Baked Jam Donut Muffin Recipe

I had a couple of requests on my last post for a recipe, so I thought I would share the original link and also my tweaked version of the recipe.

One thing that I liked about this recipe is how unforgiving it seems to be.  Although the urge to bake was strong, it was not strong enough that I was motivated to make a trip to the supermarket so I had to make do with the ingredients I had on hand.  I read through the comments on the recipe, and decided that I could easily make a few substitutes with what was in the pantry.

Also, not having a proper oven I was limited on space so I decided to halve the recipe.  By halving, I mean I roughly estimated and threw odd amounts of each ingredient into a bowl!  Despite all this, 20 minutes later I was very happy with the result that came out of the oven. 

JAM DONUT MUFFINS

[this makes about 6 little muffins]

• 1 cup of self-raising flour
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil + extra for glazing
• 150 ml of milk
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened apple puree
• pinch of baking powder (this + apple puree was in place of the egg)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• strawberry jam (for filling - the quantity is totally up to you!)

• caster sugar
• ground cinnamon

The beauty of this recipe is how very simple it is!

I pre-heated the oven to 180°C as the recipe suggested, and got to work.  As I was using non-stick silicone muffin patties, I lined these up on the tray before getting started on the batter.  I sifted the flour into a large bowl, added the brown sugar and a pinch of baking powder. 

I measured out 150 ml of milk (after reading through the reviews and comments on the recipe, I decided to increase the quantity asked for) and combined the apple puree and vanilla extract with this.  At this stage, I would have also added my coconut oil, but as mentioned I accidentally forgot this step!

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry, and stir gently until combined.  Pop one tablespoon of batter into your muffin tray, add as much strawberry jam as you like, and cover with another lot of batter!  I recommend gently folding the batter around the jam with a spoon, to ensure that it is properly encased and won't ooze out too much when baking.  Then into the oven with the lot!

These took only about 10 minutes to bake to golden brown perfection! Once done, you can brush lightly with the remaining coconut oil and then sprinkle with your caster sugar/cinnamon mix.  I liked the little extra sweetness and crunch that this added to the muffin, but Liam decided that they were good enough without needing it!  And there you have it! Lovely golden jammy donuts.

Will you try this recipe? Please let me know if you do! xx

Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Baker's Man!

This week I experienced the overwhelming urge to action some baked goods. But with our oven out-of-action, I wasn't sure how I was going to remedy this.  As I pondered my baking basket full of ingredients, I decided it could not wait any longer and I was going to have to made do!

As you know, we're soon to be moving into our new house and have been busy stocking up on furniture and updating our household goods.  As luck would have it, last weekend we stumbled across a great deal on a mini toaster oven and I decided what better way to put it to the test than blueberry muffins!

What a way to christen the new toaster!

We're still pretending to be on this healthy eating bandwagon, so I tried to make them as healthy as possible using a very basic recipe.  A bit of flour, small amount of brown sugar, milk, egg, vanilla extract, a little oil (I substituted coconut oil in place of canola oil) and a handful of blueberries. 

With such a simple recipe and not so perfect cooking conditions, I wasn't expecting too much - but these ended up coming out of the (toaster) oven light, moist and very moreish!

So you'd think with that out of the way, my baking urge would be satisfied right?  Not so.  Now I knew I could bake perfectly acceptable muffins in the toaster oven I just wanted to bake more semi-healthy treats! I had an urge for jammy sugary cinnamony donuts, so I turned to Google (ah, my ever faithful friend) and came across a dead-easy recipe that I could bake. 

I tweaked the recipe a bit, and with the simplest of ingredients I had a bowl full of batter ready to go!

Some flour, a bit of sugar, milk, vanilla extract, unsweetened apple puree in place of an egg, strawberry jam and a little sugar + cinnamon for dusting was all it took! The recipe called for oil again, but it wasn't until I was filling the muffin cases did I realise that my melted coconut oil was still sitting on the edge of the sink...

Despite this oversight, I was thrilled at the little golden bundles that I pulled out of the oven just a short time later! Still moist, with a cakey-donutty casing flavoured by sweet strawberry jam in the middle.

Considering that both these muffin variations took about 20 minutes including prep-time and baking to whip up, I was very happy! Guilt-free jam donuts and blueberry muffins!

Liam was also very happy, as it meant he got little bags full of assorted muffins to munch on all week!  These were the perfect snacks to take to work, as they satisfied the sweet cravings without completely ruining the diet.  I didn't feel quite so guilty as I ate them since I knew all the ingredients that had gone into making them!

I can't wait to get into the new house so I can get my bake on with a proper oven!

Any recipes you can recommend I try next? xx

First Weekend Post-Househunting

Now that the house-hunting is over, it feels good to have gained our weekends back!

On my way home from work on Friday, I caught a glimpse of this double rainbow...

It looked far more impressive in real life, but of course being the responsible citizen that I am, I could not afford to take a better photo.  This was snapped from my iPhone sitting in its little handsfree mount!

I have noticed more and more rainbows around Melbourne recently (which has increased my driving time greatly, since often when I see them I feel compelled to keep driving to follow them, even after I have reached my destination!) and I love them!  Unfortunately, they also seem to be accompanied by (or are as a result of) this constant we weather we've been having.

Saturday night we headed out for dinner for my cousin's birthday.  I bought this cute little puppy cake, and also the little longevity man figurine as a cake-topper at Liam's insistence.

Poor little cake was a little tense, so we administered some acupuncture treatment...

No wonder he'd been nervous though... Look what happened next!

I can at least confirm that he was very very tasty!

After dinner and cake, Liam and I settled down in front of the TV for one of my favourite events of the week - Saturday Night Football!

