LimeCake

Doughnuts were never my favourite things growing up. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but if presented with a buffet of sweet things, you would never catch me going for a doughnut. I do like them, but to say I love them is a tad of a stretch.

These, however, are a delicious marriage between a doughnut and a muffin – not too bready, not too cakey. I played around with this recipe, filling a few of them with a dollop of fridge-cold nutella before they went in the oven. Some of the muffins I rolled in sugar, some in cinnamon sugar. Whatever you do, these will yield a really soft, spongy cake. The crunch of the sugar really brought out the ‘donut-ness’ in these lovely babies.

These tasted best the day they were made. On the second day, whilst the cake maintained its moistness, the sugar coating lost some of its ‘dry’ crunch. I’d definitely make these again, perhaps filling the muffin cups a little more to achieve a lovely, taller cake.

Sugar Donut Muffins (recipe from Baking Bites)

makes 9-10 muffins

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking power

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full (if filling with jam or nutella, fill with batter till about 2/3 full, spoon a small dollop of filling in the centre, then top with a tablespoon or so of batter).

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.

When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

If I had a penny for every one bowl chocolate cake recipe on LimeCake, I’d have, well, five. Do we have a recurring theme here? No – chocolate needs no excuse.

These turned out soft and moist, very chocolatey, but not overly rich – sort of an everyday chocolate cupcake.

Frost with simple chocolate ganache, and the world will fall into place.

Recchiuti’s Devil’s Food Cupcakes (recipe from Chocolate Obsession)

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups granulated sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 cup whole milk

½ cup flavorless vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 Tablespoon espresso powder dissolved in 1 cup boiling water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar together into a medium bowl.

Combine the egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and dissolved espresso powder in a medium bowl and whisk by hand until well mixed. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them about half full.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are puffed and feel springy. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Some winter Saturdays, you draw the blinds and the sky isn’t completely dismal, but the sun isn’t out in full glory either. So you stay in bed for quite a while with your lover, feeling duvet-lazy, realising that even though you’ll regret it midweek, you probably aren’t going to make it to the farmer’s market today.

When finally you do emerge from the comforts of bed, you worry if it will be too late for breakfast at that little place on the corner. It starts to drizzle, and you figure there’s nothing more fitting than brunching in.

Save toast for manic workday mornings; let soggy cereal take a backseat; pancakes are reserved for Sundays. This is the stuff Saturday brunch dreams are made of.

Its peanut flavour is unabashed and not the least bit discreet. Serve these golden clusters with a glug of milk? Perhaps. A dollop of thick yogurt? Amen.

Peanut Butter Granola (original recipe from here)

Warm out of the oven, this is tender and chewy, and eaten with a dollop of thick, cold yogurt, is stupendous. When left to cool completely, its texture becomes slightly more crunchy, chewy, and just as delicious. 

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup pepitas or sunflower seed kernels, or mixture of both (if salted, omit the salt in the recipe)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup raisins, or other fried fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C or 325 degrees F.

Combine oats, seeds, nuts, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

In a microwaveable bowl, combine the peanut butter, oil, brown sugar, honey or syrup, vanilla, and salt (if using). Nuke for 10 seconds to get things a bit more fluid. Pour mixture over granola and stir until oats and seeds are fully coated.

Spread gently on an ungreased 9×13 pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until granola is toasted, stirring gently every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan.

Stir in fruit, if using, and store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a month.

Every year around this time, I can’t help myself; I can’t help but pine for dreaded winter to be over. Really, who needs to feel like the Abominable Snowman – fully padded with the thickest of coats and layer upon layer of knits and sweaters? And who needs frozen hands and feet beneath gloves and boots? Blue, truly blue. It’s this time of year that anything warm cries out to me.

I first tried this crumble recipe out of convenience – none of that ‘cutting’ of butter into flour; this is the melted stuff – and I’ve never used another since. You really only need one in your lifetime, and this is mine. Being midwinter, pears, the most wintery of winter fruit, make their appearance here, as do apples. I also added frozen mixed berries before baking – you can’t dispute its tart delightfulness (delightful tartness?) in a crumble. Warm, tender fruit bubbling and peaking beneath the most crisp and buttery crust – this will surely do for now.

Ridiculously short days devoid of sunshine be gone!

Winter Fruit Crumble (original recipe here)

quartered to serve 6

For Crumble:

¼ pound (1 stick or 113g) butter, melted

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups flour

Fruit:

3 apples, sliced

1 pear, sliced

1/2 cup mixed frozen berries

Preheat oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F). Grease an 8 inch square cake pan or baking dish of similar capacity. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all crumble ingredients and stir together. Keep working the crumbs with your spoon or your fingers until the butter is absorbed and forms clumps. At this point, I like to chill the crumble so that its shape remains after baking – totally optional; it can be used immediately too.

Layer fruit directly into the dish/pan and then sprinkle crumble on top.  Don’t worry if the fruit is still frozen.

Bake at for 30-45 minutes or until the fruit starts to bubble and the crumble is golden brown.

Each of us is loyal to one muffin flavour, and mine has got to be blueberry – classic. Especially during this time of year, blueberry muffins are instant sunshine in the throes of midwinter – a little reminder that summer really will return.

Cottage cheese gives the muffin an incredible, almost soufflé-like, lightness. And, this bearing said cheese and having butter-less properties certainly deems them adequately healthy enough for breakfast – lightly sweet and very tender. I added lemon juice for a brighter flavour, but skip that, add a dash of cinnamon and these’ll taste just as delicious.

Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins

makes 10-12, depending on how full you fill your tins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons neutral oil

¾ cup cottage cheese

¼ cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Oats, for sprinkling (optional)

Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C or 350 deg F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (or line with paper liners) and set aside.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg in a separate medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thick. Add oil, whisking to combine after each addition. Add the cottage cheese and milk, whisking just to combine.

3. Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the cottage cheese mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until the batter comes together and the berries are evenly distributed. Batter will be very thick. Do not overmix.

4. Using a large spoon or a cookie scoop, divide the batter amount the muffin cups. Sprinkle with oats and coarse sugar, if using. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Immediately remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.