Monday, July 21, 2014

cookies and cream cupcakes | review of tovolo

I am so excited!

I discovered some really brilliant baking tools today and I cannot wait to share them with you!

Okay, let me start from the beginning. I was approached by the guys from Tovolo to review some of their products.

TOVOLO? ARE THEY NOW AVAILABLE IN SINGAPORE?? I thought. I was beyond excited because all this time, I had been buying my Tovolo tools from the US, and then having them shipped to Singapore.

So being able to go to a store in Singapore and picking out what I wanted was something exciting indeed!

Then I was told that the Tovolo online store in Singapore has been launched, and they even offer free local mail AND an additional 5% discount for online purchases if you register as a member!

This is beyond awesome!

So I looked through the latest Tovolo catalog, and I was really keen to try out a few baking products.

And these were what I made!
I made 18 cupcakes, and all 18 came out perfectly. Let me show you how I made these lovely cupcakes.

In the bowl of a mixer, I added flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
Using the paddle attachment of my mixer, I mixed this until the batter was well-combined.
Because this is a one-bowl bake, you must scrape the bowl a few times throughout the mixing process, and I really loved the Spatulart® Cupcake Spatula I was sent.
The blade is wide and stiff, making it super easy to scrape cleanly.

The fact that it is so pretty is a bonus - who doesn't like to have pretty tools in the kitchen, right? :)

While the batter was being mixed, I blitzed the Oreo cookies. You can use any cream-filled chocolate cookies.
The batter is ready when it is pale and smooth.
I added the Oreos to the batter.
And mixed with my Better Batter Tool.
This tool has thick blades which enables me to mix the Oreos into the batter faster, hence avoiding over-beating and I was able to keep my cupcakes moist and tender.
This tool is also great for stirring thick sauces (it is heat resistant to 600°F or 315°C) and even for making meatballs and meat loaves!

Once mixed, I used the Cupcake Scoop to scoop portions of batter to fill my cupcake cases.
This tool is AMAZING!! It measures the same amount of batter every time so the cupcakes cases are evenly filled.
And it has a silicon plunger that scrapes the scoop clean.
And NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING dripped.
This also means no more scraping the sides of the mixing bowl like mad to get most of the batter out.
I totally love it!! :D

I shook the baking tray gently to even out the batter, then the cupcakes were baked. Once baked, they were allowed to cool in the baking trays for 10 minutes before I transferred them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cupcakes were completely cool, I frosted them with a Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
And topped with a mini Oreo as well as crushed Oreo. And a straw too, if you like.
And all the kids (and adults) in your neighbourhood would be banging on your door at about this time.
Because you'd have made the prettiest and tastiest Cookies and Cream Cupcakes ever! :)

The really nice folks at Tovolo would like to share a few of their fantastic products with readers of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, and as such, I'd be hosting a giveaway for a Better Batter Tool, a Spatulart® Cupcake Spatula and a Cupcake Scoop.

Fancy winning one (or all) of these? Here's how to take part!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway ends on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific time. The winner(s) will be selected by random.org and contacted by email. If there is no response after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to residents of Singapore only.

Because of your support, this blog has been selected to be one of the finalists For the Best Cooking Blog in this year's Singapore Blog Awards!

Thank you so much for your support for the last year, and I have to be thick-skinned and ask you to cast me a vote by clicking on the badge below. 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :)

RECIPE
Cookies and Cream Cupcakes (Makes 18)
Adapted from Donna Hay

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar - I reduced this to 120g
125g unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9 cream-filled chocolate biscuits (100g), coarsely chopped - I used Oreos
6 cream-filled chocolate biscuits, extra, finely crushed, to decorate - I used Oreos
18 mini cream-filled chocolate biscuits, to decorate - I used mini Oreos
6 straws, each cut into 3 pieces, to decorate (optional)

Note: I used Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream to decorate the cupcakes.

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. Place flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and milk in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed for 6 minutes or until pale and smooth.
3. Add the chopped biscuits,mix to combine and spoon the batter into cupcake cases.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Frost with buttercream, and decorate with a mini chocolate biscuit, crushed biscuits and a straw, if you prefer.

Tovolo products are now available at Robinsons Orchard and Robinsons Jem.
You can also order Tovolo products online here. Local Normal mail is free.
Get updates about Tovolo Products from their Facebook page.

Disclaimer: The Domestic Goddess Wannabe received a set of Tovolo products review purposes. All opinions stated are my own. The Domestic Goddess Wannabe has been a regular user of Tovolo since 2008, and  strongly recommends the products based on their own merits and her first hand user experience.

I am also sharing this post with Cook Your Books hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

34 comments:

  1. 1. Oreo cupcake 2. Blueberry yoghurt muffin 3. Orange peel & carrot oatmeal cupcake

    Carol Lim
    cmeilim@gmail.com

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  2. Thanks for wonderful giveaway!

