Sunday, July 29, 2012

Double Chocolate Mousse Filled Fresh Mint Cupcakes


These double chocolate mousse filled fresh mint cupcakes are easy, delicious and dressed to impress. These recipes here will make enough for 12 cupcakes. Have fun decorating!

So, you'll have to start with the chocolate cupcake!

You'll need:
1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanillas extract
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup of chocolate chips, or coarsely chopped chocolate

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, melted butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Fold in milk chocolate. Line a muffin tin with liners and measure a heaping 1/4 cup of the batter to place in each liner. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool.

 
Then you'll need to make chocolate mousse. This recipe is SUPER fast and easy. About 5 minutes actually! Aaaaaaand, you'll have left overs to eat afterwards if you want!

You'll need:
4 oz high quality dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup extra fine sugar
1 large egg

Instructions:
In a small saucepan, heat half of the cream until it begins to boil. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate pieces and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl set over a large bowl of iced water and add the rest of the cream. Using a hand-held mixer, beat the mixture to soft peaks. Remove the bowl from the iced water. Separate egg white into a stainless steal bowl. Whisk the egg white with a hand-held mixer, beat until stiff peaks start to form. Add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue whisking to a soft meringue. Carefully fold the meringue through the chocolate mixture, then place some in your piping bag. 
(If you don't want to make mousse from scratch, I recommend whipping up a package of Dr Oetker's chocolate mousse.)

Take your cooled cupcakes and cut in to the top taking a small amount in the centre out. Cut the bottom of that little scooped part off and eat it. You want to have enough room in the centre of your cupcake for the chocolate mousse. Then pipe the mousse in the centre of the cupcake and place the top back on!
Now you'll need to make the icing!  

You'll need:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped very fine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk, if needed
food colouring

Instructions:
Beat butter in the bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in powdered sugar gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) with the mixer on low speed, slowly increasing the speed and it combines. Add food colouring (I added about 15 drops of green to get this colour. Add in fresh mint and vanilla and continue to mix. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl about 4-5 times, and mix for about 4-5 minutes on medium-high speed. Add in milk one tablespoons at a time if you need it or find that the frosting is not creamy enough. Place in piping bag. 



Place icing in to a piping bag and decorate those cupcakes! I then garnished with a simple fresh mint leaf, but you can do whatever you want! They will look beautiful and blow peoples minds because when you use the fresh mint over an extract, it makes them taste UNREAL!


Seriously?! Look at these! Amazing! And SO SO DELICIOUS! 


Stay tuned next Sunday for another recipe from me and my kitchen! (But don't worry, I will also blog before then too!)
 
  


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Summer Mini Session Event

I am having a SUMMER MINI SESSION EVENT from August 8th to the 12th! Click the photo below for more info!


Not only that, but, I am trying to get to 200 fans on my photography fanpage:
www.facebook.com/HeatherBaysPhotography
If I make it to 200 fans by the end of the month of July, I will be GIVING AWAY one mini session for FREE!!! Woohoo!! So, if you've been meaning to get portraits of your family, or kids, or yourself or with your partner or friend or even your pets, then here's your opportunity! Come like my page! And if you really love me, then please, share the news too!

Thanks,
Heather!!


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Refresh!

I'm back! I know I know, it's been MONTHS! Where have I been? BUUUUUUUSY!!!! We bought a house, our baby turned in to a busy toddler, I got pregnant again (due somewhere between Aug. 12 and Sept. 16) and I have focused more on my businesses. Now that I feel like I have this life juggling act under control, I thought I would attempt blogging again. I have missed writing. It's a great outlet.

For my first post back, I thought I would start simple. With a recipe. A delicious refreshing summer time drink that I was OH SO ADDICTED to when we were in India. It's 4 simple ingredients and you can make bigger condensed batches so you just add water and ta-da!

Lemon Mint Juice

What you need:
-lemons
-fresh mint leaves
-sugar
-water.

Juice about 6 lemons and store in a mason jar or something similar. Take about 60 or 70 mint leaves (more if you really love mint) and dry roast them for about a minute. In a blender, or food processor, put 8 tablespoons of sugar and 2 cups of cold water and all the dry roasted mint leaves. Then blend for a minute or so. Pour your sweet mint juice through a strainer into a mason jar or something similar.

Then all you do it put about 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts mint juice to 3 or 4 parts cold water (with ice too if you like) in a tall glass and give a little stir! This recipe is very easy to adjust to your preference. You may like more lemon, or more mint, or less sugar...so play around.

PS: Growing your own mint is SO super easy! Fresh herbs and spices are just the best! I grow 2 different kinds. Just a regular green mint and a pineapple mint. Both ideal for this refreshing beverage. Go to your local farmers market or even the greenhouse at places like Superstore, and they'll have some mint plants!