How To: Heart Shaped Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hey Nibblers!

       I've already put out a Red Velvet Cupcake recipe a few weeks back but I found myself with some leftover cream cheese. So, what better way to use it up than to bake a batch of home made delicious cupcakes with a cute Valentine's Day theme ready for Friday. Mind you, you'll be wanting to make these babies all the time to indulge yourself.
       I have yet to invest in heart shaped mould cupcakes which could have saved me a bit of time. But, after using ceramic baking beads as a substitute, I don't think I need to. The cupcakes were a bit uneven in shape but with a few tweaks, they came out perfectly. I used the same recipe as last time so to make things easier I'll copy it over to this post. Happy Reading!

What you'll need: (To make 14 small/ medium sized cupcakes)
- 125g softened room temperature butter
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 187g of self-raising flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbs. cocoa
- 125ml of buttermilk (helps aerate the cake batter/ keeps the cake moist)
- 1/2 tsp.vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3 tsp. red food colouring OR 1/4 tsp. of red food paste
- Ceramic baking beads or foil 

How To:
1. Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Line tin with patty paper
3. Sift self raising flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder and giving it a quick stir until well combined then set aside
4. Beat soft butter and sugar together until the resemble fine bread crumbs
5. Add an egg one at a time to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until well incorporated
6. Add vanilla and red food colouring, beating until the food colouring is mixed thoroughly
7. Add half of your dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk and beat on a high for 3 minutes
8. Repeat step 7 until all ingredients have been mixed
9. Divide batter equally into cupcake moulds about 1/2 -3/4 of the way up and leaving for 2 minutes so the batter can set into place for an even rise
10. Place ceramic beads or foil balls on one of the outer arc of the patty pan to form a heart shape mould

I used about 4 ceramic beads. For foil, you can do the same thing. Either small foil balls or a large foil stick

10. Pop into the oven for 18 minutes, checking with a skewer to ensure the cupcake is cooked
11. Leave cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes before decorating

Heart shaped!

Cream Cheese Frosting
- 125g of softened cream cheese
- 125g softened unsalted butter
- 200g sifted icing sugar/ mixture
- 2 Tbs. milk
- 2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Beat cream cheese and butter together until mixture turns from a yellow tone to a white- creamy tone. This will take about 5 minutes
2. Add milk and lemon juice and beat until well combined
3. Slowly add icing sugar and mix remembering to scrape the sides for an even mix
4. Beat for a further 2 minutes before decorating

I went for a heart on heart look.  

               I loved how this cream cheese frosting worked with the cupcakes. It gives a fresh citrus kick and is great on any cupcake. If you give these guys a go, leave a comment below. Until next time,

        Nibble Away,

        

              Jo.

How To: Mango Pancakes with Peanut Butter Cream 'Yum Cha Style'

Hey Nibblers!

       I love me some mangoes. Put that with some whipped cream and I'm yours. But add some peanut butter to the mix and I'm down to food with you all day erryday! I first came up with this peanut butter and mango combination about two years ago. I was pantry hunting at the time (the usual) and saw I had some peanut butter. I grabbed a spoonful of the goodness only I had taken too much, I needed some milk to wash it down. I quickly opened the fridge but alas! no milk. Instead, I saw cold freshly peeled mangoes in the fridge and wolfed it down. The perfect solution. And it was in that moment that I found a match made in heaven. Now, I know mangoes and peanuts go together but when paired with peanut butter it's ten times better.
       I couldn't think of a recipe to do this one justice. At first I thought perhaps cupcakes but then I went to Yum Cha for brunch a few weeks earlier and it was there I found the answer. I'm a sucker for 'Mango Pancakes.' I thought I could tweak this recipe and instead of a Chantilly cream, use peanut butter cream. And with Valentine's Day less than a week away, here's how to make 'Mango Pancakes with Peanut Butter Cream,' that's guaranteed to win you some brownie points.

