Choc Cheese Cake - Great delight!

Hmm, this is the cake i have made for my family on Christmas eve =D As it wasn't successful on my first attempt, i have taken more checks on my 'blind spots' - hoping it will be better!!

Here's the pic of the cake.. i have made this at about 12am.. and it's done up about 3am plus.. so I have quickly taken a few shots and dashed to my bed right after! =D


The cake was finished up by my family and my friends that have came over my place for dinner on Christmas day itself. I was too busy with other stuffs during this season of sharing and did not managed to capture any pic with the cake being sliced.. Hee.. I really took great delight with my creation this time!! Cheerios - Merrie x'mas!!!

Cranberry muffins!

Woooot! As i have halved the batter with the recipe below to make some cranberries muffins, here's the photos that i have captured=)

Here's the awesome family pic! Cranberry, Corniest, Mini corn Muffins!! Cheerios ^^

Corniest corn muffins!

I simply lurve everything about corn. But come to muffins, I think the only place that i have taste them before would be kenny rogers? That always comes along with the set meal. =) Yeap.. I meant those small rectangle size corn muffins...

Hmmm, as JJ does not fancy corn - it has bothered me quite a while on when should i try baking cornie muffins! Have bought a packet of whole kernels corn, but always worried about whether I am able to finish them by myself. =D With much relief, i have pre-alerted my colleagues, telling them about my 'mini' craving and getting their tummy prepared that I am bringing some cornie muffins tml! Some of them look *o*" as they would really prefer having corn soup rather then muffins. but i guess they have no choice.. but to be my guinea pigs...hahahaha... =]

As i flipped thru the book that i have bought last week - Professional Baking , i managed to find a recipe that compliments my new creation! Also decided to divide the batter and make corniest corn muffin and well as cranberries muffin - so that JJ can have them for breakfast tml ^^

Here's the recipe;
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Ingredients : Makes 10-12 muffins (depending on sizes u desire)

300gm all purpose flour
130gm brown sugar (original recipe call for 150gm)
1 tsp baking powder (high peak)
1/4 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt

120g butter (soften/melted)
2 large eggs / 3 small eggs (beaten)
1 tsp vanilia essence
1 cup of milk (240ml)

1 cup of corn kernels or more if you like.
(I have used 1 cup of corn kernels for half batter and the other half with 2/3 cup of cranberries)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 210 degC. Position rack in the center of the oven, and prepare muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

2. Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan or you may also soften the butter by placing it into a clear ziplock bag and soften it using a rolling pin before leaving it aside to melt.

3. Combine all liquid ingredients and lastly add in the melted butter.

4. In a separate mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt

5. Fold in corn / cranberries. Making sure they are fully coated with the flour so that they will not sink during the baking process.

6. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is moistened. The batter will look lumpy. Be careful not to over mix.

7. Fill each muffin cup till 90% full. For those tall and hard muffin cups, that will not be expandable in size and need not be placed on a muffin tray, fill it only with 70% of the batter.

8. After placing muffin tray into the oven for 1 min, reduce heat to 185degC. Continue baking for 20-30mins until metal skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

a) The dry & liquid mixtures may be prepared in advance. But once they are combined, the batter should be baked without delay, or loss of volume may result.

b) A high temp. is needed to create a burst of steam which will assist lifting the top of the muffin to create a higher setting.
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Here's my tray of muffins. Larger ones are cranberries & smaller ones are corn!

After removing the tray from the oven to cool, for approx 5 min later - immediately remove them from the tray to cooling rack and the bottom of the muffins will not become soggy =) You can see muffins with another type of smaller muffin paper that i have filled with the remaining corn batter (I have only filled about half the small muffin cups with batter and placed them on the baking sheet in my oven without muffin tray, heee - so glad they came in handy!)

Here's the inner look;

Yummmy corniest corn muffins! Such pleased with myself today, finally get to enjoy the fruits (cranberries & corn) of my labour!!! Gonna share them with my colleagues tml! =D

Jap Cheesecake for Vic's birthday!

It’s a day of cooking & baking! I am almost stuck in my little kitchen for the whole day. My beloved family will be coming over for dinner and I baking a birthday cake for my niece – Victoria, she is turning 4 yrs old! =)

Went marketing and with the help of JJ and my bro, we managed to get all ingredients swiftly by 1pm. I have prepared 5 dishes for dinner and also made konnyaku jellies (with longans) for dessert.

