Wednesday 29 October 2014

Easy beetroot chocolate cake


  • In a food processor, blitz one large cooked, peeled beetroot: 175 - 200 grams
  • Add and mix in 3 eggs and 190ml sunflower oil
  • Fold in 200 grams self raising flour, 175 grams sugar, 75 grams cocoa - or more if wished.
  • Spoon into an eight inch square tin: the mixture is not too sloppy, more like stiff meringue.  
  • Bake at 190 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with creme fraiche or cream; or ice with chocolate icing or ganache.

See also BBC Good Food or Nigella.

Sunday 26 October 2014

Muffin pan/cupcake recipes of all kinds

I just had to save these recipes for fun treats you can make in a muffin/cupcake tin:

Some great ideas: use a strip of bacon as a cupcake liner and fill with omelette mixture.  Lightly cook the bacon first, bake for approx 10 minutes at 190 degrees.

  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • a pinch of pepper
  • 3-4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
  • 1/4 cup grated or shredded cheese (fontina, Parmesan, mozzarella)
  • 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups (I used my 12-cup muffin tin) with a non-stick spray or olive oil, set aside.
To a bowl, add eggs, mascarpone, salt and pepper. Whisk until mascarpone has no more lumps and mixture is smooth. Mix in cheese, prosciutto and parsley.
Add egg mixture to 6 muffin cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until tops are puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately or cooled. Leftovers can be stored up to a week in the fridge and reheated.
Mini macaroni and cheese; muffin chocolate chip lava cookies
'Smores in muffin tins: 
  • 2 cups freshly ground graham cracker crumbs (don’t buy the premade crumbs from the store)
  • 3/4 cups butter, melted
  • 1/3 cups sugar
  • 3 cups mini marshmallows
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • Directions
    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine crumbs, butter and sugar in a large bowl.
    2. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Set aside.
    3. Drop a generous amount of the crumb mixture in to the bottom of a prepared and greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
    4. Remove from oven and fill each tin with the marshmallows and chocolate chips. Sprinkle tops with remaining crumb mixture.
    5. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 additional minutes. Cool completely before removing from muffin tin.

INGREDIENTS:

12 Oreo Cookies
1-8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup store bought caramel sauce {use your favorite brand}

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Place one oreo cookie in the bottom of each tin and set aside.
In a large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Scrape sides and whip again until there are no lumps. Spoon cheesecake batter over oreos evenly. Depending on how deep your muffin tins are, you should get anywhere from 9-12 individual cheesecakes. Top with pecans and mini chocolate chips. Bake 15 minutes or until completely set. Bring to room temperature. Remove paper liners carefully and refrigerate until cold. To serve, place on serving platter and top with caramel sauce.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Apple Muffins

Cream together 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup margarine/butter
Beat in 2 large eggs and 1 cup flour and 1 large pinch cloves or 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Fold in 1 cup flour, 2 cups diced (small) apple, 1/2 cup milk, alternately.

Spoon into muffin cases, bake at 180 - 170 for 25 minutes.

Drizzle with 1 spoon margarine, 4 spoons or more icing sugar, a little boiling water.