Vanilla Cupcakes

If you haven't heard of Sweet and Simple Bakes, do check it out. Maria and Rosie have started a baking blog for amateur bakers about a year ago. I've tried to take part in almost all their bakes, and they've all been amazing.

This month's bake was no different. I tried them this afternoon and they were all gone in about 2 hours. My daughter and her friends thought they were awesome and literally couldn't stop eating them!


Vanilla Cupcakes
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

Supposed to make 12, but I got about 9

6 oz Self-Raising Flour
6 oz Butter, softened
6 oz Caster Sugar
3 large Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Buttercream Icing:
5 oz Butter, softened
11 oz Icing Sugar
1 tbsp Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Add the butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Spoon the mixture into paper-case lined muffin pans. Bake for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Meanwhile make the buttercream. Beat the butter until soft. Add the icing sugar and combine. Add the vanilla and milk and beat well until light and fluffy. You could add food coloring too if you'd like colorful cupcakes.

Spread the buttercream onto the cupcakes. Decorate as you wish. I used Gems (an Indian equivalent of M&Ms).


Thanks, Maria and Rosie. This is something I've already made 3 times this month, and will definitely make again!

Vanilla Ice Cream

After seeing the Daring Bakers make ice cream, I simply had to try my hand at it. It took a lot of research, and lots of running around and lots went wrong. But the ice cream was amazing. And it's all due to David Lebovitz! He's a genius :)

I changed his recipe around quite a bit. I tried not to, but I had to. We don't get vanilla beans here and so I had to substitute more vanilla extract. And we don't get heavy cream either (I just couldn't believe that!), and so I went with regular cream.

I also don't have an ice cream machine, and had to use DL's method for making ice cream by regular old churning. He said in his post that it should probably take 2-3 hours, but I first put it in the freezer at 7 pm and I did the last churn at 3 am! And I couldn't go to sleep because all my effort would have gone to waste.


Everything was worth it. Some fantastic vanilla ice cream (couldn't call it "plain, ol' vanilla", because it just ain't so)

Vanilla Ice Cream
(slightly altered from David Lebovitz's recipe)

1 cup Milk (I had to use part-skim!)
A pinch of Salt
3/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Cream
5 Egg Yolks

Heat the milk, vanilla, salt and sugar together.


In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks. Gradually pour the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly.


Pour the milk mixture back into the pan. On low heat, keep stirring while it thickens.

Meanwhile set up a large bowl with a 50-50 mixture of ice cubes and iced water. Set a smaller bowl into the large bowl. Empty the cream into the smaller bowl and let it chill. Set a small holed strainer over the smaller bowl.


The milk mixture will slowly begin to thick. Continue stirring until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. A good test would be to run your finger over the coating on the spoon - it should leave a mark without running.


Immediately pour the mixture through the strainer into the smaller bowl containing the cream. Keep stirring until the entire mixture cools down and is chilled.

When cold, pour the mixture into a large (shallow is good) plastic container. Put it in the freezer.

Now starts the not so fun part. Every 45 minutes to an hour, take the container out and give it a good churn with a metal spoon or even a hand-held mixer or stick blender (those make it all easier). Make sure to break up all the frozen parts from the edges in. The better you blend everything, the less icy the end result.

Keep churning until the entire thing is frozen. This took me a good 7-8 hours! But that could also be my freezer. Hopefully yours will freeze up sooner! Good Luck!

But don't you see how fantastic that looks? It's all worth it. Really, it is!

Vanilla Apple Cake

Mmmm... There's nothing much to say when you're eating this cake - its just sooo sooo good that you're not really concerned about what to say about it! Another winner this month from Maria and Rosie of Sweet and Simple Bakes.


Vanilla Apple Cake
(recipe from S+SB)

9 oz (about 2 sticks) unsalted Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 1/3 cups Caster Sugar
4 Eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour + 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 small Apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder

Heat the oven to 180C. Butter a cake tin and/or line with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla and beat together. Slowly add in the flour (be as gentle and quick as possible as the flour tends to weigh down the beautiful lightness of the creamed butter and sugar).

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Top with the apple wedges - sinking them in a little as you place them. Here's where you'll think oh-my-goodness there are too many apple wedges and not enough space, but they'll shrink and you'll be glad you added all the apples!

Sprinkle with the Demerara sugar and the cinnamon. Bake for about an hour or until the top is slightly browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.


Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (the vanilla ice cream is not optional!).