Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla/ Chocolate Frosting!

Who loves cupcakes? Everybody I know, including my family :) There is something magical about a little cupcake's ability to make people happy and brighten the day. Being able to whip up cupcakes for little kiddos is definitely an appreciated mommy superpower!

I've been meaning to try out a recipe for chocolate cake/ cupcakes for a while now.  I decided not to wait for a special occasion like a birthday, because every day is worth celebrating with my cutie pies! Besides, our family does not restrict or limit foods. Rather, we aim for eating foods in moderation and in a balanced way. 

This recipe advertises itself as the best chocolate cake ever, and I have to say - it was very moist and delicious. It very well could be the best chocolate cupcakes our family has eaten (and I have tasted my share of cupcakes)! I followed the Add a Pinch cupcake recipe exactly, but modified the frosting a bit. 

Chocolate cupcakes (Recipe Credit: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch)Prep Time 10 mins; Cook Time 15-20 mins; Serves: 12 

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup boiling water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
2. Place cupcake liners in muffin tin. 
3. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk throughly to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
4. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
5. Evenly distribute cake batter. Each cupcake liner should be about ¾ths full. (Note: Batter will appear very watery)
6. Place in the oven and bake about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely.

Whipped Vanilla (& Chocolate Buttercream) Frosting - Adapted from: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch & Sweetapolita
Prep Time  10 mins ; Frosting for 12 cupcakes + 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (1 sticks), softened at room temperature
• 1-1.5 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Place softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the paddle attachment (I've used the whisk attachment with good results too). Turn the mixer on medium setting, and cream the butter until it is smooth and has lightened in color, about 5 minutes.
2. Add confectioner's sugar, ½ a cup at a time. After each cup has been incorporated, turn the mixer onto the highest speed setting and for about 10 seconds to lighten the frosting.
3. Add vanilla, milk, and a pinch of salt and combine on low speed until combined.
4. Increase speed to medium for another 6 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. To make chocolate frosting, I took some of the vanilla frosting out in a separate bowl and added unsweetened cocoa (the same I used for the cupcakes) until it was the right color and chocolate flavor.

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk (Lactation) Cookies - not just for breastfeeding mamas!

I've been fortunate to have an uncomplicated experience with breastfeeding. After my first baby, I learned about different foods to help boost milk supply and had great success. I'm not too sure how much credit to attribute to "lactation cookies", but they definitely are better tasting than mother's milk tea! I previously shared a recipe to my oatmeal cranberry white chocolate lactation cookies on this blog, but this time around wanted to try a chocolate chip version.

I found this fabulous recipe for "The Best Lactation Cookies!"on the blog "How Sweet it is" and made some minor modifications.  These aren't just delicious "lactation cookies", they are amongst the tastiest chocolate chip cookies I've baked and tried! My entire family can vouch for these cookies - they are a huge hit with my 2 year old toddler son, my husband, and the grandparents! I've already made several batches of these cookies since our second baby's birth (2 weeks ago).

I like to make my cookies bite sized, and as a consequence end up with a lot of cookies (A regular cookie serving is probably equivalent to 3-4 of my mini cookies). I halved the original recipe.   Here is the recipe I modified. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Lactation Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brewers yeast (lactogenic)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (lactogenic)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon  
• 8 tablespoons salted butter - room temp (If you use unsalted butter, add 1/8 tsp salt to recipe) 
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar    
• 1 large egg  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven the 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, yeast, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon (*+ salt if you use unsalted butter)
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or by hand), beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. 
4. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, until just combined and mixed. 
5. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula until they are evenly dispersed.
6. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheet.  For reference, I use a toddler munchkin spoon to make my mini cookies (about 1 in round)  
7. Bake until just golden ( for my mini cookies 8 min is perfect, for normal sized or larger cookies you will need to increase your baking time)  
8.  Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

TIPS:

• The dough can be frozen to be baked later on.  Just scoop the rounds on a baking sheet, place in freezer  until firm (about 2 hours) then place in ziplock bag. When ready to bake, place on cookie sheet and bake at preheated 350F oven for the same amount of time + 1-2 min, to your preference.
• I ordered my brewer's yeast and ground flaxseed meal online from amazon, but I think you can also find these at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods
• I always use Trader Joe's semi sweet chips or chunks for baking. In my opinion, it is the best tasting chocolate!
• I use Nielsen-Massey Vanilla for all my baking

Recipe: Second Birthday Chinese-Style Mini Spongecake

Dear Fellow Moms/ Readers,  I'm sorry for my long absence from blogging. Despite the lack of recent updates, I'm glad to see from the blog stats that people are still finding my posts helpful, as the reason for my creation of this blog is to share some of the good stuff that I am figuring out as a parent. :)  Having said that, it's not easy to find extra time to blog as a full time working mom, with a full time + on call working husband!