We are avid football fans, and are known amongst our friends as the crazy couple who will be at the stadium every week!  Often twice a weekend, if not twice a day, if that's when our teams happen to be playing.  Unfortunately due to the impending mortgage repayments which are in our immediate future, we've had to cut down on this.  Sadface. 

After the game, Liam attempted to put himself to bed although only got half way off the couch until he gave up it seems!

It must have worked wonders for him though, because when he woke up the next morning (and yes, after I stopped laughing at him I did wake him up and send him off to bed!) he was full of energy and decided to whip up a yummy breakfast for us.

Mmm... look at all those lovely fresh vegetables!

Let's just say he's more organised than I am!  When I cook, the kitchen is a horrible mess and I'm always fumbling for the ingredients at the last minute when everything needs to be in the pan.

It's got to be said - there is something very appealing about a man in the kitchen...

Especially when he produces tasty food like this!

I've said it once, and I've said it a thousand times... weekends just disappear far too quickly! 

Tell me what you got up to! xx

Let the Birthday Weekend Commence!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!

Mine was fantastic.  I got spoilt rotten, and Liam put together a memorable weekend of surprises!
I will update you about all that in another post soon.

On Friday night, we headed to my Aunt's house for dinner.  She does an a-MAZ-ing risotto, one of my favourites, which was on the menu for the evening! Not before snacking on dips, crackers and smoked salmon though. YUM.  Surprisingly, I actually didn't get any photos of the snacks or dinner! I know, I'm amazed too.

I did, however, get a few snaps of my gorgeous little dining companions! 

In her own words, upon seeing the photo - "Oh aww, I look so cheeky!"

After which she promptly turned around and, with a voice full of attitude, yelled out "LIAM! Don't put your hands in my photo again. You stop ruining my photos, now!" If there is one thing that can be said for that girl, she is a sassy little miss, and will give some poor bloke a run for his money and a permanent headache in the future!

Her little brother is quite the opposite though - a real chilled out little fella! 

Here he is, happily snacking on a cracker! The only time I even heard a peep from him was to let me know he'd finished his cracker and would please like another one!

He did look a little perplexed each time I reached for the smoked salmon, wondering why he was not receiving any, however he would happily go back to his plain cracker.  

Here he is whinging because each mouthful is not coming fast enough!

He sure loves his food, and ate his share of risotto like a little champion.  

Straight after which he totally devoured a baby pudding for dessert! What a little guts :) <3

After dinner (having eaten far too much!) I was lying in the living room, playing with toys and having a conversation with my little cousin when my presence was requested in the dining room.  

Adeline grabbed my hand, and dragged me in to a darkened room, lit up only by the glow of candles sitting on top of a yummy looking mango cheesecake! Yum. What a sweet surprise!

As I was trying to take this picture, a little girl was also vying for my attention... "Cat... Cat... Cat!" 

I quickly took the photo and turned my attention to her.  "Here! Take a photo of my cake too!" 

Happy to oblige. 

During dinner, I was interrupted with requests to take photos. Poser! I'll leave you with one more...

"Oh, look at me! I look so wild!" 

Isn't she scary? :)

Another Year Wiser...

So, yesterday marks the date of completing another year of life for me.  27 years on this earth.  I have now advanced out of my mid-twenties, and am well on my way to the dirty thirty. Late-twenties? Scary.

The day began like any other.  I am fairly low-key about birthdays; often I like to pretend they haven't really happened and there isn't an extra year tacked on to my age.  Liam has a surprise planned for the weekend though, and I am excited to find out what!

I trudged to work, and tried to fend off the birthday/age questions from various colleagues.  Facebook! Y U  tell everyone everything?! When lunch time arrived, I threw diet-caution to the wind! It was roast day at the work cafe - roast pork with all the trimmings! Cheesy cauliflower, and of course who could forget crackling? I showed slight restraint and declined a serve of potatoes.

You'd think that should be enough bad food for the day, but... this is me you're talking about! I'm seriously starting to think that this should be turned into a food blog with the amount of talk and photos of eats! Liam and I headed to this amazing little restaurant for dinner, the same place I spent my birthday evening last year! I believe it may just have to be incorporated into my annual birthday routine...  a new tradition, if you will.

They do the most amazing duck red curry! And the interior is beautiful.  Very simple, yet elegant and comfortable.  You just feel at home.  I wish I'd taken a couple of snaps of the interior, but I was too preoccupied with the fantastic meal in front of me :(

My request this year was that my mother make me one of her yummy hummingbird cakes! So when we arrived back, there it was on the table - in all its passionfruit-frosted glory, adorned with a little "Happy Birthday" plaque!  My other request was that she provide me with a cup full of frosting, so that I could cover all sides of my slice in that sugar-y goodness... I wasn't sure if she was going to humour me, but to my delight there was a big bowl of frosting sitting on the kitchen bench with the spatula all ready! My mum is the best!

Okay, now this is the part where I need your help!

Liam revealed one of his surprises to me... he was kicking himself straight after he told me, but I think he'd been waging an internal battle inside his head.  He had wanted to present me with a little blue bag of Tiffany, but knowing how picky I am had no idea what to choose!  His plan was then, as part of my birthday activities over the weekend, to take me to the Collins Street store as a surprise and let me choose what I wanted! He then worried that they may not have the item that I would like. Silly boy! I don't think there is any girl in this world that you could let loose in Tiffanys and have them not find something that they'd like! So many pretties...

Anyway, I have an option to choose a gift from Tiffanys and if I wish, we will go pick it up over the weekend.  I'm wanting to limit the price, as I think it's more important to save as much money as possible to go towards imminent upcoming expenses for when we purchase the house! So the budget is roughly around $350.  Help! Do you have any suggestions of pretty things that I just need to have?!

What would you choose?