Muesli Muffins - Breakfast Time!

Breakfast is pretty much my favorite meal of the day, but it’s my least favorite to cook. It’s the whole waking up getting ready and then like dude I have to cook something I just want food ready for me to eat so I can eat and go.

These muffins are easy to throw together and take like 15 minutes to bake. So, maybe not quick quick but it’s less faff, as they say in England. (Faff is taking your time and messing about.)

With these you get up mix them up, put them in the oven and then go get dressed and other morning rituals by the time you’re down with that they are ready!

Not all muffins are created equal. I’m not going to go on about how muffins can be healthy because lets face it some muffins are just cupcakes without frosting.

These ones, however, have a mix of white and wholemeal flour and only 75g of sugar divided by the amount of muffins. It’s quite low compared to other muffins. Of course you’ll have to look at the sugar in your choice of muesli and raisins and include that too, but it’s probably going to be minimal.

Not only are they easy to make, but they taste great too. Eat them warm out of the oven or the next day with a blast in the microwave!

Muesli Muffins

50g self-raising flour
75g wholemeal flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g, muesli of your choice
50g sultanas
75g light muscovado sugar
100ml sunflower oil
1 egg
150ml milk

Heat the oven to 200C and line the cupcake/muffin tin with 9 paper liners.
Sift both of the flours into a mixing bowl and mix in the baking powder, muesli, sultanas, and sugar.
In a jug mix the oil, egg, and milk.
Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined.
Divide into the paper cases and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve immediately with butter and coffee!

notes: adapted from Felicity Barnum-Bobb's 100 Magnificent Muffins & Scones - currently out of print but a few used copies available on amazon.

Rum & Sultana Fudge

We all know this is suppose to be Rum & Raisin fudge, but in my attempt to use up stuff in my overflowing baking cupboard I thought I would use month-out-of-date sultanas.

At the end of November I posted a review of The Vintage Sweets book by Angel Adoree. In that review I wrote that I intended to make the Rum & Raisin fudge for my girls school Christmas fete.

Then over night I developed tonsillitis and the fudge never materialized. It wasn't the only thing that I had planned to make that didn't get made last month. 

I have a lot of catching up to do. Plus, as I already mentioned, I need to clear out my baking cupboard.

I let the sultana’s soak over night, because they aren't as soft as raisins. They are however smaller and didn't need to be chopped.

The first time I ever attempted fudge I gave myself, what looked like a third degree burn. It was pretty bad, so please be careful when working with hot sugar!

I didn't burn myself this time, which was a bonus. That and it turned out smooth and melt-in-your-mouth delicious! So, here is the recipe so you can try it out yourself!

Rum & Raisin Sultana Fudge

50ml dark rum

100g raisins, chopped or sultanas

100g butter

397g can sweetened condensed milk

125ml milk

450g demerara sugar

Soak the raisins/sultanas in the rum and set aside. Then line a square 20cm (8in) cake tin with nonstick baking paper.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large nonstick saucepan and dissolve the sugar over a medium heat. Remove any sugar crystals by placing a lid on the saucepan for 3 minutes. The condensation should run down the sides of the pan taking the sugar crystals with it, if there are any stubborn crystals use a pastry and warm water to wipe them away.

The mixture should be boiling, bring it down to a simmer. Attach your sugar thermometer to the side of the pan. Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches the softball stage, 116C/240F.

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool down to 110C/230F. Then beat it with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes until the mixture is very thick and resembles smooth peanut butter. Angel tells us that this step is vital to make the fudge thick.

It does get quite thick and tough to mix at that point mix in the raisins and any rum that wasn’t soaked up. My sultanas soaked up a lot of rum because I left it overnight, you’ll have more the less you soak it.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth it down with a spatula and leave to sit for at least 3 hours before cutting into squares.

If you like this recipe in my next post I will be giving away a copy of the book! So, stay tuned!

notes: The Vintage Sweets book by Angel Adoree was provided for the review! 

Cadbury Dairy Milk Flapjacks!! {best loved recipes series}

Does anyone subscribe to 30 best loved recipes?? It seems like there is always a baking collection to be collected. They always lure you in by having the first issue priced at 99p. Which to be fair is a bargain. I didn't end up subscribing and even though my local supermarket giant seems to be getting them in weekly I haven’t picked any more up past the first 99p issue. Which included Cadbury Dairy Milk and Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

My first thoughts when browsing through the books was that they didn't really offer anything new. But that’s coming from a food blogger who owns over 30 baking books and around 20 cookbooks. It’s a bit out of control really. After a second look through there are actually some different ideas of using the product that it’s so simple I wouldn't have thought of it. Sometimes simple ideas are the best tasting. I was more inspired by the Lyle's Golden Syrup as it has sweet and savory recipes.

