Shadowing Practice: Easy Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Hey, I'm John Cannell, and today on Bright Beak Kitchen, we're making fluffy, fudgy chocolate cupcakes.
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So let's get started.
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First off, set your oven to 350 so it's nice and hot.
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Then grab your muffin tin and line with cupcake papers.
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Set that aside, and now into a large bowl, I'm adding one and a half cups, or 180 grams of all-purpose flour.
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And you'll notice I'm using a scale.
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If you don't have one, you can definitely use measuring cups.
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However, if you just scoop flour in and level it off, you're packing it in, please don't do that.
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Instead, grab a spoon, fluff your flour up, and sprinkle it in like it's a light, gentle rain.
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Level it off, and that's how you get an accurate measurement, with measuring cups.
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One and a quarter cups of granulated sugar, that's 250 grams, and this'll give you a cupcake that's like perfectly sweet on the less sweet side
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because you're gonna frost this, and you don't wanna have like a sugar overload.
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So I feel like it's the perfect amount.
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If you wanna reduce the sugar, you can.
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It'll be less sweet, but it'll also be a harder, less soft and fluffy cupcake.
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It'll just be breadier, so the sugar softens anything it's in, as well as making it sweet.
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To fluff things up, 3 quarters of a teaspoon of baking soda.
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The baking soda is gonna react with an acid that we add.
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The acid is the buttermilk.
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I also want a quarter cup of cocoa powder, And whenever you use cocoa powder, you need to sift it.
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It just has to happen.
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Look inside of here, it's all rocks.
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Take a look.
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See all those boulders?
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That's not cool.
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Quarter cup is 25 grams.
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So many cocoa boulders in here.
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Just push those through the sieve.
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In most recipes, any kind of sifting is totally optional, except when you use cocoa powder.
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Cocoa powder doesn't have sugar.
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It has a lot of fat in it, and it just clumps up naturally.
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So do yourself a favor and break up that sifter.
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I also want a quarter teaspoon of salt for balance.
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I'm adding a little bit more because I like things extra salty.
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Grab a whisk.
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The scale is done.
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And just whisk this up until you see no more streaks.
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Whisk, whisk, whisk.
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If you've ever made a cake or even a cupcake where there's a big divot in it, chances are that section didn't have the leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder,
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and that's because you didn't whisk enough.
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So, whisk, whisk, whisk.
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All right, set this aside, grab a medium bowl, and it's time to get to our wet ingredients.
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Into my medium bowl, I'm adding one large room temperature egg.
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For any baked good that's not pastry, you want room temperature to warm ingredients.
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Half a cup of buttermilk, this gives you a wonderful little bit of tang, and the acid in it also makes the cupcake softer and reacts to the baking soda,
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it does so much.
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If you wanna make this recipe but you don't have buttermilk at home, it's totally fine.
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Use an equal amount of regular whole milk and one tablespoon of vinegar.
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Just mix it in and the acid from the vinegar will do all the magical things that buttermilk does.
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In a chocolate cupcake, you don't tend to use butter.
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Butter is wonderfully flavored, I love it for many other things, but the flavor gets lost and it's wasted.
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Also, you might be refrigerating these and you want them to come out of the refrigerator Chilowy soft.
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Doesn't happen with butter.
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So we're gonna use half a cup of oil and you can use any mild oil you want.
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This is veggie oil, but I'm gonna give you a secret and it makes such a difference in this.
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You can also use olive oil.
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Olive oil is magical in cakes.
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In fact, my favorite cake that I make for my birthday is an olive oil cake.
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So if you wanna do some experimenting, give that a try.
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I'm finishing this off with two teaspoons or 10 mils of a nice vanilla.
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Kind of optional, but I love the depth of flavor it adds.
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Whisk this together until it's nice and smooth.
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And I just wanna tell you, there's a couple optional things you could add here.
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A teaspoon or two of espresso powder.
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It will really wake up the chocolate flavor.
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You're not gonna taste the coffee.
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I'm not doing that though, because my boys do not need any caffeine at this time.
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And you could also add spices you love.
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Like sometimes I like to add a teaspoon of cinnamon
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and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne for like a Mexican hot chocolate vibe.
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but you could add any of your favorite spices like cardamom or some allspice and really make this recipe your own.
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Okay.
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All mixed up, let's combine the wet and the dry now.
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Pour that right in.
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And now we're gonna combine this just until the flour disappears.
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Aside from mismeasuring flour, the other thing that goes wrong for people at home is over mixing batters.
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It can change everything.
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instead of being fluffy and melt in your mouth and just amazing, your baked good is gonna be dense and gummy
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and it even will taste different just because of the way the cake dissolves on your tongue.
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I think it can be confusing for people at home
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because a lot of boxed mixes tell you to mix things up for like one
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or two minutes and that is just because they're using boxed cake science magic.
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But with your natural ingredients that you're using for home cooking, this is not the case.
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No more streaks left, now it's time to divide our batter among our 12 cupcake papers
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and then pop this in the oven.
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And don't think I forgot about the frosting.
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Fill each paper about three quarters of the way full.
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My cupcakes are filled.
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Let's pop these into the oven 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until the centers spring back to the touch.
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In the meantime, we're gonna make an amazing chocolate frosting to top these off with.
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In you go.
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While our cupcakes bake, let's make a delicious, really easy chocolate frosting.
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So into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a big bowl if you're using a hand mixer,
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I'm adding three sticks, one and a half cups or 339 grams of unsalted room temperature butter.
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We're gonna whip this up on medium high for about five
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minutes until it's completely transformed into a fluffy white cloud of butter.
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In the meantime, I have 50 grams of cocoa powder, that's half a cup, but of course it is all rocks, so I'm gonna sift it out.
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Your buttercream needs salt for balance, otherwise it's just too sweet, so we're gonna add 3 quarters of a teaspoon of sea salt.
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In you go.
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If you wanted to, salted butter could've been used instead, just don't add any extra salt.
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Don't forget to scrape your bowl down at least once.
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Oh boy, the top is so light and beautiful, bottom is so dense and unmixed.
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All right, keep mixing.
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I have to show you this, because it's pretty magical.
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Look at the difference from the butter we started with to the butter now.
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The color is totally transformed, and the texture's lighter than light.
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That is so pretty, it's like a cloud.
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Now we're gonna add our sifted cocoa powder And just like before with the cupcakes, this is Dutch processed.
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It gives you a wonderful, really rich chocolate look and flavor.
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Mix that up on low now, low, low, low.
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And add about one and a half teaspoons of vanilla for a little bit of extra flavor.
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Increase speed to medium, we wanna get this nice and completely mixed.
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I see beautiful chocolate deliciousness.
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You see pure white butter on the side.
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So scrape the bowl down and mix, mix, mix.
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Okay, mix, mix, mix.
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Okay.
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This looks great.
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I just wanna show you beautiful milk chocolate color.
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Now we're gonna add six to eight cups of powdered sugar.
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It's really to taste and how you want the frosting to be, so add a cup at a time and mix on low until everything is in there.
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And between each cup of powdered sugar, we'll add about a tablespoon of heavy cream.
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You want your frosting to be beautiful, silky, and it'll just melt on your tongue.
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And if you don't add any liquid in, it's just too much sugar, so it really has to be balanced.
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Second cup, and just repeat until all the sugar's in.
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You can give it a taste at the six cup mark and see how you like it. And six cups.
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You'll be adding between a third to a half a cup of cream and all.
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And I will scrape the bowl down.
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After everything's in, increase to medium low, and then beat this for just about a minute so it's nice and fluffy.
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Give it a taste.
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That's very nice.
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Let's frost these cupcakes.
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Transfer your buttercream into a piping bag with the tip of your choice.
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This is an 869.
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And then just pipe to your heart's content.
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These cupcakes are equally delicious with vanilla or strawberry buttercream.
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For me, a cupcake has to be a sandwich.
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Enjoy.
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Oh my gosh, so soft, pillowy, fluffy, but fudgy and just pure chocolate flavor.
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I hope you had a chance to make this recipe.
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And if you like this video, check out my cupcake playlist you

