basic muffin recipe

basic muffins (these have cherries* in them)

ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ cup melted butter (unsalted/sweetcream)
• 1 cup milk (any)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup fruit or chocolate

• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
add flour, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, baking powder to a mid sized bowl and mix well. It's as easy as that.

add your choice of fruit/chocolate/butterscotch chips and fold in gently.

spoon into muffin pans between 1/2 - 3/4 full .

Bake in preheated 375F (180C) oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

* the cherries were from a jar of cocktail cherries that I chopped up. I seem to be short on fruit other than the green bananas in the bowl and the apples that Harrison has claimed as his and his alone.

cook's notes: This is the basic recipe I use for nearly all my sweet muffins... to make savoury you leave out the vanilla and all but 2 tablespoons sugar. I've written up this recipe for a twitter baking challenge. So if you are looking for it on twitter look for the hash tag #michelebakes . Any questions please leave a comment here or on twitter and I will get back to you.

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes

Morello Cherry Bakewell cupcake

Morello Cherry Bakewell Cupcakes recipe (a work in progress)
ingredients
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract

1 jar morello cherry conserve (or other cherry jam)
½ cup flaked almonds
Paper muffin cases

Put the flour, ground almonds, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. In another bowl mix the vanilla and milk together.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add half the flour mixture and beat until well blended.

Add half the milk and the vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between additions.

Add the remainder of the flour mixture and blend thoroughly.

Add the remainder of the milk and vanilla.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases, filling them ¾ full, put a spoonful of morello cherry conserve (jam) on top of the cake batter (it will sink down) and sprinkling a few almonds on top of the cherry conserve.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180 C until it springs back when you touch them.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.


cook's notes: the recipe is a work in progress, I have been playing about with it, as my first attempt the batter was too thin and the jam sunk to the bottom of the cake, but this recipe it only nearly sunk to the bottom (as you can see in the photo) there is just enough cake to keep the bottom dry. I could have tired the easy way and baked the cakes without the jam and then cut them to add the jam to the top but that wouldn't have nearly been as much fun. I'll keep you posted on any further baking experiments...

p.s. I know I'm terribly behind on blog posts, but I will make it up to you I promise, there will be another giveaway soon, and there is also a sale on in my etsy shop if anyone is interested to have a look round before I close the shop down for awhile.