Rainbow Cupcakes

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Here's the recipe (slightly adjusted from what the book says):

Makes: 12-15 cupcakes Prep Time: 40 mins Start to Finish: 1 hr 40 mins

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cps flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cp butter, softened
1 cp sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract (this can be substituted with vanilla)
3/4 cp canned coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
Yellow, green, red, blue, purple food colouring

OR use a white cake mix!

Measure 3/4 cp batter into each of 5 bowls.  Each bowl of batter should be coloured differently:  yellow, green, red, blue and purple.

Spoon a skimpy tbsp of yellow batter into each cup; smooth to edge and then repeat with green, red, blue and purple.

Bake 18-22 mins at 350C. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
6 cps icing sugar
3/4 cp butter or margarine
1 tbsp vanilla
3-4 tbsp milk
Blue food colouring

Mix sugar, margarine, vanilla and milk and beat until smooth. Separate 1 cup of icing into a ziploc bag (for the clouds) then colour remaining icing blue. Spread approx. 1.5 tbsp of blue frosting on each cupcake.

Garnish:

Sour whips/belts in rainbow colours. These can be found at Bulk Barn or the Dollar Store. Once placed on each cupcake add puffs of white icing.

Aren't they the cutest little cupcakes? Try it! Both kids and adults will love them.  They are delicious!

Cooking Tips : 

Better Food, Faster, Cheaper: Quick Ways To Improve Your Cooking

Learning the basics of cooking can transform this task from a drag into an enjoyable hobby. The tips from this article can give you the basics of cooking.

Prepare in advance as much as you can ahead of time.It is essential to have all prep work finished before cooking commences. You can spare yourself a great deal of hassle by doing prep work done early.

Being properly prepared is key step when planning to prepare a meal for family and friends. Make sure you have all of the ingredients ready. This will allay some of your fears and anxiety when it is time to cook without having to worry.

Partially frozen meat to make slicing into thin strips easier. This technique is suited for meats used in Asian cuisine. Allow the meat to thaw prior to cooking though, so you can be sure that the strips all cook evenly.

Sharp knives are essential in the kitchen. Dull knives make it harder to cut and also extremely dangerous to use.

Boiling your vegetables can drain the vitamins and nutrients to be found in vegetables. To keep the nutrients in tact, chose faster cooking methods like steaming or sauteing, and you could always enjoy them naturally in their raw state.

Garlic is just one of tasty ingredients whose flavor with a drawback: garlic can transfer to your hands and fingers. Try rubbing your hands on stainless steel sink after you work with the garlic or other potent ingredients.This will clean your hands thoroughly and prevent the odor from transferring to other foods you are handling.

Have you had trouble trying to figure out exactly how long to grill your meat? Use a good meat thermometer to tell when it is cooked correctly.

Cook your vegetables in chicken broth! Chicken broth is an excellent base to use when preparing vegetable dishes that helps keep them from sticking and incorporating some flavor.

Always make certain you are checking out the ingredient labels thoroughly when getting items for a recipe. Many common ingredients include substances that may not be very healthy. You want to produce a product that is not high in sugar or salt because both can cause major health problems if eaten too much.

If the recipe has called for water, switch it up by using a broth, beef broth, or juice when suitable. Instead of milk, you can substitute yogurt, yogurt or buttermilk. Using liquid substitutions in your cooking can add nutritional content to certain dishes and improve their flavor.

This will help to give your dish to become more flavorful.

Many of the vegetables and herbs have a strong residual odor which tends to leave your cutting board smelly no matter how hard you try to scrub it off. Use indelible ink to mark one end of the cutting board so that you know which is which.

Place unripe fruits in a plastic bag that is perforated right after you buy them. If you put them in a perforated plastic bag, the air can circulate and assure that the gas is retained, helping the fruits retain their wonderful taste.

When you are planning to make quite a detailed meal, do the prep work the evening before the actual cooking is to take place to minimize stress. Get all of the ingredients that you will need, and chop or measure anything you can in advance. You will only have to get everything together and putting heat to it if you to cook.

One of the best cooking tip is just be flexible and creative; do your imagination. You need not have to follow a recipe to the "T". That is a person a great cook!

This will aid in avoiding cooking disasters that can arise from being unprepared, as well as prevent other dangerous situations resulting from distractions.

If you plan to prepare food outside for a cookout, then prepare your grill in advance so that you can start grilling right away. The grill should be prepared 30 minutes before your coals are hot enough to start grilling.The heat should be moderate and the charcoal should emit medium heat. This is the perfect temperature to begin grilling.

Spices will rapidly lose flavor if exposed to heat, light and humidity. This just exposes them to the elements and other unfavorable conditions that zap all of their flavors.

There is not just one kind of potato, and they cannot be equally substituted for each other.

There are a variety of great ways to prepare fresh oysters. You can prepare oysters in other ways than raw on the half shell with some drizzled lemon juice. Sprinkle Parmesan and grated pepper over them and allow them to broil until they begin to bubble. You can also try sauteing the oysters. You can also bake the oysters while they are still in their shells. Put them in a baking dish, and put a little of butter with fresh breadcrumbs on top of each; preheat oven to 425 degrees, and bake for 4 to 5 minutes. Serve hot on toast points or a baguette when your oysters once the butter starts bubbling.

Set a watch timer that you can easily carry with the oven timer.

The high heats in a microwave causes oil to separate from other food ingredients. Baking slowly and consistently can reheat your whole dish and keep the ingredients more cohesive.

Always use nylon and silicone spoons/spatulas if you are using nonstick cookware that you're cooking with. Metal or wooden utensils could scratch nonstick coating.This is unappetizing and possibly dangerous.

