Monday, November 21, 2011

I DO! DO!!

So when my plum cupcakes were baked, I took a bite to taste before frosting them. Yik!!  It was so saltish!! I thought there was something wrong with my taste bud. I asked my mum to taste it and she asked me what kind of cup cake was that. I think she was being kind not to tell me that it tasted horrible!  Then I asked my Quay Lo to taste. He shooked his head and said "This does not taste right Honey".  I was so puzzled and wondered what went wrong. I went back to read the recipe carefully and there I found the mistake I made. It called for ¼ tsp salt not 1!! I think it is time to go check my eyes. Aiyoh, this time, I really can’t think of a way how to salvage them. I have to toss away all the cupcakes and redo another batch. SOB! SOB! I really hated it when I had to throw away food. 

So are you ready to hear the verdict of my second batch? I love that this cake turned out moist and the slices of plums in them gave a little crunch and a slightly sour taste to it. The red skin of the plum also enhanced the look of the cupcakes. They are not too sweet and had a little smokey flavor from the smoked paprika I added.  Oh I can read your mind, you must be thinking “Is this Quay Po gone nuts? Adding paprika to a cake batter?” Am I right or not?  I don’t blame you because I did not know what to expect too at the time when I sprinkled the paprika onto the batter. But then, like the saying goes, no venture no gain. What’s the worst that could happen? To tell you the truth, that was a good add. It not only added color to the cupcakes but it gave a little zing to the taste and the flavor was complex but very pleasing to the palette. The combo with roasted chestnut butter cream frosting was a perfect match. My mum does not take butter or cream so she ate it without and she said it tasted fantastic this time. As for me, I love it even more with the frosting. So will I make this cupcake again? What did I say when I took my marriage vows twice?  I said, “ I DO, I DO!!” 

You must be curious to know where I got those beautiful and elegant cupcakes paper liners from. They flew here all the way from USA. My step daughter, Erin bought them for me. Erin, your selection was superb and thank you for shipping them to me. I wish you are here to taste these delicious cupcakes.


Plum Cupcake with Butter chestnut frosting
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe with modification







Makes 10 medium size cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
smoked paprika for to sprinkle
5 tbs unsalted butter
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
Grated zest of one lemon
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 big plums, pitted and sliced

Method:
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cardamom. Cream the butter with the brown sugar.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Reduce the speed and add the flour mixture. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and place some cut slices of plum on each one. Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they bounce back when touched lightly. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before frosting. This cake taste good without frosting too.

Butter chestnut frosting
Click o the pic to get the recipe. Note: rum is optional



ENJOY and have a Wonderful week ahead of you!
Hugs to all!


Note: I am submitting this cupcake recipe to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011) which hosted by Min of Min's Blog

51 comments:

  1. Gorgeous cupcakes ! I love the texture of the cakes so as the lovely slices of the plum on top ! Great presentation ;) Eye check asap ! :D

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  2. Love the crisscross frosting, looks like plum pie cupcake :)

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  3. Veron....I am always like that too...read the wrong thing LOL! and got into trouble ! The cupcake liners look superb and the plum cupcakes look delish! :)

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  4. the cupcake liners are lovely.. agree with wendy, like lattice plum pie cupcakes :)

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  5. your recipes are always just wonderful but in all honesty its the way you tell the story I love the most,, I love what you cook but i love the way you tell us what you do,, its a joy to come here.

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  6. Awww ... you could have turned those salty cupcakes to some kind of croutons for a savory salad. But your 2nd batch turned out awesome! I loooove plums in dessert.

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  7. They're very pretty. I like putting a bit of paprika in batter when I'm frying stuff, sounds interesting putting it in cupcakes.

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  8. You are creative. I haven't seen those toppings on a cupcake before. The cupcake liners are so special too..got flowers! Very nice of your step daughter.

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  9. You were very brave to add paprika to your 2nd batch after a failure without knowing how they are going to turn out! Glad everything is peachy, or should I say, plummy? after all:D The cupcakes look wonderful!

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  10. It is good to keep trying:)

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  11. Beautiful cupcakes!!!
    those slices of plums look so tempting...
    Delicious

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  12. Ok I don't know why it showing my earlier comment as unknown...

    Beautiful cupcakes!!!
    those slices of plums look so tempting...
    Delicious....

    Reem | Simply Reem

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  13. Practise make perfect. See, you are getting the perfect cupcake only at your second attempts. Some may need more than that to get thing right.

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  14. aiyo so nice looking bet it taste deliious

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  15. love your creative way of crisscross the frosting! Beautiful cake!

