Raspberry white Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CUPCAKES

There would be no perfect birthday without cupcakes. Already my cupcake friend Anne sent me a lovely cupcake postcard with even lovelier birthday wishes. So thank you first of all. I have to mention her when I talk about cupcake happiness, because she was the one who opened the world of cupcakes to me. Yes, cupcakes are not only a good-looking dessert; no they also have emotional value. And on this special day, my birthday, which I am supposed to enjoy, and I definitely do, cupcakes have to be part of it.

I guess you got it. I love cupcakes. And for former birthdays, my friends offered me recipe books of all kinds, indicating the best looking and the tastiest cupcake recipes. The one I chose is a combination I really like: white chocolate and raspberries. I allowed myself to change the recipe a little bit. Normally I am not that courageious when it comes to baking. With cooking no problem, but with baking I am always a bit hesitating to change things. But so far, I cannot complain about the outcome.

Anne, if by chance you read this during your holidays, please do know that I would have given a lot to share these with you!!!! But for all the others, I am totally willing to share with you. The only thing you have to know is, that you have to be fast enough otherwise there won't be any left. I can tell from experience, that they disappear quite quickly. 

For 18 cupcakes you need:

225g butter

225g sugar

225g flour

1 ts baking powder

4 eggs

18 raspberries

100g white chocolate chips

For the icing you need:

200g cream cheese

175g icing sugar

1 ts vanilla extract

3 tbs butter

18 raspberries

Preheat the oven to 175°

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, the sugar and the butter. Then add the flour and the baking powder. Now you can add the white chocolate chips.

Place the paper muffin cups into the mold and add 1tbs of dough. Then add one raspberry onto the dough and fill the muffin cup 3/4 full with dough again. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes.

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Whisk the cream cheese and the icing sugar together. Add the butter and the vanilla extract until you get a creamy paste. Put the icing cream for 10 minutes into the fridge. Then decorate the cupcakes. To put another fruit element on top, decorate each cupcake with a raspberry.

Enjoy!!!

Passion Fruit Cupcakes

PASSION FRUIT CUPCAKES

Passion fruit Cupcakes for PassionMeetsCreativity Fans.

I know, I promised April would be a savoury month. Don't worry there are three lovely dishes coming ahead but I thought as spring keeps spoiling us so much I should post a cupcake that is on the par with the weather. 

Don't they look like little sunshines? For me they totally do. The recipe differs a little bit from the previous recipes because with every bite you have the feeling that summer comes closer. I love passion fruit this is the reason why I had to shoot the pictures quite quickly. Otherwise there wouldn't have been any leftovers for the blog.

I brought some of the cupcakes to work and the feedback was very good. There is a lot of food sharing going on in the office but this was, at least so far, the lightest dessert anyone brought. People felt less guitly I guess, especially after the Oreo cupcakes. So if you are looking for a lighter dessert or teatime treat you should not miss the passion fruit cupcakes. 

I decided to change the original recipe a little bit, which was only a vanilla cupcake with the passion fruit topping. I found that there has to be a little more passion in these little cupcakes. That's why I decided to put another passion fruit into the dough. Of course this changes the consistency of the cake, but the taste is really perfect.

For 12 cupcakes you need: 

 150g butter

150g sugar

150g flour

3 eggs

1/2 ts baking powder

1 ts vanilla extract

5 passionfruits

150ml liquid cream

150g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°

In a large bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla extract with the hand mixer or around 1 minute. When obtained an even dough add the pulp of one passion fruit. Mix again. The dough will slightly change its texture, but this is normal.

Put the cupcake cases into your cupcake mold and pour the dough up to 2/3 into the cupcake forms and bake for 25 minutes.

******

While the cupcakes are cooling down you can prepare the cream. Cut 2 more passion fruits in two and put their pulp in a bowl. Mix the pulp with the liquid cream and 1 Tbsp of icing sugar. 

Take the cupcakes out of the cases and cut them in two. Spread the  cream on the bottom half and  top with the other half.

*******

Last but not least, take the pulp of the two remaining passionfruits and add the icing sugar. Mix until you get an even mixture. Coat the cupcakes with the icing.

Enjoy!!!!

