A little Je ne sais quoi

Everytime I try to think up a recipe for the blog, my mind just goes blank. I've been wondering what new recipe I should put on here but nothing is just coming. What does this mean? 😢😢😢😢😢😢 

Like, I'm still baking, privately and commercially. Awesome stuff, too. But somehow, the words are not just forming. 

Uh well, I got back from Lagos not too long ago and was hit by a deluge of orders. I'm not complaining tho. My Lagos trip was my best so far. I learned a lot of awesome stuff... Cake related, yea and I dare say, my baking has improved a whole lot. I also learned how to "bend" chocolate. It's amazing really, the stuff one can do with chocolate. 

I met the really amazing KitchenButterfly and I was três lucky to enjoy her very awesome cooking. I just remembered all that food. I'm hungry. 

The things she does with food, tho. I can't deal. Some people are just awesome. 

I also met the really awesome Eloho, she took me to Ice Cream Factory and I was like a kid in a candy store. Their desserts are absolutely to die for!!! Their Cookie Monster sundae was absoeverlutely off the hook! You know when you eat something and you're stunned? Yea, that is what happened. She couldn't finish her own, but I did my ancestors proud... I "helped" her. It is a miracle I'm still the same size. Coodibee I'm now "Team-eat-all-I-can-and-never-gain-weight? 

I'll just post a few pictures of my stay in Lagos. I want to go baaaaackkkk 😭😭😭😭😭😩😫😩😫😩

My sister-in-law and her son at her bridal shower

The hunger was real. 😢

Smiling through it. 

Wherever there's a mirror

Baking with PJ and  Semilore

Off to KB's

The amazing KitchenButterfly doing her thing 

😩😩😩😩😩😩

The mirror...

This Unku dropped by the house. He was star struck 😊😊😊

The nice people at PulseTV had me over for a brief chat. 

This mirror...again. Okay. 

Then I met these lovely people at the TPL

With Tracy and ChiChi

With Olamide. Notice my unlooking game... On fleek. 

With KevinwithanL

So yeah, the Lagos trip was one of my best so far. I really really really hope to come up with recipes soon. Take care y'all. God bless you. 

Uyo Cake Eat Show. Pictures.

                       

Friday, the 19th of June is a day the lovely people of Uyo will not forget in a hurry. Imagine having 15 bakers in one hall, with all their sweet treats... All the cake you can eat, wait for it... FREE OF CHARGE. Awesome, right?

Uyo Cake Boss, Esoh of Big Exude 'n' Cakes. 

It was a beautiful day as people went to the R&R Event Centre, IBB Avenue and had their fill of awesome cakes and wine. The event was hosted by Uyo Cake Boss, Esoh of Big Exude & Cakes. Here are pictures from the event.
           

Mr Ime "Bishop" Umoh

A baker at the event

Rhoda Nduaesa and friends on the red carpet 

Uyo Cake Boss, Esoh with guests

Uyo's finest baker, Uwem Akpan, CEO, Barter Splash Cakes

Image Faculty and Sifon

Yvonne of Vonne Cakes, Uyo

Pictures: Carrot Pictures

Melted milk chocolate chunky chocolate chip ice cream cupcakes

When I'm baking cakes, I love to go all out... When I'm baking chocolate cake, I LOVE TO GO ALL OUT. Chocolate cake is waaayyyyy up on the cake food chain... 

Very creamy, very moist, very delicious, very chocolatey... Very EVERYTHING SWEET. If you're teamfitfam, you might want to run far away from this one... These cupcakes are everything you are running away from, because, you cannot just have one piece!!! I had 6 of them. One for "tasting, the second to confirm, the third to be sure of the second one, and then more... Yea, shame on me but hey, was well worth it. I'd eat them all over again sans regret. I had fun baking these, clean up was a breeze as I licked the bowl and spatula clean... Yea, I mixed by hand as I find it more relaxing, really... I'd rather eat the batter tbh. 

I hope you enjoy baking and eating these as much as I did. Happy Baking Weekend. 

Ingredients

250g butter, (unsalted)

3 cups, granulated sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup melted chocolate icecream, room temperature

1/2 cup full cream milk 

2 chocolate bars 

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup cocoa 

2 tablespoon instant coffee (dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water)

2 tablespoons, vanilla essence

Mix milk with melted ice cream, set aside. 

Sieve flour with cocoa powder and baking powder. 

Dissolve coffee in one tablespoon of boiling water, set aside. 

Chop chocolate into chunky pieces, set aside. 

Line 2 12 muffin molds with paperliners.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Difficulty level: just follow my instructions and you'll be fine. 

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 150°C-160° (300°F-320°F) or gas mark 2-3. 

Now, for this cake, we are going to go all out. The secret to good, melt-in-your-mouth, tear-inducing-because-they're-so-out-of-this-world cupcakes is perfect creaming. We are going to cream the life into this one... 

In your mixer, cream your butter together with the vanilla essence for 5 minutes. With your mixer still running, add 2 cups of your sugar to the butter mixture. Allow to cream for 15-20 minutes.  (If you are creaming by hand like I did, make it 30 minutes)

Pause at intervals to scrape down the sides to ensure it is very well mixed. At this point, some of the sugar will melt in the process. Perfect. Turn off your mixer. Break your eggs into a bowl, add the remaining cup of sugar to eggs, whisk until really foamy. 

With your mixer on medium speed, gently pour your eggs into your creamed mixture, allow to mix well for 3 minutes. Detach bowl from mixer and pick up your wooden spoon. 

Divide your flour mixture into 3 unequal parts (recall the biggest, bigger, big format I showed you sometime? Yea) 

Alternately, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and icecream/milk mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Add dissolved coffee to batter, be sure to mix batter really well, but don't over mix, else your cupcakes will turn out as hard as rock buns...unless of course that's what you want. 😊😊😊😊😊

Using a tablespoon, add 2 generously heaped spoons of batter to each prepared cupcake case. Insert a chocolate chunk into each filled cup.

Place in the centre of your preheated oven.

Allow to bake for approximately 20 minutes, then begin to check

 for "doneness". 

You know your cupcakes are done when pressed in the middle, they are springy to the touch or when a clean toothpick comes out dry when inserted in the middle. 

Remove from oven, leave in mould for 5 minutes, then remove from mould to cool completely. 

So I ummmm...was feeling kinda, sorta fancy and stuff, so I bought some ice cream cones... 

I mean, these are ice cream cupcakes, so...

Here's what I did...

Place cones on plate, peel off the paperliners from each cupcake, place on the cone. Top it with your preferred icecream. Depending on the weather and type of icecream involved, it could melt right off the cupcakes but well, it will all end up in your belly, n'est ce pas? *shrugs*

Enjoy!

Eat responsibly. (LOL. I don't know how I said this with a straight face)