Choco Chips Cup Cakes - a Favorite for All!

When I am not in mood for a long baking project, I bake cup cakes! And when I don't have enough time to write a long blog, I write on these cup cakes projects!!! LOL...

So here is a simple and quick cup cakes, which I have baked quite some time back. This is not a latest bake, so I have only 2 pics to share with you all. Next time, I bake this choco chips cup cakes - I'll surely take step-by-step pics for you - I promise.

A Chocolate Cake with Bournville Dark Chocolate Ganache!

I am back with my favorite chocolate cake recipe - actually this is the only flavor for any type of dessert, which attracts me most. Since I am not a dessert-person, I prefer those which are less sugary or have little bit of bitterness as of dark chocolate. Chocolate is favorite among all generations - be it senior members of the family or the junior ones. So, baking a chocolate cake is the safest way to serve dessert for any family dinner party.

The most versatile thing about a chocolate cake is that no matter what icing or frosting you put to decorate the cake - even if it falls apart, the cake will be praised by everyone. You can keep the decoration part minimal or even no-icing - does it really matter! No - the universal flavor and taste of chocolate will be the ultimate winner.

My First Red Velvet Cake!

An attempt to a red velvet cake needs some confidence in baking. I am definitely not that confident in baking and I always believe that I've so many things to learn and practice. So, I was not at all sure whether this project will come out successful or not. Actually, I kept this one pending for quite a long time. As I have mentioned many times in my blog, that my daughters are my best source of inspiration. They would always encourage me to take the next plunge in my life - no matter whether it's the baking project or something more serious decision. So this time also, the same situation occurred. They just pushed me into baking a red velvet cake and I made it! Although the process is little elaborate and you will need a variety of ingredients - but the red velvetty texture of the cake and the melting-in-mouth taste will make your job less painful and you will be in heaven at your first bite of the cake. The appreciation you get, once you present it on the dining table - is absolutely priceless.

Mango Cheese Cake - A Perfect Summer Dessert

I love cheese cakes... period!!!

I am not a sweet-person, but the slight tangy taste of cheese mixed with sweet and flavored with your preferred choice - makes me drool... literally! Successfully baking a cheese cake is my dream baking project and I am yet to achieve that. In my baking experience, till today, I've baked only one cheese cake and that came out pretty well though. I have few snaps of that chocolate cheese cake - will make another post with those. But this one, is not a baked one - I am sure it is the quickest and easiest way to prepare cheese cake at home - by using the ready-made cheese cake product.

Cashew Topped Choco Cup Cakes

Here is another easy version of cupcakes, which I am sure, everyone will like - especially the kids. These choco cup cakes are best to serve as afternoon snacks. If you have some whipped cream in your stock then you can turn these cup cakes to single serving dessert, too. However, my soul intention of baking cup cakes, is to use them as the first break snacks for my kids. 

These days, many of the schools give multiple breaks for their students. In my kids' school, they have one short and one long break. It is really a time consuming task every morning, to prepare snacks or lunch for every break. So, if you bake these cup cakes in batches over the weekend, then the short break food is taken care of. Now you are in a little better situation in every weekday morning, as you don't have to prepare food for multiple breaks.

This is an easy one, as I have mentioned before. Only additional ingredient you will need is some amount of cashew nuts. If you don't have cashew nuts, then you can use almonds or even pea nuts. Any nuts will give the crunchy texture to these cup cakes, which the kids mainly love. Instead of nuts, you can use chocolate chips, as well. 

My stock of cashew-nuts, which I got from my last trip to Goa, was almost finishing. So, I made use of the last handful of cashew-nuts in this baking project. You will need around 1/2 cup of cashew nuts. Soak them in water for couple of hours and they are easy to cut or slit. Other than this, the basic recipe is same to the one I used here - Simplest Chocolate Cake and more! (Click the highlighted link to get the batter recipe)

Prepare the batter as mentioned in the recipe. Put your oven to preheat at 180C. Sprinkle some flour on the soaked cashew nuts to give a thin coating of flour. Add 1/2 of the cashew nuts into the batter and keep the rest for the top. This amount of batter will give you around 10-12 cup cakes. Place the cup cake liners on the cup cake moulds and fill them 3/4th, with the batter. If your oven is ready then put the cup cake pan inside the oven and let it bake for 15-20 mins at 180C. Never put cup cakes inside the oven for longer period of time, as it will get hard and might burn, as well.

I have made this batch of cup cakes for my friends, so I had wrapped them in cling wrap to keep the moistness intact. This way you can keep your cup cakes fresh for the whole week.

I have something more interesting coming up in my next blogs. So keep waiting... till then happy baking!!