butterless coconut cupcakes

I have not been posting for awhile.. main reason was that I was trying to refrain from baking since I was trying to cut down my calories to lose those 'baby fat' from pregnancy. My son turned one last month and I still have 8 kg to go to pre-pregnancy weight. It's already hard enough to control one's diet, I didn't want to make it worse by having oven fresh homemade treats and not getting to eat them.

These coconut cupcakes are really easy to make but what prompted me to do was the fact that it is butterless, and only needs 4 ingredients, which I have ready at home.

I made a big modification on the milk amount, the original called for 1 1/2 cups but when I started mixing, the batter was really runny at the point of 3/4 cup so I decided to stop and try out. It turned out fine.

Coconut cupcakes

1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup castor sugar (cut down from 1 cup)
3/4 milk

1. Preheat oven at 175 degree C
2. Toast the coconut in a shallow pan until slightly brown to bring out the aroma
3. Mix together the coconut, flour and sugar. Slowly pour in the milk while mixing and mix til all combined.
3. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

recipe adapted from allrecipe.com

I used some chocolate chips as decoration for some of the cupcakes but it is totally fine to skip this step as I don't think the chocolate chips complimented the coconut taste that well.

The texture of the cake is dense, flavourful and kind of reminds me of the traditional 'kueh', esp at the centre of mine which was very slightly under-baked. One thing to note, the fact that it is butterless means it will stick to the mold VERY MUCH. So unless you don't mind heavy cleaning, remember to grease or use liners.

I was very impatient to try one while the cupcake was still warm, so quite a bit of the batter actually sticked to the liner as you can see from the photo above. However, for those that I waited until they really cooled off came out clean with hardly anything sticking to the paper liner at all.

Though I am quite happy with the result, I am really curious how it will turn out if I would have sticked to 1 1/2 cups of milk instead. Maybe I will try again... but if there is anyone out there game to try, be sure to let me know the result, k? Oh, if I am to make these again, I will try adding a dash of salt to see whether it will bring out the sweetness more.

childhood coconut tarts

I wrote about my craving for my childhood coconut tarts in my last post... and so happened that I had a trip back to Penang last week. So how could I not drop by the shop and buy some for myself?

So here it is...

I used the plastic bag that came with the tarts as the base for me to shot the tart :p

The shop has moved from it's old location at the back alley to one that is along a main road. The shape of the tart has changed slightly as well. It used to be elongated oval shape but now it's round. But the taste and texture are still the same as I remember it to be.

The base is made of flaky pastry, the filling is of rich sweet savoury coconut paste (that contains full body shredded coconut) and the it's topped with buttery crumble. All the different textures make each bite a truly enjoyable experience... aaaaww....

coconut icebox cookies

I am not particularly fond of coconut, nor do I distain the taste of it. Considering that coconut is such a common ingredient in our diet here (think curry, nasi lemak, laksa, kueh...), I am surprised that it never crossed my mind to bake something with it.

It all started one fine day last month, when I was sitting in the bus on my way to work. For some unknown reasons, I started imagining the taste of coconut tarts from a neighbourhood bakery in my childhood home back in Georgetown, Penang (which is also a UNESCO heritage site by the way). It started mild, then grew stronger and stronger with each day passing. The buttery, rich, sweet + savoury taste together with semi crunchy texture of the coconut tarts invaded my mind in such an explosive manner that I had to do something about it - I baked something with coconut to eat!

Well, you would naturally think that I will make some coconut tarts... No, no, if I do that, I knew I would definitely be disappointed... It would be a futile effort to rival childhood memory. So I took an easier path, I made coconut cookies.

