Dark Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins

I varied the ingredients I used in making my White Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins to come up with this dark chocolate version.

Follow this recipe but add in 1/2 cup of cocoa and replace your white chocolate pieces with dark chocolate chips.

White Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins

One failed attempt after another in 2 weeks gave me the illusion that yes, I am not made to bake muffins. The last 2 attempts in making muffins turned out to be disastrous. When you are longing for baked goods and decides to spend 20 mins preparing and waiting an additional 25 mins for them to bake, one would be anticipating some wonderful, cake-like delectables right? Well, the last 2 times I baked, I felt like I was cursed. My 1st attempt was in making Spiced Peach Muffins, whilst the 2nd attempt was in making Mixed Berry Crumble Muffins...both were meant to be really nice but NO, my damn muffins stuck to the paper cases and the insides of the muffin came out doughy. I swear I didn't miss a step and followed the recipes to the T. So what went wrong? I've made cupcakes and muffins before and never failed so dismally. After thinking it through, I think it HAS TO do with those DAMN muffin paper cases I bought from Coles. If you ever go to Coles, DON'T EVER, EVER buy the muffin cases by the makers of "Bakeit" - these muffin cases look cute on the outside, with mini bananas and strawberries printed on them but don't be fooled - don't use them because your muffins will stick to the paper and you will have to literally rip the paper off your muffins.

Today was my 3rd attempt in making muffins - my 3rd time in 2 weeks. Lo & behold, they turned out soooo well! This time, I didn't use those cursed muffin cases but instead used my other cheap, plain, white & foiled muffin cases which served me well many a times. The muffins I tried this time around were White Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins. These turned out soooo well!! The muffins were very light and fluffy, and just right with the amount of sweetness. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I'm going to use this recipe and improvise a bit next time to make Dark Chocolate and Cherry Muffins. First we'll need to clear these puppies off first - which shouldn't be too hard! They're really really yummy. I'm so happy my 3rd set of muffins turned out so well. Let's just say I will never use those cursed muffin cases again and if you ever come across them in your supermarket, remember this - DON'T BUY THEM!


White Chocolate & Blueberry Muffins
(makes 15)

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
125g white chocolate, cut into chunks
2 lights, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g butter, melted
1 punnet of blueberries

- Preheat oven to 180C. Line your muffin pan.
- Sift flour into a large bowl. Add sugar and white chocolate chunks. Stir until well combined.
- Whisk eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter together in a separate bowl.
- Use a large metal spoon, stir butter mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Gently swirl through blueberries.
- Spoon mixture into muffin pan. Bake for 25 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 mins. Turn onto a wire rack. Serve.

Double Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cake

This cake was made for my brother's gf, M, who celebrated her 2x bday yesterday. Happy Birthday! I thought it would be fitting to make her a birthday cake to celebrate the occasion.

From what M told me, she likes chocolate and nuts, and she has a liking towards white chocolate. So that's how this Double Chocolate & Macadamia Nut cake came about.

This is my first birthday cake attempt. Maybe it was me and I was very particular about getting it right, the whole process took me a few hours to make. Most foodies out there will probably take a lot less time than me. Initially I wanted to make a round cake but alas, my cake box was alot smaller than I had thought so I had to cut the cake into a square shape instead. The cake ended up being smaller than I had in mind. Eventually, after many hours in the kitchen, my creation was born. I got some reviews back and the birthday girl said the cake was delicious. Am so happy it turned out well.

Happy Birthday M! I hope you had a great one!


Double Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cake

Chocolate Cake:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 tbsp cocoa
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup boiling water
2 tsp vanilla essence

- Preheat oven to 180C
- Line 2 round cake pans (8 inch - I used a 9 inch and made this twice coz that's all I had) with baking paper, grease the sides
- Sift the flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt into a bowl
- Add in the eggs, margarine, buttermilk, vanilla and water
- Using an electric mixer, beat on low setting then increase the speed until the batter is smooth
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean
- Cool in the pan for 30 mins then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Frosting:
180g unsweetened dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence

- In a bowl, beat butter until creamy
- Add icing sugar and continue to beat until fluffy
- Add vanilla
- Add cooled and melted chocolate
- The icing should look glossy and smooth

Decoration:
18 caramelized macadamia nuts
White chocolate shavings

- When the cakes are cooled, use a spatula and spread the dark chocolate frosting evenly on the top of one cake
- Place the second cake on top
- Continue to spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake
- Decorate the top of the cake with the caramelized macadamia nuts and fill the rest of the top layer with white chocolate shavings

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

My brother and his gf came over the other night for dinner so I made this mixed berry cheesecake for dessert.

