I'm more of a muffins kind of guy my favorite in the "plain" arena are earl grey flavored mini muffins.
here's a recipe from a bento expert that used to live in Zürich! http://justbento.com/handbook/johbis...ey-tea-muffins
Recipe: Earl Grey Tea Muffins
The dry ingredients:
2 cups minus 3 Tbs (230g) all purpose or cake flour (with cake flour they will be lighter, but AP flour works too)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbs. Sucanat (see notes) or light brown sugar or raw cane sugar or regular sugar
Pinch of salt
The wet ingredients:
2 large eggs
3 Tbs canola oil or light olive oil (or other flavorless vegetable oil)
1 1/3 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/3 regular low-fat milk + 1 Tbs. vinegar)
Plus:
1 tsp. or 1 teabag fine Earl Grey tea leaves. If your tea leaves are on the coarse side, grind them up a bit in a mortar and pestle, or just crumble them up by rubbing the leaves between your fingers.
Again, the procedure is almost identical to the corn muffins! Muffins are so easy.
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 360°F. Grease or spray non-stick spray onto your muffin tins if needed.
Mix or sift together the dry ingredients.
Beat together the wet ingredients until blended.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, using a spatula. Don’t overmix. Add the tea leaves.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes for mini-muffins, 25-30 for regular size muffins, until the tops are browned and a skewer stuck through a middle muffin comes out clean. Note: these muffins will puff up quite a bit.
Take out of the muffin tins and cool on a rack - that is, if you can resist eating them hot, since these smell so good!
If freezing, put them in the freezer well wrapped as soon as they are at room temperature.
I have a question about number 2, I always read this about not overmixing & I think this is my problem when making muffins. So does that just mean that you stop as soon as you see there's no more "dry" ingredients? I always feel like I over-mix but I can't very well stop mixing while I can see that there's still dry flour.
Not to stick the spatula in and move it round and round, but to fold over the batter from the sides to the middle till the flour is just incorporated.
I only use the electric Stabmixer for creaming the butter with sugar till the mixture is paler and then beating in the eggs. (Also for beating the whites separately, if I'm using the egg separation method for sponge-type cakes.) After that I use only a spatula to fold in the flour which is premixed with baking powder/soda and a pinch of salt.
It does make quite nice cupcakes too, one thing to be aware of though is the top is crispy, the middle is nice and moist though. Also, as the recipe has no eggs, you can lick the bowl if you like when pregnant.
"Screwball Cake"
3c flour (330g)
2c sugar (450g)
2/3c cocoa (75g)
2tsp baking soda
2c water (473ml)
2/3c oil (156ml)
2tsp vinegar
2tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
Mix dry ingredients together, form a "crater" in the center and add wet ingredients. Mix until all is combined.
Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 45 to 60min or until knife in center comes out clean.
I've used this recipe for cupcakes as I've said, I want to say that I baked them for about 30min and checked them but I don't really remember exact time (and forgot to note it).
I've also added orange flavoring to make it chocolate orange and it came out quite yummy, the batter is very thin though so I wouldn't tend to add nuts or chips or anything as it would simply sink, unless of course that is your desired outcome.
I've not tried them myself (yet) but they sure look tasty, and fun. Also, the recipe is from Cooking Light magazine so for those of us watching sugar, cholesterol, fat or whatever, perhaps they're a good "alternative" to richer desserts.
Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes: 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup egg substitute 1/4 cup canola oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces) 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup fat-free buttermilk Frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Dash of salt 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cupcakes, place the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes).
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt), stirring well with a whisk. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition just until blended.
Place 16 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons batter into each cup. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs attached (do not overbake). Remove cupcakes from pans; cool on a wire rack.
To prepare frosting, combine powdered sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Increase speed to medium-high, and beat until smooth. Spread about 1 tablespoon frosting on top of each cupcake.
This recipe makes 8 medium sized ones.
100 g dark chocolate
100 g butter
2 eggs
180 g sugar (or less)
100 g flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
150 g raspberries
Put butter and chocolate in a pot and on a small heat to melt it, stir it all the time, cool it down.
Butter/chocolate mixture combine with the rest of the ingredients (minus raspberries) till smooth. Fold in the fruits.
Put the batter in the forms (3/4 height) and bake at 180 degrees around 20 minutes.
ps. they might not look great but they are delicious, if you can wait till they cool down, they will come out of the forms easier than while still warm (I did not wait, couldn't help myself)
Here is the recipe we used:
Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes
We made a full batch of the peanut butter frosting and we also made a half-recipe of chocolate cream cheese frosting (we simply added a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to the cream cheese frosting as it was being mixed).
Makes 12 perfect, incredibly soft, dense, delicious cupcakes...
Darn it. Now I'm hungry.
Couldn't find Reese peanut butter cups, so opted for a chopped up Snickers bar instead.
recipe here..
Ingredients
170g softened butter
170g golden caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
170g self-raising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3-4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped into small pieces
Reese’s peanut butter cups or peanuts, to decorate
For the peanut butter frosting
200g peanut butter
170g icing sugar
150ml full fat cream cheese
Recipe
Preheat oven to 170degrees C/gas 3.
Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with electric whisk for around 5 minutes, or until pale and creamy. Whisk in the eggs, one by one, until combined. You may find the mixture curdles a little when you pop in your last eggs but it should come together again when you add the flour.
Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and stir. Add 3 tbsp milk and vanilla extract. You want the batter to fall off the spoon easily; if you think it’s too thick, stir in another tablespoon of milk. Stir in the chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Divide the mixture between 18 cupcake cases and bake for 20-24 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. You can check this by sliding a skewer into a cake; if it comes out clean, it’s done.
Frosting
Beat peanut butter with icing sugar and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. There are no real rules when icing a cupcake except that it has to be really think – so whether you want to use a knife or piping bag, give them some shape or make them smooth, the choice is yours. Decorate with chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups or peanuts.
This is a dangerous chocolate cake/cupcake recipe.. as its ready in 6 minutes including prep time..
6 Minute Chocolate cake
1 Mug
4 Tablespoons flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa ( or melted chocolate,tastes better)
1 Egg ( all of it )
3 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons oil
How to :
* Mix flour, sugar and cocoa
* Spoon in 1 egg
* Pour in milk and oil, and mix well
(note you can grease your mug with butter, no need of the oil then - and it comes out of the mug easier )
* Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt)
* Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug
dust with powder sugar if you like ,Take a spoon and enjoy
Whats so dangerous you ask? the fact that you have all the ingredients in your house, and within 6 minutes you can enjoy fingerlicking chocolate heaven
Loved working at my last job, food company with bakers who show you things they shouldn't