SMALL BATCH CARROT BANANA MUFFINS (refined sugar free)

Would you like some muffin with your gratuitous slab of salted grassfed butter?

ONE BLUEBERRY MUFFIN! NOW! (Small Batch Baking)

One Blueberry Muffin.  Now. 

My 7 yr old loves blueberry muffins.  The trouble is no one else in the household is that crazy about them.  

BANANA BREAD-SQUARED

BANANA BREAD²



I made a recipe for TWO LOAVES and used TWICE as many bananas as I usually do.  I produced TWICE as much banana flavour. 

How is this made possible without making the crumb gummy?  I used the old CI trick of microwaving frozen bananas, straining the liquid into a saucepan, reducing the banana liquid and adding it back to the batter in concentrated form.  Since making two loaves of the same size is just boring, I made one loaf, a whole bunch of mini loaves using my silicone financier mould and a medium-sized loaf too.   I used up some frozen bananas and about 3 fresh bananas that were just crying to be smashed up into bread.  In total, I was able to fit about 14 bananas into the recipe.  [NB:  the size of your bananas does matter. Mine were medium to small]  Through the concentration procedure, this enabled me to make up the usual amount of banana puree of 3 cups.

The mini loaves were my favourite.  They’re the perfect size for snacks and I plop two in a  baggie for my daughter’s recess snack.   The financier-sized mini loaves took 20 minutes to bake in their silicone moulds.
 

Fresh out of the oven, the banana flavour was intense and the crumb was tender and unctuous.  Very moist but not gummy.  That’s a good thing.


The larger loaf takes from 60-70 minutes in the oven and it tasted just as good but just wasn’t as cute.


BANANA BREAD²

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2sticks unsalted butter, softened [that is equivalent to 3/4 cup]
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown (muscovado) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 10-14 frozen bananas (microwaved to release their liquid)  [do this 1-minute at a time;  but you don’t want to heat up the bananas to cook them—just release liquid]   You will need about 3 to 3 1/2 cups banana puree including the reduced liquid.  Banana size matters.  I had small to medium bananas.  Adjust # of bananas to yield 3 to 3 1/2 cups puree. 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. [I used one regular-sized loaf pan, one silicone financier mould and one half-loaf-sized mould].
2. Prepare the bananas by microwaving them in a large pyrex container.  Nuke it at one minute intervals, checking it to ensure that you are not cooking the bananas; just releasing liquid.  Using a strainer/sieve over a small pot,  drain the banana liquid into the saucepan.   Heat the liquid over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about a half.
3. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda and salt with a wire whisk; set aside.
   
4. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, concentrated banana liquid,  bananas, and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of bowl.
   
5. Add the flour mixture and then blend at low speed just until combined. Do not over-mix.
   
6. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. [Adjust timing for different sized pans.  My financier moulds took 20 minutes and my half-loaf took 45 minutes.]   A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean, and the bread should pull away from the sides.
   
7. Cool in pan, for 10 minutes. Turn pans on sides; cool to room temperature before removing and slicing.

LEMON-GLAZED BANANA BUNDT CAKE

    

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could solve problems with cake? 

I have my own reasons for baking and one of them is of course my quest for the best darned fool-proof cake recipes.  Another reason is that baking cakes brings me immense pleasure.  I actually like the feeling you can get when the cake’s in the oven and the aromas wafting out are sweet and enticing.  I like the anticipation when you have to wait until the cake cools on its rack—or you’ll risk unmolding a broken cake if it hasn’t had time to firm up. I like my fingers dancing a hot chunk of cake into my mouth; the crust still crunchy, caramelized and warm. 

However, one of the more esoteric reasons I bake, is so that I can give away my goodies.  Only that doesn’t jive with some people I know.  The concept eludes them.  They must think I’m nuts to spend good hard-earned money, time and effort to feed people I don’t have any reason to feed.   I understand.   It must seem weird.   But it feels good.  So I do it.   

I must not be alone though.  There are a kajillion food blogs out there (hello, fellow foodies!) and not a small number of these food bloggers also gift the products of their labour away. 

I do wonder what those other people (the food recipients) think though.  Sure, you get recipients who, like Pavlov’s dog, start salivating when they see you.  Or the Hoovers who eat pretty much everything and anything you place on the staffroom lunch table (bless them!) and profess their undying love for your baked goods.  But there are a few recipients who kind of smile a little funny at you and you can detect their little hamster wheels turnin’ inside as they’re thinking “what the heck does she want in return?” 

