Lamb shank muffins

Just because it tastes like one to me! Although I have another leg lamb piece, steamed kale and brussel sprouts added not to mention sweet potato and carrots that was baked with the lamb.

Mmmm

All because my kiddo can't bite at the moment and muffins are the easiest for grabbing and poking and ensuring he gets good food in him.

Yes, ALL the stuff I'm cooking is now organic....and I'm glad he is the only one taking it coz it really bites on the price.

Follow this recipe to bake the lamb shanks. I just add the sweet potato and carrots at the bottom and sprinkled olive oil and salt for flavour before placing the lamb shanks on top.

All the top dishes dissaminated

No, this is the VITAL ingredient for him. GREENS~~

Makes about 15 large muffins

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Apple (& 1 Pear) Muffins

All about muffins to preserve these huge bags of organic fruits (yes, bulk buy isn't fun if it's buying all for the toddler)!

I didn't really bother taking photos of the making process just because I forgot haha.


Makes about 12 muffins

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Beetroot Carrot Muffins

Never knew it tasted so good! I must have added a bunch of stuff to make up for the bitter after taste since it was my first time using real beetroot and getting my hands coloured..

I didn't realised I was also using the same ingredients from this other surprised carrot blueberry muffin recipe too. I guess I do love that combo of sweet carrots and refreshing apples together with a tinge of sweet potato to fill one's tummy sweetly and gracefully.

I pretty much dumped everything in and was relying on my vision to see how thick the texture is with the flour estimation. I did ran out of Gluten free flour so added a touch of coconut flour which was just right (can't taste it for a change).

The strong taste is definitely the beetroot. But it's supported by the other goodness of natural sweet carrots, apples, raisins and sweet potato.




Makes 6 muffins

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Surprise Carrot blueberry muffins

I actually have no idea what to call it to be honest but a whole portion of it was made of carrots and blueberries. Plus other sweet natural fruit and vege too.

You can literally eat this raw without the eggs and flour lol

No baking powder, so I can literally pour extra over each tray!

It turned out so delicious my son loved it! Felt really strong in the coconut just coz I added a tad bit too much flour again. All good, it's so nutritious, gluten free and dairy to the point that I am happy to eat it, also moist too! yay.


Will see how I can remember how the ingredients were coz it was all estimated!



Makes 6 big muffins

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Grain Free Apple Muffins

Beside it sticking to the paper, it does taste quite crumbly nicer off the oven. Probably needing butter or olive oil with salt to add moisture and it doesn't have a crumbly top.

The pain about gluten and dairy free food is retaining the added moisture, which drives me to dig further into recipes and the science behind things. Of course my little kid doesn't mind it for now, but my aim is to get everyone liking it and be proud to say that there wasn't any dairy involved.

Anyway, I loved how the apple stew turned out! Should have made apple crumble instead lol.

The journey continues~!

Till then, it makes 6 

Original recipe here.

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Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin

And what do you do when you gave too many blueberries? Bake something! The bonus was the suggestion not just making blueberry muffins but the added cheese to the idea makes it all colourful.

 

 

The recipe was initially for 12 muffins so I halved most except the 'icing' where I sprinkled a tad too much sugar at the top. 

Makes up for the lack of sugar in the ingredients.

Was initially nervous with the amount of flour too. Got all starchy when I scoop them into the mould

Turned out it was loved!

Makes 6 muffins.

Original recipe here

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Master Muffin Mix

I briefly made muffins again for my kiddo but found out after time, it become so hard and stoney! It was a little frustrating, so I was googling up tips and tricks to keep muffins soft.

And these are the few fine tips that makes a whole lotta difference. I used to want to know the science behind the theories but I think she's explained in the most simplest ways ever.

So here are the essential tips  (courtesy from Sally's baking addiction - recipes on her page too)

Don’t Skip the Oil 

I use oil as the fat in my master muffin batter. As far as baked goods go, fat is a good thing! Oil is what will give your muffins their tender, melt-in-your-mouth centers. Butter is a fat typically used in muffin recipes, but I use oil in this master batter because it leaves the muffins much more moist. Since there are so many flavors in each bite (banana, berry, chocolate – depending on which variety you make), you won’t really miss the taste of butter. For my banana nut version, I added mashed bananas. Because of this added wet ingredient, I left out a bit of oil. Still keeping the same tender, moist texture but giving the muffins their signature banana flavor. The rest of my master muffin mix varieties use 1/2 cup of oil. Feel free to use melted coconut oil or vegetable oil instead of the canola oil called for. One thing to note: I do not suggest using a lower fat option. See all of my healthier muffin options instead.

The Purpose of Eggs 

Moisture, richness, tenderness, binding the batter, texture. They have heavy lifting power in this recipe; don’t leave them out! Use standard large, room temperature eggs.

Why room temperature? Room temperature eggs incorporate evenly into your batter – guaranteeing a uniform structure among every corner of every muffin.

