Vanilla Cupcake with Chocolate Ganache and Fondant Decorations :)

Hello!

Sorry about the lack of posts! Ive been really busy! To name a few things is a broken mixer (deadly fro any baker!) I also bought a new camera lens! (which is what I used to take these pictures with!:) ) I just got a new full time summer job, (my first full time job ever!:D) and that has kept me uber busy..... I sometimes come home so tired that i just want to plop onto my bed and not get up ever again! But alas I do....bright and early at 6am :/ *sigh*

But alas....I cant complain, I have a pretty good job (Program Assistant aka Administrative Assistant for the Ministry of Child and Youth Services) lol , but more on that later.

Im also trying to fix up my old blog posts....you know..those pesky labels? Im actually doing it right now ;)

Now on to these yummy nummy cupcakes! I actually made these almost a month ago but never got around to posting!

It was my first time making chocolate ganache, and I have to say, I fell in LOVE! It was SO smooth, and velvety and rich...and CHOCOLATY! Chocolate buttercream dilutes the chocolate flavour in my opinion but this ganache had a very pure chocolaty flavour.

I had 2 packets of chocolate on hand, and I ended up using Hershey's Extra Dark Reserve 70% CACAO, and also some Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips.

I ended up adding the chocolate chips because I'm not a fan of very dark chocolate, but I love the intensity of it. Next time I will probably add more semisweet chocolate chips :)

But either way it was SO YUM on a nice moist vanilla cupcake!

And the best part? It was SO EASY TO MAKE!

I adapted my recipe from a few places, according to what I thought would work.

Rich Chocolate Ganache:

*100 gr dark chocolate
*1/4cup-1/2cup semisweet chocolate (depends on personal taste)
* 100 ml whipping cream

1. cut up chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl
2. bring your cream to an almost boil
3. pour over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 5 min
4. slowly mix until melted (try not to incorporate air into the mixture)
5. You can beat it (optional) then put it in the fridge to firm up a bit to desirable spreading consistency

As well a big hello/welcome to my new followers!:D Thanks for following! **maybe I shouldpost sooner just for you lot ;)

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Cupcake Fever

Hello,

So much for not taking so many pics and blogging more regularly. *sigh*

But in my defense I have been pretty busy! Why? because my cupcake fever came back!:O

(The fondant-ness started when I found 3 unfrosted cupcakes left over from this(they were rock hard! so we didnt eat these 3....but they inspired the rest) .... so ignore the burned paper parts :P)

What is cupcake fever you ask? Well it is a devastating disease. When one succumbs to it, they have this need for constant cupcake baking and cupcake decorating. The more they bake the more they need it. Scourging through online blogs and through cookbooks, in search of that PURRR-fect next recipe to try. In a given week, depending on just how bad their disease is, they may bake anywhere between 2 batches of cupcakes to as much as 10! This obsession not only affects the poor victims waist line and sanity, but also that of their family, who are forced against their will to consume more cupcakes than is intended for a human. These poor victims will do anything for their next bite of cupcake-y goodness....

The most unfortunate part? there is no cure. NO CURE. It is quite interesting to note....that at times some people just get over it and become good as new (though they still have those haunting dreams about when they would stay up until 2 am baking cupcakes and slathering on frosting, with crazy people hair and a mess of a kitchen). Whilst others....never do get over their cupcake fever....and others (like myself) go into remission...and come crashing back at the slightest smell of a cupcake, or the prettiest picture of piped frosting on a flickr picture .... (shakes fist at flickr)

Now, for me, I am ashamed (well not really) to say that I was weak...that i crashed....I now have cupcake Fever.

About a year ago, I got hit, for the first time with this disease....I baked quite literally every day after school , though my friends loved it...my family....(and their getting bigger waistlines...)did not! After a few months I managed to go into remission... cupcake clean for almost a year ( with the occasional craving now and again which I admit - I satisfied.)

These pics are a few pics of cupcakes I made...while trying to make my first ever cupcakes with fondant. (cupcake fever will make you do the craziest things ;) )

(I made quite the mess!)

The past few days I have been playing quite a lot with my fondant, and will post more about that later. I hope to update soon. I should prob note that i didnt intend on writing this post like this AT ALL, but alas, it seems the cupcake fever is that severe ;)

Do you or someone you know, ever been effected by the cupcake fever? If so, let me know. We are not alone.

My name is Zahra, and I am a Cupcakeholic.

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Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting

Hello,

Sorry about the lack of posts. I have been uber busy with somethings I've been working on. I shall hopefully reveal what these somethings are soon, but for now, I thought I should update.

These yummy nummy cupcakes were actually made over a month ago, but I just never got around to posting. I have so many pictures in the backlog of photos, Im going to have to do a "housekeeping" post with all of them in one big long post! lol

so...about this time I had bought myself a handy dandy ice cream scoop (that can unscoop itself!) as well as Wiltons twirly star tip # 1M! This in its self CALLS for cupcakes baking! So I obliged.

My thing with cupcakes is that they have to be moist. they have to be. THE WORST thing a cupcake can be is dry...in MY opinion anyways.

So when I saw a blog post describing how moist and yummy a Chocolate Mayonnaise recipe, to say I was intrigued would be an understatement. Mayonnaise, with its HIGH fat content MUST make the cupcakes uber moist, and uber yummy. So I gave it a shot.

Unfortunatly, it was a big dissapointment.

The cake was moist 'enough' but the next day it was actually very dry, and there wasnt much of a chocolate flavour AT ALL. I was thinking if I had maybe doubled the chocolate amount it would have been better? In fact, there were a few cupcakes left over that had to be thrown out (which is an EXTREMELY RARE occurence in my household). However, the frosting was still very yummy nummy. I sorta "made this one as I go", but it was pretty tasty!

I wont include the recipe for the cake....(because thats just mean! heres the link to the disgusting cake this person made :P)

Heres the Mocha Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 tbsp hot milk
2 tbsp whipped cream

1) Dissolve instant coffee into hot milk.
2) beat butter Icing Sugar and Coffe mixture
3) add Cocoa powder
4) Add the whipped cream, and beat until smooth and creamy.

MMMM.....I want some of this frosting right now!


Also, my friend Jordan, has a new youtube account and hes been making a few random videos, and really wants some new viewers, he asked me if I could 'feature' his youtube account since my blog gets views and such, this was our hilarious msn convo:

(click to read)

So, I lead him to believe I wouldnt, but I'm not THAT much of a bitch am I? ;) I mean....I would OWN him for all eternity :D

So heres his link....I think you should visit him..he deserves it...for sucking up to me like that :D

haha!


Well that all for now! I hope to be able to post sooner rather then later next time :/

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