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Oreo Cupcakes

OREO CUPCAKES

According to the newest statistics Oreos still remain the world’s favourite cookies! This is definitely not a surprise, especially because the use of the dark chocolate and milky cream cookie varies a lot. They appear in cheesecakes, cupcakes, milkshakes and the more adventurous even put them into chocolate chip cookies.  

This Sunday I decided to go for the cupcake version of the world’s beloved cookie. At the beginning I couldn’t really imagine what the outcome would be like. How do the Oreo-crumps stand out of the strong vanilla flavour of the cupcake dough itself? And wouldn’t the frosting be too sweet for this little cupcake? The answer is clearly: NO! I have eaten a lot of cupcakes so far and I dare to say that the Oreo cupcakes are one of my favourites.

There is not much more to say except that they’re perfect. Soft yet crunchy is the cupcake and the frosting is creamy yet not too heavy. From my family to my friends to the office colleagues, this is by far the best feedback I got regarding my beloved cupcakes! So if you’re a fan yourself, do not hesitate to recreate these little delights.

And now hurry to the recipe, your friends and family are secretly waiting for them already!

For 16 Cupcakes you need:

230g butter

230g sugar

220g flour

1 ts baking powder

4 eggs

1ts vanilla extract

10 crushed Oreos

Preheat the oven to 175°

In a large bowl whisk together the softened butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and the eggs. Beat them fast until you get an even dough. Now carefully incorporate the Oreo crumbs.

Put the cupcake cases into your cupcake mold and pour the dough up to 2/3 into the cupcake forms and bake for 20 minutes. 

 ******

For the icing:

350g icing sugar

220g butter

1 pinch of salt

10 Oreos cut into little pieces

Whisk the icing sugar, the butter and the pinch of salt together for about two minutes until you get a silky mix. Carefully add the Oreo pieces. Take a knife and decorate the cupcakes.

Enjoy!!!!!

Coffee Walnut Cupcakes

COFFEE WALNUT CUPCAKES

Since the birth of Passion meets Creativity, I have only lived 6 months in Luxembourg. And from these six months I travelled 2. So let's say for 4 months I have been back for good. My family but especially also my friends are following very closely what happens on the blog and on the Passion meets Creativity's Facebook Page. 

However it occurred, that not many of them had the chance to taste the things I prepare. Well this is mostly due to the fact that I prepare things on Sundays and until the next gathering my family or those which I meet on the first week-days as well as my colleagues from work ate all of it.

This is why I decided I would organize a little Passion meets Creativity Feast. This is basically a win win situation. I mean, I can prepare 3 kinds of cakes, cupcakes, tarts etc... and it will be eaten for sure afterwards and my friends can taste as much as they want. The first feast was a great success I'd say, so this calls for another round. 

The winner of this event was the Oreo Cupcake. Those following me on Facebook know what I am talking about. For the others just have a look at this picture.  The Oreo Cupcake was the winner. And the Coffee Walnut Cupcake definitely deserves the second place. What I really like about the Coffee Walnut Cupcake is the fact that it is crunchy and soft at a time. I chose to crush the walnuts not into too little pieces so it keeps a certain crunchiness. 

The coffee buttercream is not heavy at all and still has a well-defined taste. I have a new icing bag, so this was also the first time I was decorating with it and I have to admit I am quite proud. I was always wondering how they get this well-defined decoration on a cupcake and now I find out. There's still space for improvement but for a first I am already happy.

For 12 Cupcakes you need:

4 tbsp espresso

125g butter

125g brown sugar

2 eggs

150g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g crushed walnuts

For the icing

4 tsp espresso

100g butter

150g icing sugar

walnuts for decoration

Preheat the oven to 180°

Prepare a cup of espresso. In a large bowl whisk together the butter, the eggs, the sugar, the baking soda and the flour until you get an even dough. Now add the chopped walnuts and mix again. Finally add the espresso and mix for at least one minute. 

Pour the dough into the cupcake molds and bake for 20 minutes

Meanwhile you can prepare the icing. Whisk together the butter and the icing sugar. When obtained  a silky cream add the espresso. Mix again. 

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Let the cupcakes cool down before you start decorating the cupcakes. With your icing bag put the cream on top and decorate with a walnut.

Enjoy!!!!

