Pink Cupcakes

Kinda late for this but better late than never. This is posted in the name of Breast Cancer Awareness month! Designated to remind women to get a health check every year to detect breast cancer. Lotsa fund raising activities for breast cancer also held this month, so do your bit as and when you can.

So the theme is to bake something pink. Since I'm on this cupcake practising spree, might as well ya. Got lots more to improve on my piping skills, but hey it's my first time, so cut me some slack yeah lol. Mom said it looks like poop on the cupcake, yeah thanks for the encouragement man.

I was kinda worried that the cupcakes will turn out tough at first as I gave it a few more swirls on the hand mixer to incorporate the food coloring in. But they turned out so moist and fine-crumbed that it literally melts in your mouth. I like the fresh whipped cream piling on top of it as well, light and fluffy and not overly sweet. Now I'm getting curious on how the conventional cupcake butter cream frosting tastes like.

Classic Yellow Layer Cake (adapted from Sur La Table's The Art & Soul of Baking)
(makes 10 huge cupcakes for me)

Ingredients:
170g unsalted butter, room temperature
150g granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
200g cake flour, sifted
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
85g sour cream (I use lite sour cream because full fat was out of stock everywhere! /rawr)
drops of pink food coloring (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C and line a muffin pan with paper liners
2. Cream butter and sugar until very light - almost white - in color
3. Beat the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl to blend
4. With mixer on medium, add eggs to the butter mixture about 1 tbsp at a time, allowing each addition to completely blend in before adding the next. About halfway through, turn off mixture and scrape down the bowl, then resume adding the eggs
5. Combine cake flour, baking soda, salt in a medium bowl and whisk together
6. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and sour cream alternately, beginning with one third of flour mixture, then half of sour cream, ending with flour mixture.
7. Add in few drops of coloring, then blend until just incorporated
8. Fill paper liners with batter to 1/4 inch from the top of the liner. Bake for 15 to 20 mins, until firm to touch and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely before piping

Whipped Cream Frosting
200ml whipping cream
5 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
few drops of pink coloring (optional)

Method:
1. Whip cream till soft peak, then gradually add in the icing sugar and vanilla extract
2. Add in few drops of your favorite coloring just before the cream hits stiff peak
3. Pipe as you like