Indonesian Sugar Cookies

Earlier this week we had yet another bake sale at school so this time I decided to bake some sugar cookies! I adapted this from a recipe I found in this really great Indonesian cookbook (Kue Kering ala Nila Chandra- Joyce Aswan) which I would really recommend getting if you can read indo or have a really helpful Indonesian cousin visiting you  like I do (thanks Fiona!!! <333)

The cookie base is pretty traditional- it tastes quite buttery and the cookies are crumbly, basically they’re the ideal Indonesian cookie. With the addition of a chocolate button and some 100’s & 1000’s, they obviously get a little sweeter but I think that’s exactly what these cookies need. If you’re not a fan you can omit the chocolate and 100’s & 1000’s but maybe you should re-evaluate your life first…

If you give these cookies a go make sure you let me know how it goes and tag me on Instagram @LocknessDIY !!

– Vanessa

@LocknessDIY

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Adapted from Kue Kering ala Nila Chandra

Yields: 20 servings

Ingredients:

• 150g butter, at room temperature
• 110g caster sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 30g cornflour
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tsps vanilla essence
• 10g milk powder
• chocolate buttons x 20
• 100’s & 100’s (or other sprinkles)

Directions:

1. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until white. Add the vanilla essence and egg yolks, mix well.
2. Add the dry ingredients, mix until combined. Form the dough into a log (about 7cm diameter), wrap in glad-wrap and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours).
3. Preheat oven to 160*C fan forced. Cut the dough into slices (about 0.4cm thick) and decorate with the chocolate and 100’s & 1000’s. Bake on a baking paper lined tray until slightly browned (about 20mins). Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack.
4. Enjoy!

Nutella Surprise Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

This is quite possibly the most unhealthy food to come out of my oven this year, but trust me these cupcakes are so worth ruining any diet.  I made these cupcakes for my little sister’s induction ceremony at our Senior Guides Unit (shout out to her, so proud of you lil’ sis!!) and not to brag, but they went down a treat!

After a super fun campfire and some s’mores we figured we should wash it down with some supper. These cupcakes were so moist (I’m cringing at the word but it’s true) and packed a huge flavour punch. With a Nutella ‘surprise’ filling they’re the perfect balance of flavours- the sweet Nutella and the more tangy raspberry/lemon puree buttercream!

The cupcake base is a decadent chocolate topped with a fresh raspberry buttercream. The batter makes a super moist, ultra fluffy and is full of rich flavour. All this flavour comes from the eggs, egg yolk, melted butter, oil, and sour cream. All of these ingredients add intense moisture and flavour to the cupcake, and I definitely would not recommend skipping any of them. This is a recipe I suggest following to a T. Why mess with perfection?

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Yields: 16 cupcakes
Prep time: 40mins
Baking time: 16-18mins

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 3 tbsps canola oil
• 115g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1/4 cup Milo
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsps all-purpose flour, not packed
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup hot water

 For the raspberry buttercream:

• 1 1/4 cups frozen raspberries (I think fresh would also work just fine)
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 250g unsalted butter, VERY soft
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (more if needed), sifted
• 1 tbsp heavy cream (more if needed)
• 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, for decorating (optional)

 For the Nutella filling:

• 1/4 cup Nutella

Method:

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 180* fan forced. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.
2. Melt the oil, butter, and Nutella and Milo in the microwave, in 30 second increments. Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, yolk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the cooled oil/butter/chocolate mixture and beat until smooth.
4. Add half of the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the mixture and half of the sour cream. Mix.
5. Repeat the process until all the dry ingredients have been added, and mix until just combined. Quickly stir in the hot water. Be sure not to over mix!! Just stir until evenly combined.
6. Divide the batter among your cupcake liners, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 16-18mins. Allow the cupcakes to cool COMPLETELY.
7. Carve out small wells in each cupcake with a small, sharp knife. Fill each hole with 2 tsps of Nutella and cover with the carved out cupcake piece. Set aside and make the raspberry buttercream.

For the buttercream:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the lemon juice and raspberries to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, stir the mixture occasionally, breaking up the berries with a wooden spoon, until the raspberries have become soft enough to mash effortlessly. It should look like raspberry jam. Once the mixture can coat a spoon, remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool completely before proceeding to the next step.
2. Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat the butter on medium-high until completely smooth (about 2mins).
3. Add the cooled raspberry puree and beat until completely combined (about 1min). The mixture will look weird right now but that’s totally normal.
4. Add in the icing sugar, one cup at a time, whilst beating on low. Once all the sugar has been added, add in the salt and cream. Beat on high speed for a full 2 minutes.
5. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

and you should have some damn fine cupcakes.

xoxo Vanessa

DIY: Triple Layer Ombre Cake

So because I wasn’t feeling too good last week I didn’t post, but I’m back now with a pretty cool DIY/How To. This week it was my sisters birthday, so I made her this cake.

So for the three layers I used the amount of batter I would normally use for 2 cakes, then coloured them separately. I baked them then let them cool completely before stacking them with icing between each layer. For the outer decoration, I covered the whole thing in white icing to fill any gaps between the layers, then put a mint coloured icing around the base. There was extra icing so we piped around the sides of the cake, piped diamonds onto the sides, and then piped a message onto the top of the cake. For an extra little sparkle, I put silver balls (they’re like made of sugar) all around the sides, on the diamonds.

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out overall. My sister looked pretty happy with it too!

xoxo Vanessa

@LocknessDIY