Nutella Cupcakes with HappyCall Pan

--> Cooking has never been my forte.
Baking is worse!

I consider myself a very diligent student when it comes to reading recipe books.
Never miss a step.
Never add 1gm.
Never subtract 1ml.
But somehow, whatever that I had baked in the past never looked anything close to the photo beside the recipe.

Then YouTube came along and chefs of all sorts started flooding the site flaunting their cooking / baking skills.
I followed each move faithfully.
I took the extra step to buy the exact same brand used by the YouTuber-chef.
But still fail.

Then, as a housewarming gift, 2nd SIL and 2nd BIL bought the amazing HappyCall Pan for me (Read "Officially A HappyCall Owner Now!") Never did I expect that this HappyCall Pan would one day become my oven!

With this gem in my hands, I wanted to make full use of it. Joining the HappyCall Pan Private Facebook Group is probably the most rewarding group I had joined on the social media site.

The FIRST dish I tried with the recipes shared in the group was "Pork Stew with HappyCall Pan".

Every day I would be hoping to see another simple recipe for me to venture.....and it happened again! 
Here comes the SECOND:-

NUTELLA MINI CUPCAKES 

Just 3 items!
No way it can get any simpler (I was happy!)

The recipe shared in the group was :~
100g Nutella

2.5 tablespoon of Self Raising Flour

1 egg

My younger one mixing them all up

Then it was written in the instructions that the Nutella mini Cupcakes go into the HappyCall Pan for 30mins on small fire

What is 'small fire' mentioned in the Facebook group?
That person's 'small fire' might NOT be my 'small fire'.
There isn't a 'small' indicated on the knob of my stove.
So how small is small?!
I really don't know.
I could only try.
With a little luck and a lot of 'checking', I hope my mini cupcakes would survive.

In this 1st ATTEMPT, I was really nervous and kept checking every 5mins.

After 20mins, it looked like this!

Fully puffed up!

I thought, "This Can't be right! The instructions said its supposed to be 30mins! I am 10mins ahead of that time. Its ahead of the target."

So I took a toothpick and poked the center to check.
It came out dry.
Whoo-hoo!
Its cooked!
Ooops! Or should I say its BAKED!

My elder one arranging them on the plate

Together with my two boys, we were eager to take our first bite into it.
It looks ok on the inside.
But the top texture was like brownie, a little crusty.

The taste was NOT shiok!
I like very 'RICH' chocolatey taste.
But this is just, ok.

Still, I'm happy that its EDIBLE!!!
Yeah!
'Cos ALL of my previous baking adventure using the HappyCall Pan ended up in the bin.
*thumbs down*

The bite above was taken when the Nutella mini Cupcake was still in its Silicon holder. So we did not see the bottom, which turned out to be a horror!

It looked BURNT!
It smelled BURNT!
But it DIDN'T taste burnt!
It was like biting into biscuits. Crunchy!
So is it burnt?
I don't know.
So confusing!

*scratch head*

As the texture on the bottom didn't quite match with the other parts of the cupcake, my kids and I only bite into 90% of the Nutella mini cupcakes, leaving these behind :

All 11 pieces were gone in seconds....filling up our tummies.

Verdict : Edible.

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2nd ATTEMPT on the very next day, 6th August 2013. I felt that the chocolatey taste of the Nutella was not strong enough, so I added Cinnamon powder this time. According to the famous Laura Vitale from 'Laura in the Kitchen', Cinnamon brings out the best chocolate flavor and so I tried.


Since 11pieces did not seem enough yesterday, I DOUBLED the quantity this time, making BIG and small Nutella cupcakes.

Elder son doing the mixing this time round

After lowering the fire in this 2nd attempt, it took 28mins .........closer to recommended 30mins

 The bottom was still the same as my 1st attempt : Darker than it should! I was seriously wondering if my 'small fire' was STILL not small enough, because the one who posted the recipe in the HappyCall Facebook Private Group did not mention anything about burnt-looking-bottom cupcakes.

There and then, I decided to go for the 3rd attempt the next day again, but with the Knob on my Stove pointing to the SMALLEST fire mark.

I was also not very happy with the texture, its between cake and brownies.
I prefer it to be softer and moist.

Yet, I have to say that with a pinch of Cinnamon, the Nutella cupcakes did taste nicer!
*Thumbs up*

Even my 2 fans agree that this batch is better than the 1st.........

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3rd ATTEMPT was what I did first thing in the morning.

My aim this time was :~

1. No more burnt-looking bottoms
2. More chocolatey (the 'chocolate-ness' in the 2nd attempt was still not enough for me)
3. Softer and moist texture

In order to improve the texture, I added ANOTHER ingredient : Butter!
From a simple 3-item ingredient, now it has become a 5-item recipe.

To make it more chocolatey I added another 10g of Nutella to the recommended quantity.
Thus, with the additional ingredients (butter and  extra 10g of Nutella), I could fill up one more mini silicon cupcake holder, making the total count to 12 pieces (compared to 11 in the first attempt.)

But with the Stove Knob pointing to the SMALLEST Fire marking......OMG!!! It took sooooooooo long for it too be ready!!!!

The time stated by the HappyCall Pan Facebook group member was 30mins.
But at 35mins my mini cupcakes still had sticky-watery residue on the toothpick, when I poke it into the center of the cupcakes to test!
*faint*

It felt like its going to bake forever!!!!!!
*double faint*

I knew the strength of the fire was definitely wrong!
So I turned up the heat and checked every minute after that!

