Cupcake challenge - The Aftermath (Charis writes)

Now I remember why it took so long to get back to the baking challenge. It was simply exhausting! I took a full day to recover from the heat and exertion. Didn't help that I smoked up the kitchen when I put chocolate chips in the microwave to melt them - a big no-no but a mandatory for a novice baker (as self-consolation).  But I did it albeit slightly veering from the original plan. I baked two batches of cupcakes and if you had followed my tweets that fateful day, I mentioned that it was due to snacking and some cakes that didn't pass the QC.

For the first batch, I used Goddess of Housekeeping, Martha Stewart's recipe for One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes , a really simple recipe which has all the ingredients in one bowl. I had to substitute buttermilk and safflower oil with milk + vinegar (yes, there's vinegar inside!) and melted butter and the result was amazing! It tasted a little bit like Mum's moist chocolate cake recipe. I used this recipe for the frosting instead of buttercream frosting so it was easier to pack it up for the bake sale I was contributing the cakes to.

The second batch with the original vanilla flavor just didn't work out at all. It sunk in the middle and despite my efforts to revive it with "decorating" it just didn't stick. Here's the reason why it sunk.

So here is the picture of the cupcakes (first batch only). I still need to work on the decoration bit. Maybe the next challenge would be fondant icing!