Olive Oil Orange Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting.

Orange flakes
Dotting
A snow white swirl.

Cupcake crumb
So tender
An olive surprise.

...

Olive Oil Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting

time 30 minutes preparation, 25 minutes baking time, 30 minutes to finish with frosting

yields around 24 cupcakes

batter:

185g all-purpose flour

230g sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 heaped tsp. baking soda

1/4 heaped tsp. baking powder

160ml extra-virgin olive oil

165ml whole milk

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp. grated orange zest

40ml fresh orange juice

40ml Grand Marnier

frosting:

250g mascarpone cheese

75g powdered sugar

100g butter

extra orange zest

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Line cupcake tray with paper tins.

In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder together.

In a further bowl, whisk olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest and juice and Grand Marnier together.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer to a cake rack and let cool.

In the meantime, make the frosting:

Cream the mascarpone cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it is light and airy.

Add large spoonful’s of the mascarpone mix into the butter, beating it together to get a fluffy frosting. 

Using a piping bag with a round tip, pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

Sprinkle with orange zest.

Serve at room temperature.

Instagram of the month.

Basically this month's Instagram is filled with tons of (foodie) photos from Oregon.

Enjoy.

(1) a wondrous sight from the plane: the majestic Mt. Hood (2) a beautiful welcome at the Boathouse, including a DIY flag banner (3) french toast was the starter for a great brunch at Tasty'n'Sons 3808 N Williams Ave, Portland OR, 97212 USA (4) Vance Creek Bridge in Washington (if you're interested in visiting, google the trail) (5) Snoqualmie Falls, as seen on Twin Peaks, also in Washington 6501 Railroad Ave, Snoqualmie WA, 98065 USA (6) purple leaves, flower crowns and Brittnay (7) my favorite veggie burrito in the whole of Portland I'm not sure what the name of the food cart is but it's on SW 3rd & Ash St in Downtown (8) gluten-free, vegan pizza at Sizzle Pie with cashew basil spread, spinach, mushrooms, red onions and soy curls 624 E Burnside, Portland OR, 97214 USA (8) photo booth action in Seattle (9) Oneonta Gorge (10) amazing Indian food at Bollywood 3010 SE Division St, Portland OR, 97292 USA (11) strawberry picking on Sauvie Island's Kruger Farm 17100 NW Sauvie Island Rd, Portland OR 97231 USA (12) Cloud, the most adorable kitty (13) such a good brunch at vegan/vegetarian restaurant Harlow 3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland OR, 97214 USA (14) road trip and camping! (15) the beautiful Oregon coast and the Highway 101 (16) Thor's Well on the coast Cape Perpetua OR, 97498 USA (17) breakfast at Trinket - yum! 2035 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd, Portland OR, 97214 USA (18) so many pretty flowers in bloom! (19) gluten-free, vegan cheesecakes made by moi. Flavors: peanut butter and orange-strawberry (20) a lovely photo taken by Kylie from The Baking Bird, a Portland baking, food & lifestyle blog, at Trinket

Malted Vanilla Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle & Milk Chocolate.

 

 

There’s a crunch, 
Then a melt, 
Running across the tongue, 
Malt touches taste buds.

A choice combo, 
Peanut and cocoa 
Dance.

Smooth and creamy, 
Spoonfuls melt.

…

Malted Milk Ice Cream with Peanut Brittle and Milk Chocolate

time 20 minutes for the ice cream plus freezing, 20 minutes for the peanut brittle
yields 500ml

ice cream:
3 egg yolks
35g malted milk powder
200g cream
100g milk
50g sugar
1/4 tsp. himalayan salt
1/4 scraped vanilla bean

25g milk chocolate, shaved or chopped in tiny pieces
40g peanut brittle

peanut brittle:
50g sugar
25ml water
25g glucose syrup
1/8 tsp. himalayan salt
50g raw, unsalted peanuts
small pinch of baking soda
1/2 tsp. butter

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks with the malted milk powder.
Set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla.
Put the pan over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer.
Scoop out half a cup of the hot mixture and mix well with the egg yolks.
Add the yolk mix back into the cream and stir until thickened.
Remove from heat, strain, stir in an ice bath for cooling and refrigerate.
Once cool, freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
In the meantime, prepare the peanut brittle:
Bring the sugar, water and glucose syrup to a boil over high heat to melt the sugar.
Once completely melted, turn to medium heat and add the peanuts and salt.
Coat the nuts with the melted sugar.
Keep on stirring until the sugar starts to caramelize.
Once the caramel reaches an amber color, add the baking soda and butter, then turn out the peanuts onto a silicon mat or backing paper that is placed on a cooling rack.
Let cool completely, then chop into small pieces to suit your ice cream.
To make the finished ice cream: after freezing your ice cream spoon it into your preferred container, sprinkling brittle and chocolate in between the spoonful’s.

Adventuring.

Adventuring makes my heart swell. 

The love from my dearest, 
the beauty of my surroundings,
the thrill of the unknown,
the inspiration to be won.

Join me on my trip to Oregon.