Oreo Cupcakes reloaded

You know, I’m a sucker for Oreos. And cupcakes. And Oreo cupcakes, naturally. But I’ve made Oreo cupcakes before, so this time I thought I’d bring the experience to a new level. Oreo cupcakes reloaded, basically.

The result is a white vanilla-flavoured cake with crunchy classic Oreo bits in it, topped with a dark chocolate ganache and finished off with white Oreos. Heavenly, I say.

Since I’m such a generous person, I thought I’d share the love – here is how I made these delicious treats:

White Oreo Cupcakes Supreme

130 g flour
130 g super-fine white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
40 g butter

Mix the dry ingredients and the butter in a free-standing mixer with paddle attachement. Add:

60 ml milk

and continue beating on low speed for a few more seconds. In a seperate bowl, mix

70 ml milk
1 egg
~ 5 g vanilla essence

Pour this mix into the flour/sugar mix and beat on low speed until you get a smooth consistency. Make sure not to over-beat! Fill the mixture into a prepared cupcake/muffin tin (you can use paper cases, if you like). Cut

8 classic Oreos

in quarters, sprinkle on top of your cupcakes and bake at 165°C for about 20-25 minutes.

For the topping, I used the same ganache recipe like last time (200 g cream, 125 g dark chocolate 70%). For more detailed directions, please have a look here. Use a pastry bag with a star-nozzle to decorate the cupcakes and stick White chocolate Oreo halves on top of each cupcake. Serve, make your guests (and yourself) smile and enjoy!

Mini-Marshmallow Cupcakes

Today I spent most of the day baking (as usual).

First, I made pizza (from scratch, of course!), then a plum cake and a plaited yeast bun (because I had some yeast dough left from the plum cake) and then some blueberry muffins (because I had some blueberries left, too).

Last week I had also made some brownies and some marshmallow cupcakes so now we have plenty to eat…

And because I realised it’s been a loooooooong time since I last shared a recipe with you (and a loooooooong time since I last posted – CampNaNoWriMo takes it’s toll!), here’s how to make super-yummy very cute mini-marshmallow cupcakes:

120 g flour
100 g sugar (+ some vanilla sugar, optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
120 ml milk
1 egg
12 mini-marshmallows

For decoration:

12 mini-marshmallows, white + some extra for decoration

buttercream frosting (equal parts of unsalted butter, beaten at high speed for several minutes until fluffy and white, and vanilla pudding, slowly added to the butter – I suggest to use 50-80g of each)
30 g cocoa powder

To make the cupcakes, put the dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer (paddle attachment) and beat slowly. Add butter and continue beating until you reach a sandy consistency.
Add milk and egg and beat until everything is well-combined. Fill in 12 paper cases and drop 1 mini-marshmallow into each case. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 175°C.

Divide your buttercream frosting in two halves. Add cocoa powder to one half and whisk until well-combined. Fill vanilla frosting and cocoa frosting in two seperate pastry bags. Beginning with the vanilla frosting, pipe a circle on each cupcake, leaving a little room for one mini-marshmallow to take place.

Pipe cocoa frosting on top of the marshmallow. Cut remaining marshmallows in tiny pieces and sprinkle on top.

Enjoy!

… and a cupcake fairytale

Seems like April is study month on coffeerocketfairytale.

I have yet another fun chart for you to look it, except this time it’s not about coffee but about my second great love: cupcakes.

Here we go, a beautiful chart by All Culinary School (via Best Friends For Frosting):

I bet you want a cupcake (or two or three or maybe even four?) really badly now, right?

Well, for some baking inspiration, have a look at my creations (in the ‘small goodies’ section).

For some food porn (= looking at pictures of delicious food you wished you had) try a web search or simply go and see what I’ve pinned onto “Cake Inspiration” on Pinterest.

I will opt for a combination of option no. 1 and 3 – which means I’ll be heading down to my kitchen to make myself some cupcakes (but try a new recipe or even create a new one, depending on what I’ll find in the fridge).