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  16. Hi Veron, it was nice meeting you the other day at AB Cupcake Class! You were probably the first one to post it on the blog, right? I read it on the very day and was like wow! I actually wanted to comment immedeiately but it took a while for me to figure out how to... (cuz I don't use blogspot and so and so...) hah. But now I know!
    Anyway, it was such a nice time and we all had fun ya. I hope to see you again!
    ps. Your Plum Cupcakes look sooo delicious and lovely!

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  17. Oooo...your cakes are simply stunning. This time, you're to blame for triggering my craving for cakes. Drool! Drool!!!! Sigh!!! If only I'm into baking as well...

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  18. Wow..... well done.
    Quay Po, U are really creative. This cake look special & nice!

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  19. Not only Quay Po good in cooking & baking, also gotta great presentation and photography skills. Nei ho yeah!

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  20. Hi, thanks for visiting my blog! I've drooled at yours before, never thought you'd pop over.

    I must try one of your recipes one day. Never attempted any coz, well, I thought they're too sophisticated for a beginner cook like me. :)

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  21. Nice!

    There's always some failure, but they help us learn more!

    Take care!

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  22. wow, you're so fast in posting! looks like you've been busy in the kitchen. plum cupcakes sounds delightful. i adore your style, you're a little bit serious, but a whole lot of fun!

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  23. Hi Quay Po
    gosh the cakes look heavenly and pix are so well taken too. Me, drool drool.. yes I have sweet tooth.

    I smile at how you described your experiment on adding stuff never done before. And I guess that is how we make and discover variety of flavors, through experiment, yes :). Would like to try and make them cupcakes using your recipe, well one day :).

    Love your profile pix with your pooch and of course your header pix. You have a lovely family.

    cheers
    Angie

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  24. What a wonderful idea. The flavour sounds intriguing and they look so beautiful! Definitely a recipe I shall try out.

    I have just found your recipe for making Lemon Pepper Seasoning - I can't wait to get set making that up for Christmas gifts.

    Thank you so much.

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  25. Pretty cupcakes! I love adding fruits into cupcakes, they just taste very different and next time I will learn from you, to add in paprika too, haha!

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  26. Paprika? ok! I will give it a try!!! The photos are an eye candy and i am sure your cupcakes are a hit!!

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  27. gosh..saltish or not, I dont mind trying.. lol.. I just drank a glass of salt water to soothe my poor throat!

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  28. Veron, so sorry about your cupcakes. I have problems with my eyes too. Make mistakes all the time. haha... Well, we learnt from there. Right! Hope you're all well. Emjoy & have a lovely evening.
    Cheers, Kristy

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  29. These cupcakes look delightful, Quay Po :) And lol.. oh I've had my share of sobbing moments in the kitchen, esp. when I cook squid >.<" But yeah, the second time around, when you nail it, it's the best feeling in the world.

    Cheers,

    Wi
    A Single Girl's Musings

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  30. Oh you know what..one time I switched salt for sugar..cupcakes turned out, well.. not eatable:))) Yours look so good..and those liners are really cute!!! by the way love your yummy photos!

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  31. Oy! But these turned out absolutely stunning!

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  32. Quay Po,
    U are not alone, me to, make the same mistake when i made chocolate chip cupcakes years ago and end up they all went to Mr.bin.

    erm...i think you have this talent to become a 美食专家,those who taste and write review on magazine and newspaper etc. me already feel like grab one b4 i reached the line 'i do i do';p

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  33. Super combinations with the flowers.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  34. How beautiful! Amazing job.

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  35. The other night when making stirfry I used 1 Tbsp of cornstarch instead of 1 tsp. We've all been there.

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  36. Sorry you had to throw away your first batch. Glad the second came out well! I love the purple orchids in your photos, brillant colour!

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  37. Hi, I could smell your plum cupcake from here and that's why I'm here again to appreciate them.Never see any cafes selling plum cupcake b4 & this makes yours very special. The biggest success achieved by the biggest adventure, good for you. I recently made some bread crisp using smoked paprika to season the topping but I can't really taste them. I asked my hubby how does he like the bread crisp but surprisingly he said he likes it and he also likes the smoked paprika.How come I can't taste them/.May be something wrong with my taste bud, haha

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  38. Oooo... I see some familiar names here... all my friends... wakakakakak...Cikgu, Smallkucing and Claire is oredi here. =D
    It's gonna be so much fun.

