Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

yes it's that time of year where the cupcakes Gods decided..
that it's time for me to bake the perfect cupcakes..
my oven is MINI, so freggin' small, can't afford to buy a bigger one besides i'd have no idea where to put it..
i've always covered the bottom flames, but it ends up making my cupcakes kayak bolu kukus ngembang pecah gitu diatasnya..

with frosting i could bluff, i just had to cover it up..
but looking at other blogs, where people put pics of their naked cupcakes TOTALLY MADE ME JEALOUS..
so it hit me one morning, as i lay on my bed, thinking about random stuff..
i should cover the top flames, that way i'm gambling on burning the bottom :/ ickkk..
but then i gambled with that option and WON :)

i also had a problemo with the butter cream..
i usually make my butter cream with 100% butter..
no shortenings, on my last order the butter cream practically melted padahal cuman perjalanan cikini-sudirman which is 20/30 minutes ride..
i once took my cupcakes dari cikini-lebak bulus and it was fine..
the swirls kept in tip top shape..
so i guess jakarta's humidity must have something to do with the melting butter cream..
or i'm doing something wrong without realizing it's wrong *sigh*
so yeah i found the secret ingredient to make it stop melting..
SHORTENING aka mentega putih..

now with shortening it was harder to create a smooth swirls..
and the first glimpse of taste i wasn't fond of either..
but i piped it on top of my cupcakes put it in the fridge and decided to forget the next 24 hours..
the next day i tasted it and thank God it was fineeeeee *phew*

disaat semua orang tergila-gila sama blackberry..

this is what i've been wanting since junior high..
dulu pas di NY udah pernah minta sama ibu, well it is attractive with all of its colors khan?
but i guess she took my plea as a "keinginan-anak-smp-yg-sementara"
who would've thought that the dream of owning a BLUE kitchenaid still lives ey?

when i went to Titan to buy my cupcakes supply, i saw the kitchenaid info on the window..
so i said look mom, beli donk! (the mixer that i'm using right now, is my aunt's and she's heading back to jkt soon, so i gotta part with it HIXXX)
then she asked me how much it cost..
dengan sok taunya i said "dulu seinget aku $100 deh.." (padahal mana pernah kitchen aid stand mixer semurah itu heeheheh)
pas nanya ke mbak2 titan, she said it cost Rp. 5JT..
LANGSUNG DEH EXPRESI WHATTTTTT?!
mahal aja loh buat mixer lucu warna warni..

tak putus asa i asked my mom if she'd get it for me abroad..
since there are more discounts and sometimes things are more reasonably priced over there..
turns out it's $800 abroad..
ahahahah lebih mahal gilingaaann!!

i'm the type of kid who earns nice things, i don't just get to them out of the blue..
for example..
my cellphone? it was because i got into FHUI, then when i wanted to trade it for another one, i had to use most of my own money but i did ask my dad to chip in a little..
my laptop? because it's necessary for school work..
my bags? MY MOM CUTS MY ALLOWANCE IN HALF for the bags i want..

so getting this mixer for not earning anything is like a WHAAAATTTT?
but i'm glad :) i promise to take care of it everyday of my life mommy :)




the colors to chose from..
so many choices hmmmmmmmmmm..

i think i want this one :)
the website said that this color is available..

now i must look for the best price *sigh*
i'll get back to you on that one..

Blondie

pic from here

what is a blondie?
you probably know what a brownie is right..
well a blondie is like a brownie without the brown color, hence the name blondie..

Kalo kata Tante Martha Stewart sih "Faced with a plateful of brownies and blondies, one can empathize with Archie's predicament -- never being able to choose between Veronica and Betty. On the one hand, it's hard not to fall in love with the dark, rich one; on the other, who can resist a sweet blond? Either would make a delightful valentine. Luckily, unlike Archie, you don't have to pick a favorite. You'll land in no trouble at all if you invite them both to dinner." from here..

For Tuesday's piranhas (teman2 sisa dunia yg berencana lulus 4.5 tahun di FHUI nan jaya-red) i'm baking a blondie the original recipe is from here..


Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts (Makes 16)

Ingredients:

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar *akyu cuman pake 1/4 cup plus 2 tblspoon*
  
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon salt *akyu pake setengahnya saja*
  
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips *akyu pake campuran van huten, herseys milk chocolate and herseys white chips biar rame rasa dan warnanya :)*
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts *i omit this all together, ga punya yang begini2an mah*
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder *recipenya hodob ni masa kaga pake pengembang*
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (approximately 175 C). Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened (do not overmix) *wah ini yang paling penting dalam dunia perbakingan, kalo overmix langsung deh BANTET tuh kue*. Fold in 1/2 cup each chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. *lebay deh! 25 menit aja udah mateng bgt atasnya, hixx gara2 ditinggal mandi nih, terlalu coklat deh atasnya* Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares. Store blondies in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Blue Cuppies, Sushi Groove and Starbucks..

vanilla cuppies, vanilla and strawberry cuppies *ncill how do u rotate this? hahaha*

yesterday one of my oldest friend, fie came for a short visit..
dari jauh2 hari she asked for cuppies..
dan spesifik pula mintanya vanilla, blue frosting and lotsa sprinkles..
so i made her two batches..
one vanilla, recipe is here and the second strawberry, recipe is here


licking the blue frosting, fie and her cuppies

we were a foursome called ourselves the DJOHYANI (after our last names DJumala, pOHan, hidaYAt, helwaNI)..
we basically grew up together, kept in touch during all those years even though we were separated by continents and sometimes countries :)
we met up in grand indonesia..