As Victoria is down with cough, we decided to bake a cheesecake for her. Geeez, the previous round was a failure, but I am delighted with the end product this round! =D

I have used another recipe for 9” round size cake, reduced the sugar content, lemon zest are grinded in moderation and water bathe with a tray hot water (halfway of cake)

The cake tastes good, just that maybe it's not chilled long enough. I think it should tastes even much better if it's chilled for 1 more day before serving! JJ said it's so much better and i have shown improvement.

Here’s the cheesecake!!

Its such a joyous day for me, everything turned out as good and I am so glad everyone enjoyed themselves! It’s really a day to bless and rejoice!! Hee~

Goodbye my dear prince & princess, I shall look forward being your chefy san-yee (3rd aunt) again!!!

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Recipe from JY's blog;

9" Japanese Cheesecake
Makes one 24cm (9") cheesecake.

[Ingredients]
230g cream cheese
150ml thickened cream (35% milkfat) - Bulla Thicken Cream.. the one in red cap
60g (1/3 cup) cornflour
5 egg yolks
60 brown caster sugar (A) - used 50gm
finely grated zest from 1 lemon
2.4 tablespoons lemon juice
5 egg whites
60g brown caster sugar (B) - used 50gm


[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 24cm(9") round cake tin and line bottom with baking paper.
2. Dissolve cream cheese with thickened cream in a bowl placed over simmering water (or in a double-boiler). Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Beat egg yolks with caster sugar (A), lemon zest and juice. Gradually whisk the warm cheese mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in cornflour.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy with uniform tiny bubbles. Gradually beat in caster sugar (B), spoonful by spoonful, until firm but not to stiff peaks stage.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cheese mixture. Repeat two more times with the rest of the meringue. 6. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Place the cake tin in a deep roasting tray and fill the tray with hot water to halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
7. Baked in water-bath for just over one hour
8. Let cool completely before turning out. If the cake is hard to turn out, assist it by placing the tin over warm water briefly. Dust the top of the cheesecake with icing sugar before serving.
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Mocha muffin

I wanted to try out some mocha muffins, decided to add on some coffee powder to the recipe of easy-make muffins. But the outcome wasn’t as good as it was expected. I used the muffins cups that I have just bought recently, its taller and perhaps longer time to bake. I have filled up to 80% of the cups but seems like it got overflowed again. I think I really have to manage the volume of the batter each cup / tin better the next attempt. But I think normal muffin cups are easier to handle, though they don’t look fanciful. I did not managed to get a dome-shaped and all became flat-top muffins. Hmm although they does not look as good, I am glad my colleagues like it, its moist and soft =) Hope the next round will be more appealing and i really want to get a high dome shaped muffin!

Here's Mr Flat;

Popovers

Hmm.. wanted to do bake something else to boost up my spirit and end my day with a smile.. hehee.. and was surfing for something easy to do. Guess what, i managed to get the recipe for popovers - under the category of 'Quick Breads'! Find it rather interesting and with such simple ingredients, It should do the job.

I have doubled the recipe to make 12 popovers =)

[Adopted from http://bakingbites.com]

Plain Popovers
1 cup all-purpose flour - used 2 cups (280g)
1/2 teaspoon salt - - used 1 teaspoon
2 large eggs, room temperature - used 5 small eggs
1 cup milk (low fat is fine) - used 2 cups
melted butter, for brushing - used margarine

Preheat the oven to 425F - 225C

Grease a 6-cup muffin tin (or the middle 6 cups of a 12-cup tin) well with the melted butter and place in preheated oven for 1-2 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and salt. Sift flour over mixture and whisk until smooth.

Remove heated muffin tin from oven and divide the batter evenly into the buttered muffin cups.
Bake for 20 minutes at 425F, then rotate the pan (to ensure even cooking) and reduce oven heat to 350F - 176C. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 popovers. - made 12!

Here's the poppies!

Hahaha... they really create a 'pop' in my heart and brought me lots of joy! I have no idea whether it should be looking like this, but they are so cute and I'm really impressed with the way they managed to rise such 'high' without any baking soda - just like giant muffins inside the oven.. but after leaving it to cool.. they deflated. Did some research online and realized that i can actually poke a small hole in the top of each popover after baking for 20mins, to release steam and also prevent them from deflating before reducing the oven heat to 176C. Heez.. will try it the next round.. =D

It tastes good whilst it's plain.. crispy on the outer and custardy on the inner. Even much awesome having it with nutella! JJ like it with his favorite peanut butter.. Geeezz.. I will try adding some cheese or even lemon zest for a more refreshing taste the next round. Hmmm..topping it with some icing sugar seems like a good idea too.. hehee... will be bringing them to church for my nephew and niece!! =D

Choc Cheese Cake - Lesson learnt

This is the first time i tried making a cake using a heart-shaped mould i have bought lately.. The lady actually suggested me to use a aluminum foil as a base if i were to bake, otherwise - its more ideal to use it for mousse cake.

