I’m one of those people who has been fortunate enough to have good mates. It hasn’t always been so easy. I’ve had people in my life that were toxic but it’s a journey I’d suppose everybody goes through.

We need to learn who’s good for us and who isn’t. It’s simply like trying peas once and knowing when to spit it out.

I met C, G and J in tenth grade. For some reason, we’ve stuck through. After all the boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, car crashes, an accidental boat ride, disastrous exam results, bad hair days, a wedding, sleepless sleepovers, occasional bickering and tear-stained shoulders we’re still here for each other.

I’m definitely no angel and when there’s a need for it, these girls will set me straight. It’s the secret to our successful friendship – honesty. It’s no use buttering and sugar-coating each other, we tell it as it is.

Well anyway, it was C’s birthday last week and to commemorate it, I made her cupcakes. It holds a bit of a significance. She was the one who started me on food blogging. And if it wasn’t for her insistent pestering for me to make cupcakes, well, I just wouldn’t be here. It only took her 10 years for me to finally give in.

Happy Birthday C! May you always be happy, full of positivity and joy!

I’ve always wanted to make frosting that stayed up. You know, not runny-like. The type you can nicely decorate with. I’ve been searching for the best way to do that and found this recipe on a foodie blog (do please excuse me as I didn’t note where I got it from).

This recipe for cream cheese frosting is absolutely brilliant.

Not only did it stayed up, it tasted fantastic. It wasn’t sickly sweet. Instead, it was just nice. I’ll be sure to use this again in further cupcake ventures. Perhaps, it’s not as distant as it may seem.

(Go here for the cupcake recipe.)

Frosting (makes for 12 cupcakes)
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• 340g cream cheese, softened
• 110g unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Cream together the cream cheese and the butter until they are light and fluffy.
2. Then add in the heavy cream and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
3. Sift in the powdered sugar in 3 additions making sure to mix well after each addition.
4. Set this aside to chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Frost each cupcake. Sprinkle decorations if you like.

Do you have your cupcake hat on? Are you ready for a cupcake fest? Are you absolutely passionate about cupcakes? Are you positively mad about little cutesy sweet toothy cupcakes? Are you?? Are you???

Then this must be your L-U-C-K-Y day.

At ten o’ clock last night, I was sitting on my kitchen floor, reading Jane Goodall, in front of my oven. I made a batch of pineapple carrot cupcakes and I was making the finishing touches for it. I didn’t want to take the chance and burn the thinly sliced pineapples that I was trying to make into hibiscus petals. Finally after three hours fussing over the pineapple slices, I lie in bed and decided that I wasn’t going to serve the cupcakes nor use the decorations. So, I was up at eight in the morning, making a new batch of cupcakes – lemon and white chocolate with cream cheese frosting.

Sometimes, I think I’m a little cuckoo. But you know what? I like being a cuckoo.

I will tell you that the basic cupcake recipe is fantastic and you can play around with flavours. The core of the batter is pretty firm on giving you a fluffy tasty cupcake. Like for example, I’ve used the same core ingredients (butter, sugar, eggs, flours), measurement and technique on four different flavours so far – cherry ripe cupcakes; caramel pear & coconut cupcakes (not featured); lemon and white chocolate cupcakes; and chocolate mars bars cupcakes. So if you’re feeling creative and you have this and that lying in your kitchen dying to be used, this is a good cupcake recipe to play with.

Lemon & White Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting &
Chocolate Mars Bars Cupcakes with Whipped Cream
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Core Ingredients:

• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour

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For Lemon White Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white chocolate, roughly chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp lemon rind
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar

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For Chocolate Mars Bars Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1/3 cup Mars Bars, chopped
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Topping:

• 1/2 cup thickened cream whipped
• 100g dark eating chocolate

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Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line muffin pan with paper cups.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, beat in one at a time. Add essence.
4. Beat in milk and then sifted flours, gradually in batches.
5. Fold in chosen flavours. Divide mixture among cups and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
6. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.
7. Prepare toppings.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat butter, cream cheese and rind in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar. Decorate cupcakes.

Whipped Cream
Beat thickened cream until thick and fluffy. Use a vegetable peeler and grate chocolate.

The girls and I are having a pizza & chic flick night. A rampage of emails usually fly back and forth a few days before because everyone’s excited to meet up. I personally think it’s so important for people to have their night with the girls or with the boys – depending on which company you’d prefer. Friendships are incredibly precious things to me and I’m fortunate to be surrounded by good people.

I’ve been thinking about making these cupcakes for a long time. And in Impatient Vocabulary, one week is a long time to wait. I run the process over and over again in my head and when I have a firm picture, things always go well. That’s me exercising visualization. Now, to visualize, money flowing into my account.

