Even though our peanut butter cupcakes turned out to be disappointment, we decided that it might be too early to dismiss the  book “Cupcakes: 39 Irresistible Sweet Treat Recipes”; hence our second attempt! This time, Neenish Cupcakes! I know, the name’s already promising right?! What’s more, its yin-yang combination of chocolate & vanilla is a crowd pleaser no?

BUT once again, the stipulated baking time was too short! So we had to put the cupcakes back into the oven. Once they were finally done, we smothered the cupcakes in sinfully sweet icing & chocolate fudge~ Definitely not for the diabetics! THe milo power we used as a substitute for cocoa powder may explain the lacklustre appearance & bland taste of the cupcakes..

We think it can be said that this book is just looks and no content. A picture is worth a thousand words. “Cupcakes: 39 Irresistible Sweet Treat Recipes” is just a book filled with delicious photos designed to cheat innocent girls of their baking fantasies!

Geri’s verdict: Chuck it. CHUCK the book. Okay, tear out all the pictures of the cupcakes and make a collage, then CHUCK it. It overpromises and undelivers. Although I DID notice that the flavours got better after 2 days - I think this cupcake needs 2 days to set. But still, I give this a 6/10 and I say, thrash the book because the writer has obviously not baked before.

Cheryl’s verdict: My second attempt at baking cupcakes. The texture and taste of the Neenish cupcakes is definitely better than the peanut butter cupcakes, but it still lacked the overall oomph & X-factor! The icing is the only taste you find in the otherwise bland cupcake batter. I give it a 6/10! Slight improvement!

I got this book “Cupcakes: 39 Irresistible Sweet Treat Recipes” as a birthday gift from a dear friend who affectionately calls me the Cupcake Queen. Boutique shops and high-end bookstores sell them packaged with 9 sweetly-coloured silicone cupcake cases (very environmentally-friendly, I like!)

Cheryl and I started with the Peanut Butter Mini Cupcakes. This one promised to give multiple tongue-gasms.

We followed the instructions to the T and popped the batter into the oven. After 10-12 minutes, we took them out. Hello, kueh tutus! The texture was mushy and they tasted like… I don’t even know if there’s a word invented for it yet. “Screw this book! Let’s do it our way!”

So we had to bake it for 25 more minutes before we deemed them pleasantly edible. Topped them off with the hazelnut and peanut butter icing and voila! Just like in the pictures.

Except… do they TASTE as good as they look?

I popped one into my mouth. It was a happy beginning. Then, magically, the cupcake started expanding a la Alice in Wonderland. The more I chewed, the more cupcake there seemed to be and very soon, I was signaling for a cup of water to help down the party in my mouth.

Geri’s Verdict: Thrash the recipe. The stipulated baking time was WAY off target, and the use of real peanut butter and hazelnut spread as the icing did it in. The recipe required an overdose of peanut butter which proved nauseating after awhile. Taste-wise, it was extremely disappointing. I give it a 5/10.

Cheryl’s Verdict: An obvious No-no! The recipe did not take into account the fats in peanut butter, giving the cupcakes an oily finish that was a major turn off! The only redeeming bit of the cupcakes were the snickers toppings! Score? 5/10 too!