Make sure to let me know what you guys ended up doing!

Oreo cupcakes & miraculous B/W chocolate bark

Let’s move straight on to the recipes because that’s probably what you came here for after reading this week’s monday morning message, right?

Both, the Oreo cupcakes and the Black and White Chocolate Bark, are quite simple yet miraculously delicious and here’s how you make them.

There are so many Oreo cupcakes recipes out there but I decided to go with my very own version and blend two delicious recipes and throw in some biscuits.

You may remember my Fairytaleicious Chocolate Cupcakes which I adapted for this recipe.

Beat 50 g butter with 125 g white sugar until white and fluffy, then add 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 125 g plain flour and eventually fold in 120 g sour cream. Crush 6 Oreo biscuits and fold in the mixture.

Divide 12 whole Oreo biscuits among 12 muffin holes (place one biscuit on the bottom of each hole, if you don’t use paper liners, grease the muffin tin first).

Divide the batter among the 12 holes and bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the topping:

Bring 150 g cream to the boil and pour it over 100 g chopped dark chocolate, stir until the chocolate has melted. Keep stirring until cream and chocolate have combined. Let cool*, then whisk or beat with a hand mixer until the canache reaches the consistency of butter cream. Use a pastry bag to decorate the cupcakes, then stick half an Oreo biscuit on each cupcake.

Enjoy!

* THIS is the time when you can either chillax and do nothing or make some chocolate bark in the meantime, like I did. 

If you decide on the latter, set up a double boiler and melt 90 g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona, because… you know… it’s good quality and I still have about 2.5 kg left).

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the melted chocolate in a thin layer and evenly on the paper. Sprinkle coconut flakes on one half and sliced almonds and hazelnut brittle on the other half. Chill until set.

Melt 180 g white chocolate and spread evenly on top of the layer of dark chocolate. Sprinkle with… you know… sprinkles. 🙂

Chill again (I recommend putting it in the fridge over night), then break into pieces and enjoy.

Tiramisu Cupcakes and a broken rolling pin | WEEKEND WIND UP #59

My interim exams are coming up and since (amongst other things) my Danish pastry-making skills are going to be tested on Tuesday, I thought I’d do some practise at home.

Until this week this happened:

My rolling pin broke! Much to the amusement of my co-workers and pretty much everyone else who asked how my prep for the exams was going.

While they were laughing their heads off, I was actually pretty bummed because although I prefer working with mixtures (which you can simply fill in tins) rather than doughs that need to be rolled out, I started to get the hang of this whole yeast-dough-making.

The result of my very first attempt at Danish pastry a little while back.

Without a rolling pin however, I will now have to rely on the fact that two and a half attempts at Danish pastry making would be enough to pass on Tuesday.

Anyway, I still wanted to make something edible, so I whipped up soem Tiramisu Cupcakes instead:

To make these, I melted 125g butter and mixed it with 125g white sugar and 2 eggs over gentle heat. Then I carefully added 125g flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder and filled the mixture into 12 cups (you can use a muffin tin).

I put them in the oven at 170°C (about 15-20 minutes) and in the meantime made a cup of espresso to which I added 1 teaspoon sugar and a dash liquor.

After taking the cupcakes out of the oven, I used a brush to apply the espresso-mix on top, then whipped up 200g mascarpone with 50g sugar.

After cooling I applied the mascarpone and (using a self-made star stencil) sifted some cocoa powder over each cupcake.

Now enjoy your cupcakes and wish me luck on Tuesday!

Christmasicle | WEEKEND WIND UP #55

I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE.

I’m Christmas-crazy.

Yep, it’s true. I’m totally hooked on everything that has something to do with December, an especially December 24, 25 and 26.

{via flickr from ~grendel ~: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26394147@N00/5284027844/in/pool-1232886@N21/}

I love everything about it: the glamour, the lights, the snow, the trees, the candles, the cookies, the Christmas decoration, the number of books you can only read that time of the year because they are Christmas-themed, the infinite loop of Christmas songs on the radio,…

I suspect it has something to do with New Zealand.

