Rainbow Cupcakes

Red and Yellow and Pink and Green~
Purple and Orange and Blue.
I can sing a rainbow,
Sing a rainbow~
Sing a rainbow too!

My nephew turned 10 today and I had this idea to attempt making rainbow cupcakes. I did a bit of research and referred to Cut-Out-and-Keep

I made my own vanilla cupcakes so this blog will be a step by step guide to making rainbow cupcakes. I can't remember if this recipe is around somewhere so I'll write it here again.

VANILLA CUPCAKES (makes 12):
Ingredients:
110g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
2 free-range eggs
125 plain flour
150g self raising flour
120mL skim milk at room temp
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (fan-forced)

1. cream the butter and sugar until its pale and fluffy, then add one egg at a time
2. in a separate bowl, add the plain and self-raising flour
3. add the vanilla essence to the milk
4. add 1/3 of the flour into the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat, then add 1/3 of the milk, beat again.
5. continually add 1/3 of the flour and milk until it's all gone

you have your vanilla cupcake batter ready. Now just divide it into 6 bowls or cups. I used disposable cups cos I'm too lazy to wash lol.

Now I followed Cut-Out-and-Keep in terms of the food dye. However I didn't get the orange that I'd like... I numbered 1-6 in order that I put the colours in first.

1. Half cap blue + half cap red
2. Half cap blue
3. Half cap green
4. Half cap yellow
5. Half cap red + half cap yellow
6. Half cap red

I'm guessing it's about 3-4 drops in every half cap.

than it was time to divide it evenly as possible into 12 muffin tins. it was quite a challenge trying to layer it after the first. if I put a big scoop in the middle, it started to sink. I had to quickly spread it around to try create a layer.

then Bake for 25 minutes. When it's ready, let it cool down in the tins for about 5-10 minutes. wait for it to completely cool down to add icing and decorations

You can create however you like. I used 'White Wings' Vanilla icing Mix and decorate with 100s & 1000s and Mini M&Ms

Yeah I'm pretty messy.... but it looks colourful.

Mini Grilled Cheese Toasties

Remember the larger Cookie cutter? I was saving that to make cheese toasties for my first anniversary~

I had to toast the bread first before I cut them, then added the butter and cheese and put them in the grill (I had to use Medium-High heat cos the grill is very old..) for a few minutes until the cheese melted.

Valentines Shortbread cookies

Yes I have made these for my boyfriend!
Kinda wanted just the shortbread recipe and bought Chocolate Melts for the writing

shortbread:

• 125g (4½oz) butter, softened
• 55g (2oz) caster sugar
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 140g (5oz) plain flour

1. Preheat oven to 170°C, (150°C for fan ovens), Gas mark 4.
2. Cream butter and sugar with the vanilla until pale and fluffy. Add the flour and mix well. Chill the dough for 10 minutes.
3. Roll out on a floured surface to 3mm thickness and cut out biscuits using a 3cm heart shaped cookie cutter (it should make 36 hearts, if you keep rolling and cutting).
4. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. Leave to cool.

Long Update.

I kinda have almost abandoned my blog. since the last post, I was really sick, then it was my last exams, then moving back home to my parents. Now currently job seeking and helping parents find a smaller house to live in.

Since I'm back at parents home, I'm not in "charge" of the kitchen anymore. At least I'm back to mama's homemade soups. Also everything I had in my kitchen is all stored away in the garage =(

Also Making this post because I found out today that my friend and fellow food blogger "Mama Bea's" has nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. To my understanding, this award goes to blogs with <200 followers, and it's to appreciate the time and effort that these bloggers do. I'd like to thank Beatrice for nominating me. It has given me inspiration to cook more dishes to post on this blog.

I also do plan a special surprise for my boyfriend this Valentines day! And since it's baking, I will post it soon! Also our one year anniversary is coming up soon and I'm excited for that as well!!

Take a guess at what i'm gonna use these cookie cutters for. hint: the big one is not for cookies

Also. I wish to make these in the future:
Soba noodles
Chocolate mousse with just chocolate and water

My boyfriend and I really want Bun Xeo again however there are no good groceries near my area that actually have decent fresh bean sprouts. Unlike the Foodie suburb back in the west.

Dinner: Vietnamese Broken Rice w/ grilled pork chops

Lunch: Grilled Pork chops w/ broken rice and Nuoc mam (fish sauce)

Looks a bit plain because I made the pork/egg meatloaf the night before and it failed very badly! The recipe I used it had a typo and had 2 tablespoons of pepper and a tablespoon of salt when it was meant to be a teaspoon >.<

However, I still wanted to make the pork chops. I love ordering the Broken rice dish at the vietnamese restaurants~ And I have a specific way of eating it too lol.

but OMG the pork chops are the best ever!! Better than some restaurants where the meat is dry. Mine were soft and very juicy! I can still smell the marinade as I type lol. I used the recipe that uses 6 pork chops so I had to cut it down at a ratio.

Marinade (for 6 pork chops)
3 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs oil
1 tbs minced garlic

marinate the pork chops for at least 2 hours.

I was excited whilst cooking and being nervous knowing that I might overcook or undercook it. It's also my b/f favourite dish so I HAVE to do it justice! I failed the meatloaf although not all restaurants serve that.

I stared at my plate knowing something else was missing... our tomatoes were old and the meatloaf was fail... we were both happy with the pork chop that we forgot that the egg was missing!



Also can't have a vietnamese dish without the fish sauce (Nuoc mam) which I made! I didn't cheat and buy this time!The first batch I thought I killed it as soon as I added lime juice. It smelt funny too... but apparently it's still a sauce but used more for seafood and green mangoes. So I just made another batch but without adding the lime juice

Nuoc Mam:
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
carrots, grated
2 tablespoons lime juice (optional)

Combine the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and 125 ml (1/2 cup) of water in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir well and cook until just before boiling point is reached. allow it to cool and add grated carrots and garlic.

You might wanna find jars to store them in... I was almost tempted to use a Bundaburg glass bottle... or a soft drink bottle.. which would be weird especially if someone wants to open your fridge and find that they think is a drink, pull it out and drink out of the bottle.... no... just... no...

Dinner: What to do with leftover jap curry

Had so much curry leftover last night and I had another crazy thought of having "curry udon" Although my b/f wanted "curry don" so I made rice for him. But it's still one way to use leftover curry since it's simple and it just needs heating up again.

However to make a curry broth, I needed dashi with the curry. Which is only sold in rare places so I just had a cheap substitute. heated up chicken stock and added a splash of soy and water and added lots of curry.

First time I used leftover curry was when I chucked in instant noodles instead of Udon xD