EW baby is turning TWO tomorrow! The time has literally flown by, and I have cherished and enjoyed every moment of it.  We are going to throw him a small party with close friends and family over the weekend, but will also be at his daycare tomorrow for a little lunch celebration.  We're bringing homemade fried rice and spring rolls (thanks to his grandparents), dino chicken nuggets, fruit and cupcakes.  

Originally, I was thinking of making him vanilla vanilla cupcakes (I'll try to share that recipe sometime), but then his teacher told me "No Frosting."  Bummer. No frosting? I get it - lunch is right before nap time.  But most cakes taste more exciting with frosting. :( While my vanilla cupcakes are quite good without the frosting, they can be a bit dense. So I came up with a Plan B! I thought of the delicious moist and fluffy, not-to-sweet, sponge cakes at the Chinese bakeries, and searched the internet for a recipe.  I was able to find a few - but most of them were by Asian bloggers and used the metric system and celsius.  After reading comments, it also seemed some of the recipes were hit or miss. Ultimately, I adapted what I could from the best of the bunch, and came up with my own - largely based off this recipe from the hungry kittens blog.  

I made a batch last night and it was a great success! I like to make things mini / bite sized, and figure this is also practical given the target audience of 18-30 month olds, so I used mini muffin pan.  I gave EW baby one for breakfast and he LOVED it!  Since myself and EW baby daddy also ate a bunch - an adult portion is easily 3-4 of these mini muffins since they are so light - I had to make another batch today to bring to school tomorrow. I can vouch for this recipe - came out solidly successful both times.

This recipe makes a nice amount for a family or small party of 12-16 little kids/adults, but I don't think you'd have any issue tripling it for a regular size recipe that makes 2 round layers  to assemble into a traditional cake (see Hungry Kittens blog for original recipe).  I was able to find all the ingredients at my regular neighborhood grocery store.  Here we go....

Chinese-Style Mini Spongecake Recipe  

* my recipe made 19 mini-muffins, but Hungry Kittens blogger made "1 mini loaf tins and approx 3 sponge muffins" 

* Prep time: about 15-20 min, Cook time : 10 min

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cake flour (I used Swans Down - found at my local grocery store)
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/6 tsp cream of tartar *(I used 1/8 tsp + half of 1/8 tsp - worked fine!) 
• 1/6 tsp baking powder *
• 1/3 cup superfine or castor sugar 
• 1/6 cup of 2% milk (I used half of a 1/3 cup, other recipes use water but I figured milk might give a nice rich taste. It tasted great. I never used water so can't compare :/ )
• 1/12 cup of vegetable oil (I used a third of a 1/4 cup - approximately)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp almond extract

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 170 C degrees / about 340 Fahrenheit. *I did not make full size cake but original recipe advises to use 180C if making full size cake.
2. Beat egg whites until slightly foamy. Add the cream of tartar and then beat with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. (I used my kitchen aid mixer with whisk attachment - took a few minutes, maybe 5?)

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and sugar.  In another bowl, mix the egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla & almond extracts. Combine the two and use whisk to stir until creamy (A minute or so)
4. Pour the yolk mix over the egg whites very gently, 1/3 at a time, and fold together until just combined.  This is a very delicate step. Do NOT over mix! Batter should remain light and airy.

5.  Pour batter into prepared mini muffin pan with liners. Since this sponge cake tends to rise, I used regular paper cupcake liners in my mini cupcake tray. They didn't really fit but once I put the batter in they sunk in nicely. Sure, there was a crease here and there but it didn't affect the taste and I had no issues with overflowing muffin-tops!

As you can see, my recipe made about 19 mini muffins-  I filled them to the edge of the pan. 

6. Bake for about 10-11 minutes until done. Since these are mini muffins, I found it easy to cook then uniformly and had no issues with the cakes collapsing. They came out of the oven looking like this, and stayed looking like this!

Delicious! 