This is a very light cheesecake. I used cream cheese and yoghurt to form the filling, topped with a low calorie jelly.


Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Base:
125g digestive biscuits, crushed into fine crumbs
60g butter, melted

Filling:
250g low fat cream cheese
250g low fat plain yoghurt
50g icing sugar
1 tbsp gelatin powder
40ml boiling water
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup mixed berries

Jelly:
1 packet Jelly crystal (raspberry or strawberry) flavour
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water

- Mix biscuit crumbs and melted butter together in a bowl. Transfer to an 18cm tin, with removable base. Use your fingers or a glass to spread and press the mixture firmly onto the base of the tin. Place in the fridge for 30 mins to chill.
- Place gelatin and boiling water in a bowl. Stir well to combine. Keep warm.
- Using an electric beater, beat cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence together until smooth & creamy.
- Add in yoghurt and beat until smooth. Add in gelatin and mix well.
- Pour the mixture onto the base. Add the mixed berries onto the cheese mixture. Chill for 3.5 hours.
- Dissolve the jelly crystals using the boiling water, then pour in cold water. When the cheese mixture has solidified, pour the jelly on top. Let the jelly set before removing the cake from the tin.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake

I bought a Bundt cake mould a few weeks ago at the sales - the purpose of which was to make a chiffon cake - but I never got around to it!! My poor cake mould was just sitting in its cardboard box wrapper next to my fridge collecting dust.

This coming Thursday is Chinese New Year and to follow Chinese tradition, we are meant to clean up the house before the New Year. My duties tonight were to tidy up my clothes and to throw out the magazines that are scattered next to my bed. But I'm lazy :P I should've cleaned and tidied up a little tonight but as I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, I had the sudden urge to make something sweet...I wanted something sweet and syrup-y!

I opened my little pantry cupboard...thinking...looking around...what can I make...what ingredients do I have? Then my eyes rested on a small tin of pineapple. Oh, pineapple. I remember there's an upside down pineapple cake recipe somewhere I had always wanted to make and all the ingredients are sitting in my pantry. Perfect! Oh, and I thought to myself, what tin should I use to make this delightful cake? I looked at my sad Bundt mould next to my pantry cupboard...ah, Bundt mould...tonight is your night!

This Upside Down Pineapple Cake is a delight. When I was baking it, I was worried because the cake wasn't distributing evenly so I had to move it a little so one side wouldn't brown and rise more than the other side. I didn't worry about it too much - as long as the base is not burnt and the cake is cooked then I'm okie.

My hubby loved the cake. I cut him a piece 10 mins after it was baked and he finished that piece up pretty quickly telling me how nice it was. He loves his pineapple so that was probably one of the reasons why he liked the cake so much. He also mentioned how nice it was to have a slightly crunchy bottom. He liked it alot and asked for another piece telling me the piece I cut him earlier was "too small". Too small?? This is coming from someone who's complaining about getting fat but now he wanted another piece of cake! Haha..Men!!


Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Preheat oven to 180C

Topping:
80g butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
small can of pineapple slices

Cake:
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice from the can + leftover pineapple slices (squashed up)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt

For the topping:
- Melt butter in the microwave for 25 sec; pour into Bundt mould
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter
- Arrange pineapple slices on the butter/sugar mixture

For the cake:
- Beat eggs for a few minutes
- Add in sugar 1/3 cup at a time, beat into the eggs
- Add in pineapple juice & remaining pineapple pieces
- Add in vanilla essence
- Beat until well combined
- Add into the mixture sifted flour and salt
- Pour the cake mixture over the topping in the Bundt mould
- Bake in over for 30mins @ 180C; the cake should be springy to touch
- Turn pan upside down on a plate and cool for 10-15 mins before serving

Swiss Roll with Strawberry Jam Filling

Swiss rolls - I'm not sure why they are called "Swiss" rolls but this spongy egg-y cake reminds me of what we used to eat as kids. Mum used to buy swiss rolls for us when we were little - we would have them during recess, or as an afternoon snack, or after dinner dessert. You may wish to use buttercream inside your swiss roll but I opted for strawberry jam this time around. I'm actually thinking of making a Chocolate Swiss Roll soon - next time with chocolate buttercream and cherries soaked in rum - I'll post the recipe and photos up when I do make it. Watch this space.


