Old - fashioned blueberry muffins

This is a classic blueberry muffins recipe. Very easy to make and very tasty to eat. Just basic ingredients like flour, butter, sugar and fruits make delicious cakes. The recipe comes from 'Muffin sampler' by Jan Siegrist.

Ingredients for 12 muffins or 8 muffins in boxes:

• 60g flour
• 65g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 285g flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 260g milk
• 210g blueberries (I used frozen)
• 1 tbsp flour
• some granulate sugar to sprinkle 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases or line boxes on baking tray.

In an electric mixer bowl beat together the sugar and butter. When fluffy add the eggs and beat well. 

In separate bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. stir until just moist.

Toss the berries with 1 tablespoon of the flour and gently fold into the batter. 

Spoon the batter into muffin cases about 3/4 full. Sprinkle each muffin top with some granulated sugar. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Before removing from oven check with a toothpick if baked in the middle.

Enjoy !

 

Snowballs - vanilla coconut cupcakes with sour cream frosting

Classic cupcakes, very spongy, vanilla flavoured batter with dessicated coconut addition, covered with thin layer of frosting sprinkled with coconut. They look like snowballs. They are perfect as an addition to warm tea or hot chocolate. The recipe comes from this website. 

Ingredients for 12-14 cupcakes:

• 220g flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 113g butter
• 160g caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 125ml coconut milk
• 95ml sour cream
• 60g dessicated coconut

 

Preheat the oven to 180C. line muffin tin with paper cases.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl and set aside.

Put a butter into an electric mixer bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Then add eggs one at a time. Next add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk, when well incorporated add the remaining flour and milk. At last but not at least stir in the coconut and sour cream.

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

In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting*:

• 35g soft butter
• 140g sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups icing sugar
• dessicated coconut

 * I would recommend to reduce the amount of ingredients about 1/2 as I have received to much frosting.

 

Place the butter, vanilla and sour cream in electric mixer bowl beat until fluffy. Then add 2 cups of icing sugar and beat on low. Beat until the frosting sticks to the beater when lifted without dripping of. If it is too runny add more icing sugar. I left mine a little bit runny.

Fill a small, shallow bowl with dessicated coconut. 

Spread the frosting over each cupcake top then stick the tops into a coconut to coat. Enjoy !

 

 

Chocolate muffins

Chocolate muffins. Who doesn't like them ? Those ones were very delicious. Very chocolaty, fluffy and moist inside with crunchy crust. Covered with icing sugar :) Really tasty. The recipe comes from 'Easy food'.

Ingredients for 12-14 muffins:

• 50g chocolate
• 140g butter or margarine
• 100ml sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 140g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 140g caster sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 85g glace cherries

Preheat the oven to 190C. Line with paper cases or grease muffin tin.

Chop the cherries and set aside.

Break the chocolate and place into a bowl or in a sauce pan. Add the butter and melt them together ether in microwave or on the heat. Stir them well until smooth. Set aside to cool down.

Into a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, soda and cocoa powder. Then add the sugar and almonds and whisk well. Set aside.

Take the melted chocolate and add the sour cream and beaten eggs. Pour this mixture into a dry ingredients add the chopped cherries and stir together. 

Spoon the batter into muffin tin. Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Leave them in baking tray for a few minutes then transfer to the wire rack.

In a meantime prepare the icing.

Ingredients for icing:

• 140g icing sugar
• 1 tsp custard powder
•  water
• chocolate sprinkles

Mix the sugar, custard with a bit of water to make a thick icing. Spoon the icing over each muffin top and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles. Enjoy !

 

Gingerbread muffins with rum soaked prunes and chocolate icing

Very spicy a little bit dry cake with rum soaked prunes and chocolate on top. Have to say they were very tasty. Slightly different then traditional moist muffins  but good. The recipe comes form here.

Ingredients for 5 big muffins:

• 70g honey
• 40g butter
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 tsp soda
• 200g flour
• 60ml milk
• 100g prunes
• rum

Put the prunes into a small bowl pour over the rum to cover all prunes a leave them for a few hours to soak.

Pour the honey, butter and spices into a sauce pan and heat up until the butter melts down. Stir well and set aside to cool down.