Coconut Icebox Cookies

1/2 c butter (I used 1/4 c butter and 1/4 c oil since I ran out of butter)
1 cup white sugar (I cut to 3/4 c)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract (I didn't use since I do not have it at home)
1 3/4 c sifted flour (I used cake flour but think all purpose may be better)
3/4 tsp salt (I actually used slightly more)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c shredded coconut (I toasted it slightly to bring out the fragrance)

1. Cream the butter until smooth; add sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, vanilla and coconut flavouring.
2. Mixed the sifted flour, baking soda and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the shredded coconut into the creamed mixture.
3. Form the dough into logs about 2 inches in diameter. Tightly wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight (I did overnight)
4. Preheat oven at 190 degree C. Remove dough from the fridge and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Bake on ungreased sheet until edges are golden, about 10 mins. Cool on wire rack.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.

The cookies are delicious and crispy, they actually taste like 'aerated' butter cookies with coconut goodness. Every mouthful is so additive that I kept reaching for more. I really think the salt is important, or rather important to me bcoz I really like the sweet savoury taste of the coconut cookies. Maybe it is my childhood memory again, or maybe it's a Chinese thing? We seem to have more sweet savoury traditional cookies.

While the whole process took longer than the usual cookies, it works for me. I started doing the dough at night after putting baby to sleep and the next day, after I put him to nap in the late morning, I took out the dough to bake.

Oh, it is crucial that you do not take out both dough logs at one go. If you take both out, by the time you finished slicing the first log, the second dough would be too soft and sticky to work. So, take one out, finished slicing and arranging on the sheet before repeating for the second.

Having done this, I am contemplating to try more recipes with coconut in future.... :)... so let's see if I do.

semolina chocolate cookies

I like the texture and the slightly nutty taste of semolina flour. I have tried baking cakes with it, and posted 2 of them before: citrusy yogurt semolina cake and orange semolina cupcake. This is another attempt at using this flour, thought in a less common way, by using it in cookie recipe.

Semolina flour is not a common baking ingredient in this part of the world. Other than sugee cake, I have yet to know of any other common type of bake goods here that is made of it. So, when I presented the cookies to my family, they showed me the  'question mark' face :p. But, after tasting, they gave thumbs up.

Semolina Chocolate Cookies

1/2 cup butter or oil (I used butter)
1/2 sugar (I used slightly less)
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup flour (I used cake flour)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used big round chips)
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1. Preheat oven at 18- degree C
2. Cream butter/oil and sugar until the mixture turned pale and sugar has dissolved
3. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly
4. Add sifted flour, semolina and baking powder and mix well
5. Fold in the chocolate chips
6. Place small discs on baking sheet
7. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 12-15 mins.

Recipe adapted from easily good eats. From the blog, one can tell this recipe is relatively flexible, if you are not a fan of chocolate chips (well, I really don't know that many people who doesn't like chocolate chips cookies), you can always replace the chips with dry fruits.

If there is one thing I would like to change about the recipe, it is maybe to add a pinch of salt to it, I think it will help to bring out the taste of the chocolate. But all in all, I am pretty happy with the result: crispy, buttery, nutty, chocolatey, tasty.

My mum brought some down for neighbour's kids, they kept asking for more. Though I know most kids couldn't stop at 1 chocolate cookie anyway, I still feel proud of the cookies.

jelly cheesecake

I used to go to a neighbourhood bakery in Tiong Bahru area for their jelly cheesecake, which comes in 2 flavour: green (with lime flavoured jelly) and red (with strawberry flavoured jelly, if I am not mistaken). I prefer the green over the red simply bcoz I like the complimentary taste of the sourness of the lime jelly against the sweet, creamy and rich backdrop of the cheesecake.

But after shifting house and moving away from that area, I seldom go back. So when this recipe came out in the Straits Times, I simply had to try!