CHOCOLATE - SPECULOOS CUPCAKES

CHOCOLATE - SPECULOOS CUPCAKES

It's been a while since I last posted on my foodblog. This is not due to a lack of motivation, but I was traveling a lot during my last month in Belgrade. Moreover the extreme heat in general and the high temperatures in my flat, didn't motivate me to put something into the oven. As our air conditioner couldn't handle the natural heat I didn't really dare to test its competences with artificial heat. But now I am back in Luxembourg, home sweet cold home!

My love for cupcakes started when I went to see a good friend in Paris back in 2010. She really loves cupcakes too and took me to that lovely little cupcake place near Pigale called Chloé S. As pink is one of my favorite colors I liked the place immediately. From the counter to the cutlery everything is pink. It's a really cosy place and the staff is really friendly. You can also buy cupcake accessories in the shop.

Chloé S. has become really successful with her little cupcake shop. She published her first book in March 2012 and I couldn't wait to buy it.

This is only the first cupcake recipe of a long long long long series!!

For 20 cupcakes you need :

140g flour

6 eggs

1/2 bag baking powder

160g sugar

400g dark chocolate

240g butter

1 jar of speculoos spread

For the icing you need:

250g soft butter

3 tbs icing sugar

1 tbs speculoos spread

5 speculoos biscuits

 Preheat the oven to 165°

Dough:

In a middle-sized bowl whisk together the flour and the baking powder. In a large bowl beat the eggs and add the sugar. Melt the chocolate over a hot water bath, then add it to the eggs and sugar mixture. Mix the three ingredients very well and add the butter. Finally add the flour & baking powder mix.

Place the paper muffin cups into the mold and add 1tbs of dough. Then add a tsp of speculoos spread onto the dough and fill the muffin cup 3/4 full with chocolate dough again. Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes.

Icing:

Mix the soft butter and the icing sugar until you get an even mixture. Then add the speculoos spread and mix again. Fill this mixture into a pastry bag and start decorating your cupcakes. Place a piece of speculoos biscuit on top of every cupcake.

Enjoy!

APPLE OATMEAL MUFFINS WITH A TOUCH OF ALMONDS

I just realized it's been a while since my last blogpost! I've been quite busy over the last month, and actually wasn't that much in town. From Beirut to Skopje to Sarajevo and back. Unfortunately, spending much time in transportation, didn't really leave me much time for baking or cooking. However on this sunny morning I was preparing some food for the upcoming week and I thought would be great to have nice desserts to bring to work. And these lovely little apple muffins are the outcome. As you might notice, again, the oats made it into a new recipe. I think I have to face it, I'm about to become a huge fan of these tiny flakes!!! 

 

For 10 muffins:

1 medium apple

10 g crushed roasted almonds

30g oat flakes

60g brown sugar

1 package vanilla sugar

100g flour

1 ts baking powder

1 egg

6cl milk

50g melted butter

Preheat the oven to 180°

Cut the apple into small cubes.

In a small bowl mix the butter, the egg and the milk until you get an even mixture. In a large bowl whisk the flour, brown sugar, vanilla sugar, baking powder, crushed almonds and the oat flakes. Add the liquid mixture and mix until you get an even dough. Now add the apple cubes and mix again. Put the mix into muffin cups and put them into the oven.

Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes

Enjoy!!!

APPLE HAZELNUT CUPCAKES

Over the last months I stated a lot of negativity towards cupcakes among my friends and other food bloggers. The reason: they are too sweet, overloaded with many different flavours at once and too many artificial ingredients such as food coloring and glitter. I cannot blame them to have that opinion because when you look all over the internet or go to cupcake shops around Europe; it's all there is. Shiny little cakes with multiple layers of all you can imagine.

Is this really what the cupcake is all about? NO! A cupcake actually is the cup-sized version of a cake. The quantity of a whole cake's dough, divided into little bites. To give the little cake a little extra, toppings are added. Whether in the shape of little flowers or spirals, it does not matter at all. Over the last few years though, cupcakes have become what has just been described in the paragraph above. I honestly have the feeling that bakers try to outdo one another without realising that what really is to the cupcake is being completely lost. As a consequence, cupcakes have become little accessories whose taste no one really cares about anymore.