Drain and chop the prunes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Put the egg and sugar into an electric mixer bowl and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the baking soda into a sauce pan with honey and spices mixture. Stir in well. Pour this mixture into egg mixture. Mix gently. Gently fold in half of the flour, when combined add the milk and remaining  flour. At last but not at least gently fold in the prunes.

 

Spoon the batter into paper cases. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. When removed form the oven transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

Chocolate icing:

• 50g chocolate
• 1 tbsp butter
• sugar sprinkles (optional)

Melt the butter and chocolate in microwave or in a pan over a steaming water. When smooth spoon over each muffin top. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles. Enjoy !

Marzipan mini cheesecakes

I am very proud of this recipe I created. Very creamy marzipan flavoured cheesecakes baked on the digestives biscuits crumbs mixed with nutella. My family got crazy about them, they really loved them. Those cheesecakes are also very easy to make. 

From the amount of ingredients listed below I received 18 cheesecakes. As you can see there is plenty to share.

Before start preheat the oven to 180C.

Ingredients for base:

• 168g digestives biscuits
• 90g nutella

 Place nutella and biscuits in the blender and whisk until the crumbly mixture is evenly coated with nutella.

Line muffin tin with paper cases and divide this crumbly mixture evenly among all of them. Smooth the surface with the back of the spoon. Set aside.

Ingredients for cheesecake:

•  750g cream cheese
• 175g marzipan + 100g for decoration
• 50g icing sugar
• 3 tbsp potato flour
• 1 tsp almond essence
• 3 eggs

Grate the marzipan and put it into an electric mixer bowl. Add the cream cheese, sugar, flour, almond essence and eggs. Beat this mixture very short, only to let all ingredients combine.

Spoon this mixture on top of prepared earlier bases. Fill each paper case up to top, leave 1-2 milimiters free space so when baked and dusted with coca powder the cocoa powder will stay in its place. 

Bake for 20 minutes. Then remove form the oven leave in the baking tin for a few minutes. Later transfer to the tray and put into fridge to cool them down completely.

In a meantime roll the remaining  marzipan and cut nice shapes for decoration.

When cheesecakes are cooled down dust the with cocoa powder or icing sugar and place marzipan decorations on top of each cheesecakes. Enjoy !

Gingerbread cupcakes with orange icing

This is Ina Garten's recipe so it has to be delicious. If only you like moist, spicy filled with fruits cupcakes with sweet and fruity icing you will be delighted. Although  I reduced the amount of raisins as we don't like that many. And unfortunately  instead of thick icing I made thick sauce which was delicious too, but slightly messy.  

Ingredients for 12 big cupcakes:

• 150ml rum or water (originally 250ml)
• 130g raisins (originally 220g)
• 115g butter
• 185g black treacle (originally 16 tbsp)
• 200g sour cream
• 1 orange zest
• 350g flour
• 3/4 tsp soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 70g diced crystallised ginger

Place the raisins in a saucepan pour over the rum or the water and heat up until the liquid starts boiling. Then remove from the heat, cover with lid and set aside. Dice the crystallised ginger.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.  

Into a separate sauce pan pour the black treacle add the butter and heat up until starts boiling. Then pour this mixture into an electric mixer bowl. 

While this mixture cools down prepare dry ingredients. Sift the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a bowl and whisk them together. 

Add the freshly grated orange zest into a black treacle mixture, then add sour cream and beat them together. Beating continuously add the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth gently fold in soaked raisins and diced ginger. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases about 3/4 full bake for 20 -25 minutes. When well risen remove from the oven, leave them for a few minutes in the muffin tin then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down.

While the cupcakes are cooling down prepare the icing. Unfortunately mine icing turn into a sauce, was a little bit runny but was really tasty.

Ingredients for icing:

• 225g cream cheese
• 115g soft butter
• 1 orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g icing sugar
• crystallised ginger for decoration

Place the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla extract in an electric mixer bowl and beat until all ingredients well combined. When ready add icing sugar and again beat only for a while. What I did wrong was that I was beating the mixture for too long, that is way it was too runny at the end. 

When cupcakes are cooled down spread the icing over each cupcake top, decorate with ginger and enjoy :)