Nevertheless, I am all ready to prepare my first combination cake and started to prepare the ingredients.

But after putting it into the oven for merely 10mins, the batter start to ooze out from the mould. At first just a bit was coming out from the left.. then... from the right... and the top.... i did not know what i should do with it. Don't dare to open the oven to clear up the mess as it might jeopardize the process further? I decided to let it go and see what happens after 45mins of baking. It looks really horrible and i have to test using the skewer couple of times as its taking quite a long time to be fully cooked.

After a whole 1 hr and 15 mins, i switched off the oven and let it cool inside for a little while more.. finally... here's the end product... I am very upset and am totally clueless on what has cause this??

I am not sure if its becos i am using a foil as the base.. and the cake is unable to raise properly. Or the heat is not sufficient enough? I am quite upset and stunned on the outcome!

After leaving it to cool and left it to chill in the fridge for 2 hours, i decided to cut the cake... and its abit too sweet..and wet... =(

Hmmm.. its a disaster this round... but i will try again using a proper round tin tray for this cake the next time. Hope things will turn out better!


Well, i guess this is the nicest pic for today's bake =]

Lady's Kisses

Wanna make something nice for my cell meeting this wed - hehe.. and thot that these bite size lady's kisses should be ideal. Gotten this recipe from HHB again! =D So thankful for that.

Started with mixing the melted butter & raw sugar together and then pour in 1 egg yolk, almond essence and followed by plain flour. I am afraid some of my sisters may not like too much of almond hence i forgo the ground almonds this round! (I am a die-hard fan for almonds though, will make almond and hazelnuts next round =D)

Hmm, as i do not have much time to spare - I did not chill the dough for 2 hours as per the recipe.. instead, i only chill for half an hour. Luckily its still firm enough to work on.. have to do it quick so that the butter will not melt in my hands.. *Phew*

Finally got all the 'balls' falling nicely in place on my baking sheet. Trying hard not to put them so closely together so that they will not stick together. =)


They smell so good in the oven that I am wondering if there will be still remainders left after two days. *Hohoho* I will put in a air tight container in the freezer to retain the freshness. Heez

Here's the outcome after 30mins with 160C of heat;

After leaving it to cool for 10mins, i have sandwiched the cookies with nutella hazelnut spread! Wooooh! They look so cute and taste heavenly great. This is such a satisfying bake and I have so happie with my own little achievement. Hehehez.. Hopefully there will be somemore left for wed nite!!


Recipe adopted from http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com
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Method:
(makes 20)

150g (10 tablespoons) butter, softened
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar - used raw sugar
1 egg yolk
2.5ml (1/2 teaspoon) almond essence/extract
115g (1 cup) ground almonds (almond powder) - did not use
175g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour

filling: 50g plain (semisweet) chocolate, melted - used nutella

Ingredients:

1. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg yolk, almond essence, followed by ground almonds and flour until evenly mixed.
3. Chill for about 2 hours until firm.
4. Preheat oven to 160 degC (325 degF). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Break off small pieces of dough and roll into balls with your hands, making 40 altogether.
6. Place the balls on the baking sheets, spacing them out as they will spread in the oven.
7. Bake for 20 mins or until golden. Let cool in the baking sheet for a few mins. Transfer to cooling rack to cool.
8. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Use it to sandwich the cookies in pairs, leave to set before serving.

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Egg Tarts - My 1st attempt!

Having sudden cravings on egg tarts and I can't seem to resist the temptation of making my own beloved tarts instead of just getting from bengawan solo the next morning.. but yes.. its already 11:45PM...

Manage to hunt the recipe down from Aunt Yochana's blog!

I do not have any rum compound, so i gave it a miss this round.. Same goes for icing sugar, but I've replaced it with raw sugar. . Hmmm I reduced the sugar for custard from 160gms to 120gm too.

Have left the dough to rest at room temperature and after I am done with the egg custard, I work on the dough by using a cutter and rolling pin. Moulding them into 8 tart moulds wasn't enough.. I decided to use my jelly mould with star print for the tarts, but they will be in mini sizes. Geeez - But there are still leftovers!! Do not want to waste the remaining dough and henceforth i used 3 mini bowls instead. Whahaha..

