The "Should not be Repeated" Kapeng Barako Cupcakes

I am revising this entry to add more tips from a novice baker. This entry is dedicated to Pammy's friend. Hope this helps! =)


Last weekend, I made these kapeng barako cupcakes. As you can see, unfortunately, it did not went well. This made me think.... hmmm... saan ako nagkulang?

Mukhang inamag bago pa amagin... =)

Went to Fully Booked and found Shirley Corriher's

BakeWise. Here's what Shirley and my misadventures taught me -

(1) I did not cream the sugar and butter long enough. It seems to be such a small step but why is creaming important? According to Shirley'sbook, by creaming the butter you create air bubbles in the batter, the cake becomes light and well aerated. It's important to cream the butter first then gradually add the sugar. The slowest speed works for me. Some say cream the butter 15 minutes, some 3 minutes but as long as you see the butter and sugar become pale in colour and become visibly lighter,that is when to stop. Not sure about the fluffy part, what I see is grainy, which should be fine. Another tip, to make your cake more moist,use castor sugar instead of the regular refined one.

(2) Don't use butter that is more than the "room temp" (i.e. melting already). Since the ole islands is a tropical paradise, what is described as room temp in baking books doesn't mean room temp here. For me, what works is taking out the butter from the ref 10 to 15 minutes before creaming it. To check, make sure when you press the butter, it's still firm. If your finger created a dent in the butter, put it in the ref to cool it again.

(3) Eggs colder than "our" room temp curdles the batter. This happened to me thrice already. Ha! It was only this weekend that I discovered the culprit. If you will be baking after office hours, make sure to take out the eggs before you go to the office, it's the safest bet. Also, when adding the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, make sure the mixer is set to the slowest speed possible. Add the eggs one by one. Slooooowly.

(4) I stored the baking powder in the refrigerator... a big no-no. It is possible that a reaction already happened when the baking powder was cooled, rendering it useless. Make sure to store baking powder at room temp.

After this weekend, I know I still have a lot to learn. As Monique said, baking is an exact science... it's true. It's better to know the science behind it than leaving it all to chance.

Happy Cupcaking,

Aikko