mini BBQ grill cupcakes

 
hey guys, 

here is yet again another recipe I recently foun on pinterest.
and of course it is another cupcake recipe ♥ hahaha I just am in love with making (and of course eating) cupcakes of any kind! I started baking for the very first time about one and a half years ago and ever since I have been addicted to the process of making them, decorating them and eating or sharing them. 

So here is this really cool recipe I found a few weeks ago.
It's called the "MINI BBQ GRILL CUPCAKES" and I found this here via pinterest.
The twobusyblondes who own this blog have awesome recipes on there but this one caught my attention since we were having a neighborhood BBQ 3 weeks ago and I was asked to make some cupcakes. Browsing trough pinterest I randomly saw a picture of these Mini BBQ grill cupcakes and I knew I'd need to make these!

So here we go, starting the baking process, following these insctuctions:

all credits to twobusyblondes.com

I have to say that they tasted incredibly good! I loved them and all the guests were pretty impressed since they hadn't seen my baking before... Sucess! Yeah so as you can see, they even turn out pretty okay if your not a baker or handy crafty kind of person. I must admit that I am not very good at icing and decorating yet. I love the baking and I also love to try new thing decorating my cupcakes but I am not very good at it. I am still practicing and I only started baking a year and a half ago so I guess I am perfect for having a blog like this since I can show you that even normal people who have no experience or talent can do it! ;)

So, for you to also try it, here is my recipe I used for the 

Mini BBQ grill cupcakes (yields 12 cupcakes)

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

I used a store bought heavy cream substitute for the frosting but you can also just go with this recipe for the

BBQ grill Frosting and decoration 

1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

2-3 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tbsp water

orange and/or yellow food dye

chocolate, melted

liquid red food dye

Haribo gummy bears

12 toothpicks (or more, if you want to put more on your BBQs)

Here we go:

1 
Preheat your convection oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

2 
Over high heat, boil the water in a small pot. Pour the unsweetened cocoa powder into a medium sized bowl and mix with boiling water until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature by placing in the refrigerator as you prepare the other ingredients. 

3 
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

4 
In a large bowl, using an electric hand or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract. 

5 
Slowly add the flour mixture and beat only until just combined. In a steady stream, add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth. 

6
Fill each muffin tin 3/4 with batter. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

7
Meanwhile, prepare the BBQ grids. Take the melted chocolate and pipe it into some parchment paper. Try making the circles first, then add horizontal lines. If it helps you, draw circles on a white paper and put it underneath your parchment paper to make conturing easier. Let cool and dry.

8
For the frosting, melt the butter and add the water and as much powdered sugar as needed. Stir until you get a think yet fluffy mixture. 

9
Divide the frosting into to equal parts and dye one part yellow, one orange.
Fill both frostings into your frosting pipe and swirl-frost cooled cupcakes. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.

10
Now, using a thoothpick or your (clean!) fingers, tap the frosting to create the flame effect. Taking another toothpick, add some drips of the liquid red food dye and swirl for the fire effetcs.

11
Now add the cooled chocolate BBQ grids and carefully put them on top  of your frosting. Do not push too hard!
For the "skewers" take the toothpicks and spike as many gummy bears as you wish to have on your BBQ's. Add to your cupcakes et voilà! Let the BBQ party begin!

xoxo, Vanessa 

german apple cinnamon crunch muffins

Hey guys. Long time no see, I know... I've really been busy enrolling in school and finding a job for summer and there were plenty of family occasions and festivities this months... But now everythings done and gone and I'll have time for posting recipes again. :)
So here is one of my favorite quick go-to muffin recipe... It kind of is a christmas recipe (since it tastes apples and cinnamon) but I bake these all year long because I really love the smell of my house after baking them and in my opinion they're delishhh all year long... ;)

So here is what you need for my favorite  

GERMAN APPLE CINNAMON CRUNCH MUFFINS (equals 12 muffins)

for the muffin batter

• 2 apples, preferably medium size and sour-tasted, diced
• 250g (2 1/4 cups) all purpose flour 
• 200g (7/8 cup) granulated white sugar
• 1 package vanilla sugar (you can sub this with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs, medium size
• 120g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter  
• 1/2 tsp salt  

for the crunchy cinnamon crust

• 75g (3/8 cup) brown sugar 
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter   

1 Preheat your convection oven to 180°C (350°F). In a large bowl, combine the eggs, butter, sugar  and vanilla sugar. Beat well until creamy and fluffy and set aside. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the sugar-eggs-and-butter-batter.