Here's the pic before putting into the oven for pre-baking process (pls pardon my congested tray);

The tarts were in the oven for 6mins with 175C of heat at the last bottom tray. I remove the tray when the tart turned white and looks half cooked.


Poured the egg custard - without knowing how much is enough, I just put nicely to the level I seen in stores. Hahaa.. but to my surprise, I still have about 150ml of custard left... but sad to say, I have no more dough already.. Perhaps the tart moulds i used differ in sizes, hence they can't meet up to the exact quantity of custard needed. Not sure what I could do with it though and it landed in the bin..

Fumes came out from my oven after 15mins. I was so worried - tarts were abit burnt and custard seems like they are oozing out any moment. Pheww.. I open glass door of the oven and let them cool down.

Another 10 mins later, they look slightly better and here's the pictures.


JJ, who will always try out my first attempts... is waiting to try them out already.. as they still look edible but not sure how it taste like! Hahaha.. I pop the mini tart into his mouth and to my delight, he said 'Passed'.. Hohoho.. I am so happy and contented with my 1st attempt's results. I will make with reduced sugar, perhaps to 100gm next time - as JJ commented it's still abit too sweet. =D


Hoooooray!! Mission accomplished with contentment!! It's not really looking great but i know it will be even better the next round! =D

Cheerios!
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Ingredients:
Pate Sucree:
125 gm. Butter - chilled
60 gm. icing sugar - used raw sugar
1/2 egg white
1 egg yolk
200 gm. plain flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
Egg Custard:
280 gm. fresh milk - used HL milk
160 gm. sugar - used 120gm
3 nos. eggs
1 tsp. rum- did not use any as i did not buy...will try next round =)
1/2 tsp. vanilla essence

Method:
(1) For pate sucree: beat butter and icing sugar till well mixed.
- I've used mixer for this step
(2) Add in white and yolk and mix.
(3) Add in vanilla essence and then the flour and mix into a dough. Rest for 10 mins. Press dough into small tart moulds.
(4) Bake the tart shell till half-cooked.
(5) For egg custard, heat sugar and milk together. Once sugar dissolves, off heat.
(6) Whisk eggs and pour into the milk mixture. Do not whisk till frothy.
(7) Add in rum and vanilla essence.
(8) Sift the egg custard and pour into tart moulds and bake at 175C till egg custard sets.

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Muffin again!

Woooh! My ex-colleague, who is also my current neighbour is staying upstairs - expressed her interest to learn how to bake decent muffins. (She has actually popped by over the weekend with her new doggie and i have offered her my freshly baked muffin that have been made for my buddies. Hehee. Its the eggless muffin made with HL milk. She love it and it's with much delight!)

Since I am have cravings for chocolate today, I decided to let her try out with the remaining ingredients I have left in the fridge just enough for 12 more muffins and also let her try my lemon cheesecake.. Hoohoho, as I really can't finish it.. She is gonna be my saviour?

As she worked late, I have waited her her arrival till 9 plus. I brought out the Eggless muffins recipe posted by Shiyan and shown her how to weigh the ingredients using conversion table that JY has shared with me. After all sifting of plain flour, cocoa, raw sugar, baking powder, soda, salt is done - I have created a well and pour the melted butter, vinegar, HL milk and blend the batter till moist and even. Its really fun doing it together, during the midst of stirring, she is already hungry and i served my cheesecake with doubts whether she like it as its quite bitter due to the over-grated lemon zests. But with surprise, she finished the cake, as she likes lemon too. *Relieved* and with her encouragement that I will do it better the next round with lesser lemon, I am all ready to try it soon!! I am a green horn to baking and its great to share with her these simple steps that could result with yummie muffins ^^ Baked for 15mins, although we tested using the stick poking method to check if the stick comes out clean - I felt that its still not baked long enough. Therefore i placed it back to the oven for another 8mins =) It's looking great and firmer and I quickly remove it from the oven to cool. She has hastily brought back the muffins to try as her dog is waiting for her return and I decided to take some pictures. Hehehe..

