Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Pineapple Cupcake Delight

While the Sun Sizzles
We're in the midst of another blazing summer. With each passing year, sun seems inching closer to us and breaking previous year's hot weather record. It's the occasional evening rain in B'lore that gives us some respite from dust and heat. But, these intermittent shower is like water sprayed on a hot dosa stove - it just fizzles away. 


Summer Specials - Swalpa Adjust Madi 
With summer, most people head to closer places like Oooty, Coonoor and Yercaud. Well, the Facebook updates of people says it all. 


So, how do you plan to escape the blunt of summer? How do you prepare yourself physically and mentally?. One way to cushion the impact of heat is by drinking more cups of water, or juice and eating fruits. If you're working in a cubicle, keep a bottle close at hand. For those who're at home have the liberty of making curd milk or drink chill lassi. I have a curd milk recipe on my blog for those looking for a simple and easy to-do curd milk. Try it out!

Keep Cool Indoors - Humm of Air Conditioners 

As summer peaks, there's a constant hum sound of air conditioners coming from all sides. For those without an air cooled room, there are many ingenious ways to bring cool interiors. I have read some where that changing the color of drapes gives a feeling of cool interiors..

In our case, we do minor adjustment during the hot season. We shift our bed to the floor so that we can get few degrees cooler and also a good night's sleep.

Fruit for the Summer Season!

Summer season, and summer vacation is synonymy with mango season. It's a fruit which has no close competitors ( my prejudiced thought). So, which fruit can beat the subtle and enchanting fragrance of ripe mangoes.

Every time around this season I get a blessing. It's from the generous yield from the mango tree right in our house in Bangalore. So, every summer this tree brings joy to us and I feel it's one of the very few trees in this pin code. 


Seasonal Fruits All Through The Year - No End to Any Season 
Gone are the days when fruits were seasonal. Now, many upscale supermarkets sell mangoes all through the year. Even though the conventional wisdom says that it's best to have  fruits based on the season, many of us are either unaware of the seasonal fruits or ignore such logic.


Summer Bake - Tried a Recipe from a Dusty Recipe Book 

Btw, how many unused recipe book do you have in your bookshelf? Did it get lost in the crowd, or you just didn't have the time to go through it. 

Pineapple Cupcake
Pineapple and coconut are the perfect partners in the tropical-flavored cupcakes.

Ingredients
  • Butter                  115gms
  • Caster Sugar       115gms
  • Egg                         2
  • Flour                      115gms
  • Baking powder  1/2 tsp
  • Canned pineapple rings 3
Frosting

  • Butter                                   115gms
  • Soft Cheese                          115gms
  • Icing Sugar                           280 gms
  • Desiccated Coconut             55gms
  • Chopped Pineapple              25 gms
Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree
  2. Cream the butter and sugar to light and fluffy
  3. Gradually beat the eggs
  4. Add the sieve flour and baking powder and fold in gently
  5. Fold in the chopped Pineapple
  6. Fill the cupcake liners and bake for 15-20 minutes.
  7. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

Frosting
  1. Beat together the butter and soft cheese
  2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, then fold in the coconut.
  3. Swirl the frosting over the tops of the cupcakes and decorate with pineapple pieces
Baked Wonder ( Next is a layer of icing which I didn't do)


Following this Recipe 

Cupcake liners in the tray 

Weighing Castor Sugar

Butter Not in Room Temp ( Don't do this)

Note: I used half the recipe to make this cupcake. I felt the cupcake without the icing to be a bit dry. Probably icing would add to right taste.
Fill the batter not to the brim but only 2/3