S&SB: Jammy Doughnut Muffins

I love doughnuts, specially those fresh ones.. hmm.. yummy! This time, SSB is going a little healthier.. No frying doughnuts. Tested and tried...these Jammy Doughnut Muffins were fabulous!! I even put custard in some of my doughnuts. They turned out great!

Any flavoured jam would be equally as delicious to use in this bake as opposed to strawberry and raspberry. You may have some delectable homemade jam(s) you wish to use or what about the sublime Dulce de Leche, (“toffee sauce”) even a thick vanilla custard or stewed apples. The amount of baking powder is correct in this recipe, I know it seems a vast amount but it does work.

Makes 12
Ingredients
275g (10 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
100g (4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs
200ml (7 fl oz) milk
75g (3 oz) unsalted (sweet) butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 tsp strawberry or raspberry jam

For The Toping
100g (4 oz) unsalted (sweet) butter
150g (5 oz) granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

You will need 12 hole muffin tin lined with paper cases.

Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas mark 5.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl, and stir through the sugar. In large jug, lightly beat the eggs then add the milk, cooled butter and vanilla extract and beat together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients stir gently until just combined. (Do not over mix, its fine to have a few lumps in the mixture.) Spoon half the muffin mixture into the base of each paper case. Top each muffin with a teaspoon of jam. Now equally between each paper case, top with the remaining muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes until well risen, golden and firm to the touch.

For The Topping: melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Spread the granulated sugar in a wide, shallow bowl with the cinnamon if using. When the muffins are baked, leave in the tin for 5 minutes. Dip the tops of the muffins in the melted butter and then roll in the sugar. You can serve these muffins warm or cold; however, I do prefer to eat them whilst warm.

I'm looking forward to see the other entries for this bake.. Thanks Rosie and Maria for the great bake. :) Check out Sweet and Simple Bakes.

Sweet & Simple Bakes (December): Christmas Muffins

This time, the challenge was very interesting. Both Rosie and Maria made a polling system for S&S Bakers to choose their favorite. The following showed the choices and the number of votes:

Christmas muffin - 20 votes
Trifle - 7 votes
Minced Pies - 5 votes
Gingerbread People - 16 votes
Stained Glass Window Cookies - 19 votes

I voted for the gingerbread people, unfortunately, the votes were not high enough. No biggie.. I enjoyed making the Christmas muffin on Christmas eve morning. It was good. Well, I am not really a big fan for muffins but I would say these muffins were good. Moist and doesn't break into pieces. I'm looking forward to bake gingerbread people and stained glass window cookies in the future.

This recipe is sourced and adapted from Nigella Christmas cookbook. A very beautiful book by, The Domestic Goddess’s herself and it definitely is worth purchasing for all the magnificent festive recipes inside.

Christmas Morning Muffins ~ adapted from Nigella Christmas Book
Makes 12

Ingredients
250g (9 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g (4 oz) caster (super fine) sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Good grating of fresh nutmeg (or ¼ tsp ground nutmeg)
2 Clementine’s or Satsuma’s *see notes*
Approx 125ml (4 fl oz) full-fat milk
75g (3 oz) vegetable oil (or melted butter, left to cool slightly)
1 egg
175g (6 oz) dried cranberries

For The Topping
3 tsp Demerara sugar *see notes*

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.
Line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin paper cases.
Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, caster sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl; grate the zest of the Clementine’s/Satsuma’s over and combine.
Squeeze the juice of the Clementine’s/Satsuma’s into a measuring jug, and pour in the milk until it comes up to the 200ml (7 fl oz) mark.
Add the oil (or slightly cooled, melted butter) and egg, and lightly beat until just combined.
Pour this liquid mixture into the bowl of dried ingredients and stir until everything is more or less combined, remembering that a well-beaten mixture makes for heavy muffins; a lumpy batter is a good here.
Fold in the cranberries, then spoon the batter into the muffin cases and sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
The muffins are ready to eat now either plain or broken up and smeared with butter and marmalade.

* Notes**

Cranberries could also be replaced with another dried fruit of choice**

Clementine’s/Satsuma’s*If you’re unable to source Clementine’s or Satsuma’s, 1 orange of zest and juice would be adequate.

* Demerara Sugar is*: Large crystals, golden in colour, which also adds a crunch to baked goods.

*Question*:
I can’t purchase Demerara sugar - what could I use instead?
Granulated Sugar: This is a pure, naturally white, crystalline sugar.
Sugar Cubes: Brown/white, would be a lovely addition instead of Demerara sugar; crunched up and sprinkled over the top of each muffin before baking.

If you wish to bake these muffins on Christmas morning for breakfast; you could measure out the dry ingredients the night before into a bowl and cover over, and also pop the muffin cases into the muffin tin. Then on the day, preheat the oven, add the grated zest to the dry ingredients and whisk up the wet ingredients. Mix the mixture together as above and scoop the mixture into the muffins cases and bake as above.

Check out the rest of the S&B Bakers here!

Enjoy!

Sweet and Simple Bakes (July) - Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is my first time to join Sweet and Simple Bakes by Rosie and Maria. Well for July's bake it is Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin. Thou, I'm not a big fan of banana, these muffins were very good. We like it when it is warm, so the leftovers in the refrigerator, we just heat it in the microwave for a few secs and served with a glass of milk.

Since I found out about the food events and also group bakers, I just want to join everything.. But I do not think I can do it. That's a lot! haha.. So far, I've joined 4 and 1 is coming up this month and that is Daring Bakers. I think DB is more challenging than the rest.. I've read the previous entries from DB's members, I am not sure, if I can do it, I am only a beginner, making those fancy cakes.. gosh, I may be out of my mind!! LOL... :) So it is this month, it will be my first, cant wait to see what it is going to be!

Anyway, this recipe calls for 3 bananas but I didn't realized that I was left with just 2 bananas. I wasn't sure it turned out well but it did. Yummy!! Its a good thing that we have a digital scale because it will took me forever to do the conversions.. haha .. :)

Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
250g plain flour
100g caster sugar
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g dark/milk chocolate (white chocolate or butterscotch chips/morsels)


Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan oven/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.

Mash the bananas and set aside for a moment.Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs.

Put the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas.

Fold in the chocolate morsels, then place equal quantities in the prepared muffin tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Check out Sweet and Simple Bakes to see the rest of the bakers. :)