Thankfully we are numerous thinking the same way. Today's little cupcakes are my newest creation. I love the combo apple-cinnamon but it somehow always remains the same flavour whether you put them into cookies, pies, or cakes. To add a little something, I added hazelnuts. I do not exactly remember how the idea came to my mind, but I guess it was because I wanted to prepare apple cinnamon cupcakes on one hand and on the other hand I really wanted something nutty and fruity. Am I now being contradictory to the two previous paragraphs? Wanting too much and then putting it all into one cake? Am I hereby forcing too much out of these little treasures? Again, NO! The flavours are all natural and you will taste a smooth transition between all of them. 

For around 12 cupcakes you need:

120g butter

120g sugar

120g flour

125g applesauce

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

50g crushed hazelnuts

80 raisins

1 apple

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, flour and the eggs until you get a smooth cake batter. Now add the applesauce, cinnamon, the hazelnuts as well as the raisins. 

Pour the dough into the cupcake molds. Cut the apple into small slices and place them on top of each cupcake. 

Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

It's been a while since I baked my last cookies, and here we go again with the next load! I guess man is a creature of habit. For more than two weeks now I've had my little cookies as a desert after my healthy lunch at work. I have to admit that I cannot resist sugar and I always need a little sweet element after a savoury dish. So this time I was thinking about the straight opposite of last time's crunchy chocolate chip cookies. Dried fruits, some walnuts and a lot of oat seemed to be the perfect solution.

When I tried the first cookie I knew that these would be regular guests in my cookie jar. The combination of cinnamon oats and raisins couldn't be any better especially with that gooey texture. If you don't like raisins, you can just replace them with dried cranberries.

 For 15-20 cookies you need:

100g butter

150g brown sugar

75g flour

1 egg

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1/2 ts baking powder

1/2 ts ground cinnamon 

1/4 ts salt

120g rolled oats

100g raisins

50g chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 175°C

In a large bowl, put together the butter, brown sugar, egg and the vanilla extract until you get a smooth mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Then stir the dry ingredients into the sugar-butter mixture. Stir in the raisins, walnuts and oats. 

It depends on how you prefer your cookies but if you like them thick and chewy, chill the dough in the fridge for a bit before forming the cookies on your sheet. 

The baking time needed for your cookies depends on your oven and on how long you chilled the dough. In general you should bake them for 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. For those not used to making cookies here a little advice : Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before you transferring them to a plate.

Prijatno! 

Vanilla Whoopies with Chocolate Spread

It's time for something new!! While browsing other foodblogs or online shops to buy new recipe books I got really curious what these Whoopie Pies (Whoopies) really are. Some look very sophisticated, others funny. At the beginning I thought they were just a variation of the famous Macaroons, but the dough is completely different.

Originally, Whoopie Pies were made out of chocolate cake, gingerbread or pumpkin cake with a sweet and soft creamy filling or frosting. However this recipe makes me think more of a very soft cookie dough. Depending on what dough you take, you can also shape them with a decorating bag. For this time, I used cookie cutters. 

Depending on the size you can serve them with a coffee, or as I did, because my cookie cutters were just so big, make an entire dessert out of it. The vanilla dough allows you to take almost whatever filling or icing you want. The recipe suggests chocolate spread, but I also tried it with Speculoos spread and raspberry jam. Depending on how big they are, and for what purpose you want to serve them, you can vary between the different fillings.

For 25 whoopie pies you need:

Dough

500g flour

1 bag of baking powder

3 eggs 

150g sugar

125g soft butter

2 bags vanilla sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

Filling and Decoration

1 jar of chocolate spread

black melted chocolate

sugar hearts (or other sugar decoration)

Preheat the oven to 170C°

In a middle-sized bowl whisk together the flour and the baking powder. Add the eggs, the sugar and the butter. Mix the ingredients with your hands. Now add the vanilla sugar and the vanilla extract.

Roll out the dough on the work surface and cut the cookies out with a cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until they get golden brown. Let them cool down before you start decorating. 

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Put the chocolate spread into a decorating bag. Put the spread on the inner side of a cookie. Take another cookie and decorate it with the melted chocolate and the sugar hearts. Now put the two halves together. 

Enjoy!!!!

