EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Hi folks ! :) 
Recently I have been asked to do alot of eggless cakes and cupcakes. Now prior to those requests I have never really experimented with eggless baking. So I  was a bit on the fence  as i was worried about the flavour and texture of the final baked product.  The very first eggless recipe I tried was a batch of eggless chocolate cupcakes. I was totally impressed by both the flavour and texture. Sooooo chocolatey and moist!! 


Eggless baking is a great option for people who are allergic to eggs, for people who are observing a fast or for people who just probably ran out of eggs and did not realize it. 


So here is the eggless chocolate cupcake recipe . This yields 12 cupcakes.


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of brewed coffee or espresso ( i used nescafe instant coffee and hot water)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tbsp of vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder and put into mixing bowl.
Add sugar, salt and baking soda combining into the flour /cocoa mixture with a spatula.
Add the wet ingredients and combine with cake mixer or food processor.
Bake for about 20 mins . 
Check it at about 16 or 17 mins with a toothpick and you will know how much longer it will have to bake . 
Once the toothpick comes out clean it is done.
Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack and then they are ready to be frosted and decorated any way you like.

Frosted eggless chocolate cupcakes!

So give it a try and let me know what you think! :) 

Yum! :) 

Fondant vs. Buttercream

All through my childhood the cakes I have been exposed to ( eaten or seen ) were lovingly homemade and decorated with either vanilla or chocolate buttercream.  Buttercream is delicious! There ain't no two ways about that one.  It was not until we got cable at home and the era of Food Network happened to me that I got introduced to fondant. The look of those cakes were impeccable! Very impressive to look at. Naturally, I wondered about the taste of it . My chance came when i ordered a beautiful birthday cake for my little sister's 9 th birthday from a local baking company. I did NOT like the taste of it at all . It was wayyyy too sweet and the texture of it was definitely on the chewy side of things.  

Fondant iced cake

Cupcakes with classic vanilla buttercream 

I am yet to work with fondant ( I'm sure I will be posting about that experience :) ) . From my readings and research it is hands down easier to work with  than buttercream. You can basically mold the fondant into lifelike characters or just simply do cut-outs in whatever shape or form you can imagine. The resulting look is certainly appealing. I think it pushes the idea of a frosted cake into an edible piece of art.

For cupcake decorating the possiblities are endless. So far I have only been using buttercream frostings and i'm quite pleased with the taste factor. However, I don't see the harm in using a combination of both buttercream and fondant .  I shall soon test this theory of mine out on a birthday cake and matching cupcakes for a Selena Gomez themed birthday. Stay tuned for those pics :) . 

So what do you all think ? Which one wins it for you ? Buttercream or Fondant ? I would love to hear from you all.

So bloggers and readers out there , this is my absolute first entry into the blogging world. I have found a great passion of mine - baking! .....baking cupcakes to be exact. There is certainly a craze for these cute little baked products. I have started a small cupcake business from home called Divine Bites . This blog was created to share my experiences whilst baking , any great recipes I stumble upon and test out, decorating ideas and much more . I would also love to hear from you,  the readers of any experiences and advice whilst 'cupcaking' :) .

Will be posting pics as well . Hope you all enjoy this experience with me.