Chapter 3 | Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookie Dough

Spoon - N - Cut Cookie Measuring Tool

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Ingredients

• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F | 175°C.  
2. Mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray, then wipe it off with a paper towel. (You barely need anything on the pan, the cookies will produce their own anti-stick grease!) 
3. In a large bowl mix together sugars, butter, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, salt, and baking soda and whisk to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined (I do this part with a spoon or spatula, instead of a hand mixer etc, to keep the batter from becoming "over mixed")
4. Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls (if the dough is way too sticky you can add a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you can roll it - it will still stick to your hands a little bit but that's okay). Place rolled dough balls on prepared baking sheet 2-3 inches apart and press each ball down slightly with the palm of your hand to flatten it a little bit. Stuff extra chocolate chips in the top of the cookies if you'd like. (I always do this) Bake 10-12 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes on the pan. Repeat process with remaining dough. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

                                                                   ♥

Chapter 2 | Nutella Cupcakes

This weeks upload on CupcakeJemma's youtube channel was Nutella Cupcakes. Being the cupcake enthusiast and Nutella lover that I am, I knew I had to recreate this recipe. You can watch the video here and if you aren't following her you need to jump on the bandwagon.

I baked half of the cupcakes in these fun liners and the other half in white. I liked the look of the colorful ones a better as they added a little extra something to the cupcakes. They also held up better than the white liners.

Lets talk a little bit of the outcome of these cupcakes. The cakes themselves are very decadent. They're neither too dry nor too moist. The pulverised hazelnuts add a distinct texture that adds to the Nutella theme. However, you could definitely leave them out and just use this recipe as a plain chocolate cupcake recipe. To bring out the chocolate flavour I added 2 tablespoons of concentrated coffee and it made the batter that much more delicious!

 The frosting on the other hand didn't really work for me. It turned out grainy and the 3-4 tablespoons of milk were too much. My frosting was too runny. To get it to a workable texture again I had to chill it for 20 minutes. Despite the difficulty, the taste was good and it made up for texture.

Nutella Cupcakes

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

20-22 mins

Total Time

1 hrs

Servings: 12

Ingredients

CUPCAKES:

• 50 grams roasted, skinned & pulverised hazelnuts
• 100 grams self raising flour
• 25 grams cocoa powder
• 125 grams caster sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 140 grams unsalted butter, soft
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons concentrated coffee

BUTTERCREAM:

• 100 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 150 grams Nutella
• 225 grams icing sugar, sifted
• 3-4 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

CUPCAKES:

1. Preheat the oven to 340º F | 170°C. 
2. Combine hazelnuts, flour, cocoa powder, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine well.
3. In a separate bowl combine butter, eggs, milk, vanilla and coffee. Beat until thoroughly combined. to the flour mixture and beat well to combine. 
4. Mix the two mixtures and divide them evenly into your cupcake liners.
5. Bake for about 20 - 22 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. 

BUTTERCREAM:

1. Add softened butter and nutella into a mixing bowl and beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes. 
2. Pour in the sifted icing in two batches, beating after each one. 
3. Add the desired amount of milk until you get the consistency that you want.
4. Pipe evenly over your cupcakes.

                                                                   ♥

Chapter 1 | Culinary School

Sponge Cake filled with Creme Patisserie and decorated with Buttercream Roses.

Buttercream roses and a Fondant Purple Rose.

Purple Ombre Cake.

Sponge Cake filled with Chocolate Creme Patisserie and decorated with a Raspberry and White Chocolate glaze.

Sponge Cakes filled with a White Chocolate Creme Patisserie and decorated with an assortment of Fruits.

 Last year I got accepted into one of the most sought after Baking & Pastry Arts schools. This is also the reason why I took a very long break from blogging. I had hoped to give all my focus to my schoolwork and learn as much as I could then come on here and share it on my little corner of the Internet. However, things didn't go as planned. During the month of December I experienced a lot of health issues and this led to me having to take a temporary absence and later resulted in a permanent leave. If I was able to continue I would have graduated last week. 

Regardless, I want to focus on the positives! In the few months that I was able to attend I learned a lot and made a lifelong friend. I'd like to think that this is just the beginning of my learning journey! So in honor of the few months I was able to attend I wanted to share a few photos of some of the cakes I made there and am the most proud of. 

Flour Power!

♥