Tricolor quinoa salad with grilled chicken

Last night I made this quinoa salad for my family, I honestly did not think that they gonna love it, but I was wrong.
I love preparing this simple dish that contains everything, so easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients :
1.5 cup of cooked tricolor quinoa
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onion (you can use red onion)
1/2 cup of each bell peppers, baby zucchini,
1/2 cup heirloom tomatoes (I skipped this)
1 cup or baby spinach
salt and peppers to taste
2 tbsp of lemon juice
Fresh basil

For the grilled chicken :
1 or 2 thin sliced chicken breast

For marinated :
1 crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
bunch of chopped fresh rosemary, thyme and sage
1 tsp lemon juce

Methods :
For the grilled chicken :
Mixed the marinating ingredients and marinade the chicken for couple hours.
Prepare grilling pan, I use iron cast
Grill the chicken until done, set aside

In the mean time, heat the olive oil and saute garlic and onion until fragrant. I know normally quinoa salad has raw red onion, but my family aren't too crazy about raw onion, so I used regular onion instead and saute-ing it together with garlic, I love caramelized onion flavor and I think it gives and bring the salad flavor to another level.
Next I add bell peppers, wait till it gets wilted (or cooked) I love it a bit crunchy so I did not cook it for too long, then throw in baby zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat, add in the prepared quinoa and baby spinach then sprinkle with lemon juice, toss it couple times and transfer to serving dish. Garnish it with fresh basil and topped with sliced grilled chicken. Enjoy!!

Yorkshire Pudding - Pop Overs

Yorkshire pudding or here in America is called Pop Overs is my hubby's family tradition whenever they have special feast dinner like Thanksgiving. It's a must side dish to have, and I am so glad to get the recipe.

I found out that making pop overs is so easy if you know the trick, and most of the ingredients uses are available in your pantry and refrigerator.
I have shared this recipe with some of my friends and they love it, some even modified it by adding green onion.

Yorkshire Pudding - Pop Overs

INGREDIENTS :
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
2 large eggs
dash of salt
Cooking oil

METHOD
Set the oven 400F
Prepare the muffin pan, fill each cups/cavities with 1 tsp of cooking oil, and heat it in the oven.
In the mean time, whisk the eggs and milk until well mixed, then gradually add flour and salt and keep whisking until the batter texture is silky smooth. Make sure there are no more clumps in the batter.
You can use blender to do the job, but I love using just regular whisk.
Once the batter settled, you can pour the batter into each muffin cup (about 3/4 full)
Make sure the oil inside the muffin cup are really hot, but not burnt. This is the most important step that you have to pay attention to, if the oil is not hot enough the pop overs wont be rise.
Bake it until rise and brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Inside the oven, halfway trough

We enjoy this with some gravy for dinner, but if there are some leftover, I can heat it up then fill it with some jam for breakfast.
Bon Appetite!!

Tri-colored carrots with honey glaze and parsley

My kids love love love this side dish, it's so obvious because of the sweetness and the color is so interesting. I was so happy to got tri-colored carrots, it's not available all the time here in Bellingham. You can use baby carrots if you could not find tri-colored carrots.

Anyway, the cooking method is similar to Green Beans Amandine, in term of blanching the vegetable, so you can prepared this process ahead of time, put it in the refrigerator and ready to toasted in honey glaze the next day.

Tri-colored carrots with honey glaze and parsley

1lb of tri-colored carrots

2 tbsp unsalted butter 

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lemon juice and about 1/2 tsp lemon zest 

Black pepper

dash of salt

1/4 cup of flat leave parsley, chopped.

Method

Blanch the carrots, set aside

Melt the butter in a pan then add honey

Add the carrots and stir or toss it

Add the remain ingredients, stir again to make sure every carrot is coated by honey glaze.

Remove from the heat and ready to serve. Enjoy!

Green Beans Amandine

This is definitely my favorite thanksgiving side dishes, it's very simple to make yet very tasty. I love the toasted almond in it, it gives a nutty flavor... Love it love it!!

I use the recipe from this website, did not reduce or add anything at all, it's just perfect as it is!!

