Hot cross buns cupcakes

Moist, aromatic, packed with raisins. Almost as good as original hot cross buns. The recipe comes form BBC GoodFood

Ingredients for 12 -14 cupcakes:

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100ml milk
• 175g butter
• 175g self-rising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 175g brown sugar
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 100g ground almonds
• 3 eggs
• orange zest
• 100g raisins
• 1 medium apple

 Combine the lemon juice and milk and sit aside for 5 minutes. Peel and then great the apple. Melt the butter and set aside to cool down.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin with paper cases or slightly grease and dust with flour each muffin cup. 

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, spice, almond and pinch of salt into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients together. 

Zest orange and add the zest to thickened milk. Then add the eggs and melted butter. Mix well and pour into dry ingredients. Combine all ingredients together until even. Fold in the raisins and grated apple. 

Spoon the batter into muffin tin, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until well risen and golden. When beaked remove form oven leave the muffins for a few minutes in a tin then remove and transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

While the muffins are cooling down prepare the frosting.

Frosting:

• 1 tbsp apricot jam and splash of hot water
• 50 g full fat cream cheese
• 50g icing sugar
• 25g soft butter
• 1/4 tsp mixed spice

 Put the cream cheese, sugar, butter and spice in a bowl and mix with a spoon until smooth. Transfer to the icing syringe.

Put the jam and hot water in a small bowl and whisk them together. Brush each cold muffin with jam mixture. Then with the syringe pipe the frosting into the crosses. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

 

Sugar - free, chocolate and blueberry muffins

Today I would like to present sugar - free, chocolate and blueberry muffins. The recipe comes form 'Easy muffins' cookbook. Those muffins are quite tasty, soft, gently chocolaty with juicy bits of fresh fruits. The best when freshly baked, on next day turn a little bit dry. What is interesting the sugar was replaced by orange juice, so real sugar content depends on type of orange juice used. The best of course would be the freshly squeezed  juice. Anyway dark chocolate and blueberries belong to  super foods which, I believe, make those muffins slightly healthier then others. Enjoy !

Ingredients for 10 - 12 muffins:

• 225g flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp allspice or mixed spice
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 175ml orange juice
• freshly grate orange zest (skipped)
• 100g fresh blueberries
• 45g dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases. 

Sift the flour into a big bowl. Add the baking powder, allspice, cocoa and whisk them well. Then stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In separate bowl whisk the eggs, mix them with oil and orange juice. Then add the blueberries. Pour the wet ingredients mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients and stir with spoon until just combined. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases up to 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Leave them in baking tin for a few minutes then transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

Enjoy !

Gingerbread latte

Those cupcakes were very delicious. Gingerbread flavour, soft and rich cake with cinnamon and coffee butter cream. Perfect ! The recipe comes form 'Making cupcakes with Lola' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12-18 cupcakes:

• 120g golden syrup
• 120g black treacle
• 200g heavy cream
• 250g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 and 1/2 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 135g butter
• 125g brown sugar
• 2 eggs

Sift the flour, baking powder, cocoa, coffee, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg, salt into a big bowl and set aside.

Put the golden syrup, black treacle and heavy cream into a sauce pan. Heat the ingredients up until they turn into liquid. Do  not  let the mixture to boil.

Into an electric mixer bowl put the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 

In a meantime preheat the oven to 180C. line muffin tin with paper cases.

When the butter and sugar turn into fluffy mixture add the eggs one at the time beating continuously. When the eggs well incorporated add half of the flour mixture and half of wet ingredients mixture beat until all ingredients combined and repeat with remaining ingredients. 

Spoon the batter into paper cases about 3/4 full. Bake about 25 minutes. When ready remove form the oven and keep for a while in muffin tin then transfer to wire rack to cool down completely.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 120g soft butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• mixture of 2 tsp instant coffee and 1/2 tsp boiling water and  1 tsp cinnamon

Place the butter into an electric mixer bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla extract and sugar (reduce the mixer speed otherwise your kitchen will be dusted with sugar) and beat until well incorporated. The add the milk and increase the speed to high. 

In a meantime put the instant coffee, cinnamon and boiling water into a small bowl and combine them with a spoon until they turn into a thick mixture. When the butter cream is ready add thick mixture and beat until is well incorporated. 

Put the butter cream on top of each cupcake. Enjoy !

 

 

Pumpkin muffins with toffee sauce

Those muffins were loved by children. I was really surprised as for me they were just average. They tasted like pancakes, were soft and very moist a little bit sweet and spicy. But children ate them quite a lot. The recipe comes form 'Easy muffins' cookbook.

Ingredients for 12-16 muffins:

• 280g flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• pinch of salt
• 50g brown sugar
• 65g white sugar
• 1 egg
• 200ml milk
• 6 tbsp flavourless oil (I had grape seed oil)
• 425g pumpkin pure (I added 525g of homemade pumpkin pure)
• few spoons of toffee sauce from a jar 

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, salt  into a bog bowl. Add the sugars and whisk well.

In a measuring jug whisk egg, add oil and milk and combine them all. 

Pour the wet ingredients into a bowl with dry ones, add pumpkin pure and combine all ingredients together. Do not over mix the mixture. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Leave the muffins in a tin for 5 minutes then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down. While the muffins are cooling spread toffee sauce over the top of each. Enjoy !