baby blueberry cakes

 Baby Blueberry Cakes

This weekend I met up with an old friend who was passing through San Jose. She asked me how my food blogging was going. All I could do was try and think how long ago it was since I had baked and blogged... shame on me, it was ages ago!

So here goes a Monday morning special, baby blueberry cakes, just for you Amy - too bad you're not here to share them with us!


*Ingredients*
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
60 g. butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 soft brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup blueberries (dried ones soaked in boiling water)

1.Preaheat the oven to 200°C.

2.In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. In another bowl mix the vanilla essence, butter, eggs and milk and whisk until smooth.

3.Pour the liquid micture over the dry ingredients and combine well. Fold in the blueberries and divide the batter between two baby bake tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of a cake comes out clean. 

peanut butter choco chip cookies

Yesterday I hurt my back, which means I didn't go to work today, which means I decided to bake myself some serious comfort food :) These cookies were exactly what I needed !

The recipe I found here: http://caitsplate.me/2012/05/04/jumbo-whole-wheat-peanut-butter-cookies/ but as usual, I modified things a little and added some big dark chocolate chips and used even more peanut butter :) miam!

Ingredients:

• 45 grams. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1 cups whole wheat flour - does this mean they are healthy ? :)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• some dark chocolate broken into large chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius
2. Beat first 6 ingredients in a large bowl until smooth
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the bowl and stir until just combined.
4. Stir the chocolate chips in, careful not to over mix the batter.
5. Using a spoon, scoop even balls of dough onto a tray with baking paper on it. 
6. Cook 10-12 minutes until lightly browned
7. Allow to cool 5 minutes on the pan (if you can resist from eating them!) then transfer to a wire rack

best banana cake

I've made quite a few banana bread/cakes in my day, but this one is by far the yummiest. It's very simple and the results are fantastic.The texture is very fluffy but at the same time moist, I feel like having some more right now!

ingredients

• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/6 cup milk + 1/6 cup plain yoghurt)
• 1/3 cup sunflower oil
• 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (i used 4 ripe bananas)
• 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

directions

Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius. Grease your cake pan with butter.

Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and bananas.

Sift together the sugar, flour, baking powder and spices. Add to banana mixture. Mix well.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake about 40 mins or until you smell banana cake in the kitchen and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

french toast stuffed with brie and apple

This was not bad for a delicious Saturday morning breakfast, not bad at all!

ingredients
creamy brie cheese
1 apple
2 eggs
milk
bit of butter
dash of brown sugar
cinnamon
honey or apple syrup

directions
Peel and core the apple, and the slice into thin slices. Fry this with the butter, sugar and cinnamon until tender.

In a bowl whisk the eggs and milk, adding a bit of cinnamon if you want.

Slice 4 thick slices of bread, and make 2 sandwiches with the soft apples and some pieces of brie.

Dip the sandwiches into the egg and milk mixture, and then fry for a couple of minutes and turn to the other side.

Drizzle with honey or syrup, and enjoy with a cup of tea and someone you love :)

french gougere

For those of you who were thinking I could only bake sweet things, check this out! This recipe is absolutely worth it, it's simple and the results are oh so delicious :)

ingredients
1 1/4 cup water
115 grams butter
1 1/4 cup plain flour
4 eggs
115 grams Gruyere cheese finely diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tin diced tomatoes
15 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion chopped
115 grams mushrooms chopped in half
1 small broccoli
thyme
salt and pepper



directions:
Preheat the oven to 220 celsius, and grease a large ovenproof dish. Place the water and butter in a saucepan and heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Yes your arm will hurt. And yes it's worth it :) Stir in the cheese and mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into the dish leaving a hollow in the center for the filling.

For the filling sautee the onions in the oil and butter for 3 minutes until transparent. Add the mushrooms and sautee another 3 minutes. Add the broccoli and keep sauteeing another minute or so. Add the tin of tomatoes, plus a little bit of water. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender.

Spoon the mixture into the hollow of the pastry in the dish, adding all the liquid. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the pastry is well risen and golden brown.

Enjoy!

pound cake

And I'm back! Not from outer space, but near enough. To get things kicking this year I've started off with a simple yet delicious pound cake.

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsb baking powder
• pinch salt
• 110 grams butter
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup plain yoghurt + 1/4 cup milk

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube pan. Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter with sugar. Mix in the eggs, one at time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the lemon rind and the vanilla. Gently mix in flour mixture alternately with the yoghurt milk mix. Pour batter into the prepared pan.


