Blueberry muffins with doughnut topping and Indiana Jones

Despite being responsible for bringing Ralph into my life I don’t like Steven Spielberg as a director; I find that most of his movies are immersed in a squishy atmosphere, it’s just not my cup of tea. But I have to say that I adore the Indiana Jones trilogy, each and every movie, the first being my favorite.

You might as well be thinking: “why is she talking about Indiana Jones?” – well, after several blueberry muffin disasters – some too heavy, others with no flavor at all – Flo Braker’s absolutely perfect recipe has became my holy grail of blueberry muffins. :D

Blueberry muffins with doughnut topping
from the delicious and wonderful Baking for All Occasions

Muffins:
1 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon (255g) all purpose flour
½ cup (100g) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk*, well shaken
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (89g) unsalted butter, melted and tepid
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups (225g) fresh blueberries

Doughnut topping:
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Butter and flour a 12-cup standard muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and lightly whisk with a fork – do not beat the batter, it’s not supposed to be smooth. Using a spatula, fold in the blueberries.
Fill the prepared pans with the batter (¾ full). Bake the muffins until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan, over a wire rack, for 10 minutes then carefully unmold them, transferring to a wire rack.
Make the topping: in a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. While the muffins are still warm, gently dip the tops in the melted butter and then roll into the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 12 – I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 8 muffins

Lemon ginger cake - a baking session inspired by The Cure

There are songs I’ve loved since I was a kid but even after learning English I still don’t understand certain parts of their lyrics – thank heavens for the Internet. :)

Last week I spent much of my lunchtime listening to some of those songs and following the lyrics online. “The Caterpillar”, one of my all time favorites – which video is great, too – was an almost complete mystery to me; reading that Robert Smith was singing “dust my lemon lies with powder pink and sweet” made me realize that I hadn’t baked a lemon cake in quite a while – so I did bake one and added crystallized ginger to the batter (inspired by Martha’s recipe).

Great song, great cake. :D

Lemon ginger cake
slightly adapted from the always great Baking by Flavor

Cake:
2 ¾ cups (385g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (40g) cake flour*
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400g) superfine sugar
finely grated zest of 2 large lemons
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons buttermilk**, well shaken
heaping 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger***

Syrup:
½ cup (120ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (100g) superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 25cm (10in) Bundt pan (or use cooking spray).
Sift the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the superfine sugar in three additions, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the lemon zest and juice. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.
On low speed, alternately add the sifted ingredients in three additions with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Fold in the chopped ginger.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and gently shake the pan from side to side to level the top.
Bake for 55 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the pan, over a wire rack, for 5-8 minutes, then carefully invert it onto another rack. Place a sheet of baking paper under the rack to catch any drips of glaze.
Make the brushing glaze while the cake is cooling in the pan: in a small non-reactive bowl, mix the lemon juice and sugar. Using a soft pastry brush, brush the hot cake with the glaze, including the sides. Cool completely before slicing – sift the cake with icing sugar before serving if desired.
The cake will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

** homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

*** if I were to make this cake again I would use a lot more ginger; I am a ginger addict so adjust the amount according to your taste

Serves 16

Pecan-coconut bread pudding - new things can be really good

I usually choose the movies I watch by director: some I love, others I avoid like the plague. If I know nothing about the director I try to find other good reasons to watch the movie (yes, I am sort of neurotic about my movie choices, bear with me). :)
Take Marc Webb, for instance: I had never heard of him until I saw the trailer for "500 Days Of Summer"; then I thought: the trailer was beautiful, the cast was great and the soundtrack amazing - I ended up loving the movie (one of the best I watched in 2009).

Now, take this dessert: I’d never heard of a pecan coconut bread pudding in my life – I did not even recall seeing this recipe when I bought the book, years ago. But then I thought: I am a bread pudding convert (thanks to Nigella and Donna Hay), love both pecans and coconut and do not mind a little chocolate on the side. So I gave it a try. And ended up eating the two bowls you see on the photo while watching TV. ;)

Pecan-coconut bread pudding
from a great book I should use more often: The All-American Dessert Book

2 cups cubed French or Italian bread, including crust, lightly toasted in the oven – I used brioche
½ cup (50g) shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup (37g) coarsely chopped pecans
2 large eggs
scant 1/3 cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (45g) dark chocolate chips
heavy cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter four 1 cup (240ml) capacity ovenproof ramekins. Divide the bread cubes equally among them.
Spread the coconut and pecans in a large baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring every 3 minutes, until the pecans are fragrant and the coconut is golden, 5-6 minutes. Set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/325°F.
In a medium bowl, using a fork, beat the eggs until frothy and smooth. Add the brown sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Stir in the milk, cream and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle half of the pecans and coconut, with the chocolate chips, over the bread. Pour the egg mixture on top. Lay a sheet of baking paper over the top of the ramekins and press down to keep the bread submerged. Let stand for 10 minutes. Peel off the paper. Evenly sprinkle the remaining pecans and coconut over each ramekin.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan and place it on the oven rack. Add enough boiling water to the pan to come halfway the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the pudding feels set in the center when lightly tapped and is nicely browned on top, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes then serve with cream, if desired.

Serves 4

Banana, hazelnut and cinnamon cakes and the book I am currently reading

I thought I should tell you what book I’m reading right now – after all, you helped me choose it. I decided to go for a modern classic: "In Cold Blood" – I hadn’t read anything by Truman Capote and even though I’m still in the beginning of the book I’m enjoying his narrative very much.

And since I am reading a modern classic, I’ll give you today a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 2 – these little breads turned out so good I regretted halving the recipe. :D

Banana, hazelnut and cinnamon cakes
from the always delicious and foolproof Modern Classics Book 2

½ cup + 2 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (112g) superfine sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) hazelnut meal (finely ground hazelnuts)
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk*
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-2 bananas, sliced
melted butter for brushing
demerara sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter six ¾ cup (180ml) capacity mini loaf pans.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Add the flour, baking powder, hazelnut meal, buttermilk and cinnamon and fold through until smooth.
Divide the mixture among the prepared pans and smooth the top. Brush with melted butter then arrange the banana slices on top the batter and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

* homemade buttermilk: place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk. Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Makes 6 – I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity mini loaf pans and got 6 breads

Pear and cranberry muffins with cinnamon pecan topping

Some people change their names, then something goes wrong along the way and they have to change them back to what they were before. It happens.

So you can continue to call me “The Apple Crazy Lady” even though I’ve been baking with pears nonstop (there’s still a lot to come aside from these delicious and very tender muffins). ;)

Pear and cranberry muffins with cinnamon pecan topping
from Fresh from the Market

Topping:
½ cup (55g) pecans, coarsely chopped
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
2 cups (about 2 small) finely diced peeled Bartlett pears – I used Williams
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Muffins:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (100g) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup (260g) plain yogurt
1 cup (110g) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour 16 muffin cups in 2 standard-size muffin pans.
Make the topping: stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Make the filling: mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined.
Now, the batter: whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Using the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla smooth. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until the batter is well blended and smooth. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the pear filling and the cranberries into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins and bake until risen and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Cool in the pan, over a wire rack, for 5 minutes, and then carefully unmold the muffins, transferring them to the rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity pans and got 10 muffins