1-1/2 lb. haricots verts (thin French green beans) or green beans, trimmed 
1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter 
2 Tbs. pure olive oil 
1/2 cup slivered almonds 
1 tsp. minced or pressed garlic (1 medium clove) 
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (from 1 small lemon) 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

---

Bring a 6- to 7-quart pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until bright green and barely crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water until completely cool. Spread the beans on a clean kitchen towel and dry thoroughly.
In a 12-inch skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-low heat until the butter melts and the foam subsides. Add the almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown all over, about 3 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the almonds to a plate. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, increase the heat to medium, and cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender and lightly browned in some places, 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with the almonds, and serve.

make ahead tips

The beans can be blanched (boiled until barely crisp-tender) up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate wrapped in paper towels in a plastic bag.

Butterscotch chip cookies topped with chocolate drizzle

I use basic chocolate chip recipe for this cookies, but I did a little twist to it by accident.
I was actually lanned to make strawberry covered chocolate for thanksgiving dinner dessert, but my youngest son keep eating the strawberry and left only its stem on the table, and I already melted some chocolate.
So I use the chocolate to topped this butterscotch cookies I made day before. Turned out great because whenever I made chip cookies I always reduce the sugar and chips, so it didn't come out too sweet at all. But hey, it's Thanksgiving!! the day when you can eat everything and it's forgiven :P

Ingredients :

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 stick of butter (1 cup)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of sugar
vanilla essence
1/4 tsp each of baking soda and baking powder
1 package of butterscotch chips (I use only 3/4 pack)
1 large egg and 2 yolks

Method :

Turn on the oven to 325F
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.
In a separated bowl, xix the sugar, butter and vanilla and turn the mixer on medium high, then gradually add eggs one at a time.
Add the dry ingredients into the mixture
Spoon it into baking sheet, and flattened gently it with fork
Bake it until done for about 10 - 12 minutes, more if you wanted the cookies to be crispy.
Let it cool in a wire rack, then drizzle with melted chocolate on top.

Pumpkin mini cupcakes with vanilla and cream cheese frosting

I use the recipe from food network, and I omit the maple syrup and pecan for the frosting, I use vanilla beans instead. But nevertheless my family love it!!

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cupcakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Kosher salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I omit)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Vanilla seeds 
• Chopped toasted pecans, for topping --> (I skipped this)

Directions

For the pumpkin cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 (12-cup) muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting .

For the cream cheese frosting: Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla beans, and salt to a large bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar until thoroughly combined.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting.

Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving everyone ^__^
Our thanksgiving dinner this year was super scrumptious! despite what has happened to us this week. Started with hubby got so sick on Sunday before thanksgiving, continued with my oldest son then my second son they are all so sick and missed the last couple days of schools.
To make it worst my baby is also getting so sick, then my asthma doesn't seems to go away... *sigh* Dealing with sick family and preparing thanksgiving dinner was quite a challenge. But I think I managed to pull it together.

I brine to turkey on Sunday, and I use this recipe for guidance since I made my own vegetable stock.

http://bbq.about.com/od/turkeybrinerecipes/r/bl71116d.htm

I am tellin ya ... I am stick with that recipe! turkey always turn out super moist and very tasty. My hubby usually eats dark meat on Thanksgiving because he think that the most moist part, but since I use this method he loves the white meat too.

Before you decide to brine turkey, I'd strongly suggest you to read THIS  article because there are so many things we have to pay attention to, like what kind of turkey, how long you brine it for, etc. But it worth every efforts.

So here's how my brining vegetable stock recipe, using the recipe form the above link as a guidance, I made about 2 gallons of stock

Ingredients :

Carrots, cut into large size (you can use whatever vegetable left in the frige)
Onion, quartered
Garlic
Celery, chopped
Bunch of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary
1 cup of salt
1 cup of sugar
2 gallons of water

Method :

Boil the water, then add all the ingredients and let it simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from the heat, covered and let it cool completely.

Wash the thawed turkey thoroughly and place it in the plastic container or stainless steel large pot. Pour brine over top, brine it for 1 hour per pound.
I did mine for 4 days and turkey came out perfect!! love it!

How to cook the turkey :

Wash the turkey again with cool water, pat dry it with paper towel, then rubbed it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. You don't need to add anything since the turkey is already seasoned.
Place the turkey in the roasting rack.
Slow bake it in 325F oven until done. I put stuffing in mine so I went for 5 hours.