Jelly Cheesecake

9 McVitie's Original Digestive biscuits
70g butter, melted
250g cream cheese (room temperature, I used low fat)
295g condensed milk (I cut down to 2/3)
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp gelatin
50ml hot water
strawberries for decoration (optional)
One 90g lime-flavoured jelly crystals (I used Tortally brand, as recommended in the newspaper recipe)

1. Crush the biscuits, they should resemble fine bread crumbs. (I put mine in a clean plastic bag and crushed using hand)
2. Put the biscuit crumbs in a bowl, add the butter and mix well.
3. Pour the biscuit mixture into a 8-inch round or square baking tin. Press the mixture and pat down firmly.
4. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until it is smooth.
6. Add condense milk and lemon juice. Continue to mix.
7. Dissolve the gelatin in the hot water. Strain it if there are insoluble granules. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
8. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly.
9. Bisect the strawberries, cut out the stalk and trim if necessary.
10. Arrange the strawberries on the cream cheese mixture according to pattern desired. Gently push them into the cream cheese mixture slightly, deep enough to ensure that they will not slide.
11. Leave in the fridge to refrigerate overnight.
12. Follow the instruction on the jelly crystals box to make the jelly solution. Let it cool to room temperature.
13. Pour the jelly mixture until it covers the strawberries (or more if desired)
14. Put the tin back into the fridge to refrigerate until the jelly has set.

Recipe adapted from Jelly Hearts recipe published in the Straits Times (I didn't record the date)

The cheesecake tasted exactly how I remembered it to be: delicious, refreshing, and with interesting contrasting texture.

The bakery's version is plainer, without the strawberries. But I find that the strawberries complemented the jelly and the cheesecake well and they looked so pretty set in the jelly. I should have used more for a more elaborate pattern.

For those that experienced the jelly cheesecake for the first time (like my hubby and mum), after getting through the initial shock of the striking green colour, they actually like the cheesecake, esp my mum.

lemongrass jelly

The description of the recipe goes like this .... simple, fresh and sophisticated. Intrigued, I tried my hands on making since the recipe looks easy and hassle-free enough.

Alas... how wrong! On the first trial, the jelly didn't solidify, so I ended up with bowls of lemongrass liquid after refrigerating them overnight. I guessed it was the water to gelatine ratio that went wrong. I drank them all, refreshing as they were, I was determine to make again.

So on the 2nd trial, I cut down the water and increase the gelatine. Viola! Lemongrass jelly at last.

Lemongrass Jelly

400 ml water
5 packet of lemongrass tea (I got mine from Bangkok on a recent trip there, replace with 1 tbs of chopped lemon grass stems if you are using fresh lemongrass)
3 tsp of gelatine or agar powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
sugar to taste
mint leaves (optional, for decoration)

1. Bring the water to boil, add the lemongrass, stir, reduce heat and let simmer for approx 5-7 mins.
2. Remove from heat and let rest for approx 10 mins.
3. Remove the lemongrass tea leave packet or strain the mixture if you are using fresh lemongrass.
4. Add the gelatine or agar powder and stir until fully resolved.
5. Add the lemon juice and sugar to taste.
6. Pour into jelly mold or any individual container
7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until jelly has set.
8. Decorate with mint leaves before serving if desired.

I find the taste a nice twist from conventional jelly flavours, and will probably complement a spicy main course well, but it is slightly flat for my palate. I would probably experiment by adding some crushed mint leaves into the jelly or use the jelly in some fruit salad.

I am submitting this post for Aspiring Baker #20 Asian Dessert Buffet hosted by Moon of Food Playground.

walnut paste

Having tried making black sesame milk and realising that it is in fact quite easy to make Chinese traditional dessert at home, I proceeded to try making walnut paste using the same recipe the next day.

For benefit of those not familiar, walnut paste, almond paste and black sesame paste are popular desserts at Chinese dessert houses, especially those at southern China, Hong Kong and countries in South East Asia e.g. Singapore and Malaysia.

This time, I toasted the walnut slightly in the toaster before blending, taking lesson learned from making the black sesame milk. Since I was quite adamant about making walnut paste instead of walnut milk, I doubled the walnut amount. I also make sure that I sifted all walnut milk and boiled the milk slightly longer until it reached paste consistency.

This time, in my opinion, the paste turned out better than the store bought ones. It was really silky smooth and unmistakeably 'walnutty'.... One word of caution, be careful of the portion as it is really filling, and bcoz it is good, not finishing the whole bowl is really a waste.

