Warm Blueberry Muffins

I was on working from home 1 day and I thought of the easiest , non-complicated but satisfying breakfast that could last me till after lunch. I open up the refrigerator and saw some left over blueberries which I had used most of them for the last galette orders.

What could be more delicious than a simple blueberry muffin in the morning served with English breakfast tea. That was just perfect for me. I could bake these withing 30 minutes.

Well yesterday my favorite niece tagged me a photo of her bakes and it was a scrumptious looking blueberry muffins topped with chocolate chips.

That was when I remembered I have not posted this easy recipe out.

Muffins are already sweet and so having bursting blueberries inside adds natural slight sourness which acts as a contrast to the sweetness. Ain't that delicious?

Just look at those juicy blueberries& fluffy muffins! 

Blueberry Muffins

from Noobcook

makes about a dozen (12) of a standard size cupcake/muffin liner

- 1 1/2 cups* (190g) plain flour
- 1 1/2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup (225g) caster sugar
- 150g blueberries
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 65 grams butter, softened

* Cup refers to US cup measurement

Directions

1. Sift flour, baking powder and sugar together, and mix well.

2. Add in milk, vanilla extract, eggs and butter and stir until just blended (and lumpy). Be careful not to over mix as it will result in a tough texture.

3. Fold in the blueberries into the mixture. Place baking cases in muffin tins. Spoon the mixture into the cases till almost full.

4. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven of 200C (400F) or until slightly golden brown. Allow to rest for several minutes before serving. Store for a day in an airtight container. .

Otherwise it would just be gone when there still warm. :)

Right after I baked these goodies, I just had to tempt my team mates who are in the office.

And of course.. Cause of this I ended up baking these freshly the next few days for them.

Happy trying!

Lots of love from,

Tweet

Sables ( French Butter Cookies )

I love butter!

Sables which are also known as French Butter Cookie is your no ordinary butter cookie. The egg-glazed top with a criss-cross score on each tops makes it elegant compared to any normal butter cookies. It's a French thing.

I tried out this recipe I found from Joy Of Baking and it's simple, buttery and it's my go-to butter cookies. It's stated that it matters what butter you used as it is a BUTTER cookie after all. So for this recipe I go for Lurpak, the best we have here in Singapore. Original vanilla extract needed but I replaced it with Vanilla beans instead.

Sables ( French Butter Cookies ) from joyofbaking

Makes 3 dozen

140 grams unsalted butter, room temperature ( the best butter you can find )

100 grams granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 lengthwise vanilla bean

260 grams All purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Egg Wash:

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

Directions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).  Add the egg and vanilla bean and beat until blended. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough a few times to bring it together, and then divide the dough in half.  Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least an hour). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick.  Using a lightly floured 2 inch (5 cm) round fluted cookie cutter, cut out the cookies, placing them on the prepared sheet. 

Place the baking sheet of cut out cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 -20 minutes to chill the dough. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg with the water for the egg wash. 

Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the egg wash.  Then, with the tines of a fork (or I like to use the end of a toothpick), make a crisscross pattern on the top of each cookie. 

Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 12 - 14 minutes (depending on size of cookie) or until golden brown around the edges. 

Cool cookies on wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

Hope y'all love it!

Tweet

Old-fashioned Sponge Cake

During my childhood, we usually enjoy the simplest things to eat. A basic sponge cupcake was a no.1 tea time snack for everyone. It has a light spongy texture. So light and not too sweet to enjoy with our favorite teas or coffee.

And so to relive my childhood and also letting my baby enjoy it at the same time, I started seaching for these simplest recipe.

I found this recipe from Held by love, Baked from scratch which she called Paper-lined sponge cake. A "retro/oldies' kinda cake.

I'm amazed by the simple ingredients and so simple steps. And the texture of this cake is soooo good that its's even good to eat it on it's own.

To bake this, we either need a paper cup lined with parchment paper in each and every one of them to create a high cylindrical cupcake as this cake needs to rise. Me being lazy practical , I bought a high cup muffin tray from IKEA which look like this.

Old-fashioned Sponge Cake

( I seriously forget how much this batch made but if I'm not mistaken it was about 30 minis )

Ingredients:

4 eggs

100g cake flour

100g castor sugar

12g spongecake stabliser

25g milk

90g melted butter

Directions

• Put all the ingredients except the melted butter into a mixing bowl

• Beat everything on high for at least 7 mins until ribbon stage. This means that if you use your whisk with batter to write an “8″ on the batter won’t sink in but will appear visible for a while. This will be the right constitency for your batter.

• Add in melted butter at this stage and mix in thoroughly.

• Line some papercups with into the muffin pan.

Pour batter into the lined cups abt 3/4 full and bake it in a preheated oven at 190C for about 20 mins. When done, remove the cake from the cup immediately and leave it on wire rack to cool.

Like mushrooms sprouting out from the oven.

 Nothing else beats this fluffy cake during our afternoon tea time.

2 thumbs up for me!



Tweet

Chocolates - Which one?

I always got confuse when a recipe called for bitter sweet chocolate, dark chocolate and so on. Some needs melting and some chocolates can't be melted.

And So I came across an article by Martha Stewart Everyday Food, Issue Jan 2011 - Thank god for IPad! which I thought was helpful.

Not very detailed but it was enough for a novice baker like me.



Tweet

Choux Pastry

I had a very good book on how to make a choux pastry. And I have been following this unfailing recipe.

I was actually learning her skills on cable tv when I decided to buy her book years ago. Bake by Rachel Allen. She has a ccoking school in Ireland and that is why her deliverance is always simple, precise and understandable.

What is choux pastry?

Choux pastry is a light pastry dough. It is either spooned or piped into shapes and then baked for custard puffs, chocolate profiteroles or eclairs. And it is deceptively easy to make.

I had decided to make some Custard puffs a few days ago for a friend who just love custard so much more compared to chocolate.

And here I am sharing the recipe here.

But first the techniques of making a choux pastry.

Choux Pastry

( Makes about 850 gm )

Quantity would depend on the size of you desired choux. I like mine bite size so I got around 25 spooned choux.

100 grams strong white or plain flour ( I used plain flour )

Pinch of salt

150 ml water

75 grams butter

3 eggs, beaten

Directions

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Place the water and butter in a medium sized saucepan with high sides ( not a low saute pan ) set over medium-high heat, stirring, until the butter melts. [1] Allowthe mixture to come to a rolling boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Add the flour and salt. [2] Beat the mixture very well with a wooden spoon until the mixture come together.

Reduce the heat to medium and replace the saucepan, stirring fro 1 minute until the mixture starts to 'fur'. ( Slightly sticks to the base of the pan ) [3] Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 1 minute.

Pour 1/4 of the beaten egg into the pan [4] Using the wooden spoon, beat very well. Add a little more egg and beat well again until the mixture come together. Continue to add the egg, beating vigourously all the time, until the mixture has softened, is nice and shiny and has a dropping consistency. [5] You may not need to add all the egg or you may need a little extra. If the mixture is too stiff ( not enough egg ) then the choux pastries will be too heavy, but if the mixture is too wet ( too much egg ) they will not hold their shape when spooned onto a greaseproof paper.

Place teaspoons of the mixture on the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them, then bake on a high shelf in a pre-heated oven – gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C) – for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C), and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the buns are crisp, light and a rich golden colour

Although the pastry is best used right away, it can be placed in a bowl, covered and chilled for up to 12 hours until ready to use.

It is easier than I thought it was going to be. Try it!

Tweet