Coconut and rum muffins

Coconut and rum muffins with glace cherries and fresh pineapple were soft, sweet, fruity with a strong rum flavour. We liked them despite that they sank in the middle a little bit. The recipe comes from '75 best - ever mufins'

Ingredients for 8-12 muffins:

• 175g fresh pineapple
• 115g glace cherries
• 45ml rum
• 225g flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 175g butter
• 160g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 75ml coconut milk
• desiccated coconut optional

Cut the pineapple into small chunks and place them in a bowl. Add the glace cherries. Pour all fruits over with rum and leave them to soak for 30-60 minutes.

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

Sift the flour, baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the electric mixer bowl and beat them until creamy. Then gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and coconut milk.

Add the rum soaked fruits with the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Spoon the batter among muffin cases. You may sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. 

Leave the to cool slightly. Serve warm :)

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 !

 

Upside - down pineapple cupcakes

I have always liked upside - down cakes. There are very easy to make and look nice. This time I decided to bake upside - down cupcakes. That was a dessert for my family so we did not need all big cake, small cupcakes were more than enough. The recipe comes form this website.

Ingredients for 4 cupcakes:

• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 4 pineapple slices
• few glace cherries
• 85g self - rising flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 100g sugar
• 100g margarine
• 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Grease 4 heatproof baking tins. Pour 1 tbsp golden syrup to each tin. Then place in the middle of each baking tin one pineapple slice and cherry in the middle. For one cupcake I chopped some glace cherries and sprinkled around pineapple (see the first picture)

Into an electric mixer bowl sift the flour, baking powder. Add the sugar, margarine and eggs. Beat all ingredients for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier baking tins. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Bake until the toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove form oven and left in the baking tins for a few minutes to cool down a little bit.

Place the plate over the top of each tin and turn upside down. Lift the tin away.  Enjoy !

Almond muffins with glace cherries

This recipe comes form 'New Italian cuisine. Muffins' cookbook. Almond muffins with glace cherries taste like  heaven. The cake is fluffy, soft with crisp and sweet,  caramelised sugar on top. Those muffins have beautiful almond scent and  crunch, with small bits of glace cherries.

Ingredients for 6-8 muffins:

• 150g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 60g butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond essence
• 1 egg
• 125 ml milk
• 100g glace cherries
• 40g roasted almond flakes
• 25 g sugar to sprinkle on the top 

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

Chop the cherries. Put the almond flakes on pan and roast them for a while. Set aside to cool down.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and whisk them together.

Put the butter, sugar and almond essence into electric mixer bowl and whisk on a medium speed until white. Add the egg, wait until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add milk and dry ingredients mixture alternately. 

Then gently, with spoon, fold in the almonds and cherries. 

Spoon the batter into muffin cases. Sprinkle each top with some sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool down on wire rack and enjoy !