Fun and frosting

June 13 may be Cupcake Lover’s Day, but do we really need an occasion to enjoy these mini delights? Here are three recipes to try at home this weekend

BENGALURU : Marble Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
For the cupcake

•  Plain flour - 209 gm
•  Baking powder - ½ tsp
•  Baking soda - ¼ tsp
•  Butter - 115 gm

(melted)

•  Caster sugar - 200 gm
•  Vanilla essence- 2 tsp
•  Egg - 1
•  Plain yogurt - 60 gm
• Milk - 195ml + 1 tbsp
•  Cocoa powder - 21 gm
• Pink food colour - ½ tsp

For the frosting

•  Unsalted butter -225 gm
•  Icing sugar - 230 gm
•  Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
•  Chocolate - 170 gm

Method

•  Preheat oven to 177C.
• Line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners; you might need more liners as this recipe makes more than a dozen cupcakes.
•  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
•  In another bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in sugar, the mixture will be gritty. Chill in the fridge for a minute to cool it down. Add the egg to the mixture along with the yogurt, milk and vanilla extract.
•  Stir until combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix till no lumps remain.
• Transfer ¾ cup of vanilla batter to another bowl to make the chocolate batter. Add in the sifted cocoa powder and 1 tbsp of milk. Stir until combined.
•  To make the pink batter, add 4 tbsp of the vanilla batter to a bowl along with the pink colour. Stir till combined. 
•  Fill cupcake liners with the vanilla and chocolate batters, alternating for each layer. Add in a tsp of the pink batter as well. Fill the cupcake liner till ¾ with batter. Use a toothpick to swirl the batters together to create the marble effect.
•  Bake the cupcakes for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool down while you make the frosting.

Method for frosting 

• Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and allow it to cool down.
• In another bowl, beat the butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the sifted icing sugar in 2-3 additions mixing well after each addition.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix everything.
• Once the chocolate has cooled down, pour it slowly into the mixture while it is beating. Keepbeating for another minute or until well combined and the frosting is smooth. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.

- Bryna Fernandez (@bee_omnomnom on Instagram)

Zucc hini and Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

•  All purpose flour - 1 and ½ cups
•  Sugar - 1 cup
• Baking soda - 1 tsp
•  Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
•  Salt - ½ tsp
•  Egg - 1 lightly beaten (or curd - ¼ cup to make an eggless version)
• Oil - ½ cup
•  Milk - ¼ cup
•  Lemon juice or vinegar - 1 tbsp
•  Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Zucchini finely grated - 1 cup
• Chocolate chips - ½ to 1 cup as per your choice
•  Chopped walnuts -½ cup (Optional)

Method

•  Preheat the oven to 180 C.
•  Line a muffin pan with 12 paper muffin liners.
•  Combine and sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
•  Mix the chocolate chips and the nuts if using, into the flour mixture to coat it well. This prevents it from sinking to the bottom.
• Beat together egg or curd, oil, milk, lemon juice or vinegar, grated zucchini and vanilla extract in a bowl for a minute.
•  Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened. Do not over mix.
•  Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Baking time will vary depending on your oven and the size of the muffins.
• Enjoy soft and delicious muffins once completely cooled.

Tip: Covering any cake or muffins once cooled in a aluminium foil without any gap, will retain its
moisture and keep it soft for long.
- Serah Kurian (@23bakestudio on Instagram)

Zesty Orange Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients For cupcakes

•  Unsalted butter - 115 gm
•  Sugar - 115 gm
•  Eggs - 2
•  Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
• Orange zest - 1 tbsp
•  Orange juice - 1 tbsp
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
•  All purpose flour - 115 gm

For the frosting

• Dark Chocolate - 200 gm
• Fresh cream - 180 gm

Method 

• Preheat oven to 180 C. n Whisk together room temperature butter, sugar and vanilla essence till light and fluffy.
•  Add the eggs one at a time and whisk till combined. Add orange  juice and mix thoroughly.
• Sift together all purpose flour and baking powder. Add orange zest to this and fold gently into the mixture with a spatula.
•  Line a cupcake mould with liners and scoop the batter into each liner till 2/3 full.
• Bake at 175C for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Method for frosting

•  Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.
• Heat the cream over medium heat until it just begins to boil.
• Pour it over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
• Stir with a whisk/spatula until its smooth.
• Leave at room temperature for couple of hours until it sets.
•  Once set, with a frosting nozzle, frost the cupcakes.

- Nanikutty Sreedharan (@Knuttybaking on Instagram)