In New Zealand, Christmas happens to be in summer and summer and Christmas are just two words I find incredibly hard to name in one sentence.

It just doesn’t work.

Christmas parties and BBQs at the beach are awesome and all but to someone like me who grew up knowing Christmas as a winter holiday  it seems very odd.

Wellington Christmas tree {pic: own}

The Christmas spirit in Germany is just totally different to what I’ve experienced in New Zealand (and also in England, despite the fact that experience shows there is indeed a tiny possibility of having a white Christmas in England, too).

Don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed both experiences, but nothing beats Christmas at home.

We usually have white Christmas lights and subtle decoration – no rainbow colours, no blinking, nothing too crazy.

We have Christmas markets where you can buy all sorts of presents, ornaments and lots and lots of Glühwein (mulled wine).

Christmas Market in Germany {via bonn.de}

And we are given our presents one day early, on Christmas Eve, when we usually have a nice family dinner in the evening and get the gifts afterward.

Aaaaanyway – now that I’ve told you a lot about my Christmas experiences (seriously, you wouldn’t believe it, but I could go on for hours and hours despite the fact that I might repeat myself…) it’s time for a little goodie for you!

For these delicious cake-sicles you need

• 120 g margarine
• 120 g sugar
• 250 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder & 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 100 g milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chocolate (or chocolate drops)
• 1/2 teaspoon Christmas mix (= cinnamon, clove, anise…)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds

As with any of my cake-sicle recipes, you don’t have to make these in a cake sicle tin – you could use a muffin tin, heat-proof cups or miniature Bundt-cake tins instead. Or whatever else you find in your kitchen drawer. Be creative!

Bake at 180°C for 15-20 minutes, then melt some dark chocolate in a double boiler and coat with the chocolate before decorating your little Christmas treats with whatever you like. (I used little pieces of Christmas-themed chocolate bars with nuts and almonds.)

Enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas time!

P.S.: More on Christmas baking here and here!

P.P.S.: Still waiting for the real snow, but the WordPress snow is on! Yay!

Cupcake Fondue | WEEKEND WIND UP #53

Two days ago was the beginning of carnival season in Germany.

Over the next few days and months the number of parties and get-togethers will increase so I thought it would be the perfect time to share an idea for the perfect party dessert.

{pic via pintsizesocial//Amanda Krueger from Bake It Pretty}

Have you ever heard about the cupcake fondue?

Super-easy yet super-delicious and a dessert that easily can be turned into a fun activity for all of your guests!

Make a batch (or two or three, like I did) of plain miniature cupcakes (without frosting or icing or any kind of topping).

Then arrange marshmallows, colourful sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles and whatever else you can imagine to put on top of your cupcakes in small bowls on the table.

Melt some chocolate, add some cream, stir well and fill the mix in little bowls which you place on top of tea warmers.

Give a little fork to each person participating in the cupcke fondue and tell them to dip their cupcakes and decorate them with whatever they please.

FUN!

By the way, I made my cupcakes with 125 g butter, 125 g sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar, 2 eggs, 250 g plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 125 g milk, but you could also use this recipe which is fairly similar.

How Sweet It Is, another one of my favourite food blogs, has another great recipe you could use.

For decoration you could also use shredded coconut, peanuts, walnut halves, m&m’s/smarties, various sprinkles, chocolate chips, mini cookies… everything that’s small and sweet, really.

Amanda Krueger from Bake It Pretty shares some instructions on how to make a chocolate cupcake fondue here.

Autumn Baking

Autumn is pumpkin time – naturally, I’d like to show you today how to make pumpkin pie.

What you need:

200 g flour

1 tablespoon sugar

125 g butter

1 pinch of salt

~ 600 g pumpkin (I used hokkaido)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons sour cream

5 tablespoons golden syrup

cinnamon, cloves,…

Cut pumpkin into cubes (use a spoon to get rid of the seeds) and spread on a baking sheet. Cook at 200°C for about 20-30 minutes or until the pulp is soft. (If you use a steam oven, 15 minutes will do.)

