Its a bake-off!

Oh its been a while. But I have been busy-busy baking (instead of taking photos!)
First, I accepted the challenge to make Vegan cupcakes that were delicious. Enter Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World’s sexy low-fat vanilla cupcakes. I added sprinkles for look and crunch (and checked – the red isn't from crushed bugs as per normal, so they were ok to add)

I ended up topping these with a tofu-icing that REALLY DIDN’T WORK. The recipe just yielded liquid slush. I had to add cocoa, custard powder (dairy free of course – it was basically sugar and cornflour) all my cornflour, egg-replacer, anything powdery to dry it out. In the end I added all my coconut oil (about $5 worth, ugh, baking is costly) and froze. FINALLY, it became useable, and I also put on sprinkles. So imagine these with browny orange topping.

Odd thing was I made about 27, two trays of 12 and then some singlies, all from the same batter, but I could only put the trays in first lot around. The second lot seemed to be a lot more bouncy (below right). Perhaps letting the dough rest was ok. Also not burning them probably helped.

These ended up being a hit at work. I waited until people told me they were delicious before breaking the news that the topping was made out of tofu and there was no butter or milk in them. Oh, and they were low-fat. So a winner!
Next up were some ricotta cornmeal muffins I kinda made up/mixed up.

The recipe was an edit from Creative Gourmet, something like
Ingredients
1 cup shy self-raising flour (I used half wholemeal)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup polenta (yellow cornmeal)
1/4 + 2 tbsp cup caster sugar (I did half with splenda)
125g low fat ricotta cheese
1/4 c applesauce
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup water or as needed to make soft
1 1/4 cups berries, frozen or fresh
Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 160ºC (fan forced at 150ºC). Lightly grease a 1/2 cup-capacity 12 hole muffin pan.
   
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except blueberries. Using a large metal spoon, stir to combine. Spoon 2 tablespoons of mixture into each muffin cup. Dividing blueberries, top each with some frozen blueberries. Cover with remaining ricotta mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out from pans and serve warm.

They were very tender, and not too sweet – great for lunch BUT the ones I left fresh in the baking box ended up going disgusting and tart and rotten. Lucky I froze a few for lunches!

Lastly I made this recipe from taste (minus the fruit)–  honing my fruitless hot cross bun recipe for easter. I actually halved the recipe but not the yeast and it worked perfectly – the boy prefers these to woolies (and to my previous attempts which turned out like bread rather than buns) Thank goodness for the Kenwood Chef!!

Yin and Yang

Hahha, its almost been a week now. As you can see I am not that great at sticking to resolutions (I am currently eating M&Ms and Malteasers...)

But onto the eats!

When I bake I like to bake a few things at once - you may as well put all that energy to good use! But at the same time, I dislike my trousers getting tighter, so I try to balance my exorbitance with something a little less decadent (and a fair bit of gym time). It also means, when I turn up to work, the health freaks don't... freak out. Although usually a bite of one of my banana-chai-white-choc cake pops soothes the savage beast.

So today I made some deliciously decadent Choc Chip Dough Balls, courtesy of The Chic Life, but also some Ginger-Bran Muffins, adpated from Womens Health Mag.

Ah balance!!

So recipes? I basically followed the recipe (except my egg had, surprise-surprise, two egg yolks, and I think that meant they are a bit more cookie, less doughy as I had to bake them longer?) so you can grab it from the Chic Life - kudos to her for all those experiements (and yay! A new blog for me to follow!!)

And secondly...

Ginger-Bran Muffins

Makes 12 medium sized muffins

1/2 cup bran (I used ALDI all-bran, crushed a little)
1 1/4 cup plain wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp applesauce
1 egg, beaten (I used 1 egg white and 1/2 an egg worth of egg substitute because its all I had left!)
A single-serve tub of yogurt (about 2/3 c. I used ALDI Low-fat Mango yogurt.)
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (I used Gourmet Garden, a lifesafer!)
3 Tbsp golden syrup
A splash of fruit juice if its looking dry
1 cup shredded carrots (2-3 small ones)

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
2. Mix the dry the ingredients (bran to sugar) together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining wet ingredients.
4. Combine the mixtures well. You may notice the baking soda/powder doing its job, puffing up the batter.
5. Spoon the batter into a 12 muffin pan, with either pre-prepared muffin cases, or well-greased pan. Bake at 190C until the muffin tops spring back when pressed lightly or a skewer comes out clean.

I also sprinkled in some chia seeds, totally optional, and some flaked almonds on top before the bake, and squeezed half a lime when done. It means you can enjoy them plain (like me) or with cream-cheese/jam/PB/coconut oil/butter like the boy will undoubtedly do (after I refuse to make another lime-white choc buttercream for last time's muffins)

The Living Cookbook calculates these (sans almonds and lime) as 126 calories, 1g fat, 2g fibre per muffin. Could be better, but one of the first muffins I've made that rose properly despite being low fat and wholemeal.

Notes:

• I use a whisk to mix the dry, then the wet then both mixtures. It combines the ingredients without pushing out the air like overbeating with a spoon might.
• I also use a silicone muffin pan for healthy or lower fat muffins as I find they stick to the paper. I spray this with canola oil first, and make sure I let the muffins cool - experience.
• Don't overbake! Once they are overbaked they can go chewy as hell. Boo. Plus if you freeze, then microwave them, they wont be too chewy.
• Lastly, low fat and wholemeal muffins taste a lot better the next day - more flavours, moister and not rubbery. So be patient, and eat your unhealthy treats today instead!

I tried to hide the leftovers in these nifty Spotlight tins as I am about 25% cookie right now. I dont get the nick-name Cookie Bronster for nothing, you know? Even my Step class and attempt at being virtuous...

Chlorophyll*

...doesnt compensate. Ah well, I would rather be pudgey and happy than skinny and deprived. Been there involuntarily, is not so great. And right now, I'm full of cookie, and happy.

* Every time I get this stuff out, straight or diluted I say aloud "Its so ... green"