l-r: keu, fie, sha, re

we ate at Sushi Groove..


i love unagi roll

i just ordered i love unagi roll, since i do love unagi, but i find the sushi in sushi groove less yummy than the ones in sushi tei..

and then after taking lotsa pics with keu and re, keu got picked up by her family..
the remainders of djohyani chilled at starbucks..
i ordered mocha jelly frappucino, since it's new on the menu..


mocha jelly frappucino, us :)

i find it yucky, i don't know somehow the blend of jelly and mocha doesn't somehow mix very well..
alas i finished the drink but stayed off the jelly :/

so djohyanis until december ya :P

my affair with baking

people might wonder why a girl like me (oh those lovely labels attached to me) like to bake?
why bother to bake when you can buy right?
wrong!

my affair with baking started off in junior high school..
during my senior year i decided to take a cooking class all to avoid ART CLASS..
what's wrong with art?
well my teacher which i had during the 7th and 8th grade, Mrs. Hans was MEAN, she made sure we all bought the correct art supply, criticized our sketches, nevertheless she killed my artistic side!!
i am oh so very glad i found out sooner (than later!) that i had no art skill whatsoever :)

my teacher in cooking class (i seriously forgot her name!) was nice, the only homework we all had to do was rewrite the recipe in a notebook..
PIECE OF CAKE :D
the class was fun, we get to bring our 'results' home (well actually they all were gone by the time we hit homeroom, diminta2in bo!)
well out of cooking and baking altogether, i liked baking more because i get to decorate..
you see underneath this 22 years old body, there's still a 5 years old inside :)

but actually during that time, i was a dumb baker (GOBLOG TO THE MAX), everything i made from scratch failed HAHA..
sampe cookies beku yg tinggal dipotong trus panggang aja GOSONG..

those were the days..

i got to revive my baking days because of HASP, sometime in may he mentioned that his mom made macaroni schotel, i asked if he had an oven..
he said that his mom had the little one, the size of a microwave..
i didn't believe him at first until i checked out the mini oven section in carrefour and there it was my BABY i bought it right away because the price seemed pretty reasonable..


HASP has been really supportive testing my cooking and baking, so far he has just once mocked my failed french macaroons as EMPING *nyebelin lo gendud*
but other than that he's one happy client..

i've been his cookie supplier for a while now, yesterday he ran out of cookies and minta yg ada pisangnya..
so i made him some banana chocolate chip cookies, i got the recipe from here..


"Still i wonder why it is I don't argue like this with anyone but you.." (Corrine Bailey Rae - Like a Star)

BUKA PUASA CHEZ MOI

so yesterday I organized a get together in the theme of the holy month Ramadan or better know as buka puasa bersama..
this year I got to improve my cooking and baking skill, so instead of getting the phone and call delivery like I did last year, I did my own cooking, let's hope I can cook nasi uduk next year *amin!*

THE MENU:
* Appetizer: Sausages with BBQ sauce, Nuggets, Fries
* Main Course: Spaghetti, Creamy Baked Pasta
* Dessert: Vanilla Cuppies, Banana Pudding
* Beverage: It's basically Sprite then you add some Sunquick *add moderately* and slices of Valencia oranges

what stole the crowd was the banana pudding, at first they were like "what is that?", I reassured them that it's awesomely good, I mean it's HASP's favorite (I've made this over 5 times for him)..

Since Fitria was the one standing closest to me, I got her a lil' bowl and filled a scoop full of banana pudding, then Ricky exclaimed that he knows this dessert, he's seen in on TV and can't believe I can make it..

The rest is history in the dishwasher :)

Rifo: "San ini krim2 apa?"
Me: "Itu namanya Banana Pudding"
Rifo: "Kok pudding? Mana puddingnya?"
Me: "Ya itu American Pudding emang begitu bentuknya"
Rifo: "Oh gitu ya"

Ricky: "San how do u make this"
Me: "Basically aer es 1.5 cup lo mix sama susu kental manis trus put vanilla jello in, leave it over night..then the next day u whip 3 cups of cream trus fold it in the pudding tinggal assemble 2 layers of biscuit *gw pake egg drops* sama 2 layers of banana trus a thick layer of pudding and do another layer like that"
Ricky: *ngomong ke Fitria* "Beb I know how to make this"
Ricky: "We should try cooking together..I cook the meal and u make dessert"
Me: AYO KI KAPAAAAAAAN? WE SHOULD OPEN UP A RESTAURANT TOGETHER :))

Salman: "San minta resepnya ya ntar.."
*a while later*
Salman: "San resepnya.."
*a while later*
Salman: "San resep.."
Me all in those three times: "Iya ntar!"


HAPPY RAMADAN EVERYONE :)

vanilla cuppies

MAAP YA YG LAGI PUASA SAPA SURUH BUKA BLOG GW :P
i made these cuppies buat buka puasa chez moi this saturday..
the recipe itself i got it from here ..
to make these babies a lil' more festive, i tinted the frosting with 4 different colors: blue, green, pink and purple..

don't be judging my ugly angled pics..

i ain't no pro :P