I also made these following side dishes :

Roasted potatoes
Pop overs - Yorkshire pudding
Sweet onion gravy (with garlic, rosemary and dripping juice from the turkey)
Tri-colored carrots with honey glaze and parsley
Green beans amandine

Desert :
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin mini cupcakes with vanilla and cream cheese frosting
Butterscotch chip cookies

Okay, it's 1.30 right now and my kids still do not want to eat lunch, they were too stuffed from last night dinner ... LOL

Happy Thanksgiving again everyone !!!

Strawberry cupcakes with vanilla creme frosting

Last week we celebrate my oldest son birthday, and I made this simple yet delicious and surprisingly moist strawberry cupcakes, with vanilla creme frosting
I wasn't sure when I baked it, and not even plan to post it here! but once it came out of the oven then I tasted ... and I was like .. OMG I can not believe how moist it is, knowing that this cupcakes recipe isn't calling for any egg yolk. YES it only use white eggs.

I know so many Indonesian use lots of egg yolk to make some Indonesian cake like Lapis Surabaya or Lapis Legit, so if you have any leftovers white eggs, don't waste it baby ... but try this recipe.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH VANILLA CREME FROSTING
Recipe adopted from http://yummycakesbylynn.com/?p=204

Makes 12 cupcakes

2 tbsp strawberry jam or preserves (You will need to strain or buy seedless for making frosting or you can use seedless for both cupcakes and frosting)
¼ cup finely chopped fresh strawberries, more for garnish
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla pure vanilla extract
4 drops of food coloring (I used pink food coloring paste)
1/3 cup whole milk

METHOD :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position a rack in the middle of the oven

1. In a small bowl, stir together jam and chopped fresh strawberries.
2. In a second bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Using mixer beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 mins. Add egg whites, vanilla, and food coloring and beat until combined. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk in two additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape sides of bowl as needed. Fold in strawberry mixture until just combined.
4. Fill cupcake liners in your cupcake pans ¾ full. Bake about 25 minutes, until centers bounce back when touched or when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for five minutes or the paper will fall away from the sides of your cupcakes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about one hour.
5. Frost with Vanilla creme frosting (I use vanilla beans to a regular butter cream recipe)

Semi home-made caramel spread

Hi everybody, it's been a long while since my last post :) I hope you are all doing well :):)
I have one recipe to share here ... it's a semi home-made dulce de leche!!

Dulce de leche or caramel is one of my TOP favorite flavors, but as much as I love it I also hate its stickiness on a traditional or regular caramel, you know how caramel always sticks onto your teeth ... blech!!
But I am so happy after I have found this recipe and challenged my self to give a try and it was a HUGE success!! So for now on this caramel spread is the one I will stick with.

It's very simple to make and doesn't need much ingredients, matter of fact it's only called for one ingredient, it's condensed milk that's it!

I can use this spread on bread for my boys snack, apple dip, apple tartlet, sweet bread, caramel coffee cake, brownies swirl, caramel cake etc etc the possibilities are endless.

Okay, so this is what you got to do :
Get couple cans (or more) of 14 ounce of condensed milk, peel the paper line.
Arrange it in a deep pot, make sure all cans are covered by the water
Boil it for 5 hours. I intentionally wanted to have a thick spreadable caramel so I went for 5 hours,
but if you wanted less thick or rather runny just reduce the boiling time, simple as that.
Make sure to check regularly the level of water have to be always covered the cans.

Let it cool completely before you enjoy this caramel with your favorite toast.

Sweet Chinese Steamed Bun

This afternoon I made some sweet Chinese steamed bun using the basic mantao recipe I have posted last time. This time I made it with some sweet fillings from mung bean paste mixed with sugar and coconut milk. There are some variety of the fillings, another kind is shredded coconut with palm sugar.
We call this kue KU, back home we enjoy this treats for morning or afternoon tea or coffee :)

I am so pleased with the result, the buns arise beautifully, tastes so good too, I hope the boys would enjoy their after school snack :)

Recipe for the bun you can find it HERE.