Nothing.   Don’t wanna be your friend if you aren’t already.  Don’t want a favour.  Don’t want you to bake me something in return (unless of course you want do).  Don’t want to pad my “Owes me something” list.  Don’t want to get rid of stuff ‘cause it tastes bad. 

Don’t eat it if it’s causing you any angst whatsoever because it’s simply flour, butter and sugar.   It’s not a covert operation where I’m baking and gifting for some sort of world domination.

or maybe?

BWA-HAHAHA!

Well, not this time.  I was recently inspired to make yet another cake with bananas when I noticed a frozen lump of ripe bananas in the back of my freezer.  No, it didn’t have freezer burn.  Frozen bananas don’t really last too long in my household.  Not when there are so many different banana cake recipes to try!

 

This Lemon Glazed Banana Bundt cake was inspired by Greenspan’s “Classic Banana Bundt Cake” recipe in her Baking:  From My Home to Yours.  I say inspired because I totally took liberties with it and adapted the heck out of it.   However, the overall recipe and technique is still pretty much the same.  I discovered that I don’t really like sour cream in my banana cake.  It’s too twangy for me.  But buttermilk’s okay.  So I tried an experiment using a soured whipping cream.  I added a tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of whipping cream and let it sit for a while while I readied my other ingredients. I swapped out the regular sugar for a combination of brown sugar and organic evaporated cane sugar and used all organic ingredients to ensure profound yumminess.

LEMON GLAZED BANANA BUNDT CAKE

(inspired by and adapted from Greenspan’s “Classic Banana Bundt Cake” from Baking:  From My Home to Yours)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup organic evaporated cane sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• approx. 4 very ripe bananas, pureed (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter a 9-to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. 
2. In a cup, add the lemon juice to the whipping cream and allow to sit until ready to use.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
4. Working with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugars and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas.  Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don’t be disturbed when the batter curdles), all the soured whipping cream and then the rest of the flour mixture.  Scrape the batter in the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.  Check the cake after about 30 minutes—if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent.  Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.
6. Glaze with the Lemon Glaze (recipe follows).  Or eat plain because it’s SO good on its own too!  Wrap in plastic and allow to sit on the counter overnight before serving—if you can wait that long!

LEMON GLAZE

Sift 3/4 cups confections’ sugar into a bowl and squeeze in enough lemon juice to make an icing thing enough to drizzle down the Bundt’s curves (2 teaspoons, added in drops).

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I’m trying my green thumb out by growing two blueberry bushes in my backyard. I chose two different varieties and only one this year has a handful of berries. I hope when they establish themselves in a few years I’ll be able to harvest enough for making blueberry muffins!

Corriher’s recipe for Blueberry Muffins again incorporates 1/2 cup of whipping cream beaten to the soft peak stage. The muffin was moist, but didn’t have much structure/strength to hold up well. It crumbles easily. She indicated you could beat the batter well (unlike the traditional muffin method) to increase gluten formation and increase structure. I did this, but the muffins were still very soft. That’s okay though. I had them in muffin liners and that helped.

These muffins stayed moist into the second day and I nuked one for 15 seconds to get that warm, freshly baked sensation again. It was very good. My mother really liked them and took a few back to her condo to eat for breakfast and snacks. These were really good, but I don’t think the whipping cream added any more flavour of complexity to this quickbread as it did to the previous recipe I made with the pound cake. I’ve had muffins just as good without the incorporation of this ingredient.

BLUEBERRIES AND CREAM MUFFINS

from S.O. Corriher’s BakeWise: the Hows and Whys of Successful Baking

(makes 12 medium (2 3/4 x 1 1/8 inch/7 x 2.8 cm) muffins)

• 2 cups (8.8 oz/249 g) spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (9g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
• 1 1/4 cups (12.3 oz/349 g) sugar
• 1 large egg (1.75 oz/50g)
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) canola oil
• 1/3 cup (79 ml) buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon zest (grated peel)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) orange zest (grated peel)
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups (7.4 oz/208 g) fresh blueberries
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup (1.8 oz/52 g) coarse sugar or granulated sugar, for topping

1. Arrange a shelf in the lower third of the oven, place a baking stone on it, and preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar for a full 30 seconds
3. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg with a few strokes, then beat in the oil, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon and orange zests
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Beat together with a hand mixer or by hand. Stir or beat well. This batter is almost too tender, so do not hesitate to stir vigorously.
5. In a cold bowl with cold beaters, whip the cream until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Beat just a little beyond this soft peak stage. Stir about one-quarter of the whipped cream in to lighten the batter. Then, fold the rest of the whipped cream into the batter. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
6. Spray two 6-cup medium (2 3/4 x 1 1/8 inch/7 x 2.8 cm) muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.
7. Fill muffin pans almost to the top. Sprinkle the muffins with coarse sugar. Turn the oven down to 400°F/204°C and leave the oven door open for about 10 seconds. Place pans in the oven on the stone and close the oven door. Bake until well-risen and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
8. Cool the muffins in the pans for about 5 minutes. Jar the edges of the pans on the counter to loosen the muffins, and carefully remove them to a cooling rack.

