Banana Cupcakes with Mango Whipped Cream

This recipe is a personal favourite of mine,i've made it soo many times,it's one of thoose recipes which does'nt make you start praying while its in the oven.Not overly sweet,soo light and fluffy you feel like you're chilling on the beach in the carribean.Originally i tried this recipe with molasses frosting (yes that  awesome stuff that makes brown sugar and el dorado rum) so i will be posting both frosting recipes up here.For thoose of you who want less sugar the mango whipped cream frosting is a winner,and for thoose of you super sweet souls the molasses frosting is for you.

Now the amazing thing about this one cupcake is once made you could eat it without frosting without feeling like anything is missing,but once you try it with frosting thats it,there is no going back from there my friend.Also a special thank you to everyone who have been sharing and spreading the word about this blog.You guys are super sweet.

Recipe
I got this recipe from:Gina's Banana Cupcakes on the Food Network

Banana cupcake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2  large eggs
2 1/2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
3/4 cup chopped walnuts(optional)

1.Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

2.In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3.In a large bowl, add the butter and granulated sugar. Beat with a handheld mixer until combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixture together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas, being careful not to overmix.

4.Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner three-quarters of the way full. Bake in the oven until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and let cool before frosting.

Mango Whipping cream:
I got this recipe from http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/05/mango-whipped-cream-frosting-recipe.html#UsGhgsjPQRLOeZyK.99 -they have amazingggg cupcakes

1 Cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 Cup sugar

2 mangoes (ripe)

1. Beat whipping cream on medium speed for about five minutes, until soft peaks form.
2. Add sugar.
3. Cut up your mango, being sure to remove all skin. Then, use a food processor or blender to turn your mango into a pulp.
4. Add the mango to the whipped cream.
5. Be sure to keep refrigerated.

Molasses Frosting:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons molasses
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat together until incorporated. Add the molasses and mix well. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla.

STAY SWEET!!

 

Cheesecake filled Strawberries

I love cheesecake,let me just state that before I continue.Seeing that my sister is a die-hard cheesecake fan,taking bites off of her plate through the years has resulted in me learning to love it.Basically cheesecake is exactly what the name suggests,a cake made out of cheese,now dont go running into your kitchen looking for cheddar cheese to start making cheesecake.This sweet and salty cake is usually made of cream cheese and may seem simple in the beginning but once you add that perfect topping,then you have begun your journey into the land of many possibilities (all of which end with you running in the gym,but lets ignore the ugly truth for now).

Now as i keep complaining about finding ingrdients,the most upsetting loss for me is not finding graham crackers.Cheesecake usually has a crust made of melted butter and crushed graham crackers,yes i know you can use other biscuits but it just isn't right,graham crackers add that kick to any  cheesecake.I also had eaten soo much cheesecake,that now the original strawberry cheesecake just feels normal to me,nothing exciting (sad story of my life)So i set out on a way to find something different from the ordinary cheesecake,and now i have discovered these tiny pieces of cheesecake heaven.

Recipe

1 box strawberries(usually 10-12)

4 oz Cream Cheese

1 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp Maple syrup/Carmel Sauce(depending on how strong you want the flavour)

1/4 cup chocolate chips

3 tbsp milk or whipping cream

whipped cream topping (optional)

1.Wash the strawberries and make sure you dry them with a paper towel otherwise the chocolate won't stick.Remove the stem of the strawberries and using a fruit core remover,or a knife scoop out the center of the strawberry,leaving it hollow.Also cut a piece off the bottom of the strawberry so that it can stand on its own.

2.Using a hand mixer blend the cream cheese,sugar,maple syrup until well combined.Then place it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3.While the cream cheese mix is cooling,place the chocolate chips and milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 10 seconds then mix.Then repeat the heat and mix process until the chocolate is completely melted.

4.When the cream cheese is ready,using a small spoon or icing cone pour it into the hollow part of the strawberries until it is full(be careful not to let it overflow) then dip the filled strawberries in the melted chocolate.Place in fridge for 10 minutes.

5.Spray on whipped cream and enjoy.

Tip:Don't make more than 5 hours in advance for your strawberries may become soggy.

