Lemon Delicious

LEMON DELICIOUS

This is not a muffin post, finally! Though I still plan on making more and more muffins. But it felt like time for an easy dessert. This one came about because I had made dinner for my lovely boyfriend and wanted to make dessert as well. I still had some lemons laying around, so this seemed the perfect thing to make. Plus I wanted to do it while I was TV, it needed to be easy. Super quick, and super tasty. I even had two left over which I covered in glad wrap, refrigerated and microwaved the next day; and they still tasted super awesome.

I served this with some whipped cream, but would work just as well with ice cream, vanilla would be best. You can make with a big tray, or do what I did and use little brulee pots. And just remember after they are baked they are meant to be all gooey, runny and delicious under the cake part. Enjoy this one and share it with your family. 

 INGREDIENTS:

150 grams Unsalted Butter, melted
2 teaspoons Lemon Rind, finely grated
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups Caster Sugar
3/4 cup Self Raising Flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups Milk
4 Eggs, separated
Icing Sugar, to serve

 DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and grease 4 small brulee dishes/

2 - Place butter, lemon rind and juice, sugar, flour, milk and egg yolks in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

3 - Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form.

4 - Using a metal spoon, fold one quarter of the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Gently fold in a remaining egg whites.

5 - Spoon mixture into the prepared dishes. Place dishes in a large baking dish. Pour boiling water until it reaches halfway up the side of the dishes.

6 - Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and set.

7 - Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Enjoy.

Wayne
xx

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

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

Lemon Poppyseed Biscuits

LEMON & POPPYSEED BISCUITS

Poppyseeds are such a cool ingredient. I've always loved when it's paired with orange or lemon in muffins. I was directing a student show at the beginning of the year and wanted to make some delicious treats for closing night. I had some lemons and looked for some recipes to go with it. When I found lemon poppyseed biscuits, I knew I had to make them. They were delicious and went straight into my recipe pile. Last week I was rehearsing my new play, "Six & Out" and wanted to make some biscuits for the cast. Again I had some lemons left over and made these. The cast loved them, and so did my workmates when I took the leftovers to work. In fact, they went so fast not everyone got one.

Lemon is pretty subjective. I put in extra lemon juice and thought it could have done with some more. However the girls at work thought it had the right amount. So if you like things a little more sour, don't be afraid to add a bit more lemon. These are quite light and very nice to eat. I've been so busy lately I've only been baking simply. I'll have to pull out some bigger recipes soon. Give us all a challenge for some baking!

INGREDIENTS:

150g Unsalted Butter, softened
1 cup Caster Sugar
1 Egg
2 cups Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Poppyseeds
1 tablespoon Lemon Rind, grated
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat oven to 180°c and line trays with baking paper.

2 - Using  mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy.

3 - Add egg and beat to combine.

4 - Sift flour and baking powder over butter mixture and add poppyseeds, lemon rind and juice. Stir to combine.

5 - Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place balls, 5cm apart, on trays.

6 - Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

7 - Serve and enjoy!

Catch you again soon with some more sweet treats!

Wayne
xx

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