3. Bake in preheated oven for 90 minutes. Do not open oven door until after one hour. When cake begins to pull away from the side of the pan it is done. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

leftover cranberry sauce muffins

Thanksgiving I love you! I love you and your  sweet potatoes, your homemade stuffing, your juicy turkey, green beans, walnut and pomegranate salad, and most of all, your cranberry sauce! Especially when it's sugary homemade filled with chunky tart cranberries ^.^

This thanksgiving, the first thanksgiving ever partially organised and cooked by myself, we had cranberry sauce leftovers the next day (amongst other things). So what more natural to do than to make leftover cranberry sauce muffins? Nothing, I say!

They were delicious I tell you, and wholesome too.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used half wholewheat)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon rolled oats (reserve the 1 tablespoon for the tops)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cups leftover cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/6 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 205 degrees celsius.
2. Grease a 12-cup standard-size muffin tin (or add liners).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cranberry sauce, milk, vegetable oil and egg.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
6. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups – about 3/4 to all the way full.
7. Sprinkle with the three tablespoons oats.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops spring back when you touch them and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out dry.
9. Let cool for about five minutes, then enjoy!

chocolate buttercream cupcake burgers

Yes you heard me, cupcake burgers!

banana date muffins

A foggy Thursday with nothing to do. This calls for banana date muffins, definitely.

Ingredients
1 cup self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 cup firm packed brown sugar
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup seeded chopped dates
1 egg lightly beaten
1/6 cup veggie oil
1/6 cup milk

Directions
Grease 9 hole muffin pan
Sift dry ingredients into large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. 
Spoon mix into prepared pan, bake in moderately hot oven about 20 mins 200 - 210 celsius.


Nutritional Info
161 calories per muffin

lemon coconut cupcakes

It's cupcake season! Yes you heard me. Having a sore back which doesn't allow me sit for long periods of time = many many cupcakes.

This time it's lemon cupcakes topped with vanilla butter cream dipped in coconut. Yum.



Ingredients

1 large egg
3/4 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
50 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoons lime or lemon peel
1/4 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 185 degrees C and lightly butter or line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.

Separate the egg.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, cream the butter. Add a little bit more than half the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolk, and mix through.
Add vanilla and lime peel, and mix.

Then, with the mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk, in three additions.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the rest of the sugar gradually, and keep beating until it's all dissolved in the egg whites.
Fold the egg whites carefully into the batter, do not over mix or the batter will deflate.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18 -20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. With a knife or offset spatula, spread regular buttercream frosting on each cupcake, and then dip it into a bowl of dried coconut shavings.

Enjoy!

vanilla cupcakes with raspberry filling and milk chocolate glaze

Yesterday was cupcake day, and I wanted to try out my first filled cupcake ever. I got the recipe here http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/ (see cupcake 29) , and tried to follow it but somehow it just didn't work out as expected...

The result was good, but no matter how hard I tried I just could not follow the instructions. The first and biggest problem was this:

The recipe asks for you to beat room temperature butter straight into the flour. As you can imagine, all this produced was a big mess. So, I ended up doing all kinds of crazy things to get the butter into the flour, and in the end I will say this: just put all the ingredients into the bowl at the same time and mix the heck out of them :) Problem solved.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
110 grams butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 celsius
Sift the flour baking powder and salt into a big bowl. Add everything else and beat on high until everything is nicely mixed.
Grease your cupcake tin and fill the liners 1/3 full of batter.
Drop a small spoonful of jam into each cupcake.
Cover with batter.
Bake for 15 minutes or until browned on top and kitchen smells delicious :)

Frosting
50 grams of butter, melted
3 tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Directions
Mix the cocoa and sugar in a bowl.
Pour over the melted butter and remaining ingredients.
Beat on low until well mixed.
Dip cupcake into the glaze and top with sprinkles.
Enjoy!

pumpkin muffins

I made these muffins for Dalila's going away party, and they were such a hit that I decided to make them again last week and post them to Robbie in Barcelona! Surprisingly he said they were still delicious after spending 5 days in the post, and were mostly crumbs by the time he got them :)

I tried for the first time to make some decent photos of the cooking process, and realised how hard this actually is. I'll be definitely be working on my food photography skills... Anyway this recipe is fantastic, so I thought I would post it, bad photos and all. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins
(This is half of the original recipe, it made about 10 small muffins)


Ingredients
3/4 cups all-purpose flour (half of which is whole wheat if desired)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/6 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts plus some for decoration

Directions
Preheat oven to 185 c. Grease your muffin tins with butter.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a larger bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and sugar until smooth.
Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture until just combined, making sure to not over-mix the batter. Fold in walnuts.
Add the batter to the greased/floured muffin tins, decorate each one with a walnut, and place in oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are brown, they smell good, and a stick inserted in the middle comes out clean.