It's almost over. I have only two more weekends left before my little first grader goes back to school. Time flies, otherwise how did these 90 days of summer vacation went by? And surprisingly enough I spent these 90 days quite peacefully. Whatever presupposed anxiety I had, my little one proved them all wrong. We had loads of fun together, learning new things, crafts, baking, movies and loads of reading.
Now it's time check the school supply list, prepare to go back to the regular routine for bedtimes. Yeah, no more relaxed bedtime (I will miss that so much.....lazy me), the alarm will be set again, the kid will be back to school and Mommy dear will be back to routine.
When it involves my kid, the most challenging part I face is food. What to prepare for breakfast, what to pack in the lunchbox, then what to make for after school meal or snack. I know all parents face the same problem, especially if your kid is a picky eater.
Other than the usual meals, for snacks I prefer to make something that can be packed if needed. Cupcakes are one of those thing that me and my kid both like. They are quick and easy to make, and if you keep the frosting part aside, it can be stored for 4-5 days. Moreover you can have different variations, just add some fruits or nuts or chocolate or keep it plain.
On this back to school note, I made some walnut and chocolate chip cupcakes. I bake the cupcakes, cool them down and store in an air tight container for future consumption. You can add frosting just before serving, some whipped cream or drizzle some chocolate sauce on the cupcakes or add a scoop of ice cream on top, the kid will be delighted.
Things needed to make Walnut and Choco-chip Cupcake:
- All purpose flour: 1 cup
- Baking powder: 1 tsp
- Salt: 3/4 tsp
- Unsalted butter: 1/2 cup
- Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup
- Eggs: 2
- Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
- Milk: 3 tbsp
- Semi sweet choco chips: 1/2 cup
- Walnut: 1/4 cup
Steps of making Walnut and Choco-chip Cupcake:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liner, keep aside.
2. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and keep aside.
3. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. I used unsalted butter, you can use salted butter, in that case do not add salt to the flour as mentioned in step 1. As you beat the butter and sugar, scrap the sides with a spatula and mix.
4. Add the eggs and beat well, scraping the sides as needed. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
5. Sieve in the the dry ingredients to the wet mix and gently fold in. Add milk and mix with a spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips and broken walnut pieces.
6. Fill the cupcake liner with the cake batter upto 3/4th. Bake at 375 F for 20 min, or till a tooth pick inserted at center comes out clean. Let the cupcake cool down on a wire rack.
You can do frosting on the cupcake, of your choice. But I usually skip the frosting part. Either I drizzle some chocolate sauce just before serving or top the cupcake with some peanut butter or sometimes as a special reward for the kid I serve the cupcake topped with a scoop of ice cream. This I drizzle chocolate sauce and sprinkle some broken walnuts on the cupcake.
Walnut and Choco-chip Cupcake
(Yield: 6)
Ingredients:
All purpose flour: 1 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Salt: 3/4 tsp
Unsalted butter: 1/2 cup
Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup
Eggs: 2
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Milk: 3 tbsp
Semi sweet choco chips: 1/2 cup
Walnut: 1/4 cup
Procedure:
1. Pre-heat oven at 375 F.
2. Cream butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs and vanilla extract, beat well.
4. Sieve in the dry ingredients, add milk, gently fold in with a spatula.
5. Fol in the walnut and choco-chips.
6. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liner, fill in each upto 3/4 th, bake at 375 F for 20 min.