Since I doubled the walnut amount, the leftover walnut pieces from the sifting process was quite a lot as you can see from the picture above. So not willing to let it go to waste, I tried making walnut pudding using a recipe I found online. The pudding turned out to be a disaster. From the photo below, one would have thought that it looks ok. It tasted quite horrible. And I ended up throwing all the pudding away, which is a shame. I will be on the look out for recipes that can make use of leftover nuts from now on :).

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #20 Asian Dessert Buffet hosted by Moon of Food Playground

black sesame milk

I usually don't try to use blending machine to make my own drink or dessert, thinking that cleaning up is a chore... Hubby has bought the vitamix machine awhile ago. Seriously, it is an excellent machine for mixing and blending. He uses it for making sauces mainly, and always, the sauce turns out beautifully. But I had yet to try until now.

Last weekend, while clearing the dry goods containers, I realised there were quite some stock left.. nuts, seeds, dried mushroom, barley...  Then, I saw the sesame seeds and suddenly, I got a craving for sesame paste/milk. I recalled seeing an almond milk recipe recently... so I thought it was a good chance for me to try out the machine. The sesame amount I had was just nice for making black sesame milk.

Black Sesame Milk

80g black sesame seeds
450g fresh milk (I used low fat since that was all I got)
30g glutinous rice flour (I used glutinous rice to grind)
sugar to taste

1. Put black sesame seeds, glutinous rice and milk into vitamix blender and blend until resemble liquid paste form. (alternatively, blend the sesame seeds first, then add glutinous rice flour and milk to mix if blender does not allow blender and mixing)
2. Sift the liquid paste.
3. Heat up the sifted sesame milk on a pan over medium heat. Stirring until liquid starting to bubble.
4. When the desired consistency is reached, turn off heat, add in sugar to taste.
5. Serve warm or chilled.

Recipe modified from 君之's almond milk recipe.

I tried 2 versions, one without sifting and one with... thinking that the unsifted one will have more texture and flavour. How wrong! The sifted one was silky smooth and rich and the taste was just right with enough punch of the sesame taste without any bitter or burned flavour.  The unsifted one was too 'sandy' to glide down the throat and has a bitter aftertaste. So step 2 cannot be skipped.

From the picture above and below, one can tell the distinct difference between the unsifted (above) and the sifted one (below). I ended up sifting the one above too.

If there is any complain, the sesame milk has a slightly raw taste compared to the ready made ones in dessert houses. So the next time I make,  I will probably try lightly toasting the sesame seeds first.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #20 Asian Dessert Buffet (June 2012) hosted by Moon of Food Playground.

Earl grey tea cake with lemon syrup

Earl Grey tea is one of my favourite scent, not drink. I love love love the smell of it, whether raw or freshly brewed, but I am a coffee person, period. Baking with tea, especially with Earl Grey tea, has always been on my to do list.

Last weekend, I finally got down to try experimenting with it. It went a slightly more winded route than I originally planned...

When I was making the cake batter, I felt something was amiss but couldn't make out what was it. The moment I mixed everything together in the final step, put baking pan into the oven and close the oven door, it struck me: I forgot the sugar!!

Too late to do anything but in order to salvage my effort, I thought glazing may be the answer if the cake batter can hold it's shape. So I frantically searched the Internet for glazing recipe that goes well with Earl Grey tea cake while the cake was baking in the oven.

Having found quite a few recommendations that lemon syrup compliments Earl grey tea cake, I set out to work, my heart wishing hard that the cake will not collapse or be too tough since it lacks sugar to hold the structure. According to Ask The Experts, sugar plays multiple roles in the science of baking.

In the mean time, from the window of the oven, I can see that the cake has risen well but that doesn't guarantee it will not collapse after being taken out from oven. When the baking time was up and toothpick inserted confirmed it was done, I took the cake out and poured all the syrup on the cake. 30 mins later and realizing that the cake was still holding strong, with all the syrup absorbed, my heart jumped with joy...

But wait, how about the taste?? Slicing one slice for myself, I almost couldn't believe that it was simply awesome! It was soft, fluffy and moist, with just enough sweetness and lots of flavours. Seriously, I think it was the most memorable cake I ever made, mainly bcoz I was expecting it to fail.

