Red Velvet Berry Cake

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Red velvet cakes are a type of chocolate cake that originated from the South and is very popular in the States for big events like weddings and Christmas parties, but less so here. Apart from the Food for Thought cafe, I really don't know of any other place that serves red velvet cake. And so ... I thought it'd be fun if I made one myself! Since berries are in season and going cheap (relatively) at the supermarkets, I decided to do update the traditional version with berries. Looks-wise this is a very satisfying cake to make, as the contrast between the dark red cake and the white frosting lends itself naturally to a visually stunning result. The cake has a moist and tender crumb, and its delicate sweet chocolate flavour goes nicely with the berries.

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Peanut Butter with Everything

Growing up, I hated eating bread. My mum would serve me two slices for breakfast every day, and the moment she walked out of the kitchen, I'd chuck both slices, SWOOSH! right out of the window. This happened every day until one day, I was unlucky enough to have my mum discover a piece of bread, stuck to the ledge below our window in all it's messy, buttery glory. After that I learnt my lesson.

I made sure I threw better.

I can't explain why I disliked bread so much. I guess I just found it boring. The only time I could be persuaded to eat bread then, is if it was completely smothered in peanut butter. In fact, during my teenage years I was so enamoured of peanut butter that I not only fixed myself peanut butter sandwiches (a big deal for a bread-hater), I would also spread big globs of peanut butter on Khong Guan crackers for a snack. In both cases, I tolerated bread and crackers as mere delivery systems for peanut butter.

You'd be amazed by how I can eat peanut butter with everything. Peanut butter with jelly, peanut butter with banana, peanut butter with marshmallows, peanut butter with cheese (yes, cheese!), peanut butter with noodles, and the one that seems to baffle people the most (although I can't understand why) - Peanut butter with ... BUTTER. If you haven't tried this you are really missing out. Butter makes peanut butter incomparably and luxuriously smooth and creamy.. Oooohhhh ....

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found a way to eat peanut butter with (almost) everything yesterday. All in a cupcake. Peanut butter? Check. Butter? Check. Marshmallows? Check. Jelly? Check.

Behold the Peanut Butter Cupcake with Fluffernutter Frosting and Raspberry Jelly Centre:

















Tender-crumbed, peanut buttery cupcake, with a fluffy fluffernutter (i.e. peanut butter and marshmallow) frosting, and a hit of sticky raspberry jam in the centre which was the perfect foil to the richness of peanut butter. Serve up with a glass of ice-cold milk and slip into peanut-butter induced ecstasy.

As my 4 year-old Sugarbabe told me today, after polishing off a whole cupcake for breakfast, "These are so good mummy, so good ...". I should add that she then asked, eyeing my cupcake, "Can I eat yours? I'm hungry ...."

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