Baby haircut

EW Baby was born with a full head of hair.  By his first birthday, it was time for a little trim. However, a haircut is easier said than done for a busy and active baby boy.  He didn't like the idea of scissors near his head, and to be honest - as a mom with little prior hair cutting experience - I didn't feel comfortable using sharp scissors either in case he were to suddenly move during the process.

Meet the Tinkle Hair Cutter! 

This is a handy little tool that I've been using on my own hair - to trim my bangs. You use it like a comb, and it provides a nice razor cut.  On Amazon, I found it for under $4, so it is certainly a lot cheaper than a visit to the salon.

Once I figured out the tool I was going to use, I had to get my little boy to sit still. The iPad comes in handy for this, as it will take a few minutes to do the job.  I started in the back and slowly worked my way around. He was unfazed, as it were as gentle and noiseless as if I were coming his hair!  I tried to trim his hair in layers, so as to prevent the "bowl cut".

Finished!  EW baby looking dapper :) 

Breastfeeding Must-Have - the Arden Bra by the Dairy Fairy

I returned to work 3 weeks ago, and it has not been easy. My little guy is 4 months, and while he *can* sleep through the night, sometimes he still needs a feed halfway through the night.  Although it is always hard to leave him in the morning, I am so lucky that he is being watched by his adoring grandparents during the day.

I work in LA and live in the OC.  Including my commute, I'm away from my baby for 12 hours a day!  I pump while at work, and this bra has been awesome.  It has made the entire process so much easier and efficient.  I consider the Arden Bra to be a "Must-Have" for any working mom, and have already recommended it to all my friends!

While at home, my Simple Wishes Hands Free Breastpump Bra works well enough.

But the bulky bustier is not something I would wear under my work clothes!  I try to wear something that I don't have to take off in order to pump - ie. dresses or tops with a stretching cowl or crossover (wrap) neckline.

The Arden bra is not only functional, it is beautiful (as far as nursing bras go!).  It is also very comfortable. The adjustable front close allows you to modify the size based on how full your breasts are feeling at a given moment.   You can use it as a hands free breast pump bra, but it also works well as a nursing bra. You can also simultaneously nurse and pump!

Thank You Emily Ironi for this wonderful invention! To learn more, please visit www.thedairyfairy.com

Review: Baby Bjorn Babysitter Balance

EW Baby loves his Baby Bjorn Babysitter Balance.  I have to admit, I had reservations when I put this on our baby registry, as it is definitely a pricey rocker. However, both EW dad and myself looked at many rockers and did not really like the mechanical ones, and weren't sure if we wanted a chair that looked like a lamb taking up space in our small condo. 

The chair has more than exceeded our expectations. Our baby started to really enjoy it when he was about 2 months old, or around 9/10 lbs.  Now at 3.5 months, he can spend 30 minutes sitting in it and entertaining himself (we have the wooden toy, and sometimes attach our tiny love travel mobile to give him some variety)!  It folds down easily, which is great for a small apartment, as well as for travel and visiting friends. We like how it looks - clean and simple. One of our friends was so impressed, he even commented that he wished the chair came in adult sizes for himself, because our baby looked so comfortable sitting in it! 

From the Baby Bjorn Website:

Develops motor skills and balance
The calm and natural rocking from the BABYBJÖRN Babysitter Balance refines the child’s motor skills and balance. The bouncer is recommended by pediatricians.

Fun for your child
The child’s own movements make the bouncer rock. No batteries are needed. Your child sets the pace. Fun and soothing at the same time.

Proper back and head support
The BABYBJÖRN Babysitter Balance has an ergonomic design with a molded seat that distributes baby’s weight evenly.

You can choose fabric!

This product comes in three fabric collections.

Review: Keekaroo Peanut Changer

The Keekaroo Peanut Changer is one of our favorite, and most practical, baby products that we have purchased for our son.  I first saw this unique diaper changing pad at baby boutique in Santa Monica.  I liked that it was modern looking, and could be easily wiped down and cleaned.  (Those of you with baby boys know what I'm talking about and why this = less laundry :).  

The Keekaroo Peanut Changer seems to be a fairly new product, as I bought it before many reviews were available. We have the aqua color, and it looks pretty similar the to the color shown in the photo. The first one that was shipped to us seemed to have some lumps in material, but once I contacted customer service, they quickly shipped us a replacement.  

Our son is nearly 3 months old, and is comfortable and happy when we're changing his diaper on the Keekaroo.  Even my mom (who has taken care of many diaper changes for her own children and now 3 grandchildren) noted that she felt this was a really good product.