However what I do find annoying about the series it’s self is that online they don’t tell you what’s been out and what might be coming out next. I've seen a McVities Digestive, French’s Yellow Mustard, Bonne Maman, Sunmaid Raisins, Cathedral Cheese, Marmite (I may be making this one up, but if it hasn't been out I’m sure there will be).

I choose to try out the Cadbury Dairy Milk Flapjacks. They turned out okay. I didn't have the right sized pan and I think I baked them too long as the edges had to be completely disposed off. The middles were perfectly chewy and yummy though! Enjoy!

Cadbury Dairy Milk Flapjacks:

200g Cadbury Dairy Milk broken into pieces

100g butter

100g demerara sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

150g rolled oats

50g dried apricots, chopped

50g sultanas

Pre-heat oven to 160C/325F/gasmark3. Line a 20cm square tin with greaseproof paper. Melt butter, sugar, and syrup slowly in a saucepan. Once melted stir in the oats and both dried fruits. Pour into prepared tin and pat down flat with a spatula or something. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once cooled spread chocolate on top of bite sized flapjacks. I just dipped mine it was a bit messy, but hey it tasted good. I chilled mine in the fridge for a few.

notes: best loved recipes site; Oh and if anyone has subscribed to the series I would love to know what your favorite book is so far. I might order a few back issues!! 

Rock Cakes!! {Happy Birthday Harry}

Unlike Hagrid’s rock cakes, which were quite literally as hard as a rock, these are very light and delicious! Perfect accompaniment for a cup of tea!

There are lots of recipes for rock cakes out there, but after reading Marian Keyes intro to these cakes in her book Saved by Cake, I knew I had to use her recipe!

Rock Cakes: 

225g self-rising flour

1 tsp bakig powder

115g butter (about 1 stick)

115g sultanas

50g mixed peel

75g caster sugar (superfine sugar)

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp demerara sugar (for decorating)

Line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas6.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then rub in the butter (like when making pastry) until it resembles bread crumbs. Mix in the sultanas, mixed peel, caster sugar, and the egg. Mix until you have a stiff dough. Add the milk by the tablespoon if the dough is too stiff. Marian reminds us that you can always add more, but can’t take it out if you’ve added too much!

Using two spoons or a spoon and a spatula – one for scooping, the other for scooping off – place golf ball-sized mounds of the mixture on to the prepared baking tray, leaving space for spreading. Marian also reminds us to leave these looking rough, the whole point of calling them rock cakes is so they look like rocks!

Sprinkle the top of each mound with demerara sugar, and then bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cakes have gone golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and eat them up!! 

Tomorrow Harry will be 32!! Crazy. He's older then me! ;0) 

Have a look tomorrow to see what I've created for his special day! 

Marian Keyes Saved by Cake and Harry Potter's age

Welsh Cakes!!

Someone in my husband’s office requested these; who of course is Welsh! So, I accepted the challenge! His verdict was that they were good, but (there is always a but) they needed to be a bit thicker. I also forgot the sugar dusting (sorry!) they were sugar dusted once they arrived at the office! The flavor was there so need to work on thickness might need to get myself some rolling pin guides!!

The recipe is from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess. It is my go-to baking book, can't recommend it enough! It has a little bit of everything!

Welsh Cakes: 

125g cold unsalted butter, cubed/diced
250g self-rising flour
75g caster sugar, plus more for sprinkling
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional; I added this in)
100g sultanas
1 large egg, beaten
7 ½ cm crinkled round cutter

Rub the butter into the flour as if you were making pastry, then stir in the sugar spice(s) and dried fruit. Add the egg to make soft but not sticky dough. Form a disc, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of about ¾ cm (no idea what my width was…) Use the cutter and cut out cakes; you will need to re-roll etc… but should be a problem. Preheat your unoiled griddle or cast-iron frying pan and cook the cakes for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove to a cold plate and sprinkle with caster sugar. (I missed this part and the receivers commented on it! Oops! I was in a hurry!) 

note: the Welsh Dragon picture comes from a site that sells Welsh Air. WTF?!? I should bottle the air in Berkshire.....