Here's the outcome;

They taste better then the previous round! JJ said I have improved and he ate 3 muffins in a row. =D It felt so goood to have someone eating what you have made and claiming it's yummie. I felt so satisfied and filled with contentment. Within minutes, my neighbour msg-ed me and told me it's nice too.. her mom tried it and also said its good. And actually tot i went for baking classes before - i felt so joyous for having such a compliment as I am only a beginner. All thanks for Shiyan's fantastic recipe. The muffins were not enough to pass around as she only took back 4. (herself,mom & her bf).. JJ ate 3 and I ate 2.. 3 are for breaky tml. Geez.. we will definately make more the next round!!

My neighbour's father actually open a bakery shop in JB. And yet she did not impart any of her his skills! Such a pity, I have ask her dad to drop by my nest if he is free when he return on sundays so that i can learn from him how to bake a decent loaf of bread without any breadmaker machine =) Hopefully the day will come soon!

We have decided to learn how to make bread pudding with almonds and chocolates the next round.. as she recalled doing that during sec sch days and remb it tastes great. Well, she has delegated the recipe hunting job to me and well, I hope I can get a good one online!

Japanese Cheese Cake

Just had my wisdom teeth surgery and currently recuperating at home. Zhuzhu is coming later to pass me my exam notes and i decided to express my appreciation by making her favorite cheesecake =)

Adopted this recipe from JY's blog;
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Found this recipe from Seadragon's blog.

Makes one 20cm cheesecake.

[Ingredients]
250g cream cheese
200ml thickened cream (35% milkfat)
40g (1/3 cup) cornflour
4 egg yolks
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (A)
finely grated zest from 1 lemon
40ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
4 egg whites
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (B)

[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line bottom with baking paper.
2. Dissolve cream cheese with thickened cream in a bowl placed over simmering water (or in a double-boiler). Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth (forget this step!). Cool slightly.
3. Beat egg yolks with caster sugar (A), lemon zest and juice. Gradually whisk the warm cheese mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in cornflour.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy with uniform tiny bubbles. Gradually beat in caster sugar (B), spoonful by spoonful, until firm but not to stiff peaks stage.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cheese mixture. Repeat two more times with the rest of the meringue.
6. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Place the cake tin in a deep roasting tray and fill the tray with hot water to halfway up the sides of the cake tin and bake at 150°C for one hour


7. Let cool completely before turning out. If the cake is hard to turn out, assist it by placing the tin over warm water briefly. Glaze the top of the cheesecake before serving.

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At about 1 hour's time, my cake still look like it's not cooked. I decided to leave it for 10mins more and switched off the heat, and then leave it inside for another 20mins.

Here's the outcome;

Before toppling over

After toppling the cake over

I was very upset cos my cake looks more like a mango pudding. Sob Sobz* I msn-ed my beloved colleague and consult her views, but it also puzzled her why my cake looks wet wet..She has mentioned that perhaps its becos i have greased the tray and also placed the baking sheet paper on top. Perhaps this has caused my cake being unable to evaporate it's wetness in the oven? she felt that i have overheated my top.. *Scratch my head* I have placed in the mid rack and used the heat temp of 150degrees - Hmmm Please don't tell me it's my eggs again. I have forgotten the size of my eggs and used exactly 4 small eggs.

Aniwae, i removed the baking sheet and placed my cake back to the aluminum tray again and re-enter the oven for 15mins, using 170degrees heat.

After i taken it out, i toppled it over again to check out the wetness. Its much more solidified now and i decided to make do with it and leave it to cool. Sobz..

Don't dare to slice my cake yet.. as i did not want to shorten its' lifespan of being still looking good. Haha, but my colleague is excited to see how does it look on the inner... hence i used a fan to cool it down and finally... lay my knife on my cake. Hee... Guess wat??

Here's the inner look;

* Cake is placed on a glass plate.. hehe.. but looks like it's been placed directly on my cloth? =P

It did not turned out as bad as i tot it would. I quickly uploaded the pics and showed my colleague! Telling her how relieved i am as it's still edible! it tastes good and only thing is that the top layer is overheated, hmm...it's due to my lemon zest that i have overlooked and grated the skin of the lemon too deep, and caused the top layer of my cake to taste a little bitter.

I quickly placed the cake into the fridge as my zhuzhu is arriving soon. Hehee..Hopefully it will take away the wetness & taste better.

Hmmmm.. I am glad that she likes the cake. To my surprise, she love the bitter part on top of my cake.. *Phew*... It's with much comfort =D

JJ likes my cake too!!! Hooooray.. I will definately try again and believe my 2nd attempt will be better, will not use the baking sheet, use larger eggs and do not grate my lemons too deep.. and maybe use 50g sugar instead of 75g as i find the cake abit sweet. I have also learnt that life is indeed with much imperfections!!!

