Hummingbird Bakery Breakfast Bran Muffins

Lots of my Meal Planning Monday readers expressed an interest in these muffins so I thought that I'd share the recipe with you! It actually worked!


I made these because I wanted something to have between breakfast and lunch to save me succumbing to crisps or a chai latte and caramel waffle from Starbucks. I am a little and often eater, so need to graze, but often don't graze on the right things! Lately I have been having a smoothie or carrots and salsa which haven't quite hit the spot, so I gave these muffins a go.


Hummingbird describe it as "having cake for breakfast" but they do actually feel more virtuous and definitely kept me "topped up" til lunch.

This recipe is from their "Cake Days" book. 

Breakfast Bran Muffins

(makes 10-12)

Ingredients

180g plain wholemeal flour

50g rolled oats

50g All Bran (note - NOT Bran Flakes!)

1 tsp finely grated orange zest

20g raisins

20g sunflower seeds

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

pinch of salt

120g soft light brown sugar

250ml whole milk

2 eggs (large, at room temp)

80g butter, melted

Method

Preheat the oven to 170degC and line a muffin tin with muffin cases

Put the flour, oats, All Bran, orange zest, raisins, seeds, baking powder, bicarb of soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl or mixer and mix together.

Pour the milk into a jug and crack the eggs into it, whisking it all together.

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and whilst mixing at a slow speed, pour the wet ingredients in slowly. When the ingredients have come together, increase the speed to medium and pour in the melted butter.

Once it is all incorporated, spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them about 3/4 full.

Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and springy

Elevenses!

They are delicious - I am most definitely back on speaking terms with Hummingbird Bakery! They taste wholesome, the raisins and seeds providing nice texture. They are not too sweet either, yet feel like a treat. I might make a new changes next time, perhaps adding grated carrot or a pinch of cinnamon. 

Have you got any elevenses favourites?

Coconut and chocolate flapjacks

I had the most appalling night's sleep the other night. I was pretty much awake from 1.30-5am, spending half of it lying in the darkness and the other half downstairs with a hot chai latte and "Bloody Tales from the Tower" on National Geographic. Anyway, I think I might have had a touch of insomnia-induced delirium because at about 3am I took a sudden notion to make flapjacks. I resisted, knowing that the sound of the KitchenAid would probably wake my husband if not our neighbour as well. I did get as far as looking up a couple of recipes and last night I made them at a much more sociable hour.

This recipe is a mix of Good Food and Mary Berry, and like the Pollo Alla Cacciatora earlier it was not without its issues. But the end result is lovely :)

Coconut and chocolate flapjacks

Throw 250g porridge oats and 55g desiccated coconut into a bowl or freestanding mixer. Meanwhile melt 125g butter, 125g soft brown sugar and 3 TBSP golden syrup in a saucepan. 

Pour the melted caramel into the oats and coconut and mix thoroughly.

Gratuitous KitchenAid shot? Why not!

Allow the mixture to cool SLIGHTLY - don't leave it too long or it'll go hard (yes, I am speaking from experience). Mix in 100g chocolate chips/chunks then transfer to a greased baking tin. A medium one will be fine, mine (a Jamie Oliver brownie tin) was far too big.

Bake at 170degC for 20 mins or so, keep an eye on it though - it may need more or may cook quicker depending on the size of your tin.

Once out of the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into pieces (again, how many depends on the size of your tin). Allow to cool in the tin for another 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack.

Coconut and chocolate flapjacks

They are lovely - slightly crunchy but with a nice chewy texture too. Excellent with a cup of tea!

Guest post - Sour cherry and chocolate hot cross buns

So Easter is upon us and with it comes the usual treats of Easter biscuits, chocolate, and the good old hot cross bun. I love hot cross buns but I have never felt the urge to make them myself. So I was really pleased when my lovely friend Alice - my best friend from secondary school - agreed to write out the recipe for me to put on the blog. Over to Alice!

This is a recipe that I found in a free Waitrose recipe book about five years ago and they just appealed to my inner chocoholic!! I don’t like a lot of the shop brought hot cross buns as I don’t like the peel in them, so thought why not make my own!!! I have done them every Easter since and have become a firm favourite amongst my family!!! I love the zing you get from a sour cherry when you bite into it and the starting to melt chocolate inside. They are best eaten on the day you make them, but if you eat them the day after split them in half, pop on a baking tray and toast under the grill (not in the toaster) and serve spread with a bit of butter, they taste divine!!! Hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Sour Cherry and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

(makes 12)

1) Sift 450g of very strong flour (white) ½ tsp of salt and 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon into a large bowl and lightly combine the ingredients. Add 50g caster sugar, 1 packet of 7g fast action dried yeast, 2 x 80g packs of Forest Feast Sour Cherries and 100g of dark chocolate chunks (I buy the dark Green and Blacks and chop into small pieces) and then stir until just combined.