Swiss Roll with Strawberry Jam Filling

3 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup self-raising flour
2 tbsp boiling water
1/2 strawberry jam
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
icing sugar, for dusting

- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Line a 20x30 shallow baking tin with baking paper. Grease the paper and the sides of the tin.
- Beat eggs until it becomes thick and creamy
- Add in sugar, beat until dissolved
- Sift the flour and fold this into the egg/sugar mixture. Add in water. Combine well.
- Spread the mixture into the baking tin
- Bake for 8-10 mins until it turns a slight golden brown
- Warm jam in a saucepan. Do not let it burn.
- Before removing the cake from the oven, line a piece of parchment paper on your kitchen-top. Sprinkle the parchment paper with vanilla sugar.
- Remove cake from the oven and turn immediately on top of the sugared parchment paper
- You'll be rolling the cake from the short side so when you spread the warm jam on the hot sponge cake, keep a 1cm edge at the end uncovered with jam. If you don't, you will end up with jam spillage when you finish rolling up the cake
- Place on a wire rack to cool
- When cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar
- Serve with ice cream/cream if you are having this as dessert

Mini Carrot Cakes

Sydney's weather has been pretty dismal lately. It has been raining for the past 3 days and the forecast says that it will continue to rain until next Monday. This has probably been the wettest summer in Sydney. The weather now can be so unpredictable. Who would've thought that it'll rain this much in the middle of January when we should be getting glorious sunshine this time of the year! Today's a good day to stay in, chill out and bake a little something. We are also going to our friends' A & L's new apartment tonight for dinner. I therefore took this opportunity to bake some mini carrot cakes for the occasion.


These mini carrot cakes are low in fat and low in carbs. I didn't use any butter in this recipe. Instead, it was replaced by light olive oil. I love the smell of the mixed spice when I was mixing the ingredients together. I also love the taste of orange in the cream cheese frosting - so fruity and sweet tasting.


(check out the orange specks in the frosting - so yummy!)

Mini Carrot Cakes (makes 12)
(recipe adapted from Australian Good Taste - July 05)

1.5 cups of self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup sultanas
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup coarsely grated carrot
1/3 cup light olive oil
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 x 200g ctn country-style reduced-fat honey yoghurt (I used Attiki brand)

Cream Cheese Frosting
180g cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
5 tsp fresh orange juice
Sprinkles of walnut (if desired)

- Preheat oven to 180c
- Line muffin pan with paper cases
- Sift flour, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl
- Stir in sultanas, sugar and carrot
- Make a well in the centre. Whisk together the oil, egg and yoghurt in a jug. Pour into the flour mixture and stir to combine
- Spoon mixture among cases
- Bake in oven for 20-25mins or until a skewer inserted into centres comes out clean
- Transfer to a rack to cool
- Meanwhile, to make the frosting, use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add the orange rind and juice, and stir to combine
- Spread cooled cakes with cream cheese frosting to serve
- Sprinkle chopped walnuts on frosting if desired

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I really like this flourless chocolate cake. I've made this cake 3 times already but this time around, I added raspberries in my mixture. The sweetness of the chocolate and the mix of sour/sweet taste of the raspberries actually went well together. Strawberries would be nice in it too. I guess, any sort of berries would be nice on a cake like this one.

I love this cake because it's very chocolate-y. It's flourless so it's low in carbs (yay!) and you don't need to use any butter so it's low in fat too (double yay!) :P So to me, the cake is free of sin but it doesn't skimp on taste.



Flourless Chocolate Cake
(recipe adopted from Australian Good Taste - October 04)

Melted reduced-fat dairy spread, to grease
50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
80ml (1/3 cup) hot water
2 tsp instant coffee powder
2 tsp boiling water
1 x 100g pkt almond meal
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
Raspberries, handful

- Preheat oven to 180c. Brush a round 22cm cake pan with melted dairy spread to lightly grease. Line the base with non-stick baking paper.
- Combine cocoa powder and hot water in a bowl. Combine the instant coffee powder and boiling water in a cup. Add the coffee the cocoa mixture and stir until combined.
- Add almond meal, sugar and egg yolks to cocoa mixture, and stir until well combined.
- Use an electric beater to whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form. Use a metal spoon to fold a spoonful of egg whites into cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan. Scatter raspberries all over.
- Place cake in a roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach 2/3 of the way up the side of the cake pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Remove cake pan from water bath and set aside for 20mins to cool.
- Turn cake onto a wire rack and remove paper. Set aside for a further 20 mins or until cooled to room temperature.