Cinnamon Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing

CINNAMON CAKE WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM ICING

I have been a busy boy. Hence the slackness of putting up recipes and also doing more baking. I have SOOO many recipes I want to try but have little time to do it with work and rehearsals. So sometimes you need to take time out to do things that make you happy. My friend Cas has been going through some hard times and I hadn't caught up with my other friend Hannah for ages. I decided it was time to have them over, and of course bake something nice. I had rehearsals first, and my actors always enjoy some baked goodness as well. So made this very tasty cinnamon cake. The cast liked it (photo of Tom in the background of one of the photos) and my friends liked it too. In fact Hannah said it was one of her favourites of mine, so that's always a good thing! Photo below of the spread my friends and I had. It was an awesome night all round with laughs, bubbly and great company.

Cinnamon has become my buzz flavour right now and am loving cooking with it. It has that whole spice/sweet thing going on that is perfect when preparing treats for adults. Give this one a go, it will be perfect with tea. Even though I loved having it with champagne. With Christmas coming I plan on doing A LOT of baking. Love to know what you think I should cook.

INGREDIENTS:

175g Unsalted Butter, softened
1 3/4 cups Caster Sugar
1 tablespoon Orange Rind, finely grated
3 Eggs
1 3/4 cups Plain Flour, sifted
3/4 cups Self Raising Flour, sifted
1/4 teapsoon Bicarbonate of Soda, sifted
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
3/4 cup Milk

Vanilla Cream Frosting:

250grams Unsalted Butter, softened
3 cups Icing Sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Cake Topping:

Cinnamon Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease a cake pan. Square good, I used a round springform tin. Line tin with baking paper.

2 - Use an electric mixer to beat butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy.

3 - Add eggs one at a time, beating until just combined.

4 - Stir in flours, bicarb, cinnamon and milk.

5 - Spread into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

6 - Stand in pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

7 - To make frosting, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy.

8 - Beat in icing sugar and vanilla until combined.

9 - Using a serrated knife, cut the cake in half.

10 - Spread the frosting on top of the bottom of the cake and then place the other half on top. Ice top of the ice and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

11 - Enjoy with friends.

Wayne
xx

Muffin Doughnuts

MUFFIN DOUGHNUTS

I love to bake for events. Partly it's because if I bake it for no particular reason I eat far too much, but mostly because I love to see people enjoy my little baked goodies. I live in fear of the day that a group tries something and the room goes silent, it's awful. Thank God this fun little recipe didn't end that way, it was a hit. I kind of knew it would be, combining two favourites of anyone with proper taste buds, muffins and doughnuts. And they really do taste like a warm cinnamon doughnut. Pair these with some tea and you are ready for a nice treat.

The special occasion I made these for was the filming of a showreel for my wonderful student, Tayla. Tayla is a great little actress and it was fun helping her shoot three scenes. I even got to act in two of them, in one I played her Dad. A photo from the shoot is included down below. Tayla's Mum brought some homemade brownies, so our tiny cast and crew had some nice treats. I have to admit I am enjoying my creative life right now, in creating art through theatre and film, and creating amazing tasty treats for my friends.

Give these muffins a go, kids and adults a like will LOVE them.

Recipe originally sourced from: http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/muffin-doughnuts-L17023.html

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Coating:
Melted Butter
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/3 cup Sugar

 DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease a 12 cup muffin tray.

2 - In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until light in colour.

3 - In a separate smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.

4 - Add the dry ingredients to the larger bowl and stir with a wooden spoon.

5 - Add oil, milk and vanilla and mix until smooth, don't overmix.

6 - Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. (The mixture will be quite runny)

7 - Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until skewer comes out clean.

8 - While still hot, remove from the tin and use brush to spread melted butter over muffins.

9 - Combine cinnamon and sugar and roll the top of the muffins in the mixture.

10 - Enjoy!

Catch you again soon.

Wayne

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS

I had such big plans to present a lavish looking dessert for you this week. Was all ready and pumped to present to you an apple tarte tatin. I bought a new small frypan and got loads of apples and then made it. While it turned out and tasted quite nice, it was ugly. I was playing with the type of sugar to use and when caster sugar crystalised I thought I'd try brown. Sure it worked, it just made it dark and ugly. So I'll attempt it again soon.

So then I had to think of what else I could make. I had a whole heap of peeled apples left, and then I remembered a friend had recently posted she'd made apple cinnamon muffins. Then I knew I had to make them. Love apples, and cinnamon has become a favourite flavour of mine. These were simple to make and tasted so very moist. The raisins helped and certainly didn't dominate the muffin, just adding to the moistness.

Parents, these are a good lunch box stuffer, there's nothing too bad in them and they are super tasty. If you're not a massive cinnamon fan you can take a teaspoon out, but I say keep it bold. Some recipes call for red apples, but quite frankly I find them bland. The tartness of the green apple is divine and mixes perfectly with the sweet. Enjoy these, I have a very sinful recipe for later in the week.

Recipe originally from: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/10436/basic+cinnamon+apple+muffins

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Plain Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

3 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

3/4 cup Brown Sugar (firmly packed)

2 medium Green Apples (peeled, corred and diced)

125g Seedless Raisins

125g Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

2 Eggs

3/4 cup, Milk

Toasted Muesli, for top of the muffins

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease a 12 muffin pan with canola spray.

2 - Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, apples and raisins until well combined.

3 - Whisk together the butter, eggs and milks until well combined.

4 - Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a large metal spoon. Mix just until all ingredients are combined. Be careful not to overmix.

5 - Spoon mixture into muffin pan and top with toasted muesli, adds some nice crunch to the muffin.

6 - Bake the muffins for around 20 minutes or until muffins are fully cooked and spring back up when touched.

7 - Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

8 - Enjoy.

Catch you during the week.

Wayne
xx