2) Gently melt 50g butter in a small pan, add 250ml of semi-skimmed milk and heat for a minute until tepid. Pour in one large beaten egg and then stir enough of the milk mixture into the flour mixture to form a soft dough. Don’t panic if it feels really wet, it will become more elastic when you knead it.

3) Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 mins until smooth and elastic. Divide it into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Make sure at this point you push and chocolate or cherries into the middle of your dough so it doesn’t ooze out when you bake it. Transfer onto two large baking sheets which you have lined with grease proof paper and cover with lightly oiled cling film. Leave to prove in a warm place for about 1-1 1/2 hours (I put mine in my airing cupboard). They should double in size

4) Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius, gas mark 5. To decorate the crosses, put approx 50g of plain flour in a bowl and gradually add 5-6 tbsp cold water until you have a smooth paste, you want it like wall paper paste, but not too runny. Spoon this into a piping bag with a small/medium nozzle (the recipe said if you didn’t have one to use a plastic food bag and to cut the end off but I tried this once with disastrous results!!!). The neatly pipe a cross over each bun. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins (I swop shelves and turn them around after 10 mins) until golden in colour.

5) While they are baking, make the glaze by placing about 3 tbsp of semi-skimmed milk in a small pan, about the same of cold water and ½ tsp of ground cinnamon and 50g caster sugar and heat gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. When they are cooked, transfer to a cooling rack and brush the glaze over each one twice (do this straight away).

6) Allow to cool and enjoy!!!!

They do look absolutely amazing and may well tempt me into making my own next year!

Thanks Alice!

Mary Berry's Iced Chocolate Traybake

I thought I would be a good housewife and do some baking while Jewhurst was out at hockey today. Any excuse to use my beautiful KitchenAid after all...! We were given Mary Berry's Baking Bible for a wedding present and I have to say it's one of those cookbooks I would happily read for pleasure not just for baking. I love her old-school style, the way she loves precision, and the fact she is not precious about using organic, expensive, speciality products.

The name of this cake confused me, because where I come from a tray bake doesn't have to have been made in a tray - it's more defined by being bite-size and the fact you have it with a cup of tea - things such as coconut balls, fifteens or top hats. Tray bakes in NI are the key components of a summer camp, church tea or birthday party. However in this context a traybake seems to be a cake made in a sheet pan rather than a round tin. So I was interested to see how it would turn out.

Mary is well known for her precision baking and so I will be writing the recipe in the traditional style of ingredients then method, rather than my more informal style in previous recipes. I don't know about you but even though I like a more relaxed, "slap dash" approach to cooking, when it comes to baking I like to have all my ingredients out and ready, so I know I am following the recipe to the letter.

Iced Chocolate Tray Bake

Ingredients - for the cake

4 level TBSP cocoa powder
4 TBSP hot water
225g softened butter
225g caster sugar
275g self-raising flour
2 level tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 TBSP milk

For the icing
4 TBSP apricot jam (I used raspberry and there was no difference in taste)
150g plain chocolate such as Bournville (39% cocoa solids)
6 TBSP water
350g sifted icing sugar
1 tsp sunflower oil
Malteasers

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180deg/Gas Mark 4. Grease a large brownie or swiss roll tin and line the bottom with baking parchment

2. Blend together the cocoa and hot water, and leave to cool. Put the remaining cake ingredients in one bowl or freestanding mixture, pour in the chocolate mixture, and beat until well blended. Turn the mixture into the tray and level the top

3. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 mins (I actually took it out earlier because it was done after 30 mins) or when the cake springs back when touched and has started to shrink away from the sides. Leave to cool in the tin.

I actually let it cool then tipped it onto a wire rack to cool. Shhh, don't tell Mary!

4. To make the icing, warm the jam in a tiny saucepan or a bowl in the microwave, and brush over the cake

You *could* skip this step I reckon. To my mind, it didn't add anything to the recipe, as you are using soft icing rather than fondant which needs to stick. It's up to you, but I will just say that 4 TBSP is too much - I had loads left.

5. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt gently in a saucepan with the water. When smooth and melted, mix in the oil and then leave to cool slightly before mixing into the icing sugar.

6. Pour over the cake and smooth gently with a spatula or palette knife dipped in hot water. Decorate with chocolate shavings from the remaining Bournville (Mary's suggestion) or Malteasers (my suggestion!)

This photo was taken on my phone so apologies for the quality, but it gives you a good idea of the size and consistency and my ridiculously bad icing skills.

