Ondeh Ondeh Cupcakes (Little Thumbs Up October 2015 : Coconut)

I happen to see this challenge going on hosted by Jess from Bakericious for the event Little Thumbs Up. And so happens there is 2 recipes which I have seen online that I really want to try and so happens one of the ingredient aligned with the topic of the Month of October: Coconut. Haha...so many "so happens" !
I have a savory and a sweet recipe to share and for this post, I am going to start with the sweet one - Ondeh Ondeh Cupcakes with Gula Melaka Frosting. (Adapted from: http://sharmeee.com/2014/08/24/ondeh-ondeh-cupcakes/) I did change the frosting from the original recipe as I prefer the frosting infused with Pandan =) And I added a bunch of pandan leaves during the prep for the fillings to make it more fragrant. I followed mainly the recipe by Sharmee but I will list what I tweaked to suit my family taste better.

Ingredients:

Pandan Cupcakes:
Sugar content -  reduced to 1/2 cup

Pandan Whipped Cream:

1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. Pandan juice
1 tsp gelatine + 3 tsp boiling water

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut for topping instead of stirring into the cream.
I added a little pandan juice to give it a little colour..

The inside

This is my first time entering any online events and I am really excited and happy to share and come to know more experienced bakers out there who are willing to share their bakes and cooks. Really thanks to Zoe, Doreen and Jess for making this happen =)

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (October 2015 : Coconut) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jess from Bakericious.

~Cups of Joy~

During my second pregnancy, I went into full force cupcake baking, trying to find the best cake recipe. And the best part, I had gestational diabetes! And yes! what better time to test cupcake recipes? That did not stop me though.. as I have a solid group of taste testers who are willing to make sacrifice anytime (You know who you are guys! Love ya!) For me, during that time, I had to control my diet and deprive myself of all the cravings my stomach tells my brain. This was my only escape, only therapy to keep me sane. The smell of these cupcakes makes me feel happier and normal (all the needle poking), they were really my Cups of Joy.

I am actually thinking to myself whether I should squeeze all the cupcake recipes I have tried in one post on cupcakes but I think that will be too much for your reading eyes to absorb. So I have decided to spread it out, starting with one of my favorites - Yuzu Cupcake with cream cheese frosting. I finally understand why our famous local 12 Cupcakes uses mostly cream cheese base frosting for their cupcakes. Cream cheese frosting is so much stable for our weather condition to hold the shape for a much much longer time compare to whipped cream. But sometimes I do prefer the light-ness of whipped cream, well...that's for another post...on with recipe :)


My Cup of Yuzu Joy

Ingredients
(Yield around 18-20 cups of joy)

220g plain flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
*Sift above together and set aside

200g unsalted butter
200g sugar
* Cream these together

4 eggs
3 tbsp. Yuzu Juice
1 tsp Yuzu jam

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven at 175 Degree C
1) Cream Butter+Sugar
2) Add egg 1 at a time till well incorporated
3) Add Jam
4) Add juice and rest of the dry ingredients till well incorporated.
5) Fill lined trays till 3/4 full
6) Bake for 20-30 mins @ 175 Degree C
7) Cool it before decorating

Yuzu Cream Cheese Frosting:
Philadelphia Cream Cheese 1 bar + Yuzu Jam 5 tbsp.(sieved) + 1/2 cup icing sugar
Cream and mix all the ingredients thoroughly and add desired food coloring.

This particular recipe yields really soft and moist cupcakes. Taste really light and goes well with a cup of Earl gray on a lazy afternoon =)