WHO LOVES THE CRUSTIES? GREENSPAN'S BANANA BUNDT CAKE

Dorie Greenspan's Banana Bundt Cake: adapted for loaf pans and made even yummier (in my opinion, anyway)


Not another Banana Bread recipe, you say? Well, you know I've been searching for the perfect banana bread or banana cake recipe. It has to be full of banana-y flavour and must keep well...and every bit of the crust has to be edible and not rock hard.

My go-to Banana Bread recipe is still one of my favourites and never fails to meet my expectations. The ingredient list is brief and the technique is quick (hey, it's a quickbread after all). However, my mother doesn't like the crust. She thinks it's too hard (but really, it isn't). It's crunchy if I don't wrap it in plastic wrap right away after baking. My husband likes crusts and crunch. I can't win. Thus, my unending quest for the perfect banana bread recipe...


I don't mind crusts, per se, but growing up, mom was sort of like a t.v. dinner, Shake'n Bake, Duncan Hines cake mix, WonderBread kind of mom. She was a career woman and busy, busy, busy. She had no intuitive way about the kitchen like her mother did. I think cooking skills skipped a generation. My maternal grandmother made fantastic meals and was a natural cook--not requiring recipes quite often.

So, as a kid, it was such a treat when we had Swanson t.v. dinners because I liked the divided trays the food came in. We never bothered trying any flavours other than the Salisbury Steak dinner meals. It was a particular treat because first, it was different than what mom usually made, and second, there was always dessert. Our household always had snacks, but we rarely ever had dessert after dinner.

Mom loves everything highly refined and white: including rice, bread and baked goods. All baked goods had to be very moist and crunch wasn't a particularly kind adjective she'd use to describe something edible other than potato chips. I remember early on, sometime in my toddler years, my mother would lovingly make me good eats from white bread. The brand she purchased at that time was Sunbeam bread...the brand that came in a white plastic bag with a picture of a little girl with a blue bow on her head, biting into a slice of buttered bread. Little Miss Sunbeam was iconic and her image graced our formica kitchen table all through my formative years.

My mother never fiddled with cookie cutters or knives to create cute cut-outs from the sliced bread. She'd simply toast it, slather it with tons of salted butter, and then marmalade, and lovingly bite out a pattern with her teeth. I always liked her star patterns. Low-tech yet effective, indeed.

After school sometimes, I received a favourite treat: a slice of squishily soft white Sunbeam bread, sans crust, slathered with butter and sprinkled with white sugar. No cinnamon. Not toasted. Just soft, buttery sweetness. It tasted like cake. We rarely had cake in our home. Only on birthdays. I haven't had a sugar sandwich in 35 years. That's okay though, because now I can bake my own cakes.

My childhood favourites were Ding Dongs and Wagon Wheels. I haven't touched them in 30 years; not because they're not around still, but because I think they changed the recipe or something! Ding Dongs are now called King Dons. What's with that? and the cakes are drier and less tasty. Wagon Wheels seem tinier...more like Go-Cart Wheels.

But I digress. I was talking of the Crusties, wasn't I?

look at all that golden brown goodness! this crust is delicious--crunchy or soft!


Nowadays in Asian bakeries, you can buy white pullman-style loaves presliced and crustless. Yes, they actually cut off all the crusts for you in the bakery before bagging it. I couldn't believe it. I didn't pick up a loaf at all because I'm not crust-phobic; but apparently there must be a population of people out there who are (and who are too lazy to cut off the crusts themselves).

I've made Dorie Greenspan's Banana Bundt cake recipe about 5 times already. Each time I used a bundt pan and my mother would complain there was too much crust and that it was too dry.

This time, I adapted the recipe for loaf pans. The recipe makes 2 loaves neatly and the baking time doesn't really change at all. However, the crust ratio is more suitable for her palate. The bundt did have more crust after all, it seemed. I changed the recipe a bit by replacing one cup of the white sugar with one cup of brown sugar. It added a nice depth and caramel-like flavour to the cake. I definitely prefer the brown sugar to white.

