Thursday, June 16, 2011

Man Muffin

Is this muffin man enough?


Aside from cheering myself up ... I would like to bake for my dear boss a cake ... not just any creamy ... sweet ... elegant cake ... nope ... not that kind of cake ... i wan to make him a 'man' cake ... no cream ... no chocolate ... and definitely no cutesy mutesy ... hee hee ... since i borrowed some recipe books from the library ... i decided on the ...... *drumroll* ... Pizza Muffin!!!

Why Pizza? ... cos there pepperonis in it ... nice strong character for my manly cake ... hee hee ... =D

Pizza Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

  • Preheat oven to 190C
  • Muffin tin, greased

375ml chopped pepperoni sausage
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped (i omit)
1 can (284ml) sliced mushrooms
1 onion, finely chopped
300ml shredded cheese (such as Monterey Jack) i use mozzarella + cheddar squares
125ml pizza sauce
10ml garlic powder
5 eggs
50ml vegetable oil
300ml all-purpose flour
15ml baking power

In a large bowl, combine pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms, onion, cheese, pizza sauce and garlic powder.
In another bowl, beat eggs,. Blend in oil, then flour and baking power. Beat until smooth. Stir in the pepperoni mixture and mix until well blended.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven from 20 to 25 mins or until lightly browned.

ps: I did not use all-purpose flour, I used self raising flour ... with self raising you can omit the baking power.

Recipe taken from: 1500 Best Bars, Cookies, Muffins, Cakes & More - Esther Brody

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Almost Famous Cookies





Ingredients
250g salted butter,softened (i used SCS)
200g light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp coffee oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oats,processed to bits in a chopper (i put nestum instead)
1/4 cup ground almonds (i omit this)
1/2 cup of your favourite nuts,chopped finely (optional)(i put in chopped hazelnut)
1 pack of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks 
300g self-raising flour 

Method
This is the most important step,at least 2 hours before,or the night before,beat the egg with the vanilla and the coffee oil to infuse or you can do this the night before,refrigerate it then bring it to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 160C.

To the softened butter,beat in the sugar and the salt to combine. Beat in the egg and stir in the processed oats,ground almonds,optional chopped nuts and the chocolate chunks. Sift the flour and fold it in,this dough will not be too stiff but not too wet either.

For small cookies,place half-tsp of the dough,spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely and let it sit overnight in an airtight container,this is for the flavour and fragrance to develop further.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Baking is therapeutic

It's so good to know someone special, who shares,,
My secrets, my laughter, my dreams and my cares,,
Someone through good times and bad, when there's tears,,
It's so good to know you (Helen), my friend through the years,
~ Jessica Browne

I've decided to try Kak Rima's Chocolate Bottom Banana Square cos the person who's going to receive it likes banana and chocolate. What a good combo! I was abit stressed up so I decided to take a nap before I start baking. 



I read the recipe a couple of times. Prepare all the ingredients before hand and take my time, look at the recipe point by point ... hee hee !!! ... it turned out ok and I keep calmed through out ... Steady pom pee pee...




Ingredients
1/2 cup butter - 113g
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt - I used 1 tsp since i used unsalted butter
1/4 cup baking cocoa 
1 cup chocolate chips 


Method
1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and bananas, beating thoroughly.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Divide batter in half. Add the cocoa to one portion of the batter. Spread that portion in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch (I used 9x9) baking dish. Spoon remaining batter on top, swirling gently with butter knife if desired, and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
4. Bake at 170C for 30 minutes or until batter tests done with a toothpick or fork. Cool and cut into 24 squares