Blueberry Muffins

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

The muffin mania continues! And these are delicious. Blueberry muffins are just something that works. End story. Okay I better write more. Blueberry muffins were the first type of muffin I ever had, I'm pretty sure most people are the same. Those slightly tart berries work so beautifully in cake goodness. I had actually bought a punnet of fresh blueberries and was going to use them for a tart but ran out of time and didn't want them to go to waste. Then I wanted to make something quick for rehearsal, and here we are! Now of course you can use the frozen ones, I usually do. I love to keep big packs of frozen fruit in the freezer to use whenever I like. Whether it's for baking or for dessert with yoghurt.

These are great for when you have friends due soon and nothing to serve them. They are that quick to make. Parents these are also a great for lunchboxes or when kids have some unexpected guests.

That's it for muffins for a little while, got some yummy things coming in the next few blogs. Hope you enjoy them!

 INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups Self Raising Flour, sifted
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Blueberries, frozen or fresh
1 Egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup Milk
90grams Unsalted Butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 200°c and spray a 12 cup muffin tin with canola spray.

2 - Mix flour, sugar and blueberries in a bowl.

3 - In a separate bowl, lightly whisk egg, milk and butter together.

4 - Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour and stir with a spoon until just combined. Don't over mix.

5 - Spoon mixture into the prepared muffin pan.

6 - Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked.

7 - Serve and enjoy

xx

Choc Chip Muffins

CHOC CHIP MUFFINS

I've been busier than a hooker in fleet week, or for the kids reading, Santa in December. Which means I have been missing creating new, wonderful baked goods. So when I have to make items, I have been going old school and making some of my favourites. And what could be more of a favourite than choc chip muffins? And these are pretty damn tasty, if I do say so myself.

Made these for my cast. They pretty much expect baked goods when they come for rehearsal now, they will sadly be disappointed tonight. Instead of baking, tonight I'm writing about it. But below is a photo of my two ladies enjoying their muffins. I know I share a lot of muffin recipes, but  wow they are so easy to make, and so delicious to eat!

Please never make packet mix muffins again, these are simple and you NEED them in your life.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups Self Raising Flour
3/4 cups Caster Sugar
1 cup Dark Choc Bits
2 tablespoons Margarine, melted
1 1/4 cups Milk
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c

2 - Use canola spray to line 12 cup muffin tin.

3 - Sift flour into bowl and stir in sugar and choc bits.

4 - Stir in the combined remaining ingredients, mix well.

5 - Spoon mixture evenly into the muffin pan.

6 - Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they spring back.

7 - Enjoy!

Catch you during the week with another tasty muffin recipe.

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

White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY MUFFINS

These are probably my most requested and most made muffins. There are just some flavour combinations that work perfectly, and white chocolate and raspberries are probably my favourite. And in the past couple of weeks I've made these twice. Once for closing night party for my teen's Fringe theatre show, "The Words of Others" and once for the first read of my new show, "Six & Out". Both times, they were eaten very quickly. This always makes me a happy little baker.

These are simple to make and I often make these when I have little time. I often can get up and make these while getting ready to leave in the morning. The batter has almost a lemonade taste and I often take a sneaky spoonful when making it. The only problem with these muffins, you can rarely stop at one.So make them, it'll make you a popular baker too!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Self Raising Flour

2/3 cup Caster Sugar

2/3 cup White Chocolate Chips

1 Egg

3/4 cup Milk

125g Unsalted Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

1 cup Frozen Raspberries

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Grease a 12 hole muffin pan and preheat oven to 190°c.

2 - Combine flour, sugar, chocolate and raspberries in a large bowl.

3 - Combine egg, milk, butter and vanilla and stir into the flour mix. Don't over mix.

4 - Spoon mixture into pan and bake for 20 minutes, approximately.

5 - Turn onto a wire rack and cool.

6 - Enjoy!

Wayne
xx

Oatmeal Raspberry Muffins

OATMEAL RASPBERRY MUFFINS

I do love a good muffin, especially now I bake my own. Before I would only have them at cafes or make horrible packet ones. Since I've discovered they really are the easiest thing to bake, I prefer to eat the ones I make at home. I also love experimenting with loads of great flavours. This is one I've been making since the beginning of the year and is pretty special. I may have been at a friend's place and was looking through a cookbook and saw this recipe and took a snap with my phone. So I apologise for not knowing the original source!

The reason I made these muffins was for auditions for my new play, a double header playing at Revolt in Kensington, Victoria, in late November. My good friend Cas was helping out for the day, so I thought I'd do her some muffins. The photo below shows a muffin in the audition room.

Now these are moist and tasty - raspberries are such a wonderful ingredient. And with the addition of rolled oats, it makes me feel like they're healthy! Almost. So have a go, they are certainly ones to be tried!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Rolled Oats

1 1/2 cups Milk

2 cups Plain Flour, sifted

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup Honey

60 grams Unsalted Butter, melted

1 1/4 cups Raspberries (frozen are cheaper)

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 190°c and grease 12 cup muffin tin.

2 - Put the oats in a bowl, stir in the milk and set aside for 5 minutes.

3 - Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Make a well in the centre.

4 - Put the egg, honey and butter into a bowl and mix well.

5 - Pour the egg mixture and oatmeal mixture into the flour well and stir quickly until just combined. Don't overmix, the batter should be slightly lumpy.

6 - Gently fold in the raspberries.

7 - Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

8 - Cool on a wire tray.

9 - Enjoy!

Wayne

xx

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