Almost immediately after cooling, I wrapped one of the loaves tightly in plastic wrap to "age" overnight. The crust becomes very soft this way and is totally edible for the crust-phobic types. We immediately cut into the other loaf, whose crust was still caramelizingly crispy from the oven and Bebe cut off all the crunchy crusts with her fork, setting it aside on her plate. I asked her why she was doing it and she replied that it was the "best part" and she was saving it to eat last!

That little habit must be genetic, I think. I tend to do the same. I save the best for last too. I always enjoy a meal if my last bite consists of the best parts of the meal. My mother did this too. There's only one problem with this quirk: if you live in a family where individuals like to eat the best parts first. They hover over your juicy pile of KFC chicken skin, your maraschino cherry, your caramelized crusts...and poke their forks into what they think you're going to discard! My father often looked at my mother's pile of fried chicken skin and would comment, "Oh, you're not going to eat that?" and snatch up the little crispy bits into his mouth before she could stop him.

"Hey, I was saving that!" was an oft lamented whine in our household.

My daughters love this adapted banana cake recipe and I haven't heard a peep from my mom about the crusties. One loaf is aged to create the soft-crust and the other is crunchier, coming straight out of the oven. Eventually, by the next day both loaves have soft crusts anyway.

From now on, this'll be my go-to banana cake recipe. It's the best out of the ones I'ved tested thus far. Though my previous go-to recipe was easier to make, employed more bananas and didn't require sour cream, this recipe has better flavour and the crumb is lovely. And my family does prefer loaves to the bundt (though of course a bundt pan will look prettier). BTW, head on over to the sidebar and vote on the crusties...

BANANA "BUNDT-LOAVES"

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Classic Banana Bundt Cake, from Baking: From My Home to Yours

[I used 2 loaf pans instead of the one Bundt pan called for in the original recipe]

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar [I adapted by using one cup white sugar and one cup brown sugar]

2 tsps pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan. [I used 2 loaf pans, and lined the bottoms with parchment]
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
• Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (the mixture will look curdled — just keep mixing), all the sour cream, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter, and smooth the top.
• Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.
• If you have the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving — it’s better the second day.

A STAPLE IN MY PANTRY

a moist slice of freshly baked banana bread

I collect bananas.

I buy a bunch whenever I shop at the market and if we eat them, that's fine, but if there's a couple lying around too brown and spotty for anyone to want to eat, I just peel them and toss them into a ziploc bag in my freezer.

Eventually, I accumulate enough bananas to make my favourite banana bread recipe.

I actually don't enjoy eating bananas per se, but I do love banana bread. With the little ones around, there's reason to bake 2 loaves. The recipe yields 2 loaves, but can easily be cut in half to make just one. I leave one freshly baked loaf out to eat and the other one I slice and wrap individually in plastic wrap. I toss these into a ziploc bag and shove that in my freezer too. When Bebe or Bib need a

snack or I'm in stuck for an idea for breakfast, I just take out what I need and zap it in the microwave for 25 seconds. It's a great time-saver and the banana bread still tastes fresh.My favourite banana recipe is moist and full of banana flavour. Ensure the bananas you use are spotty brown for the best results. If I want to get fancy, I scrape out the seeds from a vanilla bean instead of using the vanilla extract. It is so good. The recipe is here.

PICHET ONG'S BANANA CAKE RECIPE (review)

Well, I have completed my September mission of trying a new recipe from Pichet Ong's The Sweet Spot. The recipe called to bake the "cake" for 45 minutes. This seemed too short a time to me considering any "loaf" shape I've made is usually ready in over 60 minutes. Usually 70 minutes easily. I poked a cake tester in there and it was still goopy so I kept adding 10 minutes and checking. In the end I had the banana cake in there for 65 minutes. So he loses points for accuracy of baking time. As well, in his cookbook, the picture clearly shows a loaf shaped banana cake. Technically that's "banana bread" to me. A cake is usually a shallower pan and indeed takes less time to bake.

The flavour was good but I felt the texture was too gummy. I'll wait until the next day to see how it ages. The recipe also called for sour cream or yogurt in the batter. My own tried and true recipe doesn't call for the addition of this ingredient. I don't think it adds anything in terms of flavour. The crumb was very moist of course due to the dairy but I noticed that the slices fell apart very easily and didn't hold up as well as my banana bread. I suppose that's why he calls it a cake.

My verdict: it's good but not the best I've had. I'm not going to be using it again because I don't want to have to go out and buy sour cream or whole milk yogurt just to make this cake. And that's not even considering going to a specialty market to buy the baby bananas. However, it is a nice change of pace and my mom would like it because she enjoys "wet" cakes/desserts.