So nerve-racking!

I did not want my previous 40mins (5mins of preparation and 35mins on stove) to go wasted and land my 3rd attempt into the bin!

After a total of 41 mins (jaws dropped) on the stove, in the HappyCall Pan, this beautiful-looking Nutella mini cupcake glided out of the silicon holder.

The inside was soft and moist and fragrant too!
YUM!
The butter really made the difference!

The extra 10g of Nutella was still not 'chocolatey' enough for me though.
Hhhmmm....
Hard to please a chocolate addict like me.
But I liked the darker brown colour of my cupcakes now as a result of this small increment (+10g) of Nutella.
Look!

 Previously :

 and now

 With extra 10g of Nutella :

You might be asking : "What about the 'bottom'? Was it burnt-looking just like the first two attempts?"

Nope!
It looked beautiful.
But it was crusty.
Too Dry at the bottom.
So in my view, it still did not hit my target.

Hhhhmmm.......
Hubby and I talked about it and came to a conclusion that its probably because the silicon holders was on the baking tray, which was resting directly on the HappyCall Pan, which was right on top of the fire; thus causing the texture of the bottom of the cupcake to be different from the other parts of the cupcake.

We wanted to make this work.
As this is the VERY FIRST TIME, I did NOT throw away something which I tried to bake using HappyCall Pan, in first attempt.
So this is truly a very consoling experience for me.

Maybe its due to our experience as a bazaar-retailer for so many years in the past, we are a very DIY-couple.
Hubby came up with an idea to lift the silicon cups OFF the baking tray, so that the bottom of the cupcakes will not be receiving more heat than the rest of the cupcakes.
I agreed.

Was not aware that hubby put the idea to work when its already past midnight, while I was asleep!
Aaawwwww.......
*super hugs*
And I woke up in the morning feeling loved when I saw his creation on the table:

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4th ATTEMPT in making Nutella mini cupcakes and I had changed from the recommended 3-item ingredient to 6-item ingredients.

What have I added this time?
Sour Cream!

Did you go "HUH?!"
*giggle*

I went "HUH?!" very loudly too when I first heard that Laura Vitale from 'Laura in the Kitchen' added sour cream when making muffins. She said: "The sour cream makes the cake part itself so moist and delicious"

 Well, I trust her!
And so my final 'combo' to make Nutella cupcakes ended up like so :~

 Remember I was still unsatisfied with the amount of 'chocolate flavour' in the cupcakes of the 3rd Attempt?

So in this 4th try, I added more cinnamon powder and another 10g of Nutella; making it 20g more than the recommended quantity.
Too daring?!

I think I forgot an important lesson :  In any attempt, there should only be ONE change, now I'm changing TWO things at the same time!

Errrr......actually, its THREE!
*tongue in cheek*
Because I find that the fire was way too small in the 3rd attempt. I do not want to wait another 41mins!!!!
Thus I put the stove knob back to the same range as my 2nd attempt, somewhere between medium and small (fire).

The result of the 4th attempt????

Looks nice don't they???
Actually, it tasted really yummy too!
But......I think its either I added too much cinnamon powder or the extra-extra 10g, it was a little too sweet for me.
See?!?!
CANNOT change MORE THAN ONE VARIABLE at any one attempt.
*sigh*
Now I do not know which one should I change back.
Hhhhmmmmm........
*knock head*

Yet, the sweetness reminded me of the chocolate cake which we buy often from Four Leaves Bakery, which I love to the core!

So I'm a little torn.
Should I leave it or should I change the quantity?
Hhhmmm.....

My biggest fan, my elder son, had been popping at least 2 Nutella mini cupcakes into this mouth every single day and he thinks that this 4th attempt is the best thus far.
So should I change?
Hhhmmm....

Hey!
Up to this point, I realised that I had not shared the quantity for each ingredient!
Alright, so based on my 4th attempt, its this :

 

• 120g of Nutella
• 2.5 tablespoon of Self-Raising Flour
• 1 Egg
• 1 tablespoon of Salted Butter
• 2 pinch-es of Cinnamon Powder
• Half teaspoon of Light Sour Cream

 However, I strongly recommend that the Nutella mini cupcakes are consumed within the SAME day.

Somehow, the taste of an overnight cupcake is not as nice as when it was out of the HappyCall Pan after 30mins.
Oooohhhh....that is the BEST time to gobble them up!
Yum! Yum!

The cupcakes are NOT perfect, but to my boys, it has become their favourite thing that Mummy could make with HappyCall Pan.
Muah Chee used to be on the top of the list, now these Nutella mini cupcakes has taken its place.
*smile*

My younger boy had even 'placed order' for my Nutella mini cupcakes to be packed for his school excursion next week.
*feeling REALLY happy*

Now that we know 'fresh' ones taste so much better....guess I'll have to wake up an hour earlier that day..... wouldn't want him to have overnight cupcakes.
*Grin*

This is a post that made me smile from the beginning till end.
Feeling really good.
Because I can FINALLY BAKE something Decent!

Yeah!
*clap clap clap*

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NEW Updates to this post (19th September 2013) : After this 4th attempt, I tried to change the recipe again and the FINAL revised recipe is over here "[FINAL] Revised Recipe for Nutella Muffins"



Nutella Cupcakes with HappyCall Pan