Thursday, February 19, 2009

Crumble Topped Pineapple Muffins

PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 30 Min
READY IN 45 Min
Original recipe yield 16 muffins




* 250 g all-purpose flour
* 100 g white sugar
* 10 g baking powder
* 3 g salt
* 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
* 1 egg, beaten
* 180 ml milk
* 55 g butter, melted
*
* 55 g butter, melted
* 0.6 g ground cinnamon
* 75 g packed brown sugar
* 60 g all-purpose flour




DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pans, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the reserved juice, egg, milk, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix just until blended.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the cinnamon, brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/4 cup melted butter to make the topping.
4. Spoon batter into muffin cups, then spoon crushed pineapple over the batter and sprinkle with the cinnamon topping.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the crown of the muffin comes out clean.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Wholemeal Scones 2

Ingredients
Serves: 7-8

100 Gram Wholemeal flour (3 1/2 oz)
100 Gram Plain flour (3 1/2 oz)
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
40 Gram Butter (1 1/2 oz)
150 ml Milk, plus extra for brushing (1/4 pint)
Method
Sift flours, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub butter into flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add milk all at once. Mix to a soft, but not sticky, dough with a knife. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead quickly until smooth. Roll out to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into 7 or 8 rounds with a 6.5 cm (2 1/2 inch) biscuit cutter.

Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk. Bake at 230 °C / 450 °F / Gas 8 for 7-10 minutes or until well risen and golden. Cool on a wire cooling rack. Serve with butter.

Wholemeal Scones

Ingredients: Makes 12

175 g/6 oz wholemeal (wholewheat) flour
50 g/2 oz plain (all-purpose) flour
15 ml/1 tbsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
50 g/2 oz butter or margarine

50 g/2 oz caster (superfine) sugar
150 ml milk

Method:

Mix together the flours, baking powder and salt. Rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Gradually mix in the milk to make a soft dough. Knead lightly, then roll out to about 1 cm/0.5 in thick and cut into 5 cm/2 in rounds with a biscuit (cookie) cutter. Place the scones (biscuits) on a greased baking (cookie) sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8 for about 15 minutes until risen and golden brown. Serve warm.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Chicken and Pesto Pasties

Saw this recipe in Sainsburys. It's one of those Jamie Oliver ones that you can pick up in store:

Ingredients:
Left over roast chicken (or I just roasted 2 chicken breasts)
1 roll puff pastry
Tomatoes
Pesto

Roll out pastry and cut into 2/4 rectangles (depending on how many you making)
Spread a teaspoon of pesto onto each pastry rectangle
Put chicken on one side and top with some tomato slices
Fold over and crimp corners to seal
Brush with egg or milk
Bake in oven for 20 mins (chicken is pre-cooked so doesn't need much cooking)

I served this with Jamie's creamy baked leeks but you could serve with new potatoes and broccoli.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Rah's Brownies

Ingredients-

80g butter,40g cocoa powder,150g caster sugar, 2 eggs, 60g flour, half a teaspoon of baking powder, 1packet white choc buttons, 1 packet milk choc buttons

Method -

Grease yourself a brownie pan - or a medium roasting tin if like me you don't have one lol, and stick the oven on gas 4/180 degrees.

Now, get a biggish saucepan and melt the butter. Take it off the heat and stir in the sugar and cocoa. Then beat in the 2 eggs, and fold in the flour and the baking powder, stir in all the choc buttons. You should have quite a thick, damp mixture.

Spread this in your pan and throw in the oven for 25-30 mins. When done a knife will come out clean, then cut into 12-14 sqaures.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

150g butter
300g caster sugar
50g cocoa powder
3 medium size eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
75g self-raising flour

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, gas mark 4 & line a 20 x 20 cm tin with baking parchment.
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from the heat & add the sugar & cocoa powder. Mix well. Gradually beat in the eggs & then add the vanilla essence. Gently stir in the flour & pecans.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, level the surface & bake for 40-50 minutes.
  4. Leave in the tin to cool, & then cut in bars.

Breakfast Muffins

INGREDIENTS

200g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40g soft brown sugar
50g raisins or chocolate chips
1 medium size egg
250ml milk
2 tablespoons sunflower oil


  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C, 375°F, gas mark 5.
  2. Sieve the flour and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the brown sugar and raisins, or chocolate chips.
  3. Break the egg into a jug and beat with a fork, then add the milk and oil. Beat again until well mixed.
  4. When you are ready to bake, put 12 large paper baking cases into a 12 hole bun tin, ideally with deep, straight sides.
  5. Quickly stir the two mixtures together but be careful not to overbeat. It doesn't matter if you can still see some flour.
  6. Spoon into the paper cases and bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Chocolate Orange Muffins

  • 280g plain flour
  • 140g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 240ml milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 65g/4 tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
  • 50-100g chocolate orange (broken into chunks)

Whisk all 'wet' ingredients together and then mix into dry ingredients.
Just mix until all the flour has gone, don't make it too smooth or overwork......then stir in chocolate.
Divide into 6 large or 12 medium muffin case and bake at 200 C/Gas 6 for about 20-25mins.