I am very pleased with the cupcakes as it came out fluffy and light. If you don’t have Cherry Ripe, not to worry, there is a substitute recipe. And I promise you, it’s just as good.

Cherry Ripe Cupcakes ( makes about 18 )
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• 125g butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence*
• 2/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup Cherry Ripe chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour

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No Cherry Ripe? Replace it with:

• *1/2 tsp coconut essence (instead of vanilla essence)
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/3 cup red glace cherries, chopped coarsely
• 50g dark eating chocolate

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Milk Chocolate Ganache

• 1/4 cup cream
• 100g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely

Decorations

• 150g white chocolate Melts, melted
• pink food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan-forced. Line muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar and essence in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Incorporate eggs, one at a time.
4. Fold in milk, cherry ripe chocolate (or coconut, cherries and chocolate).
5. With an electric mixer, beat in flours.
6. Divide mixture among cases and bake for 30 minutes or until skewer comes out cleanly.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Bring cream to boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in small bowl, stir until smooth.
2. Cover bowl; stand at room temperature until ganache is spreadable.

Decorations:

1. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Tint it with food colouring according to your preference.
3. Make paper piping bags; spoon the chocolate mixture in and pipe coloured heart shapes onto baking paper-lined oven tray. Set in a cool dry area.

Wait for ganache to cool before setting the hearts on the cupcakes or the heart will melt from the heat.

Last week, I rushed out of the door and straight into Borders’. I had been dreaming of a cookbook for weeks. Yes. you could say, it was love at first page. We were separated because a barbecue was beckoning. Anyhoo, to commemorate our unity, I decided to get some passionfruits so that our relationship will always be filled with – you’ve guessed it – passion.

Jane had just come out of surgery some weeks ago and we decided to meet up for a little catch up. She’s a sweet lady who owns her own farm and comes down to the city once in a while. I wanted to make her something nice and flex my cupcake muscles, so this couldn’t happen at a better time.

We went to a lovely cafe called Lawson Grove that serves fantastic coffee. They do make the A+ stuff there. And the boys… *whistles* very charming. I know it’s rude to bring your own cupcakes to a cafe, so the owner (I presume) and I did a barter trade. Just this once, of course. Don’t start doing that at your local cafe and quote me. He got a cupcake, and I got the best macaroon out of France. I like this trade.

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Good chat, good coffee (chai for me), and a good trade.

Recipe by Julie Le Clerc

Passion Fruit Cupcake (makes 12)
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• 75g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 small eggs
• 1/4 cup passionfruit pulp (2 fruits)
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbs self-raising flour

1. Heat oven to 180C. Grease or line 12 muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla together until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in passionfruit pulp, then fold in sifted flour.
4. Half fill paper cases with mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of one cake comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Passionfruit Cream Cheese Frosting
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• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 passionfruits

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and icing sugar together. Don’t over beat the frosting.
2. Fold in pulp from one passion fruit. Mix well.

Swirl frosting on cupcakes. To decorate, squeeze some pulp on top.

G’s brother came back from Japan after spending winter months there working in a ski resort. One of the things he brought back with him was a bar of Meiji chocolates. They are, I reckon, one of the best, chocolates around. But when I saw green tea on the packaging, I quickly changed my mind.

I’m usually quite adventurous with my food however, I had green tea and chocolate individually imprinted on my memory taste buds and the combination would be rather shocking. I guess, adventurism only kicks in if I am ignorant to what it tastes like. (Although, I tried cow’s brains once and it tasted like what I thought it’ll taste like. Mushy.)

Anyway, no one else in G’s family fancied the chocolate. A tiny bite and that’s all it took to convinced them – never again.

Green Tea or macha cupcakes on the other hand are more fabulous tasting.

Green Tea Cupcake (Makes 12)
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175g butter, softened
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour, sifted
85g instant green tea powder
3 tbsp milk

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160c.
2. Cream sugar and butter together with an electric mixer until fluffy.
3. Add flour and eggs. Beat till smooth.
4. Add green tea powder and milk.
5. Line a cupcake tray and fill the cup 3/4 full.
6. You know it’s ready when you can smell cupcakes in the air. Seriously. But for an idiot-proof method, skewer it and if it comes out clean then it’s done.
7. And if you think those holes are unsightly, then frost it with basic icing.

Note:
Creaming the sugar and butter together gives cakes and cupcakes a lighter, fluffier texture. I also used an instant green tea drink mix that had non-dairy creamer and sugar. If you’re using green tea powder without sugar, then add an additional 1/2 cup sugar to the recipe.