Review: 3.5/ 5 stars

"GO BANANAS" BREAD

cakebrain's go bananas bread

Ever have a sickly looking leftover banana or two that was all speckly brown and too mushy to eat? These bananas are perfect for banana bread but usually there aren't enough left over for a recipe, so I freeze them until I collect enough.

I was wondering why I couldn't ram anymore things into my freezer--until I brought out a huge clump of frozen bananas I had forgotten about.

The problem is, I haven't found the perfect banana bread recipe. I have some good ones, but they're not perfect. I like the banana bread at Starbucks and have been looking for a knock-off recipe. I figure there's brown sugar in theirs, so today I'm making a version with brown sugar to come as close as possible to the Starbucks one.

I don't like nuts but if you insist on adding textural interest, you can. I would add chocolate chunks or craisins. However, I like this banana bread best plain. If you're a health nut you can add 1/4 cup ground flax.

CAKEBRAIN'S GO BANANAS BREAD
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups ripe bananas (about 7 medium) mashed
1 t vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease 2 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.

• In a medium bowl combine flour, soda and salt with a wire whisk; set aside.


• In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of bowl.


• Add the flour mixture and then blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.


• Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean, and the bread should pull away from the sides.


• Cool in pan, for 10 minutes. Turn pans on sides; cool to room temperature before removing and slicing.

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

fresh blueberries...they're perfect by themselves

blueberry cobbler, straight out of the oven

Well, today's Wednesday which means there's a whole section on food in the Vancouver Sun. I have a whole package of blueberries from Costco and I thought I should try the Blueberry Cobbler recipe that they had. I personally prefer crisps and cakes, but what the heck.

The recipe is super easy and if you like cooked blueberries, go for it. After tasting it, I decided I prefer apple in my crisps, cobblers and pies. It was okay, considering the itty bitty amount of effort employed in making it. It was a bit on the tart side so I would personally omit the lemon juice if I made it next time.

I thought it a waste of fresh blueberries, but if you have a lot of blueberries and/or they are looking sad and not as fresh, maybe a cobbler is an adequate option for them.

blueberry cobbler

CAKEBRAIN'S RECIPE RATING (out of 5 stars) : ***

BLUEBERRY COBBLER
Filling
5 cups fresh blueberries
2 T fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2 T butter, at room temperature
Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
2T granulated sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
3 T milk (2%M.F.)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling: Put blueberries in large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
In small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over blueberries and stir to mix. Spread blueberry mixture evenly in ungreased 8 inch square baking dish. Dot with butter.

Topping: In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using back of fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
In small bowl, whisk together milk and egg. Add to flour mixture; using fork, stir to mix. Drop dough by 9 equal spoonfuls onto blueberry mixture.
Bake at 375F for about 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and juices are bubbling in the centre, covering loosely with foil for last 10 minutes of baking time.

Makes 9 servings.

267 cal, 3 g pro, 10 g fat, 43 g carb

DECADENT BRAN MUFFINS

MAKES 1 DOZEN
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups wheat bran
1 ½ tsps baking powder
¾ tsp fine salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ cups packed dark-brown sugar
1 ¼ cups plus 2 tbsp. Buttermilk
11 tbsp. (1 3/8 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled
(if you have a scale, that’s 164 grams butter)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen berries OR dried fruit
½ cup ground flaxseed (my additional ingredient; optional)


1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line 12 large cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. Place flour, bran, flaxseed, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Stir in sugar; set aside.

2. Whisk together buttermilk, butter, eggs & vanilla in a bowl. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined. Stir in fruit.

3. Divide batter among lined muffin cups. Bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Turn out; serve warm or at room temperature.

After cooled, the muffins can be individually wrapped and frozen. Bebe can eat ½ a muffin as they’re quite large. I just cut it in half while it’s frozen, put the rest back in the freezer and nuke it for 30 seconds.

POH-POH'S STEAMED SMILING CUPCAKES "FAAT GOH"

This recipe is from cakebrain's poh poh (maternal grandmother) 

1 cup Five Roses all purpose flour 

1 cup brown sugar 

6 oz or 3/4 cup water 

1 tsp vinegar 

1 tsp baking powder

• Measure dry ingredients in a bowl and get rid of any lumps by sifting or mixing with a spoon.
• Measure wet ingredients together
• Heat 7 clay custard cups in a steamer on high heat
• Pour wet ingredients all at once into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix only until moistened. Do Not Overmix.
• Pour mixture into cups that have been heated.
• Cover, steam on high heat for 30 minutes
• Cupcakes should smile and "explode" in laughter.