What you'll need:
Makes 6-7 Crepes/Pancakes (23cm in diameter)
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbs. of caster sugar
- 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 1 drop of yellow food colouring (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
- 50g plain flour
- 1/2 cup of milk (125ml)
- 1/4 of tsp. salt
The Filling:
- 1-2 large mangoes
- 150g thickened cream (heavy cream)
- 1 Tbs. caster sugar
- 1tsp. vanilla essence
- 1 Tbs. smooth Peanut Butter
      Note: Omit the Peanut Butter if you just want cream

How To: Crepes/Pancakes component
1. Beat eggs, sugar, food dye, oil, vanilla essence and milk until well combined
2. Add salt and flour and stir until incorporated
3. Sieve the crepe/pancake batter through a sift into a new bowl to rid of the lumps

4. Cover the batter mixture and leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes (It should be quite watery after the rest time)
The Filling: Attend to filling component now while waiting
5. Cut and peel the cheeks of two mangoes slicing diagonally (with flat surface faced down) into approximately 0.5cm slices and leave in the fridge until needed
6. Fill a large bowl with water and ice to make an ice bath (To ensure the cream doesn't split)
7. Pop a small mixing bowl into the ice bath and add cream, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter
8. Whisk until soft peaks and set aside until needed
Crepes/Pancake component
9. Lightly spray frypan (If it's a non-stick fry pan, you won't need to oil it)
10. Heat frypan on low heat
11. Using  a small ladle or 1/4 cup, mix the crepe batter and then add into the middle of the fry pan
12. Swirl the batter around the pan to the edges
13. Cover the frypan and leave for approx. 2 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges

14. Slide the crepe/ pancake onto a plate and repeat until the batter is finished
15. Cover the crepes/ pancake with some cling film and leave in the fridge to cool for approx. 30 minutes
16. Construct pancake!
        - Flip pancake onto the side in which the pancake was cooked on the frypan

Non-fried side

Cooked side

     












        - Place 2 mango slices 3 cm from the bottom arc in the middle of the pancake

        - Add a dollop of peanut cream across and on top of the mango
        - Fold the sides inwards

I made normal whipped cream ones for my Mum as well

        - Fold the bottom upwards and roll

        - Mango Pancake with Peanut Butter Cream complete!
           

     Super excited about this recipe. It was a winner with my family and I will definitely be making it again. It's so easy you won't want to buy them again! I also love how these crepes/pancakes are so easy to customise that you can add whatever you fancy. If you give these a go or have anymore questions, leave a comment below.

   Nibble Away,  
                            Jo.

'Rahmen Genki' Review

Hey Nibblers!

       A couple of weeks ago, Conan was craving ramen. I wanted to go into the city as I hadn't been in a while since being on uni holidays. Instead, Kevin had the night off work and while he was searching places to eat the best ramen in Sydney, he stumbled upon one in the North of Sydney, 'Rahmen Genki.' We dragged Anderson along as well and off we went on a little trek to the North. By the time we arrived, our bellies were rumbling and we were ready to feast.

'Rahmen Genki'
Where: 6 Wilkes Ave, Artarmon NSW 2064     

Rahmen Genki menu

      We arrived at around 7pm and already tables were filling up. Situated in such close quarters to 'Artamon' station it really adds to the busy atmosphere. It's almost like we were in a little Tokyo. The turnover was quick so we didn't have to wait long to get a table we liked best. It's a pay first before eating service so it took us quite a while to decide which ramen we wanted. There were so many choices or ramen and they had an option to upsize your bowl for only $3. 
        I ordered the normal size 'Nori' Ramen for $11 AUD. An extremely generous serving for the cost. Bargain! When the bowl was brought out, I thought they gave me the wrong bowl. 'I didn't order an extra large bowl' I thought. It came with bamboo shoot, bean sprouts, shallots, corn kernels, seaweed and pork in a soy sauce based soup. It came steaming hot and as soon as I dipped my chopsticks into the noodles, I knew this was going to be amazing. The flavours were strong and marinated beautifully with one another. The pork was cooked perfectly and the added vegetables adds great texture to the ramen. The first tastes were amazing but towards 2/3 of the bowl I found the broth a bit salty.Though, with that little factor aside, I say it beats many other ramen places I've tried where their soy-based broths are salty from the get go. It was a tad saltier but not to the point where I would stop devouring the beauty of it all.

       Conan ordered the 'Kimcuhi' ramen. This consisted of vegetables, Korean Kimchi pickles, roast pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and shallots in a pork broth. I had a few spoonfuls of his broth and from what I gathered, it was amazing! The broth was full of pork flavour but also had a hint of sweetness to it from the pickled Kimchi. I feel like I should of gone for this ramen instead because of the abundance of kimchi they put in the bowl. I'm a sucker when it comes to kimchi! He ordered the extra large bowl ($13 + $3) and while he struggled to finish, the food coma he had afterwards was well worth it. 

