Happy Smurfy Birthday Nia ..... xoxoxoxo

Now a days i am looking for excuses to bake!! so when my sisters 25th birthday came up i jumped at the oppurtunity and baked the most yummiest double chocolate fudge cake! I finally found the perfect chocolate cake recipe and that too a very simple one.....the cake turned out better then my imagination...and everyone loved it to..yayyyy :D :d i am superrrrr happy !!! :D

heres a peek to how my cake looked enjoy ...

Sugar Cookie Icing

This icing dries hard and shiny and the colors stay bright. Choose as many different food colorings as you desire

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons milk

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

assorted food coloring
 
Directions


1.In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.

2.Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.
 
 

Chocolate Cake

Adopted from Joy of baking

Chocolate Cake

Ingrediants

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed), sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or vinegar)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream (35% butterfat)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Method
Chocolate Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.


In an ungreased 8 inch (20 cm) square cake pan, stir together the flour, sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the melted butter, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. With a fork, mix all the ingredients together until well blended.

Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Frosting:
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let the ganache sit at room temperature until slightly firm (about one hour) and then beat the ganache until creamy smooth and light. With an offset spatula or knife spread the ganache over the cooled cake.

Serves 8 - 10 people.

My Touch:
Coconut Cream:
1. Take about 1/2 cup heavy cream, add 1 tbsp Icing Sugar, 2 tbspn Coconut powder OR coconut shavings....beat until creamy ...place in fridge and pour over cooled cake (first layer) place second layer on top and cover with ganache.

Lessons Learnt:
1. Let the cake cool down before removing it from pan..else itl break!
2. Dunt cut the cake into layers like i tried to do....it destoys the base.... if u want to make 2 layers bake 2 separate cakes!


Happy Baking!!

Architect Theme CupCakes

As you must have guessed by now i am totally in love with making cupcakes nowadays! i am looking for excuses to make some .... and have been after my sisters & frnds to provide me oppurtunities to do so ....
anyway so my sister is an architecht and one of her collegue's bday was coming up ....i grabbed the oppurtunity and voilaa....... architect theme cupcakes! :D

Enjoy...


Plans & T-Square Cupcakes

Architectural Scale & Set Squares

The Assortment

A Smiley Face to brighten their day :D

And ofcourse sumthing for my hubby xoxox

Hearts, smiles & Work! Experimenting with cupcake decorations!

I just adore this cookie...luv the colors!