Too bad that the cranberries and chocolate chips all sank to the bottom, I should have floured them slightly, but the overall taste was good. As for the Earl grey taste, it was really mild. The next time I make it again, I will either increase the tea leaves amount or cut down on the cranberries, since I find it overpowering the tea taste.

So cake without sugar?? Not that I will go down that route often, but maybe for this recipe, I will try again :)

Earl Grey Tea Cake with Lemon Syrup

2 Earl Grey tea bags
1/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup milk
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup caster sugar (totally missed out in my case)
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour (I use cake flour + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp baking powder)
1 cup cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips

juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C, grease pan.
2. Empty tea leaves from tea bags into a cup and add the boiling water.
3. Set aside for 3-5 mins
4. Stir in the milk and transfer to a mixing bowl
5. Add the butter, sugar, eggs and flour.
6.  Use electric beater on low to beat until just combined.
7. Increase the speed to medium and beat until mixture is pale and creamy (may look slightly curdled)
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-22 mins or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

9. While cake is baking, add the juice, zest and icing sugar in a bowl.
10. Mix until the sugar fully dissolved.

11. Pour the lemon syrup onto the cake once it's out of the oven
12. Wait until syrup fully absorbed by the cake before turing the cake out from the pan

recipe adapted from nigella lawson's community recipe and flick your food for the lemon syrup.

Since I have done the cake without the sugar, I am not too sure if the cake will be too sweet  if full sugar amount is used. Unless if you have a really sweet tooth, I would recommend cutting down the 2/3 cup of sugar to maybe 1/2 or even 1/4 cup. And if you really have moderate capacity for sweetness like me (I like my dessert/cake/muffin mildly sweet but full of flavours), you may even try omitting the sugar? Well, part of the fun of baking is experimenting to suit your own taste right?

black bottom cheesecakes

I would like to think that cheesecake is one of the easier treats to make... well, there may be lots of people out there begging to differ. I can only say what works easier for me.

Some people claim that cookies are easy, but it's hard for me to get a consistent result for different recipes, sometimes they are too soft / too cakelike, sometimes they are off the taste slightly... they hardly turn out too hard for my case though. So, I can't claim cookies are easy for me.

Some people claim that cupcakes are easy, but for me, I tend to cut down the sugar too much (I seem to have this problem, bcoz I like my cake to be less sweet) and the cupcakes turn out not fitting the taste of people around me.

For cheesecakes, most of the times (well, most), they turn out delectable and they go down well with most  of the people around me, so I don't have to end up finishing most by myself :).

This black bottom cheesecake recipe is a nice twist from conventional crusted cheeseke. The chocolate taste from the bottom compliments the cheesecake portion well. The cake texture also goes well with the smoother texture of the cheesecake. 

Black Bottom Cheesecake

cream cheese filling:

8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 granulated white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
chocolate chips (optional)

chocolate bottom:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven at 175 degree C, line muffin pan.

2. With electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together sifted flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a seperate bowl, mix together water, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until smooth. 

4. Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Top each with cheesecake batter evenly. Sprinkler chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 mins. The cheesecake should have set and chocolate cake portion springy to touch. 

6. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

This recipe is adapted from Joy Of Baking

I really like to simplicity of this recipe. Yes, there are 2 portions to make but both are not complicated. The result is mouthfuls of rich wholesome taste - wonderful mix of chocolate and cheese, goes really well with coffee too.

handmade bow brooch

This is not a baking related post, but I am quite fond of the result, so just decided to share it here.

I like browsing the web for handmade item ideas (other than baking recipes :) ), esp those done using recycled items and are simple enough for someone without much DIY skills. I always think that turning something old or unusable into something beautiful and useful again is a cool and responsible act, which we busy concrete jungle dwellers on this island state have almost no time for. It is more time efficient to just pack up those unusable/unwanted stuff, toss them down the chute and go shopping again. No?