Maple-glazed apple oat cookies

MAPLE-GLAZED APPLE OAT COOKIES

This is the very first post of my 'gifts from my kitchen' series. Cooking and baking are my passion, that's not a secret. But I also love tasting creative homemade recipes from my friends. I am surrounded by many passionate cooks or bakers and I am always happy when they bring along their treats. Many of my friends say that when I am eating, I am not simply eating, I am celebrating food. Well, that's right. Whereas many people just eat to survive, I really enjoy it. I love taking time to prepare my meals whether it be quick recipes or three course menues. I put all my love for food in it and that's why I was thinking about dedicating a whole page to this passion on my blog. 

There are so many occasions in life where you want to thank somebody for their help or support, where you want to comfort your beloved in difficult times or just want to bring along something delicious to have a cup of tea of coffee. Cooking or baking is love made edible and that's what will be spread in this section of the blog.

These apple oat cookies are a lovely treat for fall. I prepared some delicious homemade apple sauce with the apples I bought at the apple orchards in Steinsel two weeks ago. It was the first time I went there, but it was quite an adventure. There were so many different types of apples that it was difficult to choose one specific kind. Sure there are some that are better for baking or cooking, but the unique flavors of apples can transform a simple recipe into an amazing treat. For my applesauce I opted for Boskoop, because of its slightly acid note. The outcome was amazing. 

I am preparing so many things with oats these days. The nice little bag you see here above was a gift for my good friend Susanna, who recently, by simply sharing ink on Facebook contributed to an important change in my life. To thank her for this great move, I offered her a large bag of cookies.

This morning I took the half of the batch to work to collect feedback from my colleagues. My taste buds already approved them yesterday morning, but it's always good to collect a second opinion outside of my own kitchen. So far, no one complained and one even qualified them as the perfect fall cookies. 

For around 25 cookies you need:

180g brown sugar

80g caster sugar

50g butter

1 egg

160g rolled oats

200g flour

120g chunky apple sauce

1 tsp baking powder

110g sultanas

For the icing you need:

200g icing sugar

3tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 175°

In a large bowl whisk together the butter, the caster sugar and brown sugar. Add the egg and the apple sauce. Mix until you get an even batter. Now add the oats, the flour and the baking powder. Mix again then add the sultanas. 

With two table spoons form little cookies and put them on the baking tray. Be careful to let a certain distance between each of them, because with the heat they might flatten a little bit.

Banke for 12-15 minutes.

Once taken out of the oven, let them cool down several minutes on the baking tray before you place them on the cooking tray.

Enjoy!

Little Prince Cookies

This is definitely like traveling back in time. In this part of Europe, the little prince’s cookie is a childhood classic and I guess everyone reading this article will have childhood memories popping up in his mind. If for breakfast, the 10 o’clock break at school, or a milk and cookies session among friends, most of us do remember this cookie.

I remember, when I grew older and started traveling with school or participated in sports weeks, my mom always packed some little prince cookies for me. So even now, almost 15 years later, this cookie is related to primary school or traveling. Thinking of the cookie is like starting a diashow of childhood memories.

Recently, I discovered the recipe of the homemade version in one of my cookbooks and I decided that after the homemade oreos’ success I’d try these. And this is the outcome. I have to say I am satisfied with the result. For the chocolate ganache it is very important that you take chocolate of good quality. For me Côte d’Or is the one and only chocolate when it comes to preparing a ganache, especially the milk chocolate.

For 10 Cookies you need:

140g flour

50g sugar

60g salted butter

6cl liquid cream

1ts vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

For the Ganache: 

200g milk chocolate

8cl liquid cream

Preheat the oven to 180C°

Cut the butter into little pieces. Add the flour and the sugar and mix until the dough looks like breadcrumbs. Now you can add the liquid cream and the vanilla extract and mix again until you get an even dough. Put the dough into the fridge for 30min.

Roll out the dough on the work surface and cut the cookies out with a cookie cutter. The dough shouldn't be thicker than 2-3mm. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they get golden brown.

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Cut the milk chocolate into little pieces and melt it in a sauce pan with the liquid cream. Mix until you get a thick cream. 

*******

Spread the ganache on one cookie and top with another. 

Enjoy!!!!