Kit-Kat Cupcakes

I’m not dead.
I’m not dead, but my eating habits sort of are. You know, I’m having a tough time right now, not eating regularly, because I am a slave of my stupid eating-disordered brain.
I had this diet week in February which was Detox, and somehow it made my body gain weight, although I ate less than what the diet plan told me and from that point on I have gained and lost weight and definitely lost my mind on food. But I still love baking – combining flavours, mixing ingredients together and decorating sweets makes me really really happy. But you must excuse that I cannot bake so often – I kind of lost my appetite – craving food is something uncommon for me these days.

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Still, I bake for special occasions and I enjoy every second of it, for example these cute mini cupcakes I made to garnish a friend’s present with some sweet delight.

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Their name sounds like a tongue twister if you say it out loud and if you repeat it quite a few times, it will blow your mind, just like their taste. Putting kitkat pieces in brownie batter was definitely not my worst idea.

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To top the whole thing and underline the hazelnut taste in the candy bar, I put some whipped cream with nutella on top. The Kit-kat piece stuck in the cupcake is just one ore feature to make the delight more intense. So if you have a good friend whose birthday is near or if you just crave something both creamy and chocolatey, you might very well consider this recipe.

Kit-kat Cupcakes

(makes about 30 cupcakes)

225 g (2 sticks) butter
300 g (1 1/3 cup) sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
85 g (3/4 cup) dark cocoa powder
120 g (1 cup) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 mini Kit-kat bars

Topping:

250 ml heavy cream
2 heaped tbsp nutella or any other nougat cream
5 mini Kit-kat bars

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Cut the Kit-kat bars into chunks and set them aside.
Melt the butter in a microwave. Combine with sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and stir in vanilla. Sift together all dry ingredients and stir them in. At the end, put in the Kit-kat chunks. Line a muffin mold with cups and fill with dough up to 2/3. After about 18 minutes you will have cute mini cupcakes waiting for decoration. Let them babies cool properly.

Beat the heavy cream until stiff and finally stir in the nutella. Place about 1 tsp of topping on each mini cupcake.
Now cut each Kit-kat single bar into half and stick the halves inside the cupcakes, so they stand upright.

Et voilà, adorable sweetness.

Banana Choc Muffins

It is crazy how time flies. In my last year at school, my life looks like this: school, sleep, work, sleep, school, sleep, learn, sleep… And before you can get prepared for it, it is already december. I am so tired of this amount of things I must do. And very sorry for missing the posting days. But still, I have some great soul food for you right here.
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Bananas and chocolate are known for their ability to make people happy, especially in combination.

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I found this recipe about 2 years ago and loved it ever since. It is from a German Chefkoch user, which explains why it contains quite a lot baking powder and few sugar. But trust me, you won’t miss any sweetness (especially if you put a chocolate glaze on top). I threw in some nutella and baked the originally one-dish recipe in muffin molds, which made exactly 12 cute buddies.

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They make a perfect snack if you have lots to learn, as they strenghten both your nerves and your concentration.

Banana Choc Muffins

125 g butter or margarine
130 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
200 g flour
1 pck. instand vanilla pudding powder
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. milk
3 tbsp ground hazelnuts
2 ripe bananas, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp nutella

100 g semi-sweet chocolate

Preteat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a muffin pan with paper molds.

Stir together the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, eggs, flour, pudding powder, nutella and baking powder until the mass is smooth.

Stir in the nuts, milk and banana with a spoon.

Fill the muffin molds up to 3/4 and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpicker comes out clean. Let them babies cool.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a water bath and pour over the muffins.

Serve and enjoy.

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

My bf’s mother made cassis jam. Yippie! This sweet and refreshingly sour treat is just the right thing to nash on during summer.

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

I was inspired by its taste and the fresh red fruit, I found in a nearby supermarket. The last week of school, my class had a big breakfast together and I wanted to bring something handy. So I thought of whoopie pies.

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies
Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

Pretty chocolate dough, filled with a light cassis buttercream, drizzled with white chocolate, topped with a red berry.

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

Voilà! They were done easily and quickly, a lot faster than I had expected.

Chocolate Cassis Whoopie Pies

(makes about 25 whoopie pies)

chocolate cakes:

175 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
50 g (3/8 cup) dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
125 g (1/2 cup – 4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
175 g (7/8 cup – 6 oz) white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
3 large eggs, room temperature
80 ml (1/3 cup) whipping cream, room temperature

frosting:

75 g (1/3 cup) butter
150 g (5 oz.) cream cheese
6 tbsp cassis jam – or to taste

Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F). Line two sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside until needed.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, until fluffy and white. Add vanilla. Add one egg at a time and whisk in between until fully incorporated. Now add the dry ingredients while you continue to mix. Stir in the whipping cream. Do not overbeat.

Fill the dough into a piping bag and pipe circles of about 3 cm diameter onto the parchment paper, then bake for about 10 minutes until the dough has set. Remove from the paper and let cool.

Prepare the cream by melting the butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Cream with cream cheese and jam.

Find 2 equal pies and put the cream on top of one with a spoon or using a piping bag. Place the second pie half on top and squeese slightly.

Decorate with melted chocolate and fresh cassis. Enjoy cooled.