When well combined, add the apple dice and stir again.

2 Grease a muffin pan or line it with cupcake sheets. Fill in the batter (3/4 full). Set aside.

3 In another bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until well combined. Using your fingers, incorporate the butter and work it in until your topping is crumbly like streusel. 

Sprinkle the cinnamon streusel onto your muffins.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
Remove and let cool on a cooling rack.
 
Et voilà! That's it - no frosting or heavy topping needed! And these easy and quickly made little babies are delicious with a cup of tea or coffee! ;)

Enjoy guys,
xoxo Vanessa 

♥ BE MY VALENTINE ♥ raspberry cupcakes with raspberry cream frosting

hey guys, today i'm really taking my time to post some new recipes and i hope you enjoy!
next is something for your sweet tooth: my

♥ BE MY VALENTINE ♥ raspberry cupcakes with raspberry cream frosting, 

adapted from my "BUTLERS Cupcakes & Muffins" book I got for christmas. it's my new favorite book (not regarding 50 shades of grey) and i love love love all the recipes in there. so you might find a few more recipes from that book in my future posts... ;)

yeah, since it's valentine's day on thursday i thought i might share a recipe that is easy and quickly made for your very special valentine this year! i mean, who doesn't like a sweet muffin with a fresh raspberry taste and a seductive creamy frosting?!
so let's stop chit-chatting and start indulging! ;)

♥ BE MY VALENTINE ♥

raspberry cupcakes with raspberry cream frosting (equals 12 muffins)

  

what you need for the cupcake batter:

• 100g (1/3 cup and 3 tsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar  
• 1 package vanilla sugar
• 2 eggs
• 120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100 ml (a little less than 1/2 cup) low-fat milk
• ~ 2 cups frozen raspberries

 what you need for the frosting:

• 250 ml (~ 1 cup) heavy cream
• 2 packages vanilla sugar    
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed 

1
Preheat your convection oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and 1 package of vanilla sugar and blend until light and smooth. add the eggs and blend well.

2 
in another bowl, combine flour and baking powder. alternating with the milk, pour flour-mix into large bowl and stir until well blended. 

3
mix in the raspberries and divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full.
bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
remove and let cool.

4
meanwhile, pour the heavy cream in a bowl, add the vanilla sugar.
take the remaining thawed raspberries and press through a tight colander so that the kernels are left over. 
whisk the heavy cream and raspberry juice until stiff. 
with a spoon (or a piping bag if you prefer doing a different design) add the frosting to your cupcakes and garnish with either fresh raspberries or sprinkles. i used heart-shaped sprinkles since it's my valentine's day recipe 2013... :)

THERE YOU GO! quick, easy, delishhhh!!! ♥ 

♥♥♥ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE! ♥♥♥


xoxo, vanessa :) 
 





 

stuffed zucchini boats

hey guys, it's been a while, i knooow... but i haven't had much time lately because i've been working a lot and stuff... but here i am again. :)
so today i'd like to share a new favorite of mine: the

zucchini boats stuffed with rice, tomatoes and ground beef!

They're delicious and easy to make, too.
So here it goes:

STUFFED ZUCCHINI BOATS (equals two servings)

 

all you need is

• 1 zucchini
• 1 small onion and 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 100g ground beef 
• 1 big tomato, diced
• 1 cup rice
• 100 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable broth
• 1 tbls. crème fraîche (or any other sour creme)

1
cook the rice as indicated on package.
cut the zucchini lengthwise. remove the kernels with a spoon and hollow out the zucchini boats. put into a casserole dish and set aside.

2
heat some vegetable oil in a large pan and gently roast the onion and garlic dice on medium heat. add the ground beef and tomato dice, roast gently.

3
now, in a large pot or bowl, combine the beef-tomato-mix and rice.
fill into the zucchini boats (see picture below). 
line the casserole dish with remaining beef-tomato-rice-mix.

4
preheat your convection oven to 180°C (350°F).
heat the vegetable broth and add the crème fraîche. blend well and pour evenly over the zucchini boats.
cook in your oven for about 30 minutes.
et voilà, bon appétit! ;)

xoxo, Vanessa