    Your plum cupcake looks so divine...I can never bake something like this.


    http://cleffairy.com

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  39. Ps: I'm like Cikgu... cannot bake... as long as I bake cake or cookies, it'll be disaster! :(

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  40. Love the colors and the presentation! So pretty! Makes you just want to dive right in :)

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  41. Sorry you had to waste all those cakes, have you a pair of glasses now? Ha ha. The next batch look fantastic. Take care Diane

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  42. opps, sometimes I will make some silly mistake too when 1/4 will actually become 1/2 . . . . imagine 2 and 4 is very big different > . <

    I dun bake, I make mistake when I was typing documents :P

    Bake more! dun hate it XD I will come and dig some recipe if I wanted to bake for my parents and friend :P

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  43. Ilove this post, and the pics are great!!! Good luck with the aspiring bakers :))

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  44. Bummer about the first batch of these, but glad to hear the second was delicious! I love the idea of adding paprika, I am all for unusual additions to desserts :)! They are lovely as well!

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  45. teehee at least you found out what went wrong ;p love the addition of butter chestnut frosting though - sounds so decadent!

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  46. I must say you bake delicious cupcakes and take great pics.

    And I wonder how does paprika go with cupcakes, emmm? Sure excites the taste bud, eh?

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  47. @anne
    Yes, Will have to call for appointment for eye check soon.

    @Wendy @Swee San
    Did not realize it looks like lattice plum pie cupcakes till you guys mention it.

    @laurie
    That is what I love about your post too. When I read your post, it is like as if you are talking to me.

    @ping
    Can I? I should have saved it then ha?

    @Baby Sumo
    Yes paprika does give color to dishes.

    @Carolyn
    I think fruit in cupcakes are not so popular in the store because it won't last.

    @none
    It is not so much brave but curious and want to experiment with new flavors.

    @Dzoli
    That's right.

    @Reem
    Thanks for your kind words, Much appreciated.

    @Sheoh Yan
    Practise definitely pays off.

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  48. @Small Kucing
    Yes it taste awesome:D

    @Ah Tze
    To be honest, I don't enough frosting so I did the crisscross to use less. hehe

    @caramelmoko
    Nice meeting you too. I hope to see you again soon. Thanks for the compliment on my cupcake. Got a lot to learn from you.

    @suituapui
    Still the same thing I said to you earlier. You want to eat, eat lor, don't blame others. LOL!

    @Joceline
    Thanks Joceline. It is so nice to hear that the cake looks special to you.

    @Bananaz
    "Mm kam tong"

    @Stacy
    All my recipes here are for beginners because I am one:D

    @Hayley
    You are right. We learn through our failure. You too take care.

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  49. @Elin
    So I am not alone? hehe

    @petite nyona
    hahaha, I know, I am very serious when I am at work. In fact when I am working on something at home, no one wants to come near me. LOL!

    @Angie
    Thanks. I have agree that I have a wonderful family and that includes our Dog Ruby and now our cat Ranger. I am happy to hear that you will try this recipe and hope to hear feedback from you.

    @Elaine
    Thanks and glad to hear you will try the recipe. Hope to get some feedback from you too. Oh yes, if you are thinking of Lemon Pepper seasoning as Christmas gifts, you have to start doing now. It is quite tedious shredded the lemon zest.

    @Min
    Make sure you just sprinkle a little of the paprika, not too much:D

    @donkey with the carrot
    I am happy to say those who tried the cupcakes gave me positive comments so this recipe is a keeper.

    @reanaclaire
    I shouldn't have thrown away the saltish cupcake if I knew you have sore throat. I should have courier them to you. hehe

    @Kristy
    We are all well. Thanks.

    @Wi
    It is so true, when we nail something, the feeling is great.

    @Sandra
    Thanks. It is quite easy to mistaken salt for sugar if not labelled properly.

    @Belinda
    I am very pleased.

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  50. @Yee Er
    Thanks for your kind word. I don't think I am qualified to write review on magazine or newspaper. My English is not up to par:D

    @Filip
    Thanks.

    @Michelle
    Thanks.

    @That Girl
    I can imagine your gravy must be very goowey.

    @lifeisfull
    Those are not orchid but I don't know the name of the flower. They are from my garden.

    @Jessie
    Some people are less sensitive to discreet taste than others.

    @cleffairy
    I am sure you can, this is so simple to do. Oh yes, we are having a party here:D

    @Nicole
    Thanks.

    @Diana
    I am already wearing glasses Diana, guess a new pair is due. hehe

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  51. @Kian Fai
    Yes 2 and 4 is a big different:D I will continue to bake and glad you will come here for recipe.

    @Just Cake Girl
    Thanks.

    @Amy
    Thanks you for your encouraging words.

    @Janine
    I love this frosting because it is not sweet.

    @yvonne
    That's it, excites the taste bud is the way to describe it.

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I love to hear from you. Your comments mean a lot to me. Thanks!