Kitchen Experiments vol. 1

I have found joy in the kitchen! 

For days and weeks now, I've been trying out new recipes to make use of the stuff I have in the fridge or to satisfy a craving. I find excitement in "perfecting" a seemingly complicated meal or baked treat and the joy doubles when friends and family appreciate my amateur attempts in baking and cooking.

Today, I thought I'd share with you some of my kitchen experiments.

Chocolate Cupcakes

I personally prefer moist chocolate cake/cupcakes. And I've been trying to find the best recipe for it. I was thrilled when I saw this recipe online - moist chocolate cake using mayo.

If you had checked the link, you'd be thrilled, too, because the photos do show an extremely moist and delicious-looking chocolate cake. 

I used the above recipe to make cupcakes, and because it requires mayonnaise, I did not have to use eggs or butter. I was able to achieve the fluffiness that it's supposed to have but the cupcakes weren't as moist as those in the photos found in the link. They were still "yummy", though, but I could taste the mayo in it (probably because I knew that there was mayo in it?). I also think that what made the difference was the kind of chocolate used; I should have used premium quality chocolate powder like Hershey's to make it more chocolate-y. Without it, the cupcakes lacked the depth of flavor I was looking for. So, yeah, I am still in search of the perfect recipe, the right method, the best ingredients.

Chocolate Chip Cookies/Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I found baking chocolate chip cookies really interesting because of this video on Martha Stewart's blog. Some people would think it's the easiest thing to bake, but it all really boils down to what type of cookie you like best. As for me, I prefer the soft and chewy kind, which explains how I extremely dislike the dry and crumbly type of commercial cookies. Watch the video and you will see that you can bake three kinds of chocolate chip cookies  - cake-y, soft and chewy, thin and crispy - based on the amount of butter you use to make the dough.

I am sticking to the recipe above (video link) and I follow the measurements to a tee, but I always make sure to lessen the amount of sugar I put in. I love cookies that are less sugary, soft and chewy.

For Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, I use this recipe. I like adding chocolate chips, but without it, half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder is nice too.

Have you had experiments in the kitchen lately?