Playing Around with the Milk 

My master muffin batter requires 1 cup of milk. When I first developed the recipe last year, I used 1% milk. However, I’ve started using buttermilk instead these days. The resulting muffin is so moist! When I use buttermilk in recipes, I find a noticeable difference in texture than when I use other milks. For example, when I make quick bread, I find the crumb is more tender and moist than the same recipe using regular milk. And the loaf even slices better – it’s not crumbly at all. The same goes for my master muffin batter. I prefer it with buttermilk!

Two Additional Muffin Tips 

1.  Something helpful to remember when making my muffins: mix the wet ingredients as much as you like, mix the dry ingredients as much as you like but when you combine the two together, only mix until they combine. If you overmix the wet with the dry, your muffins will be heavy, tough, and dense. Remember: when it comes to mixing muffin batter together, a little goes a long way. 
2. The trick to baking the muffins so tall? It’s something I do with most of my muffin recipes. Here’s my secret: Fill your muffin pans all the way to the top. This trick only works if you set the initial oven temperature high, then lower it as the muffins bake. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425F degrees, then at 375F degrees for the remaining time. Setting the oven to a “high temperature burst” lifts the muffin top up quickly and creates a tall crust. That is why you fill the muffin pans to the top with the batter prior to baking.

Smoke Salmon Muffin

So I had leftover baby that needs finishing and I have been wanting to make this ever since I saw it on facebook.

Smoke Salmon and spinach! Hope I didn't go overboard with the salt....

I added an extra egg but it kinda spilled abit in the oven, heh.

Simple recipe here! Or you can skip below and just watch this video where I got it from

Muffin Tin Omelets
Batch Cook Breakfast!
Posted by Tip Hero on Friday, 25 September 2015

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11 Cupcake Project Creations

This is such a cool website! THanks to my dear who stumbled acrossed it. A source of inspiration =)

Scroll down for more ideas =)

For the full website, click here

Baked Peach Cheesecake

Back to basics!! Thought I'd used the cream cheese in the fridge up before it starts to mould. This recipe is taken off directly from Philadelphia's cook book.

The muffin tray I have couldn't fit into the oven so I had to think up of an alternative quick! Thank goodness for those disposable aluminium cups....and I reckon it's good to reuse it too

Kitchen just got busier again =)

Makes 6 muffin size tray

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Red Bean Cupcakes

I had to think for awhile on the title above as I was actually 'attempting' to make green tea cupcakes. As a 'punishment' for being stingy, it turned out to be cocoa cupcakes with red bean toppings...and a hint of green tea.

Yeah, I only used one tea bag and didn't bother to get green tea powder. Then again, those Matcha powders are extremely expensive! There were super cheap ones too like 50p but I didn't dare poison my lovely friends...

The cupcakes liners were kinda peeling off so I peeled them off coz it didn't give a nice look. Kinda wondering what happened there as I only just took off the milk from the batter. I guess I got lazy in creaming the butter and sugar bit.

Things kinda went from bad to worse as I was trying to avoid cream in my icing :(. The mascarpone cheese that I relied for it's texture went frozen. So I had to whip double cream and added my yogurt batter for taste. Sigh, and all I wanted to do is to use alternative ingredients to replace cream cheese.

Oh well, it's all a good excuse to practice icing! Just hope my friends don't mind the superbly different cupcakes to what I promised tonight.

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Lychee and Vanilla cupcake

The Ironcupcake UK challenge for March is: The perfect pair. I'm only allowed to create a cupcake with two flavours

The moment I read the challenge, the 2 flavours I thought straight away is:

Lychee and Vanilla

But instead of just an icing and the cupcake, I made another texture to 'spice' things up ;)

I attempted to make Lychee jam!He he, well it's sort of like jam but not done well as fruits are normally removed from the mixture to form a nice texture. I wanted a 'puree' type texture so that people can taste the fruit when they eat it.

Wish me luck...this round there is category whereby the winning are split up to 2 groups: Amateur and Professional. So we'll see how things go. I've also baked smaller portions of cupcakes and made a sponge vanilla cake instead so that it makes it easier to eat and taste, talk about being serious in the competition.

But if you're keen to grab a light snack / dessert, grab this recipe because it's got a light texture and filling to it.

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Apple Round 2 (IronCupcake Earth)

My Second entry for the IronCupcake Earth competition:

Remember the batter that I tried using for my first set of entry? I ended up baking proper cupcakes from them! So yeah...I actually went through the process of roasting the apples, mashing them to get the puree and use them for my cupcake batter. And then with a little spice, I added bits of cinammon and ginger to the batter.

After baking them, I was thinking up of the next idea for these need-to-get-dressed cupcakes and it all started with the next morning while I was trying to figure out what to eat.

