Vanilla-Chocolate Muffins / Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

 Mai jos găsiți și textul în limba română!

This is the first recipe that proved to be successful. I don't know why, but cupcakes and muffins were not my strong point. I was better with cakes, pies and tarts. After a few weeks I found this recipe, that proved to be the one I was looking for, because I then realized what it was that was missing from my recipes: more baking powder. My muffins were small and ugly, although very tasty. But then I knew. This is the recipe and some photos of muffins/cupcakes, including the frosting recipe for the cupcakes. Also, the Romanian version of my posts will always be after the English one. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups chocolate chips (or as much as you want)

How to put it together
1. Preheat oven at 350 F or 180 C and prepare muffin pan: grease it with a small amount of oil or butter so that the baking cups don't stick to the muffin.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients, without the choco chips.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients.
4. Make a small well into the dry mix and add the wet one. Stir until well combined.
5. Add the choco chips and stir until combined.
6. Spoon batter into muffin pan until fully filled, not like other say, only 3/4 of the cup!
7. Bake, don't burn for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean of several muffins.
TIP: Check the ones in the back first and then the ones in front because they tend to not cook completely. After 20 minutes have passed, move them to the back of the oven by reversing the pan, for no more than 5 minute.

Now, for the chocolate frosting, here's what you need.

2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1/3 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, preferably colorless
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa

1. Cream butter. TIP: use a mixing bowl or if you don't have one, choose a tall bowl so that when you mix it with sugar or cocoa it doesn't disperse everywhere.
2. Sift powdered sugar over the butter. Mix together until combined and smooth.
3. Add vanilla and salt. Mix together.
4. Add cocoa and mix together.
5. Apply to muffins and they will become cupcakes, like this one:

Bon appétit!
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BRIOSE (MUFFINS) CU CIOCOLATA / BRIOSE CU GLAZURA DE VANILIE


Asta e prima reteta care mi-a iesit. Habar n-am de ce, dar muffins si cupcakes nu erau punctul meu forte. Eram mai buna la torturi, placinte si tarte. Dupa cateva saptamani, am gasit reteta asta, care e exact ce cautam pentru ca abia atunci mi-am dat seama care era ingredientul lipsa: mai mult praf de copt. Muffins-urile mele erau mici si urate, desi foarte gustoase. Dar m-am prins. Asta e reteta si cateva fotografii de muffins/cupcakes, inclusiv reteta de "glazura" pentru cupcakes. De asemenea, varianta in romana a fiecarui post se va afla mereu dupa cea in engleza. Fotografiile le aveti mai sus, nu le mai postez inca o data.

Pentru a va fi mai usor (credeti-ma, muuult mai usor), alegeti o cana din casa, nici prea mare, nici prea mica (cam ca cea neagra din stanga) si cu ea veti masurati toate ingredientele. Nu conteaza cantitatea exacta in grame, ci ca toate ingredientele sa fie masurate la fel.

Ingrediente
2 cana faina
2/3 cana zahar
2 lingurite praf de copt
1/2 lingurita sare
1 cana lapte
1/2 cana unt topit si racit
2 oua
1 lingurita esenta de vanilie
5 cani chocolate chips sau ciocolata taiate in bucatele mici

Cum se face
1. Preincalzeste cuptorul la 180 C sau la treapta a sasea si pregateste tava de muffins: unge-o cu putin ulei sau unt ca sa nu se lipeasca foile de muffins.
2. Amesteca toate ingredientele uscate.
3. Amesteca toate ingredientele lichide.
4. Fa un spatiu mic in mixul uscat si adauga-l pe cel lichid inauntru. Amesteca pana la omogenizare.
5. Adauga choco chips si amesteca pana la omogenizare.
6. Cu o lingura, pune compozitia in formele speciale de muffins pana sunt pline, nu cum spun unii sa umplii doar 3/4 din forme.
7. Coace, nu arde 20-25 minute sau pana cand o scobitoare iese curata din cateva muffins.

SFAT: Verifica-le mai intai pe cele din spate si apoi pe cele din fata pentru ca cele din fata nu se coc prea bine. Dupa ce au trecut 20 de minute, invarte tava astfel incat cele din fata sa ajunga in spate si mai coace 5 minute.

Acum glazura. Ai nevoie de:
2 cani zahar pudra
jumatate de pachet de unt
1 lingurita esenta de vanilie, de preferat incolora
un praf de sare
1/4 cana cacao

1. Bate untul cu un mixer. SFAT: foloseste un bol special de mixer sau, daca nu ai unul, foloseste un bol inalt ca sa se imprastie zaharul sau cacaoa peste tot cand amesteci.
2. Cerne zaharul pudra peste unt. Este necesar sa faci asta pentru ca altfel, chiar daca zaharul e pudra si nu cristal, il vei rontai cand vei manca glazura. Bate cu mixerul pana la omogenizare si pana are o consistenta grea si fina. Gusta si iti vei da seama.
3. Adauga cacaoa si amesteca bine.
4. Unge muffins cu glazura si vor deveni cupcakes. Diferenta dintre muffins si cupcakes este ca cupcakes au crema deasupra. Practic poti transforma orice muffins in cupcake.

Bon appétit!