After the dough is ready, I did not fold the bun but instead I cut it evenly into 18 to 20 pieces.
(I thought I cut it into 18 pieces, but I just realized it now that I only have 17 pieces ...LOL)

For the filling :

1 cup uncooked peeled mung bean (soak it with water overnight)
3/4 cup sugar (you can adjusted to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 thick coconut milk or coconut cream

Method :

Drain the beans and steam it until cook, then let it cool.
Process the beans together with sugar and coconut milk, you can add or reduce the coconut milk until the bean comes to the right consistency, you do not want the paste to be too mushy or too dry.
Set aside, ready to use.

Take one peace of the dough, flatten it with your hand and scoop enough filling, then cover it neatly with the dough. Place it on the parchment paper.

Fill the steamer with warm water, lay all the ready bus and let it raise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Turn the stove on once all the bus are raising, cook until done.

Enjoy :)

Lapis Legit

Lapis is translated as layers while legit means very yummy, tasty delicious.
LAPIS LEGIT also known as KUE SPEKKOEK because it uses spekkoek spice mixed such as cinnamon, nutmeg etc.
This is one of the cake that takes forever to make, not only it's very time consuming but also requires some talent and extra patient, that's why not somany Indonesian knows how or willing to try to make this cake. But once you have confidence and understand all the steps I think anybody can make it.
This Dutch influenced cake is very popular among Indonesian. Good lapis legit should have at least 12 layers or more and because of the richness of the cake it tends to serve in a very small size usually thin slice.

LAPIS LEGIT (Thousand layer spice cake)


INGREDIENTS
A :
500 gr butter
1 can of condense milk
2 tbs golden syrup or honey (I skipped it)

B :
25 egg yolk
150 gr powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

C :
5 white eggs
pinch of cream of tartar

D :
170 gr all purpose flour
2,5 tsp spekkoek spice mix*

*Spekkoek spice mix recipe :
Mix all these ingredients together :
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp mace
1 tsp star anise
1 tsp coriander

METHOD :

Mixed all the A ingredients and cream it until light and fluffy with high speed, set aside
Whisk the D ingredients, set aside
Mixed all the B ingredients until pale and fluffy with high speed mixer.
Meanwhile in a separated bowl whip white eggs into stiff peaks.
Preheat the oven to 350F, prepare a 8.5 X 8.5 X 5 pan layer it with parchment paper with butter
Now mix all the A, B, C batters with D ingredients with the lowest speed mixer for real quick mix then continue using spatula, don't overdo this step.
Layer about 1/2 cup of the batter into the bottom of the pan, then bake it for 3 minutes, then turn on the oven into broil/grill (so only using the top heat from now on). Bake it again for about 1 to 2 minutes until the surface is golden brown.
Gently press the surface with the bottom of a flat glass to make sure the cake is evenly flat for the next layers.
Ladle about the same or less amount of a batter to the top the first layer, bake it for 3 to 4 minutes until the surface is golden brown, then gently press it and flattened again ready for the next layer.
Repeat this steps till the batter is done.
Turn the oven to 300F or lower then bake the whole cake for another 10 minutes, to make sure all layers are done.
Let it cool and covered, once it cool you can slice it to 1 cm thick, serve it with tea or coffee.

Kimchi

I always adore Korean food, I love the spiciness, the aroma of sesame oil combined with some other ingredient and the simplicity of Korean cooking, it's just so delish!! 
The first time I ate kimchi was years ago (late 90's) when I am still living in Indonesia, a good friend of mine took me to a nice Korean restaurant in town. I loooooooove the bulgogi so much!! but kimchi??? to be quite honest the first impression wasn't so good, maybe I wasn't really familiar with it or kimchi is an acquired taste food. 
But I always give another try, so we went again the second time and I start to enjoy the kimchi, more and more and more. I don't know why but whenever I think of Korean food it always make me think of kimchi.

Back then when the information was nothing like nowadays! we did not have easy access to internet and I just could not find any Korean cooking book. I once tried to make some and it was a total disaster!! kimchi came out very watery and nothings like the one I ate at the restaurant *BLECH*. 
I did not know that you must soak the napa cabbage in salt water for hours! *DUH*
So I always depended on the store bought kimchi and honestly the price is pretty expensive. 


Ever since I wasn't dare to try every again until last week when I stumbled upon this blog and I encouraged myself to give another try. So I did it!!! and the result?? WOW!! I was so pleased with the taste, the texture, the spiciness and everything. Thank you to whoever own that blog, all the pictures and directions is pretty easy to follow. 
Please note that this recipe yield for a lot of kimchi, it's best to make together with some friends and share the result!

