Rich Coffee Date

From Muffins, Sweet & Savory Comfort Food by Cindi Duncan and Georgie Patrick, published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher

Not a wealthy man who asks you out to coffee, but the scrummy-yummiest muffin ever: a nice dense and moist little fellow who is sweet and aromatic. A more rugged version of your favourite sticky date pudding.

1 ¾ cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 cup water

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons instant coffee powder

¾ teaspoon salt

250g pitted dates

Preheat oven to 185ºC fan forced. Grease muffin tray.

Mix flour and baking powder together in large mixing bowl.

Using a food processor, mix water, egg, oil, sugar, instant coffee powder, salt and dates until dates are coarsely shopped. Pour date mixture over dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. 

Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins

The alley between the park and the library is boggy this morning. I wish I had worn my sturdy mud-licking hiking boots instead of my pretty suede boots. I tread carefully and try and stick to the firm ground.

I shed the cold winter weather as I walk through the double doors and  tug off my scarf as I make my way into the library. It’s by habit that I head towards my favourite spot to study at the desk with the over-spill books before the glass wall. It’s by habit that I scan the book racks that I have to walk past in order to get there.

muffins

It’s a pink square book with flowers and sugar dusted little cakes on the cover. I can’t resist. I sit down at the desk and flick through the book: Choc-chip banana, spicey apple, frosted pumpkin..

By the time I get to Orange and Poppy Seed, I’ve had to start tearing up little piece of my maths exercise book to keep tab of the cakes I want to make.

I can help feeling a little warm bubble of cheer upon finding a recipe for orange and poppy seed muffins. Orange and poppy muffins from Chill Out have kept me alive this semester. Tuesdays, you finish class at 3:15pm after a long day at uni only to realise you have another two hour class at 4:15pm before you can go home at 6:15pm. Somehow some day my friend and I split the cost for a muffin in this tiring hour gap between the end of energy and the end of the day. And every since then it became a tradition.

“Hey are you doing anything in particular?” We’d ask someone.

“Not really.”

“Come share a muffin with us!”

Dreaded Tuesdays became Tuesdays that I would look forward to.

It’s not until several days later that I find time to buy ingredients. I beam at the check out assistant as he scans the packet of poppy seed and the brown sugar and the raisins. He’s probably bored by people buying poppy seed and brown sugar and raisins, but to me it’s the most exciting thing in the world.

I have to go back to get oranges a few days later because we didn’t have any oranges at home.

I’m listening to the Beatles as I bake. Oh honey pie, I’m in love but I’m lazy, so will you please come home to me…

–

recipe from muffins – sweet and savoury comfort food, by Cyndi Duncan and George Patrick

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
5 table spoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 C conventional, 185 C fan-forced). Spray muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. In large bowl, cream sugar, butter and orange peel. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Fold in raisins, nuts and poppy seeds. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 15-20mins, or until lightly browned. Makes 12 muffins.

(Well actually I managed to make 16 with my standard sized muffin-tray, so that’s 12 big muffins)

–

The come out of the oven warm and smelling beautiful. There’s just the right amount of poppy-seed crunch and light sweetness and the faint aroma of orange zest…. Oh, and the best part of baking is packing them in a box the next morning and taking them to uni to share. Even the worst semester can be redeemed by a good batch muffins.

Spicy Apple Muffins

From Muffins, Sweet & Savory Comfort Food by Cindi Duncan and Georgie Patrick, published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher

1 2/3 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg beaten

1 cup skim milk

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup finely chopped apple

Preheat oven to 185ºC (205ºC for conventional) Spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil; pour into center of dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in apple. Fill muffin cups ¾ full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Note: this is not a very sweet muffin, nice with jam. Maybe try putting spices and apple in a sweeter muffin base. 

p. b. and j. muffins

From Muffins, Sweet & Savory Comfort Food by Cindi Duncan and Georgie Patrick, published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher

Makes a very filling muffin that - it seems - is a little bit addictive.

·      2 cups flour

·      ½ cup sugar

·      2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

·      ½ cup chunky peanut butter

·      2 tablespoons butter or margarine

·      1 cup milk

·      2 eggs, well beaten

·      ¼ cup currant jelly, or jelly of your choice, melted

·      ½ cup finely chopped peanuts

(measurements may be in American measuring system, but I used the ingredients as specified with metric measurements and the recipe still worked well)

Preheat oven to 185ºC fan forced (205ºC conventional). Grease muffin tray.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in peanut butter and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and eggs all at once, stirring just until moistened.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from tins and immediately brush with melted jelly. Dip in shopped peanuts. Makes 18 muffins. 

Lavender Cake

I first came across this cake when my friend made it for a French food day at school. Apparently no one wanted to eat it because it had flowers in it, so there was plenty left at lunch time for me to take a slice. And too bad for those who didn't try it because it was absolutely delicious, and I have been in love with dense cakes with a sweet glaze on the outside ever since.

Seeing the look of a girl in love with a cake in my eye, my friend gave me the recipe she had used. However, after looking at it I was put off by the complicated list of ingredients most of which I did not own and many of which I did not know. It was only years later after making all the cakes before this one that I had collected a stock of standard cake ingredients and I worked up the courage to finally give this cake a try.

Source: Flo Braker, Author, The Simple Art of Perfect Baking (Houghton Mifflin/Chapters, 1992).