It tasted lovely - light, "springy" (Jewhurst's words) and really chocolatey.

Cheers Mary!

Recipe Shed: Hand-me-downs

This week's Recipe Shed over at Reluctant Housedad asks us to think about those recipes which we have had handed down from someone else. I have chosen one which my Mother in Law (to be) gave to me the weekend Jewhurst and I got engaged. Unfortunately as soon as you put the word "balls" into a title it automatically makes you want to snigger like a small schoolboy but try to look past the unfortunate wording and you will find that this recipe makes a delicious and incredibly moreish snack to enjoy with a cup of tea! There is pretty much always a box of these on the go at Jewhurst's house, and I am touched that his mum shared the recipe for me so that when he moves here he can have some treats to remind him of home!

Coconut Balls
(makes approx 22)

Crush 10 digestive biscuits into sandy crumbs; add 5 level TBSP drinking chocolate and 5 level TBSP of dessicated coconut

Melt 2 oz margarine and add to mixture along with a small tin of sweetened condensed milk*

Roll into balls about the size of a walnut and toss in some more dessicated coconut to creat a coating on the outside.

* My MiL makes a footnote at the bottom to say that you can't buy small tins of condensed milk, so she either doubles the quantity of coconut balls, or finds another recipe calling for a small tin of condensed milk!

If you have a hand-me-down recipe to share, or fancy noseying at other people's, why not head over to Reluctant Housedad's blog and take a look!

Sargies Cornish Kitchen: Recipes

Yesterday I reviewed 2 Sargies products - their Luxury Lemon Curd and Free Range Meringue nests. Although they were very nice in their simplest form, I thought it would be good to use them in a couple of recipes too. I wanted the recipes to be simple, to use both ingredients, and to have other ingredients I am most likely to have in my cupboard. So I chose Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, and Lemony Eton Mess.

Both recipes are taken from somewhere else (BBC Good Food and Delia Smith respectively) but I tweaked them slightly to suit the Sargies products.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes - serves 12
(original recipe can be found here)

Ingredients:
100g butter, softened
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 free range eggs
100g plain flour
Zest of 1 lemon
75g lemon curd (I used Sargies Luxury Lemon Curd)

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 C
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until fluffy and combined
Crack in the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated and creamy
Fold in the flour and lemon zest until well combined
Spoon mixture into paper cases, then add a teaspoon of lemon curd on top of each
Bake the cupcakes for 15-20 mins until they are golden and springy, or until a skewer (in my case a piece of broken spaghetti) comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing.

It is here that I deviated from the original recipe. Where Simon Rimmer's calls for making my own meringue, I instead made a batch of Hummingbird Bakery vanilla frosting, substituting the vanilla for a squeeze of juice from the lemon I had zested earlier. I then crushed in some of Sargies Meringue nests to give the frosting texture and flavour and to add the key "meringue" part!


I asked my lovely friends Magda and Mark to have a taste and tell me what they thought. Unfortunately my style of questioning (akin to an inquisition I think) was a bit too much for him and he declared the whole process as "STRESSFUL! Really stressful!". He did say they tasted nice though...! In fact I think I'm lying there. I seem to remember him also saying "So where is the lemon in this stupid cake?!" but I will put that down to the stress of blogger interrogation...

What a trooper...

As it happens, I had a taste of one myself and was impressed by how light and tasty they were. The lemon curd acted like a "drizzle" - moistening the cake yet retaining enough of its consistency to make a pleasing little filling in the middle which took me by surprise. The frosting complimented it well, and was a good use of the ready made meringues.

Lemony Eton Mess - serves 4
(the original recipe can be viewed here)

Ingredients
300g strawberries
300ml double or whipping cream
Icing sugar (to taste)
Meringue nests (I used Sargies free range hand piped meringues)
3 tbsp lemon curd

Method
Whip the cream to a soft, floppy consistency
Chop the strawberries into small but meaningful chunks
Set aside half, place in a bowl and sprinkle over some icing sugar.
Put the other half in a blender with another good sprinkle of icing sugar (to your taste - I like it sweet, you might like it sharp) and blitz to a smooth pulp
Sieve to remove seeds and pour 2/3 into the cream, folding gently to make a marbled effect
Add the lemon curd and gently fold through
Fold in the remaining strawberries and crushed meringue pieces
Drizzle with some strawberry puree before serving.


I loved this. It was light and sweet with a nice tangy bite from the strawberries. The lemon curd was a good addition - a subtle taste that didn't overpower the summery-ness of the strawberries and cream. It was also so easy to make that I have stored this away for use when I next have friends over for dinner.

Thanks again to Beth and Dave for sending me these products