Eggless Chocolate Muffin

Today is the day of arrival of my sofa and my buddies who will be coming over for a pot-luck session! *Hohohho*

Since they are already making; carrot & corn soup, potato salad, mango pudding, baked pasta. I decided to try out the eggless chocolate muffins that's easy to make as i have to complete this task swiftly :)

Easy Chocolate Muffins (recipe contributed by Puspha in Nurkochen forum)

Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour, or cake flour - I used plain flour and added 1 tsp of baking powder

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

½ cup butter or margarine, melted

1 cup milk

1 tbsp vinegar

A little chocolate chips, for topping

Method:
(1) Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, soda and salt.

(2) Make a well in the centre. Pour the melted butter, milk and vinegar into the well.

(3) Stir until all ingredients are moist.

(4) Spoon the batter into muffin cups.

(5) Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

(6). Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for 20 minutes. - I baked for 15 mins

As I have to make 24 muffins, I have prepared the batter for two entries. Heehee.. used raw sugar and butter wasn't soft enough, therefore - my spatula broke in the midst of stirring. *Gosh* In the end, i had a long time mixing till all ingredients are moist and even.. felt so tempted to take out my mixer and letting it do the job, but i endured thru and mission was accomplished! Hooorayy..

Did not managed to capture any pictures as were in a rush, but they taste fabulous! Glad that my muffins were well-received by my buddies. Thanks to the recipe posted by Shiyan.

My First Bake! Brownie Muffin or Hard Rox Muffin??

It all started out with the Teka oven left behind by our home's ex-owner, who reminded me maintain it regularly..otherwise it might 'shut down' by itself in no time..

After giving much thoughts, i finally decided to pick up a few bakes after our love nest is up! Hmmm.. seems like it's all well-planned.. i got inspired by my newly met colleague - she is none other then JY who has given me so many blogs with recipes to start with and making me so excited that i can't wait for my painting of my nest to be completed! On the next day, i waited patiently for all my appliances to arrive.. without the fridge, i can't buy any butter or ingredients! Heehee, it's all exciting to get charged off for my first bake at my new nest!

Blessed by this recipe that i have gotten from HappyHomeBaker, setting up my newly bought mixer, laying my bowls and weighing all ingredients needed with my scale & cups and I am all ready to prepare this Chocolate Chip Brownie Muffins.

The recipe adopted, was for 6 muffins - but perhaps my muffin cases were not big enough, hence the batter turned out to be just nice to make 12. I was overjoyed when i saw that my muffins are rising inside the oven. *Hohoho*

Here's the outcome;

I was so anxious to check out how it tastes like, and guess what - within 2 mins after its out from the oven, i break it into half and took a bite.. Woooooh! I was filled with Joy..Cos It's EDIBLE!! hahaha =D After the muffins were cooled, JJ took one and tried. He said it's good too and comment the outer layer was crispy. But i think it's abit hard and rocky - hehee.. I am not sure if it's due to the eggs. As the eggs i have bought from ntuc were small, and i have used 3 small eggs instead of the stated 2 eggs in the recipe. Aniwae, I am still satisfied with the outcome! And we renamed my first bake as Hard Rox Muffin. Its was really a rewarding evening.. but slightly two hrs later, i have a sore throat - coz i wasn't patient enough and took the first bite too soon.. Lesson well learnt =(

I have brought some to office the next day to let my colleagues try them out. *Grinz* Though it's not fantastic, I just hope to get their comments. Gracious enough, are still considered edible to them!! I will try to finish up all the small eggs that i have bought and buy larger eggs for baking next time =)
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Ingredients:
(makes 6 muffins, with diameter 2.5" by height 1.5" muffin cups)

80g butter, chopped into chunks
150g dark eating chocolate, chopped
100g sugar (the original recipe calls for 165g brown sugar)
2 eggs, lightly beaten - I have used 3 small eggs.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g plain flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
A handful of chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degC. Line muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour and cocoa powder, set aside.
3. Place butter in a saucepan, melt over low heat. Once the butter starts to melt, add in the sugar. Stir to prevent sugar from getting burnt. Add in the chocolate and stir still smooth.
4. Transfer chocolate mixture to a mixing bowl. Stir in the eggs gradually, followed by the vanilla extract, then the sifted flour & cocoa powder mixture. Stir till just incorporated.
5. Divide batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake for 20 mins or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake as the muffins may get dry.

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