Big shoutout to everyone who shared,liked,commented on my previous two posts,thank you soo much means alot,keep messaging me for any requests.

Stay sweet!

Blondies:Take a bite into heaven

The day started off great,woke up decided to finally use that ready graham cracker pie crust which has been staring at me every time i enter my kitchen.It is always hard to find a good recipe and to stick to it,when the options are endless,hence i usually check for one prominent ingredient i already have an sorta plan the dessert around that.The toughest part about baking in Guyana is finding ingredients,it feels more like a treasure hunt.Requires many recipes with varying ingrdients,soo that if you don't find heavy cream you don't have to go home empty handed and eat a spoonful of sugar just to fulfill your sweet craving.After checking up in 4 supermarkets (the only 4 in town you can use the term "super" to describe) and failing to find the ingredients for the cheesecake planned i changed recipes.(Sorry pie crust you can keep staring,it's not you it's me)

Today i made blondies,the white chocolate version to the traditional brownie.A favourite personal favourite to my father,but due to this one cake i had developed a fear of using eggs in cake.I can handle cakes without sugar,but the one thing that i have noo tolerance for is cake that tastes like raw egg,it is cake suicide.Eggs are soo dangerous that i have a friend who's oreo cheesecake exploded in the oven because he used too many eggs,still turned out to be a pretty awesome cake,yet i am traumatised.Now this recipe was a bit more difficult because it is naturally pretty dry because there is no use of water or milk and asks for 3 eggs which helps hold the cake together but does'nt have a stronger flavour to camoflauge it.I made a few edits and left everything in the hands of the cake fairy.And my did she do wonders it turned out amazing,not too dry,not at all tasting like an uncooked egg.It was just right.

Recipe

I found the recipe on the food network website :Almost-Famous Maple-Butter Blondies on the Food Network.

The corrections i made were:
1.I added hershey's carmel topping about 1 tbsp to the batter,this made it a bit sweeter but also helped hide the lingering taste of the eggs on your taste buds.You can use any type of sauce,i would'nt recommend chocolate since the flavours of the cake are very subtle and sweet,by adding chocolate sauce your taste buds could go into a state of shock.

2.I used normal dairy milk white chocolate,now the recipe asks for your to cut it in chunks,the thing i've learnt is chocolate usually burns when it is baked and i am still trying to learn how to stop that from happening,but until i get there i normally shred or grate the chocolate so it's easier to melt,when white chocolate is baked if ur lucky it turns into crunchy gooey pieces that add a good texture to the cake,but since this recipe already had walnuts thats enough texture for one cake.

3.While cooking the topping i added about a quartes cup of the white chocolate pieces just because it adds to the richness of the cake and i love chocolate,the more the merrier.

4.Instead of using ice cream i used whipped cream topping,now be very careful with this,because if after you have sprayed on whipped cream you pour on the sauce but its hot,your gonna have a chunk of milk on your cake,and thats something no amount of damage control can fix.

5.Be veryy careful when cooking the sauce because after it is cooled the butter usually seperates from the carmel soo just heat it up give it a stir and it should be back to new.But if the sound of that makes your lazy bones say "hellll nahhh" just make the sauce less thick when cooking it,which means you should takes it off the fire while it still has the consistency of melted butter.

And finally just fix it all up on your plate instagram,facebook your masterpiece and dig in

The Beginning

When i was younger,the only job i was famous for was running away with a spoon full of cake batter and after a few minutes returning it back to my sister completely clean.I loved cake,and being a person who was told i have the stomach of a bird was something to talk about.Cake just makes everything better.I found out i wanted to start cooking a couple years back,when i noticed myself watching the food channel rather than cartoon network and somehow i gravitated towards the cake pan and flour when i was upset,happy,tired,bored,hungry,it was like a constant call.I went through a phase when i hated eggs,this was caused due to miss read instructions while making chocolate mousse with my sisters,at that time neither of us knew what soft peaks meant.As time goes by with each cake i see change and thats whats important,seeing people get together over a piece of double chocolate marshmallow cake,nothing gets better than that.Soo here is to the beginning of a very sweet,homely dessert blog for all you people out there who think that when you eat good cake,your heart smiles.