Fridge reading /-/ Retro Coffee cake cucpakes

What is the best way of finding out the personality of a person you have just met? I believe I have the answer. Just look in their kitchen. No seriously, I think you can figure out the quirks of a person from what is in their fridge and pantry.

I have thing for looking into people’s fridges and pantries ever since I was little. I was the little kid who always took out the pots, pans and kitchen kit to use with play doh or as a drum kit. Anyway, the fridge and pantry are place where people can not lie, hide or pretend to be someone that they are not. Of course this can work with an empty and full fridge. Not just the inside can tell you think about a person, the outside decorations can also tell you a bit about a person. The organisation and plan of a kitchen is not a fluke it is a reflection of your life and what I treasure most.

Sure maybe if you live in IKEA world or Home living, you have a spotless, perfect kitchen with no pictures or magnets on your fridge. In reality I highly doubt anyone lives like this, even the most organised kitchen has a bit of naff personality shining though. For instance my fridges (yes I did say fridges, we have an industry refrigerator which freezes everything to an artic crisp and two conventional fridges). Now those two conventional fridge are filled with pictures and magnets; child hood images of me at my first birthday party, “save the date cards” of my two sister’s weddings, pictures of my mum and dad at parties and numerous travel magnets. Of course theire is the odd quirky magnet my favourite is the “ mi so hot” one. Hehehe will never get tired of that joke.



So by looking just on the outside of fridge you see, my family is centre to function and happiness of my household. What do you have on your fridge? Can you see the personality in the way you organise your kitchen? 



On that note I made you cupcakes today! Yep the humble cupcake can be the best thing to make when you want to be adventurous in the kitchen or have a bit of retro cooking therapy. This is a coffee cake cupcake, model after that famous butter cream 60s walnut crusted classic.

The cupcake is made with combination of Whole wheat pastry flour and walnut meal which imitate the nutty flavours of the classic with the presence of the little brains to ruin the appearance. This cake this then soaked, and I mean Soaked in a mixture of walnut liquor, espresso and light sugar syrup and covered in a thick layer of French butter cream. While coffee cake may have gone out of style, the flavour will never fail to impress. The cupcakes are best served at room temp which allows the butter cream softly yield against the flavoursome cake to produce feeling of nostalgia and Sunday afternoons at grandma’s. 

Coffee cake cupcake with French butter cream

Yield 12

Adapted from Katie Brack’s Coffee cake



125g unsalted butter, soften

90g raw caster sugar

15ml vanilla extract

2 eggs

100g Whole wheat pastry powder

1.5 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

50g walnut meal

90ml milk

60ml espresso coffee

100g grated dark chocolate



Pre heat oven to 180C.

Beat butter and sugar till pale and creamy.

Add in eggs one at time. Add vanilla and beat until combined.

Alternating between flour, walnut meal and milk and espresso; beat until just combined.

Scoop into your muffin tin lined with muffin cases.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tooth pick inserted comes clean.

Leave in till for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack.



French butter cream

From Joe pastry



60ml hot water

6 egg yolks

220g caster sugar

450g soft unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

2tsp espresso instant



Beat egg yolks in your electric mixer until foamy and pale yellow.

In a sauce pan on low heat, combine sugar and water and bring to 248F or hard crack stage 121C.

With the motor on medium, drip in your hot sugar syrup.

Whip this mis until it is glossy yellow foam.

Using the creaming head on your electric mix, beat in your butter a little at a time.

Continue to mix until it becomes a pale, yellow cream. (note it may look it is separating but keep beating!)



Soaking liquid

300ml of hot water with 2 tsp instant espresso

60ml walnut liqiuor

sugar syrup(200g sugar in 250ml water)



Combine all these.



Assembly

In a large shallow sided tray place your muffins with cases removed.

Pour over your soaking liquid and place in the fridge to soak over night.

Next day top with butter cream and top with chocolate.