Happy Easter and a Welcome to Spring!

I am certainly in the mood for Easter which is just round the corner and when I came across some pictures of cupcakes beautifully decorated with Easter eggs, bunnies and little chicks I decided to do some myself. So in celebration of the coming Easter holidays and to usher in Spring (and not that Singapore has Spring as our weather here is either hot or hotter, and wet and wetter), the cupcakes I made over the weekend are dedicated to both these occassions. All the creations were given away to friends to enjoy, and I do hope that they did!





Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes
Recipe from Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse
(Makes about 20 regular cupcakes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of hot coffee
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of cold water
1 1/2 cups of cake flour
1 teaspoons of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners and pans ready.

2) In a bowl, mix the hot coffee and cocoa powder together - no lumps! Whisk in the cold water.

3) In another bowl, sift the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

4) Using your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Slowly add in the eggs and the pure vanilla extract.

5) Alternate the two bowls (coffee mixture and flour mixture) into the batter.
Mix until smooth. Then using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into your cupcake liners.

6) Bake for about 20 - 22 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.