I had a small tub of plain yogurt needed finishing as I was actually planning to use it for another frosting and had forgotten about it. Seeing that I'm picky and can't run away from being a sweet tooth and being uberly health consious, I still don't prefer to have a plain yogurt (yuck, it feels like I'm eating something naked). So I looked into my little pantry and scouted for something sweet but not adding to the calories. I saw honey and marshmallows. Ah hah. Something alright to start the morning and dressing this yogurt enough so that I can finish eating it.

While eating it, something sparked up...why not use this as my icing?? woohoo!! I got super excited. And with that while I was having my morning walk after and the gradual thinking right up to the final bit of my idea...I came up with the name for them:

Healthily Applelicious

Cinnamon Apple Cupcakes with Honey Yogurt Frosting and a tinge of Marshmallows for it's sweetness and a subtle sinfulness.

I added abit of Mascarpone cheese to firm up the frosting so that it doesn't melt and with that I could reduce the amount of icing sugar to the frosting.

Taste wise? You bet, amazing...1 got eaten in 3 bites from my collegues at work (that really suprise me because I am always hesitant and nervous whenever I make something). Some of them thought it was cream cheese frosting on top ;). They think I should quit my job and open up a catering business (Aaaw, felt so touched with the compliments).

The actual amount of calories for each frosted cupcake is 250kcal (1/8 of your daily kcal guideline amount and yes, I actually sat down to caclulate each ingredient) and there are ways to reduce them even more by using a vegan substitute but for this competition, I shall place the exact recipe I used. As well as I dedicate this to those who are health conscious like me seeing that I came from an atheletic background and for those who wants something sweet but lighter for a change.

If you look at my first entry, I am hoping that this entry could earn some brownie points too as a bonus. The list of the awesome prizes are below, so please vote for me towards the end of the month (I shall remind you all again):

Voting starts on Friday, November 27th at 8 p.m. at http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com and will be open through Thursday, December 3 at 12 noon.

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack; Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery; Cupcakey Supply 

Here are the ingredients and method for making these scrumptious (I'm such a drama in emphasising) apple cupcakes

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Apple Round 1 (Ironcupcake Earth)

What: Another Ironcupcake competition but it's done online
Theme: Apples

Another competition which I'm so keen to take on. This will be my first online entry ever and it has been an amazing experience. It all started,

Once upon a time....in the beginning of November or thereabouts...

So happen my friend was only here in London for a week and she requested red velvet cupcakes since it was ultimate her favourite cupcakes. Being me, I was keen to bake for any occasion, from parties and gatherings to the point of a joking request. But in conjunction to that, I decided to try for this competition which was themed apples.

As my creative juices were bursting, I got really excited as red velvet cupcakes depict the red colour skin of an apple and so I thought I could add something yellow inside and green on top. As well as they are known for as the 'devil's' cupcakes, I got all crazy with naming and personalising my cupcakes base on the bible, christianity and adam and eve etc. (no, this doesn't mean that I religious as such, but you just can't run away from the fact that at least 80% of world's population are Christian and each one of us know at least 1% of what the bible speaks). I decided to make my version of cupcakes blending the theme and the lovely red velvet cupcakes which I made for the first time. Behold, I call this:

Hidden Fruit of Eden

(Thanks to my dear D who came up with that name :* ).

aka Red Velvet Cupcake with Apple (green) and Cream Cheese Frosting

It all started with attempting to 'hide' an apple the red velvet cupcakes idea.

Hmm...real apple fruit, apple batter, apple juice, apple flavour, yellow colour, green colour, red colour...*feel like eating an apple*

Attempt 1: Wishing I had more skills, I wanted to carve a smaller piece of apple into the red velvet cupcakes but I could not think of the best way. So the next easiest thing I thought was to put an apple batter into the cupcakes and try to make an apple shape out of it.

It didn't work...and my cupcake batter too much it spilled all over the oven =( my heart sank 10 times more just watching it go to disaster.

Ok, attempt 2: Bake proper red velvets but sneak an apple icing into the cupcakes without her knowing

*Evil laugh* I was becoming excited as I did them

Process of making the red velvet cupcakes. It was a whole new experience since it was my first time making them...

Now for the sneaky bit. Digging a hole and adding some cream cheese inside first so that it holds this 'secret' icing in the middle

Now you see them

Now you don't mwahahah (imagining a wicked witch laughing when the potion sizzles)

And then topping up with cream cheese as usual, to hide all evidence...

The apple icing has a tinge of sourish in it but it goes well with the sweet red velvet as well as topping up with cream cheese? You can't go wrong, it was sinfuly, deliciously, juicily amazinnngggg...

So pretty pretty please:

Vote ME   <--------- it's not hard, just click and click again ;)


Voting starts on Friday, November 27th at 8 p.m. at http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com and will be open through Thursday, December 3 at 12 noon. (Don't worry, I'll remind you folks again ;))

Am competing to win the following Earth Prizes and they are Amazing! They are:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack; Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery; Cupcakey Supply

Here are the steps if you're keen to make them

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