Yasmine's Mini-Birthday White Velvet Cupcakes

Yasmine has been impatiently waiting for her birthday; but since her birthday fell on a weekday, I decided to arrange a mini celebration with just me, the kids and my close friend Hanaa. (Hubby couldn't attend neither since he's out of town :( )
The official birthday party is postponed to the first Saturday of the month of April Inshallah to fit all my guests' schedules. So stay tuned for another birthday cake...

Free choice week: Classic Carrot Cake

I chose the classic carrot cake this week for one main reason: My kids love carrot cake, and it's healthier for them too..
This is my third time making this cake; I'm sure I'll make over and over.
I like the fact that this recipe requires using oil in lieu of butter, this keeps the cake moist either cold or at room temperature.

HCB making: True Orange Genoise

Here I am, gladly entering my first posting in HCB, although I baked several cakes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes in the past.
To paraphrase what Rose meant by "true orange" is the use of actual Seville oranges, the intense sourness of those oranges is served to win over the chocolate flavor which always dominates. I totally agree based on what I heard and read about the Seville oranges.
Not knowing that it would be a  challenge to find the recommended kind of oranges to be used, I waited till the last three days to realize that it's impossible to make "La vraie genoise d'oranges avec les oranges de Seville". Plainly but deliciously, my last resort was to make the cake with Navel oranges which I had sittting on my kitchen's counter anyway.