        Kevin was a bit adventurous and went for the 'Tonkotsu Rahmen' at $12 + $3(extra large). This had the beansprouts, pickled radish and chillies on the side, shallots, roast pork, sesame seeds in a creamy white pork broth. This rahmen had intense pork flavour. I liked how the broth had a creamy texture and taste to it as well. It was like velvet in your mouth. I think they did well with this bowl as I would have imagined the bowl to become a tad sickening with all the creaminess of the broth but at the end, Kevin enjoyed his bowl and would no doubt have ordered another if his stomach let him.

        Ando opted for just the basic 'Rahmen.' This is the classic old style Shoyu (soy sauce) noodle that had half a boiled egg, seaweed, shallots, bamboo shoots, pork and bean sprouts. He was feeling a bit ill that day so I didn't try any of his broth but by the rate he demolished his extra large bowl, I say it was satisfying. At ($11.50 +$3) a bowl, it's really great value! Very competitive prices and quick and friendly service.

        All in all, I wouldn't mind a mini road trip to 'Rahmen Genki' again. From the ramen bowls that we ordered, all were consistent in flavour and servings and great prices. It definitely feels like an authentic ramen place atmosphere and I really enjoyed being able to experience that in Sydney. If you're in the Artarmon area or want to go on a mini food trip, I say you should definitely give 'Rahmen Genki' a try. I'm certainly salivating just thinking about those noodles and broth! If you've been here or have had an amazing ramen experience leave a comment below.

Hope you're having a great week!

Nibble Away,

Jo

How To: Red Velvet Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting (Lunar New Year Edition)

Hey Nibblers!

     Happy Lunar New Year! May this year bring you good fortune and happiness. Tomorrow, I'll be going to my Aunty & Uncle's house to celebrate the new year with the family. So with a free day to chill, I thought I would try making my first every batch of 'Red Velvet' cupcakes from scratch! Plus it's lucky to be wearing, eating red so why not? The recipe I based this one on is from allrecipes.com.au. I made a few tweaks along the way but, the end result turned out deliciously moist and will definitely be a crowd pleaser.

What you'll need: (To make 14 small/ medium sized cupcakes)
- 125g softened room temperature butter
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 187g of self-raising flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 Tbs. cocoa
- 125ml of buttermilk (helps aerate the cake batter/ keeps the cake moist)
- 1/2 tsp.vanilla essence
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3 tsp. red food colouring

How To:
1. Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Line tin with cupcake paper
3. Sift self raising flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder and giving it a quick stir until well combined then set aside
4. Beat soft butter and sugar together until the resemble fine bread crumbs

5. Add an egg one at a time to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until well incorporated
6. Add vanilla and red food colouring, beating until the food colouring is mixed thoroughly
7. Add half of your dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk and beat on a high for 3 minutes

8. Repeat step 7 until all ingredients have been mixed
9. Divide batter equally into cupcake moulds leaving for 3 minutes so the batter can set into place for an even rise

10. Pop into the oven for 18 minutes, checking with a skewer to ensure the cupcake is cooked
11. Leave cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes before decorating

For Buttercream Frosting:
I'm using the same butter cream frosting I've used in my previous blog posts but here's a recap:
- 200g sifted icing sugar
- 250g softened butter (room temperature)
- 3 tsp. vanilla essence
- 2 Tbs. milk

How:
Beat the butter on a high for 6 minutes (scraping the sides to ensure an even mix)
Add 1/2 of the icing sugar and beat until well combined
Add vanilla and milk and beat until mixed
Add remaining icing sugar
Beat frosting for a further 6 minutes before decorating

Decorating 'Lunar New Year' Style:
I wanted to keep these cupcakes simple so all I did was:
1. Spread a thin layer of the buttercream frosting to 14 of my cupcakes. (I wanted to spell/ say 'Happy New Year' in Vietnamese)
2. In four separate bowls, I scooped about 3 Tbs. of the frosting and dyed one bowl, purple (1 drop black food dye, 1 drop red food dye) another, pink (1 x red food dye), third one, black (3 drop black food dye) and lastly yellow (1 drop yellow food dye).
3. Wrote the letters in purple slightly to the left side of the cupcake
4. Used a star nozzle and piped three small yellow flower petals
5. Repeated step 4. with the pink
6. Added the branches using the remaining black food dye
      And voila! Chinese New Year themed cupcakes at the ready to enjoy.

       Hope you all loved this quick and easy post. I know I had fun making them. If you have any other questions please feel free to comment below or if you do decide to make these, please do email or tag me in your instagram pics! I would love to see them.

        Happy weekend!
Nibble Away,
           Jo.