Category: Learn

Carrot cupcakes are the miniature version of carrot cakes. The World Carrot Museum posits that carrot cakes originated from carrot puddings enjoyed by Europeans during medieval times, which then arose due to the innate sweetness of the vegetable, making it surprisingly an appropriate ingredient for desserts.

I prefer baking cupcakes over full-sized cakes as there is less chance of baking fails.  This is a tweaked version of a recipe I found on Pinterest, adjusted based on availability of ingredients.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, grated
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 eggs, beaten

Frosting:

• 1 225g bars cream cheese
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup cold all purpose cream

Procedure:

To make the cupcakes:

• Pre-heat oven to 175-deg C.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Combine grated carrots and oil in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture, while stirring until just mixed. Add beaten egg and stir for a few more times.
• Line muffin pans with paper cups. Fill each cup 2/3 of the way, then bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when you insert it in one of the cakes.
• Set aside and let cool.

To make the frosting:

• Beat cream cheese until smooth.
• Sift powdered sugar into the bowl. Mix then add vanilla.
• Beat in the cream at medium-high speed.
• Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with your desired tip, then pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
• Top with carrot-shaped candy for a fun and festive look.

Yields 12 moist and yummy cupcakes.

Mashed potatoes are a great side dish, particularly to grilled meats such as Steaks, Roast Pork and Lamp Chops.

However, its preparation can require a lot of time and energy which we working moms don’t have quite a lot of, do we?

I came across a recipe for crock pot mashed potatoes on Pinterest and I decided to try it out.

I’m happy to discover that the slow cooker does take out the tedious part of making mashed potatoes: boiling the spuds in water and waiting for them to get soft enough to mash. With the slow cooker, you just dump the potatoes along with some broth and butter, then leave them for a few hours.

After adding cream and mik, you get smooth and creamy mashed potatoes.

This recipe is slightly tweaked from the recipe I found on Pinterest due to availability of ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 2 k potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 in pcs
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 c butter, diced
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/3 c all purpose cream
• Pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Place potatoes, garlic, broth and butter into the slow cooker. Season with salt, mix together and cover with lid. Cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours or low setting for 8 hours until potatoes are soft.
• Mash the potatoes and stir in milk and cream until well combined and creamy. Season with pepper.
• Keep in the slow cooker on WARM until ready to serve.

Cheesecakes are a decadent pleasure. Rich, creamy and delightfully sinful, cheesecakes have been around probably for as long as the phrase “the land of milk and honey” have been in use.

For my DIY desserts, I gravitated towards mini cheesecakes since baking time is shorter and there is less chance for uneven cooking of the filling.

Here is a tried-and-tested recipe of Mini Blueberry Cheesecake that I prepared for my family last New Year.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 3 tbsp white sugar

For the filling:

• 2 225g bars of Magnolia Cream Cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all purpose cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 595g blueberry filling

Procedure:

• Pre-heat oven to 175-deg C and line muffin pans with paper cups

To make the crust:

• In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
• Press 1/2 tbsp of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the muffin cups. Set aside.

To make the filling:

• Beat cream cheese at lowest setting until smooth and fluffy.
• Gradually add sugar and salt while beating.
• Add eggs one at a time until incorporated then add vanilla extract and cream. Mix well.
• Allow cheesecake batter to rest for 10 minutes to remove air bubbles formed during the mixing process.
• Scoop cheesecake batter into prepared crust and bake for 20-25 minutes or until sides are firm but center is slightly jiggly.
• Remove cheesecakes from the oven, let them cool then refrigerate overnight.
• Serve with chilled blueberry filling.

Note: You can replace the blueberry filling with red cherry filling.

Ever since Hubby got me a convection oven, I have been scouring the net for baking and roasting recipes so I can maximize my new toy. This weekend, I decided to bake my family’s all-time favorite: chocolate chip cookies. I tweaked some items in the recipe I found (I added walnuts and tweaked the ratio of brown to white sugar).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups softened unsalted butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven to 190-deg C.
2. In a large bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well-combined.
3. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
4. Fold in flour and baking soda until mixture forms a smooth dough.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts until evenly distributed.
6. Scoop the dough into balls into a baking tray lined with butterred wax paper. Bake for 12 minutes.

Yields 96 4-inch cookies.