The trick is first, the cabbage needs to soaked and salted. Second, the marinade has to be prepared. Lastly, the cabbage is combined with the marinade and left to ferment for 3 weeks. Here's the recipe :

Tong Baechu Kimchi (Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi)

For Napa cabbage

• 2 heads Napa cabbage
• 2 cups sea salt
• 8 cups water

For kimchi marinade

• 1 cup sweet rice powder
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup coarse Taeyangcho red chili pepper powder
• 5 ounces garlic
• 10 ounces Asian pear, peeled and quartered
• 9 ounces onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 ounce ginger, peeled
• 4 ounces Fresno chilies
• 2 pounds radish, julienned
• 4 ounces minari
• 4 ounces red mustard greens
• 4 ounces Korean chives
• 4 ounces green onions
• 1/4 cup Korean anchovy fish sauce
• 3/4 cup Korean salted shrimp sauce
• 4 ounces fresh shrimp, chopped
• 4 ounces Korean salted shrimp

METHOD :

Prepare Napa cabbage—Trim the cabbage by removing any brown leaves on the outer layers. Slice the center of the cabbage’s stem 2 inches deep. Using your thumbs and hands, pull the cabbage into two sections through the slit. Repeat for the remaining cabbage.

Soak the cabbage sections in salted water (8 cups water to 1 cup sea salt) for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cabbage from the salt water and sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of salt between each of the cabbage leaves.

Return the cabbage to the salted water with the cut side facing up. Rotate the cabbage every two hours, bringing the cabbage on the bottom of the container to the top and vice versa.

After 5-6 hours, the texture of the cabbage will be properly rubbery. Wash the cabbage thoroughly and gently. Drain the cabbage in a colander, squeezing as much water from the leaves as possible. Set aside.

Prepare kimchi marinade—Combine the water with the sweet rice powder and whisk until smooth. Heat the water and rice powder mixture on the stove on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When bubbles start to form, reduce the heat and continue to stir. Once the mixture thickens and becomes translucent (approximately 10 minutes), take it off the heat. Cool the mixture completely.

Once the rice powder mixture has cooled completely, transfer it to a large bowl. Add the red chili pepper powder to the rice powder mixture and combine well.

Place the onions, pear, garlic, ginger, and Fresno chilies in a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Set aside.

Add the pureed chili mixture, along with the radish, minari, red mustard greens, chives, and green onions to the rice powder mixture. Combine the mixture thoroughly, making sure that the greens are incorporated completely.

Lastly, add in the anchovy fish sauce, salted shrimp sauce, and fresh and salted shrimp. Once again, combine the mixture very well. If mixing with your hands, be sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid chili burn.

Prepare the kimchi—Take the cabbage and stuff the marinade mixture between the leaves, working from outside in, starting with the largest leaf to the smallest. Do not overstuff, but make sure the marinade mixture adequately fills the leaves.

When entire cabbage is stuffed, take one of the larger leaves and wrap it tightly around the rest of the cabbage. Divide the cabbage among jars, pressing down firmly to remove any air bubbles. Only fill the jar 80 percent  full because the kimchi will expand as it ferments. Keep the jar tightly sealed and refrigerated for at least 20 days.

Mocha Cake with buttercream frosting

OMG! I am spending so much time updating my BENTO blog I neglecting this one :P ... I have made several dishes that I'd love to share here, but let me start with this birthday cake!

I made this simple birthday cake for my 2nd son's 7th Birthday and it was a total hit!! I'd definitely make it again! I did not have a chance to take any picture of the sliced one, it was gone right away.

The original recipe is actually for cup cakes, I got it HERE.
I modified it a little bit by adding one more yolk and using heavy cream instead of whole milk, just because I have some in the fridge and I do not like to waste food :D

INGREDIENTS :

1-1/3 all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk (I used heavy cream)
½ cup strong brewed coffee
1½ teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature ( + 1 yolk)

METHOD

1. Mix the espresso powder into the brewed coffee until dissolved; set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners.

3. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, brewed coffee mixture and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee mixture, ending with the flour mixture.

5. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting cupcakes.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 Cup powdered milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it is mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, about a minute or two. Add vanilla and continue to mix at medium-high until it is completely incorporated, scraping the sides as necessary.