Compromises

From Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell

When at crossroads and your heart is beckoning you to head to one of them but your mind, plus family and friends scream the other way, what do you do? Compromise? Follow your heart, but at the same time not knowing whether it would turn on you?

Would the next best be as sweet and somewhat satisfactory as this time round? This little dame looks somewhat ugly but she still had me eating 3 while decorating the batch. Yum. They are all gone now. Sorry if you make no sense of what I'm saying. Sometimes my mind is not lucid.



Can I attempt to explain  make people understand? Being good in studies and constantly topping the class does not mean that one is fit for Junior College. For some reason I particularly DREAD JC. Call me juniocollego- phobic, whatever. Anyway, I mind is in a mess cos I just told my parents I wanna go to a baking or culinary arts course in polytechnic, and not surprisingly (but caught me unprepared nonetheless) caused a collective, violent opposition. Damned.


Didn't have cupcake racks...


Anyway I'm still thinking of a compromise. I know that they want me to get a university degree first before embarking on my ambitious plans of opening a bakery (and an eco-friendly one too!).

Now for the recipe. The cupcake tasted great, which is fantabulous considering this is my maiden attempt. Yup. No kidding. But I suggest you don't follow the recipe which calls for cutting a shallow cone from the cupcake to make the 'wings' for the butterfly.
It was hard trying to coat it. Pretzels cut into half and dipped in melted chocolate with sprinkles would be easier. (idea from Martha Stewart website)

Anyhow, here's the original recipe, changed into cups for convenience. I used a different cream filling, cos mascarpone is not within my budget. Compromising worked here. I have a feeling mine tastes nicer. HAH. Also I used semisweet chocolate as I didn't want to risk it being too sweet.

White chocolate butterfly cakes   Makes appox. 20- 24

Cake
3/4 cup unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup golden caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Topping ( modified from the same book)
3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoon/ 200 ml double cream or 45% fat cream
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, sieved
1/8 cup icing sugar
2 oz white chocolate, broken up
100s and 1000s

Preheat oven to 190 C. Cream the butter and sugar in a food processor until almost white. Incorporate the orange zest and egg yolks, then the milk and continue beating until homogenised.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Sift the dry ingredients twice, then fold them a third at a time into the butter mixture. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold them in two goes into the cake mixture, as lightly as possible.

Fill 20-24 paper cases, set inside 2 fairy-cake racks, about half full with the cake mixture, and bake for 20 minutes( the lower rack may take a few minutes longer). Remove and leave them to cool in the racks.

Topping:
Whisk cream, orange juice and icing sugar until stiff.

To assemble:
Place chocalate in a bowl set over simmering water in a small saucepan and gently melt it. Using a small sharp knife, cut a shallow cone from the centre of each cake and halve it.


Its okay if you see the bottom!

Fill the cavities with cream. Shake some 100s and 1000s into a small bowl. ( I used sprinkles)

Dip the curved tips of the butterfly wings first into the melted chocolate and then into 100s and 1000s. Set them into the cream at an angle, tips uppermost.

From Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell