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

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

Marble Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

MARBLE CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM ICING

Sorry it's been 2 weeks since I posted but it has been a CRAZY few weeks. Working everyday and every night I had my student show, "The Words of Others". 19 of my teen students were in a show I wrote and directed about self acceptance, bullying and how the words of others effect us. The show was a great success and I was very proud of every single one of my kids.

Now during the rehearsal process, one of my students, Chanda, had her birthday. The actual day of her birthday we had a 4 and a half hour rehearsal in the night. It felt I had to give her a cake to make up for it. I always have a massive amount of bookmarks for recipes on my computer, so I looked through and remembered a recipe I found on the cadbury kitchen website for a marble cake. I knew I'd found my cake with the addition of some buttercream icing.

It's funny how this cake looks like it would be hard to make, but is really quite easy. This is a great cake to make and take somewhere - people will think you're a baking wizard. Have a go and remember to send me your pic - I love to see what people have done with the recipes.

Cake originally from:

http://www.cadburykitchen.com.au/recipes/view/chocolate-marble-cake/2/

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

125 grams Unsalted Butter, softened

3/4 cup Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups Self Raising Flour

3/4 cup Milk

2 tablespoons Cocoa, sifted

1 tablespoon Milk (extra)

Pink Food Colouring

Icing:

125 grams Unsalted Butter, softened

80 grams Icing Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Strawberry Essence

Pink Food Colouring

Silver Decorating Balls

DIRECTIONS:

1 - Preheat the oven to 180°c and grease and line a round springform tin.

2 - Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3 - Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

4 - Fold in the flour alternatively with the milk.

5 - Divide the mixture evenly into three bowls. Add the cocoa and extra milk to one, the pink food colouring to another, and leave one as is.

6 - Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, layering the colours.

7 - Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

8 - Cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

9 - For the icing, cream the butter and icing sugar until creamy.

10 - Add in the essence and colouring and beat until evenly distributed.

11 - Liberally spread across cake and sides and add the decorations.

12 - Serve and enjoy.

Catch you again soon for my most popular muffins.

Wayne

xx