Succulents Cupcakes

Can you tell what flavor are they? :-)

Ondeh Ondeh Cupcakes (Pandan Gula Melaka)

http://ohyellowfingers.blogspot.sg/2015/01/ondeh-ondeh-cupcakes-pandan-gula-melaka.html

Ingredients:

200g gula melaka, cut into smaller pieces
120ml water

200g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (double acting)
125g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
200g castor sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
100g coconut milk
2 tbsp pandan juice
1 tsp pandan paste

Method:

Gula Melaka Filling

1.     In a deep pan, add water to the gula melaka and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all the sugar are dissolved and the solution is thickened.

Let cool to room temperature. Set aside.

Pandan cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line muffin pan with cupcake liner or, if using cupcake paper cups, place cups onto a baking pan.
2. Combine flour & baking power. Sift & set aside.
3. In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, combine butter, vanilla & salt. Cream until smooth. 
4. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
5. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
6. In a small bowl, mix coconut milk, pandan paste and pandan juice.
7. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the coconut milk. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, taking care not to over beat.
8. Fill paper cups or muffin pan with batter, 1/2 full.
9. Make a well in the center of each cupcake and pipe a little gula melaka filling inside, before adding the remaining batter till 3/4 full.
10. Place baking or muffin pan on the middle rack of the oven & bake for about 25 minutes.
11. Cool cakes completely on a wire rack before serving :)

Gula Melaka German Buttercream

Ingredients:

120ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (I skipped this as I was doing a GM BC version)

70g  ounces sugar 

10.5g  cornstarch

1/4 egg

1/4 egg yolk

100g Gula Melaka Syrup

227g unsalted butter, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

Method:

1.    In a medium pot, bring the milk to a simmer. (along with vanilla bean paste).

2.    Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, eggs and yolks in a medium bowl.

3.    Whisk about a half cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture – it will be thick at first but will loosen as the milk incorporates. Continue whisking in hot milk until the egg mixture is fluid and warm. Now, return the tempered egg/milk mixture back into the pot of hot milk, whisking all the while. Turn the heat to medium and whisk until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble sluggishly.

4.    From that point, continue whisking and cooking for a full minute more; use a timer or you run the risk of not fully cooking out the cornstarch. When the minute is up, pour the custard into a large mixing bowl (mixer bowl).

5.    Press a layer of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate until cool or overnight. (The custard may be cooled quickly by mixing it continuously in a stand mixer).

6.    Once the custard has cooled completely, use stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to beat it on medium to medium high speed until creamy. (Caution not to rush as hot custard will melt the butter in the next step)

7.    Once the cooled custard has been whipped until creamy, begin adding in the butter, one tablesppon at a time. Add the salt and continue to whip until the mixture is creamy and homogenous.

8.    Turn the speed of the mixer down to low and drizzle gula melaka syrup and mix until well combined. 

9.    Use immediately or refrigerate until needed. When ready to use, whip until creamy before proceeding.