Raspberry Muffins

Makes: 12
Takes: 35 mins

250g (9oz) plain flour
1tbsp baking powder
100g (4oz) golden caster sugar
75g (3oz) butter, chilled
1 large egg
175ml (6fl oz) milk
150g (5oz) fresh raspberries
Extra sugar for sprinkling (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper muffin cases.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Coarsely grate the chilled butter into the bowl and stir with a fork to coat in the flour mixture.
3. Beat together the egg and milk then pour into the bowl. Mix lightly with a fork until just combined. Take care not to over-beat the mixture - it should still be a little lumpy. Gently fold in the raspberries.
4. Spoon into the muffin cases. Bake for 20-25 mins until the muffins are risen and golden. Sprinkle lightly with a little extra sugar while still warm, if liked.

Top tip: Although best eaten fresh, these muffins will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months. For convenience, wrap individually in small freezer bags and allow 2-3 hrs to defrost at room temperature.

Top tip: Add other fruit to this basic recipe - blueberries, chopped dried apricots, mashed ripe bananas or diced apples.
For a chocolate version replace the raspberries with chocolate chips.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

  • Dr. Oetker Muffin Cases
  • 275g (10oz) plain flour
  • 4 level tsp Dr. Oetker Baking Powder
  • 75g (3oz) caster sugar
  • 2 medium size eggs
  • 225ml (8floz) milk
  • 110g (4oz) butter, melted
  • 1 tsp Dr. Oetker Natural Vanilla Extract
  • 150g Dr. Oetker Plain Chocolate Chips

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6 and place 12 Muffin Cases in a muffin / deep cupcake tin.
  2. Sieve the flour and Baking Powder together in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, milk, butter and Natural Vanilla Extract.
  4. Fold flour and Baking Powder into the egg mixture, add the Plain Chocolate Chips and mix gently to a lumpy batter.
  5. Divide mixture between the muffin cases and bake at the top of the oven for 25-30 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
  6. Remove muffins from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Makes: 9 large muffins

Banana Muffins

ingredients

  • 200g (7 oz) plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large bananas, mashed
  • 150g (5 oz) caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 75g (2 1/2 oz) butter, melted

preparation method

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C /gas mark 4. Place 12 paper baking cases in muffin tin.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt; set aside.
  3. Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth.
  4. Spoon evenly into baking cases in muffin tin.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly tapped.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Cheesy Muffins

  • 2 cups of grated cheese (mature cheddar works well)
  • 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • pinch of paprika or mustard powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • Optional extras - 1 tsp fresh chopped herbs, or 1/2 tsp dried herbs; 2 oz chopped roasted vegetables (or drained anti pasti), well drained tinned sweetcorn or chopped cooked bacon.

Mix egg and milk in a jug or cup.

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine the ingredients (add the optional extras too, if you're using them).

Add the egg and milk and fold in gently (the mixture is supposed to be lumpy!)

Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin.

Bake at 200 C for 12-15 mins until firm and golden brown.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Keylime Pie

CRUMB CRUST
175g/ 6oz Digestive or ginger biscuits
2 tbsp caster sugar
70g / 2.5oz butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

FILLING
400ml / 14floz canned condensed milk
125ml/ 4floz freshly squeezed lime juice
finely grated rind of 3 limes
4 egg yolks
Whipped cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Lightly grease a 23cm / 9inch round tart tin, about 4cm/1.5 inches deep.

To make crumb crust, put biscuits and sugar in food processor and process until fine crumbs form - do not over process to a powder. Add melted butter and process again until moistened ()

Tip crumb mixture into prepared tart tin and press over base and up the side. Place tart tin on baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat condensed milk, lime juice, lime rind and egg yolks together in a bowl until well blended.

Remove tart tin from oven, pour the filling into the crumb crust and spread out to edges. Return to oven for a further 15mins, or until filling is set round edges but still wobbly in centre.

Leave to cool completely on a wire rack, then cover and chill for at leaset 2 hours. Serve spread thickly with whipped cream.

Tffin Bar Traybake

Put all these in a bowl or pan and microwave or heat on hob for a couple of mins, to melt:

  • 100g butter/hard marg (not low-fat, as it won't set)
  • 25g soft brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp cocoa
  • 4 tbsp golden syrup

Then add:

  • 225g crushed digestive biscuits
  • 150g raisins

Mix well.

Press into a 20cm square greased tin.

Melt 225g milk/plain chocolate, pour on top and smooth over mixture (optional).

Mark into squares and chill in fridge for an hour or so before cutting.


Variation:
Use chopped dried fruits such as apricots, glace cherries, cranberries, coconut, nuts etc instead of raisins if preferred. A mixture of a couple of these is particularly nice.