In the meantime make the dough: mix butter, sugar, flour and salt. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of cold water, if necessary.

In between two layers of clingfilm – just like I did when making my apple pie the other day – roll out the dough and put it in your pan.

Put the pan into the fridge for about half an hour.

Mash the pumpkin pulp (use a food processor!) and mix with the remaining ingredients.

Spread the pumpkin pulp over the base of your pie and cook at 180 – 200°C for 30 – 40 minutes.

This pie is super-easy to make (even easier than apple pie, actually) and I especially love the bright orange colour.

The Pie Challenge

One of the blogs I frequently visit is “Oh, Mishka!“, written by the lovely Michelle who is facing a pie challenge.

{click for source}

She has a list of 25 things to do before her 25th birthday and asked her readers to help her out a bit.

While there are quite a few things that I consider huge challenges for myself (rock climbing, speaking French, etc…) there is one thing I can help her with: pie making.

On Michelle’s list it says: “Bake a pie from scratch” and I couldn’t think of any better recipe than the traditional apple pie.

Telling her about my recipe (from this book) made me want to make my second favourite pie (#1 is still this one) myself and now that autumn is here it’s the perfect time to do so:

350 g plain flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

200 g butter

Mix flour, salt and sugar.

Cut butter in little pieces and add to the mix. Knead with your hands (might take a few minutes until all the ingredients combine, just keep going – if you own a Thermomix set dial on interval speed for 3.5 minutes and you’re settled).

Put the dough on a plate and into the fridge where it needs to stay for at least an hour.

For the filling you need:

1kg apples (slightly sour)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon plain flour

100 g brown sugar

a dash of cinnamon

Peel the apples, remove the core and cut them first in quarters, then in thin wedges. Mix with the lemon juice (this prevents them from turning brown).

Grease a tarte pan (or a springform pan of 28 – 30 cm diameter).

Take the dough out of the fridge and halve. Using a rolling pin and two layers of cling wrap in between which you place one half of the dough at a time, try to roll out the dough the size of your pan.

This can be a bit tricky, but if it doesn’t work at all, you can also place one of the doughs into the pan straight away and use a small bottle or glass to roll out the dough in the tin. (Obviously, this only works for the pie base, for the top layer you will still need to figure out another way…)

Once you placed the base in the pan, mix the apples with flour, sugar and cinnamon and put on top.

Place the other dough on top (pretty much like a lid) and make sure to press the edges together.

Cook for 30 – 35 minutes (middle roast, 180°C).

Then melt 1 – 2 tablespoons of butter and brush it on the pie. Cook for another 20 minutes until the top is golden.

This pie is very crumbly (you will notice when trying to roll the dough) but the dry shell goes perfect with the juicy and sweet filling.

Super-delicious and not so complicated to make as it may sound when you first read the recipe.

By the way, don’t bother cutting little hearts out to decorate your pie like I did here – they will melt in the oven anyway and become invisible, as you can see in the very first pic…

Do you have a favourite pie recipe? Tell me about it! 

Pacman cookies!

When I came home from work (after doing extra hours for a couple of days now), there was a little surprise waiting for me in my mailbox.

A little while ago I had ordered this set of cookie cutters and today they arrived (earlier than expected!).

I’m so in love with these little Pacman cookie cutters, they are so cute and I can’t wait to try and make my first Pacman cookies!

For some more cookie inspiration, I had a good read over at “The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle” where there is heaps of fun stuff to explore and lots to learn about cookie-making.

I haven’t seen any Pacman cookies on her blog yet, but Sugar Belle certainly is a cookie artist who knows what she’s doing and for some more eye-candy for you I found this pic on Pinterest:

I hope mine will look about as cute as these…

Have you made (or tried) any special cookies lately?