Context & Background

In this instructional video, John Cannell shares a delightful and easy recipe for chocolate cupcakes. The video is designed to be accessible for both novice and experienced bakers, guiding viewers step-by-step through the cupcake-making process. John's clear explanations and engaging presentation style make it an excellent resource for English learners looking to enhance their language skills while learning to bake. By following along, viewers not only discover how to create fluffy, fudgy cupcakes but also improve their English comprehension and speaking abilities. The conversational tone and practical vocabulary used in the video provide a rich context for language practice.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • Let's get started. - A common phrase to initiate a task or activity.
  • Set that aside. - Used to instruct someone to pause or temporarily put something down.
  • Fluff your flour up. - An illustrative way to explain how to prepare ingredients evenly.
  • Grab a whisk. - An informal way to invite action, often used in instructional contexts.
  • If you want to make this recipe... - A phrase that encourages alternative options.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To effectively learn English through this video, consider employing a shadow speech technique to enhance your speaking skills. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. Watch the video: Start by watching the video without pausing. Familiarize yourself with the content and context.
  2. Listen carefully: Pay attention to how John articulates each phrase and word, especially his pronunciation and intonation.
  3. Use a shadowing app: Replay sections of the video and repeat what John says in real-time. This technique helps you improve your speaking fluency and confidence.
  4. Practice key phrases: Focus on the top 5 phrases mentioned previously. Repeat them until you can say them naturally, incorporating them into your daily communication.
  5. Record yourself: After several practice sessions, record your speech. Listen for pronunciation and fluency, identifying areas for improvement.

This approach aligns well with IELTS speaking practice, as it taps into authentic language use in a relaxed yet instructional setting. By shadowing John’s speech, you'll not only grasp the baking process but also enrich your vocabulary and fluency. So, learn English with YouTube and make delicious cupcakes at the same time! Note how this method helps build your confidence in speaking while offering a fun context to practice your language skills.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.