Notes: 
Ingredients in brackets are alternatives/equivalents.

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups cake flour (or plain flour) 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 16 Tbsp unsalted butter (226g) 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (castor sugar)
• 1 Tbsp dried lavender flowers* 
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp pure lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain yogurt (vanilla yoghurt) 
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp Miel de Lavande honey* (or any other sort of honey)
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar plus some for dusting (icing sugar)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  *Available from Essence de Provence in the kitchen section.

Method: 

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. (conventional: 160°C, fan-forced: 140°C). Butter and flour a decorative bundt or cake pan; tap out excess flour.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30 sec. Add granulated sugar and lavender and beat until light and fluffy, 3-5 min.; stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Add eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition; add lemon and vanilla extracts.

On very low speed, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with yogurt and ending with flour; blend each addition until just incorporated. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl occasionally. Fold in lemon zest.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread batter so the outside edge is about 1" higher than the inside edge. Bake until cake springs back when touched and pulls away from sides of pan, 55-60 min. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely in pan, 1-2 hours. Turn cake out onto a wire rack set over waxed paper.

In small sauce pan over low heat, warm honey until runny, 30-45 sec. Put 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and pour honey and lemon juice over sugar; stir to blend. Using a pastry brush, brush cake with glaze and let stand at room temperature until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Serves 16.

Bon Appétit

Jinghan Says:

I bought tried lavender from Gewürzhaus: Herb and Spice Merchant, on Lygon street. And Lavender Honey from Essential Ingredient in Pahran; it's a slightly richer grainy honey made by bees that pollinate lavender and you can substitute with any other good quality honey. The cake is very tall in a 20cm diameter tin so you can halve the recipe with no qualms and still get a decent amount of cake, or use a bigger tin. 

Banana and Pecan Loaf

The summer of 2010, I have one and a half hours before I am seriously at risk of missing my train and hence missing my connecting train and hence missing my connecting bus to Sorento, but what am I doing? I'm taking cocoa out of the cupboard and bananas out of the fruit bowl to start making a cake that needs 1hour 15mins to bake. However, do not fear reader, as all ends well. Jinghan does not miss her train and the cake is absolutely delicious.

Recipe from Jules Stranbridge’s novel Sugar and Spice, published in 2009 by Little Black Dress, an imprint of Headline Publishing Group.

Notes:

You can use walnuts instead of pecans, if you prefer. To make it really special replace 50g four with good quality cocoa powder and some chocolate chunks on top.

Ingredients:

• 175g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 125g unsalted melted butter
• 150g soft dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 small ripe bananas
• 75g pecans
• 100g sultanas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• demera sugar for topping

Method:

Preheat oven to 170°C (fanforced: 150°C). Line a 23x13x7cm loaf tin. Put flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt into a bowl and combine well. In a separate bowl beat melted butter and sugar together then beat eggs in one at a time. Add mashed bananas. With a wooden spoon, stir in pecans, sultanas and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture a third at a time, stirring well each time. Sprinkle a generous helping of demera sugar on top for a crunchy topping. Put into tin and bake in oven for 1-1:15hour leave in the tin on a rack to cool. 

Jinghan Says: 

This cake is just as good round as it is in the shape of a loaf. Adding cocoa is absolutely delicious. (Actually I haven't ever made it without cocoa.) And don't be shy with the demera sugar. 

Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake

Now that I have captured your attention with the words “microwave”, “chocolate”, “mug” and “cake” all in the same title…

After a week, nay, two weeks of being a complete study-hermit, Jinghan finds herself with a predicament. What should she have for breakfast? Weetbix with hot milk, honey and cinnamon* is gorgeous, but after eating the same thing every morning, followed by the same routine of sitting in front of your desk for many hours, one feels like it’s more than due time for a change.

This cake is dedicated to all you poor souls who have been eyeing the pictures of cake but are still too frightened by the deep dark dangerous depths of that place referred to as the Kitchen. If I can manage to make this in the wee hours of a Saturday morning (ie. 9am) then anyone** can manage this simple but yummy cake. I must admit I was a little bit sceptical about how a microwave would produce a cake, even as I put my mug of chocolate mush into the microwave, but “kazam!” 2.5 minutes later, there it was: a cake in my mug.  (All I was left to wonder then was how I could have a mug of milk to have with it.) 

Given to me by my friend, Mary, recipe from www.sortedfood.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp SR flour (not heaped or level – but in between)
• 2 tbsp castor sugar
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1 small egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• few choc buttons

Method:

• grab a large mug.
• spoon the dry ingredients into the mug and mix well.
• crack in the egg and whisk to combine with a fork.
• drizzle in the milk and oil and stir.
• drop in a few choc buttons.
• place into a microwave and cook for 2 ½ mins on full power.
• leave to rest for 1 minute then eat with lashings of cream or ice cream.

Jinghan Says:

It’s quite a muted cake, so if you like your cakes sweet, add maybe a half spoon more of sugar. Do not be shy with the chocolate buttons. The cake is a little bit dry, so have it with a coffee, glass of milk or just lots of cream. It’s a filling cake, so you could even get away with half the recipe if you’re looking for something more cup-cake sized.

p.s. Penguin mug!

*If you hate mornings, you MUST try this.

** Conditions apply, see back of packet for details