Spiced Apple Muffins

Apple and spices like cinnamon and ginger are a great combo.
I add the spices quite generously as I love the flavour of them.
Chopped apple pieces make the muffins moist but keep them light.
I found if I mix grated apple rather than chopped apples the muffins turn out quite dense. I prefer light muffins like these.
Make sure to add the apple pieces into the dry mixture first to stop the apple pieces sinking to the bottom.
These are great to enjoy when they are still warm.

Ingredients

• 200g Plain flour
• 100g Caster sugar
• 50g Soft brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon powder 
• 2 teaspoons Ginger powder
• ¼  teaspoon Salt
• 90ml Milk
• 80ml Vegetable oil
• 1 large Egg, beaten
• 2 large Apples - peeled, cored and chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 C / 180 C (Fan) and add paper cases to a muffin tray.
2. Measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. 
3. Mix the dry ingredients well and then add the chopped apples. Make sure the apple pieces are well coated by the flour mixture.
4. In a separate jug, mix milk, oil, and egg. Stir until just combined.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in but do not over mix.
6. Fill the muffin cases equally. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Chocolate Chip Flapjack

I have been trying adding different things to my basic Flapjack.
There were several unopened bars of dark chocolate in the cupboard.
It was quite a surprise they were even not opened.... !!
Anyway, I chopped one of the bars and added it to my flapjack mixture. Well, it wasn't a bad combo at all. So here it is. The recipe for the chocolate chip Flapjack.
Please just make sure not to add the chopped chocolate when the liquid mixture is still hot.
Otherwise, all the chocolate bits will be integrated to the flapjack. We need the chocolate bits to be seen.

Ingredients 

• 7oz butter or margarine (butter, if you prefer) 
• 2oz golden syrup
• 2 tsp black treacle
• 7oz muscovado sugar
• 12oz porridge oats
• 3oz plain flour
• 100g dark chocolate chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 20cm/8in square baking tin with baking paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, (oats, flour, sugar, salt and chopped chocolate) in a bowl. 
3. Melt the butter or margarine in a medium pan over a low heat.  Add the golden syrup, black treacle and sugar to the margarine and heat gently. Once the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and wait until the mixture becomes not too hot to prevent the chocolate bits melting. 
4. When the liquid mixture becomes cool enough, stir in the mixed dry ingredients. 
5. Pack the mixture into the baking tin and squash down. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
6. Once cooked, remove from the oven, leave to cool for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a chopping board and cut into squares. 

Cinnamon Buns

I love Cinnamon Buns. These are very sticky, light and very Cinnamony.

It's good to be generous with the cinnamon sugar filling as it gives a very distinct flavour. 

They are great for breakfast, coffee break ...... or anytime really. 

You can add crushed walnuts and/or sultanas in the filling, but I still love the simple Cinnamon flavour. 

Ingredients ( for the dough) 

•      600g (1lb 5oz) strong white flour, plus extra to dust

•      10g fast active dried yeast

•      100g (3½oz) caster sugar

•      275ml (9fl oz) milk

•      1 medium egg

•      50g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease

Ingredients (for the filling and topping)

•      40g (1½oz) unsalted butter, very soft

•      60g (2½oz) caster sugar

•      2 tsp (or more) ground cinnamon

•      50g (2oz) pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

•      50g (2oz) sultanas

•      125g (4oz) icing sugar

Method

1      Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir though the yeast, sugar and 1tsp salt. Heat the milk until it's just warm (too hot and it will stop the yeast from working). Whisk in the egg and melted butter, then add to the flour bowl in one go. Quickly mix to a soft but not sticky dough.

2      Scrape dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 min until elastic and smooth. Transfer to a large greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until well risen (about 2hrs).

3      If you have time, take dough out of the bowl, knead it to burst any air bubbles, then return to the bowl. Cover and leave to rise for a further 30min (this will help develop the flavour).

4      Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Lightly dust a work surface and roll out dough to a rectangle roughly 23cm x 38cm (9in x 15in). Arrange so a long edge is in front of you, then spread butter with your finger over the rectangle (right to the edges), and scatter over sugar, cinnamon, nuts and sultanas.

5      Brush the long edge furthest away from you with water (to help it stick). Roll up the dough tightly starting from the nearest edge - keeping it as round as possible, and pressing lightly to seal on the watered edge.

6      Cut roll into 2.5cm (1in) slices and arrange swirl-side up on the baking sheet (leaving space between the rolls to allow for expansion). Loosely cover with greased clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 30min to 1 hour.

7      Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5. Remove clingfilm and bake buns for 25-30min until nicely golden and well risen. Five minutes before buns are finished baking, sift icing sugar into a bowl and mix in just enough water to make icing with a smooth, thick, spoonable consistency.

8      As soon as the buns come out of the oven, spoon over the icing and leave to set. Serve warm or at room temperature.