Mini Chocolate Cup Cakes

I think I’m officially in a cupcake mood lately… once you start, it’s hard to stop.

Today’s bake? Chocolate cupcakes - the mini version. Small, cute, and very easy to pop into your mouth one after another (dangerous, I know).

I found this recipe while casually scrolling online and decided to give it a try. Didn’t make a huge batch, just enough to satisfy the craving. In total, I got 18 mini cupcakes, plus a little extra batter that turned into 9 medium-sized ones. Perfect mix!

Here are the ingredients that I used:

170 g self-raising flour
110 g butter
100 g sugar
50 g cocoa powder
2 eggs
240 ml boiling water
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1. Stir the boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth. Let it cool to room temperature.
2. Pre-heat oven to 190 degree for 15 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Then, add egg one at a time, beating until smooth.
5. Add in vanilla essence.
6. Add in flour and mix well.
7. Then, add in the cooled cocoa powder mixture, stir until smooth.
8. Line the paper cups on the mini cupcakes tray.
9. Fill in each cup with the batter to about 3/4 full.
10. Bake at 190 degree for about 20 minutes (for the mini-sized cupcakes and 25 minutes for the medium-sized cupcakes).
11. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
12.  if you like. Here, I used the simple butter icing which is very easy to make.

You can stop here and enjoy them as they are - soft, chocolatey, and already so good. But if you’re feeling a little extra, go ahead and add some icing. Wait until they are completely cool before decorating them with the icing.

Ingredients for the icing:
120 g butter
120 g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

How to make:

1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy with a hand mixer.
2. Then add in the icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add in vanilla essence and beat well.
4. Mix until it is smooth.

I frosted some of the cupcakes and left some plain, because sometimes you just want that simple, classic chocolate taste.

  

Mini size, big satisfaction. These little cupcakes are fun to make, even more fun to eat… and honestly, they disappear way too quickly.

Butter Cup Cakes

Yesterday, I had a little baking experiment in the kitchen… and it turned out to be a really fun one.

I took my usual butter cake recipe and gave it a small twist... turned it into cupcakes! Same ingredients, same simple steps, just a different shape, and somehow it feels a bit more exciting (and easier to snack on too).

Instead of pouring the batter into a cake tin, I lined some paper cups in a muffin tray and filled them up. That’s it - my kind of butter cupcakes.

 Ingredients:
 250 gm self-raising flour
 250 gm unsalted butter
 250 gm castor sugar
 4 large eggs
 2 tsp vanilla essence
 4 tbsp milk

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degree.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Then add in the eggs one at a time, mix well.
4. Add in vanilla essence.
5. Fold in flour, alternate with milk, and finish with the remaining flour.
6. Line the paper cups on the tray, and fill in the paper cup until 3/4 full.
7. Bake in the oven at 170 degree for about 25 minutes. You can test if the cup cakes are ready by poking in a skewer (I use tooth pick here :P) into the cake and make sure it comes out clean.

Once done, let them cool on a rack… and try your best to wait before eating (not easy, I know).

Soft, buttery, and lightly golden on top. These cupcakes are perfect with a warm cup of coffee. Simple recipe, but always a comforting treat.

Waterfall Abseiling & White water Rafting @ Gopeng 31-10-10

Last weekend, I escaped to Gopeng for a little outdoor adventure… and honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was just two days after my final exam, so yes, this was my official “freedom celebration” trip! 😄

The plan actually started about a month ago when my ex-colleague asked if I wanted to join. I didn’t even think twice. I just said YES. To be honest, I had no idea what waterfall abseiling was, and I had zero experience in white water rafting. But I had a feeling it was going to be fun… and wow, it really was. Totally worth the RM190, no regrets at all.

We started the day early, like really early. Left Shah Alam at 6.30am, made a quick stop at an R&R for breakfast, and by around 9am we reached the Gopeng toll to meet the rest of the group. Once everyone arrived, we headed over to Murni Camp, met our guides, and got ready for the real adventure.

So, the journey began at Gopeng toll exit

Heading to Murni Camp

From there, we hopped onto what we jokingly called our “limousine” (basically a transport truck) 

Getting ready to be transported to the abseiling point

And that’s when things got real - Here's the waterfall that we do our abseiling!

Owh... caught me in action! I had a moment of “what did I sign up for?” But once you start, there’s no turning back. Step by step, slowly making your way down the waterfall - it was thrilling, a little scary...

But ... so satisfying when I reached the bottom safely :D

Hungry.. hungry...O~  After that? Food time. And trust me, everything tastes extra good when you’ve just done something adventurous.

Next up - rafting. But before we jumped into the river, there were plenty of briefings. Safety first, always. 

Briefing and briefing... How to wear the life jacket properly, how to handle the rapids, what to do (and what not to do). Lots of listening… but necessary!

Here my group ;) eh, suppose to have one guide only, the other guide at the left side just "tumpang" snap picture :p

Water confidence test... owh ~ My favourite part. I love this, surprisingly fun! Splashing around, getting comfortable in the water… I actually enjoyed this more than expected.

Another final briefing.. how and what to do at the rapids

And finally… rafting time. Ah...caught us in action!

We paddled, we laughed, we got splashed (a lot). Oh no..stucked and we had to shout "To the back all!!" like pros (or at least we tried to sound like pros lah)

Yeah~  There were calmer moments too... just floating along the river, relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. This is just for leisure, line body rafting.    

Ho ho... this is the fun part!

And everyone is happy :D

Posing for group picture~

The end of a great adventure!

But of course, the best parts were the rapids. That rush, the excitement, the teamwork, it was chaotic in the best way possible.

By the end of it, everyone was smiling, tired, and completely soaked. We wrapped up around 5.30pm, and even though we were exhausted, it was the good kind of tired.

Honestly, this is one of those experiences I’d say just go for it. Even if you’ve never tried it before. Especially if you’ve never tried it before.

Adventure, laughter, a little bit of fear, and a whole lot of fun… definitely not something to miss. Great people, amazing unforgettable experience!