the size will be consistent. 

You can definitely just eye-ball it (pun intended). 

4. Place the balls into a tray lined with parchment paper

5. Place it in the fridge for ~ 1 hour

6. Melt your candy melts and dip the balls making sure you let the excess drip. 

7. Place it back to the tray and decorate as you wish! 

Hope you guys are having a wonderful, stress-free, and festive December so far!
Get baking darlings!
Let me know what you'll be baking this season. 

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Concrete love.

Sweater: Urban Outfitters | Jeans: American Eagle | Coat: Old Navy | Handbag: Kate Spade | Boots: Urban Behaviour

Photos: Jonathan David Garde Casana

It's November and I'm honestly expecting snow and single digit temperature. I'm not gonna complain though, life is good and the weather is warm - not warm, but warmer compared to last year's. Plus, Christmas is just around the corner and I just can't wait (too early? I don't think so. Haha)!

I'm the type of girl who likes clothes that are monochrome cause I'm that too lazy to think which top matches with my purse, or shoes, or jacket, or whatnot. Plus, black is so classy and everyone seems to take you seriously. Haha. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I'm gonna admit though, I'm obsess with adding a pop of colour to my look, I think it makes the outfit playful and fun while still being stylish. 

This knitted red sweater is from Urban Outfitters and words can't express how much I love it. It's very cozy, it's red (very festive and screams Christmas!), it's casual, it's simple, it's loose, and it's warm (cause that's what sweaters are made for.). What else can you ask for? 

Have you found your perfect sweater? I believe I have. 
Oh! One more thing, are you guys excited for Christmas? It's not too early, right?

11

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

For the cupcakes, you will need:

1 ⅓ cups of all purpose flour

½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ tsp of baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup of unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup of granulated sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup of whole milk

½ cup of hot water

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

For the frosting, you will need:

1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature

3-4 cups of powdered sugar

¼ tsp of salt

1 tbs of pure vanilla extract

Up to 4 tbs of whole milk

Food colouring*

*Optional. You can definitely leave your frosting colour white. I used an orange 

gel food colouuring to match the halloween theme.

This recipe yields for ~48 mini cupcakes

Cupcake:

Pre-heat oven to 350 °F

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt

2. In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar using a stand/hand mixer until light and fluffy. 

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until well combined

3. Add half of the dry ingredients into the mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in milk and the other half of the dry ingredients. Add hot water and beat just until everything is incorporated (the less you mix- the lighter the cake will be).

4. Divide batter evenly between cups. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Allow it to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy

2. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar in portions. Mix slowly and beat until combined.

3. Add salt, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of milk. Beat in well.

*This frosting totally depends on how sweet you want your frosting to be and what consistency you want it to be.

4. Have fun decorating your cupcakes

Tomorrow is Halloween and maybe you still don't know what to bake for your guests or you don't know what to bring to a party you've been invited to (or not). Well, guess what, this cupcake is very easy to make and everyone will definitely love it (Cause who on earth doesn't like chocolate, right? I hope none!). 

I baked these cute tiny little cupcakes for Halloween giveaway at school and everyone loved it. I think I should start selling them rather than giving it away for free. Haha. But anyways, since I like sharing bits and pieces with all of you, I gave you the recipe above! You can definitely customize your decoration and make it personal and fun! If you're wondering how I did my cupcake "topper", I used candy melts and played around with it. I decided to make some criss-cross pattern and spiderwebs (or duck feet) and place them on top! 

If you tried baking them, let me know how it went!
(But if you didn't successfully bake these cupcakes, or are just too lazy to bake, 
I'll be selling them for $2.50 for 4 pieces. Shipping and taxes not included. Haha). 

Have a wonderful weekend and happy Halloween!
Get baking!

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