If you have odors from the food that you are cooking with, onions, or fish, and then wash with soap. You can use the sink itself, leaving them fresh.

As mentioned before, cooking skills are simple to learn. It only takes your desire to learn and a time comittment. By working with the tips here, you can increase your kitchen confidence and enhance your cooking skills. With the right attitude, cooking can be quite fun.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Weight Loss Foods

Weight Loss Recipes

50 Amazing Weight Watchers Recipes

All about Weight Watchers Food Points

Finding The Best Weight Watchers Recipes

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoon coarse salt
• 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2¼ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

For the Ganache Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup(1 1/2 sticks)unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions:

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line standard cupcake pans with liners. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth.  In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the butter and the sugar. Stir to combine, until the butter is melted and remove from heat.  Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-low speed, 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is cooled.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture and beat until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, beating just until combined.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling them about ¾ of the way full.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl.  In a small saucepan bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes. Starting in the center and working outward, stir melted chocolate into cream until mixture is combined and smooth. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill and thicken.  Whisk every 5 minutes to help it cool evenly. Once the mixture is slightly thickened you are ready to fill the cupcakes.
5. To assemble the cupcakes, place ganache filling into a decorating bag fitted with the number 230 round decorating tip. Insert the tip into the center of the cupcake and gently squeeze the ganache into the center of the cupcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
6. To make the frosting, melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water.  Stir until smooth and set aside to cool 20-30 minutes. Sift together confectioner’s sugar, cocoa, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Place frosting into decorating bag fitted with the 1M decorating tip and approximately 1/4″ above cupcake top at a 90° angle to cupcake surface,  pipe a spiral of icing, beginning at the outer edge and working inward.

Source: adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes and Annie’s Eats

Cooking Tips : 

Things You Have To Know About Cooking

Cooking methods which will result in a great dining experience are diverse and techniques to create delicious food.Some cooking methods are simple and others are quite complex.

If you are looking for new ideas for meals to prepare for yourself or your family two great places to look are the library and the internet, try the library for cookbooks that offer a variety of easy recipes that will be fun to prepare. Try different recipes and be patient as you come up with something that works for you.

Bake pie crusts a little longer time than you think they should be baked. They need to be a light golden caramel color rather than pale blonde. The darker color results when the sugar in the pie crust has caramelized and will have a much sweeter and crisp flavor.

You do not want to deal with the stress of trying to make something that you enjoy. This will take the stress out of your cooking.

People use apples for cooking many things during the holiday season, but if they are stored incorrectly they will quickly spoil. To properly store them, store apples in open-mesh bags or baskets in a cool basement or in the produce drawer of your refrigerator. One rotten apple will spoil the bunch so make sure you keep an eye on them while stored.

Do you ever find it difficult time figuring out how long you should grill your meats? Use a good meat thermometer (a digital one is more accurate) so that you can ensure the inside is cooked properly.

To prepare pumpkins for baking, halve it vertically first. Place the two halves on two separate baking sheets.

Measure your cooking oils carefully. This will help you lower the fat is present in your cooking. Doing this will make it easy for you to keep track of exactly how much cooking oil you're using.

Don't use a type of wine in your meal that you don't enjoy drinking. There are cooking wines available at the supermarket.

You can make your own tomatoes. You can use Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise, or by cutting Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise. Dried tomatoes can be placed into a jar containing fresh herbs and olive oil. The jars can be kept in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Never throw away your leftovers after cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving or another meal. Cut it up and put it away in an airtight containers. The turkey meat will keep its freshness and can stay fresh for weeks this way.

You can make stock yourself.You should always have stock when you are cooking other dishes. Creating your own stock allows you cook.

This adds some extra flavor to the herbs on the board. Do not over-salt by making sure you don't directly add any extra salt to your dish. The salt will stick to the herbs some extra flavor because it sticks to them.

This will stop you from having your oven or stove on for too long, as well as prevent other dangerous situations resulting from distractions.

When sauteing, don't put too much oil in the pan. Make sure you do this at a low temperature.

There are a vast array of potato varieties, and they are not all the same.

Set a watch timer that you can easily carry with you as well.

Use soft butter not melted butter when creaming sugar and butter for cookies. If the butter melts, put it in the freezer for several minutes until it hardens, or put the prepared dough in the refrigerator. Your cookies will spread if the dough is cooler.

Fruit is especially well on the grill. You can skewer a selection of fruits such as peaches, and melon slices can work well too. Place the fruit directly on a grill and allow it to cook until you see grill marks. Serve the grilled fruit with ice cream or pound cake that has been cooked a few minutes on the grill.

Leafy dark greens are a very healthy food, but getting them to the dinner table can be an ordeal. Removing the tough stems can be difficult and tiresome. Make it easier by folding the leaf lengthwise in half and breaking the stem. You will otherwise need to cut out the stem from the folded leaves with a knife.

Those who like making fish should consider trying to catch your own.

Microwave your citrus fruits before juicing it to get every last drop of juice. Heat up your fruits for about ten seconds. After microwaving, roll it on the counter before you cut it.

Learn to use color as a guide to cooking.Colorful foods appeal to your meals will add both nutrition and visual appeal. Be creative with color, and watch your food get eaten up quickly.

Try using saffron if you cook. Saffron gives your cooking unique flavor not found in other spices. Saffron is an old herb that hasn't lost its delight.

Make sure you preheat your stove to at 300 degrees.

Take extra fat off of your soups or stews. Place an ice in your spoon and skim it along the surface. The fat will collect the fat. You can also just use a folded-up paper towel to absorb any excess fat.

When cooking, less is often more. Sometimes the simplest meals are the tastiest. If you follow the ideas here, you will have a greater understanding of not only cooking, but baking and serving in general.