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  3. I will make Hokkaido Chiffon Cake with the Tovolo Better Batter Tool. With the egg whites beating in the mixer, I'll need a really awesome batter tool to mix the yolks in another bowl!

    Mabel
    amazinglystill@gmail.com

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  4. I would make cookies & cream cupcakes with my little one with Tovolo better batter tool, cupcake scoop & the cupcake spatula.

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  5. Hi Diana,

    These look soooo good! I'm drooling....:)

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  6. I will attempt to make my favourite red velvet cupcakes with the Tovolo Cupcake Scoop. Or maybe give this cookies and cream cupcake recipe a go too! It looks so good! Or, plain ol' vanilla cupcake with creamcheese... or banana chocolate chip muffin (ok, not exactly cupcakes)... or rainbow cupcakes... This is an endless list for me!

    Mabel
    amazinglystill@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I will make pancakes with the Tovolo Spatetulart Cupcake Spatula. I want to use up every single drop of the batter, and I'll need a really good spatula to scrape the bowl clean!

    Mabel
    amazinglystill@gmail.com

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  8. I like the better batter tool because I don't have one and it looks too cool!

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  9. Just bought a muffin and cupcake recipe book. Will be great to win any of the baking tools above to try out some new recipes.

    Robert_sim@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. My kids, not me, would use these tools to make their all time favourite banana chocolate chips cupcake!

    Thanks for the give away!

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  11. Hi Diana,
    Beautiful cupcakes! And looks so yummy!
    And the cupcake scoop is awesome! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Diana, I think I will go crazy if I go to this Tovolo store hah..hah....and become bankrupt! Goodness, I love that cupcake scoop lah! Your cupcakes are fabulous, as usual. If I were your neighbour, I'd be banging on your door too hee..hee..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phong Hong, Tovolo has such lovely tools. They look good and they work really well too!!

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  13. I'll make your cookie and cream cupcakes with the cupcake scoop!! the frosty looks to die for!

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1. No-bake oreo cheesecake
    2. Blueberry muffins
    3. Tiramisu

    Shirley Yong
    shirley@yong.sg

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  15. I will make lots of cupcakes with all the tools!

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  16. Love the cupcakes! Love to have the tools to do wonderful cupcakes like you!~

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  17. I would love to make a banana cake with the Better Batter Tool, chocolate chip muffins with the Cupcake Scoop, and Carrot Cake with the Cupcake Spatula.
    Adeline / growingwiththetans@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm gonna bake Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon SMB!!

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  19. Red Velvet Cupcake

    Celyn11@hotmail.com
    Celyn Huang

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'll make cream cheese muffins with Better Batter Tool ad it requires really good mixing tool to even cheese mixture without over mixing.

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  21. I will make strawberry swirl cupcake with the cupcake scoop! I always drip my batter as I'm using a ice cream scoop for my cupcakes.

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  22. For the spatulart cupcake spatula, I will make butter pound cake as I love using traditional creaming method with a firm spatula.

    I've joined all three giveaways! Hope I win.

    petrinagoh@hotmail.com

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  23. I will make the cocoa marshmallow muffins!

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  24. I want, I want the Tovolo Cupcake Scoop because I'm such a muffin/ cupcake junkie!!! Cocoa marshmallow muffins, cream cheese muffins, chocolate muffins, plain ol' vanilla muffins, blueberry muffins... omg! The list is endless!

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  25. Yumz..A must try. I think my girls would love this

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  26. Luckily I have not buy any ice cream scoop for the purpose of scooping cupcake/muffin batter. This scoop is currently "the wanted". It not only helps me, but I am sure my kids will be super delightful to help out too. With this, I bet I can work faster, less messy and more savings (cos you can use even the last few drops of batter! Of cos I will not be able to lick my spoon clean if I use the cupcake scoop. That is the only drawback. Haha. Hope I win!

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  27. Lovely cupcakes you have there! And I was impressed with the spoon! What a great baking tool invention! Would love to try out your red velvet cupcakes recipe as well as this cookies n cream. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. I would love to make the cookies n cream cupcakes you just shared n many more and scoop them with the cupcake scoop!! Simply love this new tool!!!

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  29. hihi can i ask... i used this recipe but i find that the liners detached from the cake easily. issit normal? it do

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Joey, unfortunately this does happen to many bakers and no one really knows why it happens. It can also happen when you make any kind of cupcakes. Sometimes you can make the same recipe and one batch comes out perfectly ok while the other batch separates. I have googled for answers and found none (even from professional bakers) thus far. I am also experimenting with other brands of liners. Hopefully I will find an answer soon because it is so annoying when the paper separates!

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