I personally find a beautiful mess a gem, a full of interesting ideas and most are practical too. Plus point, her blog is so pretty to look at.This bow brooch is adapted from her bow tie idea.

To make the bow brooch, I used a top which doesn't fit me anymore but I kept all these while bcoz I like the colours and the fabric. Instead of a blow clip, I used a small safety pin since I didn't want to purposely go shopping for a brooch pin for this purpose.

The step-to-step photo explanation of a beautiful mess's blog is easy to follow but I have to make some simple adjustment along the process due the fact that the fabric I used is quite thick and the thread from the fabric kept falling off. I couldn't just iron and hand fold it for the bow to take shape but have to sew it from step to step. But all in all, it took me less than 45 mins to finish the job.

This is how it looks on me, and I wore it to work that particular week right after I finished it. Of course, some colleagues noticed it and commented how unique it is :).

layered mini cheesecakes

Have you ever bit into a cheesecake that has a delicious thin bottom crust and secretly hoped that you can have more of that crunchy texture mixed with the cheesecake in every bite? No? Well, I know I did and I have been tinkling with the idea of having multi-layered crust cheesecake for awhile. When I saw that the theme for Aspiring Bakers April 2012 is Layers of Love, I decided to make some.

Layered Mini Cheesecakes

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used digestive biscuits)
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp butter or margarine (I used butter)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp orange juice
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
fruity preserve or jam of choice (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 165 degree C. Line muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, sugar and margarine with a fork until combined. Measure a rounded teaspoon of the mixture into the bottom or the muffin cup, pressing firmly. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 minuted, then remove to cool. Keep the oven on.
3. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, juice, zest and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in the egg.
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into 6 of the muffin cups, filling about 1/2 full. Transfer the crusts from the other 6 unfilled cups into the filled ones. Top up with the remaining cream cheese mixture. Bake at 165 degree C for 25 mins. Cool completely in pan before removing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Top with preserve or jam of choice before serving.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.

One great thing about these mini cheesecakes is the controllable portion. Seriously, how many of us, urban cubicle dwellers with hardly any weekly exercise, will ever whoop down a giant piece of cheesecake without feeling a single ounce of guilt?

Another great thing, they are absolutely tasty and so easy to make. I am the sort of baker that will be happy to try any interesting recipe as long as it does not take up too much of my free time. My baking philosophy is always - simple, tasty and sustainable (to let me have to energy to keep on baking), period :).

Oh, these cheesecakes actually have a small indent on them after being baked, which will hold the preserve/jam topping nicely as well.

One complain I have of them is that the crust crumbles ever so easily... I tried to google whether there is any solution to it, some people suggested chilling the base. Well, maybe next time I will try it.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #18 Layers of Love (April 2012) hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations.

cupcake in a cone

These cute little sweet treats are not something that I would dream of making but when I saw those cupcake cones on House of Hepworths, I just thought I have to try it.

Why? Bcoz they are just so adorable, bcoz they may come in handy if I need to bring some goodies to some kids functions, bcoz I am curious how the cone will taste.. and most importantly, there is this little kid in me that was just begging to eat one.

So, I got to work, and did a toned down version using cupcake recipe from awfully easy chocolate cake (minus the cocoa powder) that I posted last year, topped with icing from sugar cookies frosting from allrecipes. I happened to have some leftover pineapple paste, so I put some into the cone as filling, and some into the frosting for variation.

The cone itself became soft after the baking process and really feels like part of the cupcake. The feeling of eating one is like eating a cupcake together with the container/wrapper.

While I don't really fancy the taste, it leaves me with a childlike euphoric each time I ate one. So I reckon, with some additional touches, e.g. some choco chips or M&M or colourful sprinkers and some colourful frosting, the recipe has potential to be a hit in any family or children occasion. So, I really think the concept is a brilliant one. Good point is, you can use any recipe you are most comfortable for the cupcake. You can even steer the cones to a 'gourmet' direction. Dark chocolate cupcake in a cone with white chocolate ganache anyone??