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Chocolate Banana

Chocolate Banana Cupcake -tender cupcakes made with overripe bananas topped with bittersweet chocolate ganache and white chocolate curls. Price available upon request.

the cupcake and muffin conundrum

This banana cupcake recipe is originally for a large-scale cake. I tweaked it a bit—substituted an ingredient or so with another—and baked the batter in cupcake tins. Almost any cake recipe can be converted into cupcakes. After all, cupcakes are really just miniature cakes baked in a cup-sized mold. What about muffins then? They do look similar to cupcakes. What distinguishes one from the other?

Google “cupcake versus muffin” and you will find myriad discussions on this topic, from the scientific (difference in basic formula) to the hilarious ( “if you threw a cupcake against the wall, you would hear something of a “poof”; if you threw a muffin, you would hear a “thud!”).

The list of differences goes on. Here are my own conclusions:

1. Cupcakes are fancy, muffins are homely;
2. Cupcakes are frosted, muffins are “naked”;
3. Cupcakes are airier and lighter in texture, muffins are denser;
4. Cupcake batter involves longer creaming, muffin batter is mixed only until dry ingredients are moistened;
5. Both cupcakes and muffins are good!

Some also say that muffins are eaten for breakfast while cupcakes are reserved for dessert, but who’s to stop you from having a cupcake for breakfast? Any which way, cupcakes and muffins are both special treats and they do share one thing in common, after all. If one is not careful, devouring large quantities of muffins or cupcakes are likely to result in the dreaded “muffin top.” Ouch!

4 comments August 18th, 2008

Sweetheart

Sweetheart Cupcake – cupcake with swirls of seedless raspberry preserves, frosted with raspberry whipped cream and topped with hand-molded heart chocolate candy filled with raspberry truffle. Price available upon request.

I Heart Berries!

Berries are reported to be very beneficial to the health as they contain large amounts of anti-oxidants that help flush out toxins from the body. Since most berries are not grown in the Philippines, we just have to contend with their processed forms such as jams and preserves, yogurts or ice cream to get our berry fix. Still, nothing beats fresh, though. While strawberries are abundant in Baguio, they are also seasonal and thus, are not regular fixtures in the produce section of supermarkets. Some upscale supermarkets, however, such as Rustan’s and S&R, sell imported fresh blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Big bags of frozen berries are also available so those who are into smoothies might want to check out these stores.

While making this cupcake, I was undecided on what frosting to use. I initially topped it with ganache because raspberries and chocolate share a wonderful affinity. But I also wanted to put a raspberry truffle candy on top so I thought maybe ribbons of raspberry whipped cream might be better. After a taste test, my friend K._ raved about the whipped cream so that sealed the deal.

As for the piece de resistance, the heart-shaped chocolate candy filled with raspberry truffle is entirely hand made. The raspberry flavor is not too assertive but you can definitely taste it.

8 comments August 13th, 2008