"A house is like a human body, and the kitchen... its heart."
Archicook - ChenSen Au
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Saturday 29 November 2008
Wednesday 26 November 2008
Back to basics on Baking
It has been ages since I baked any Western things, and hence I thought it would be good if I could come up with a succesful baked pastry or something after leaving this blog for about a month, but obviously my skills proofed me wrong yesterday. I attempted a recipe that I imrpovised from www.muffinrecipes.net, and thought that it would be great success! So much for all the excitement and effort I put into it. =(
The following is the recipe for the brandy-scented carrot and raisin muffins, I think the recipe was ok, the thing that went wrong should be my rusty-techniques instead of the recipe:
5 large eggs,
4_1/2 cups of plain flour,
3 cups carrot (grated, shreded or finely sliced),
2 cups packed brown sugar (feel free to add more),
1_1/2 cup vegetable oil,
3/4 cup brandy (you can opt for imitations, its only for the smell of the muffins),
1 cup raisins,
1 cup granulated nuts (or other desired nuts),
6 tsp baking powder,
3 tsp soda bicarbonate,
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder,
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg,
3/4 tsp salt,
1 cup buttermilk,
2 tbsp vanilla essence.
The outcome of the 3 batches of muffins varied, the first batch was overburnt a bit and tough, the second batch was better, but its texture could use more fluffiness >.<. Thank God the last batch which I left to sit a while finally came out with a texture and taste that I was satisfied with, and I sure wish I had more batter to go for the last batch, which I could then give to others to show the success of the baking! =( Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C
2. Combine the all-purpose flour (sifted), vanilla essence, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and salt.
3. Beat together the eggs and the brown sugar. Add the shredded carrots, raisins (pre-soaked with brandy), granulated nuts, buttermilk and oil; mix thoroughly.
4. Add the flour mixture and stir until the dry ingredients have moistened.
5. Spoon the batter into twelve greased muffin cups.
6. Lower oven heat to 175°C, bake for 20 -25 minutes.
After much despair and Internet research over the night, I gave muffins another try just this morning, considering the 'complexity' of baking muffins, I decided to make the most basic type of muffins, with one or two additional ingredients. The result was a lot better than yesterday's carrot and raisin muffins! They definitely rise a lot more than yesterday's recipe, and a lot fluffier too, thanks to the baking powder and baking soda, not forgetting the lime juice! Muaks*
Today's basic malt-muffin recipe: 2 large eggs,
1/2 cup melted maltose,
2_1/2 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp soda bicarbonate,
2_1/2 cups plain flour,
1/2 cup buttermilk,
1/4 cup packed brown sugar,
1/2 cup oil (or melted butter),
1 small tsp salt,
1/3 cup sultanas.
In making muffins, the rule-of-thumb is to mix the dry and wet ingredients seperately, then fold the dry ingredients into the wet batter (or vice-versa), remember not to overmix the batter as it will make the muffin's texture. I guess that explains most of the steps for this basic malt-muffin does it?
Satisfied with this basic malt-muffin, I think I am going to bake another round of muffins in a day or two's time, hopefully the next round would be as successful, or even better than todays...till then... =)Tags:
Cooky Quotes
"If you can mix-n-match building materials and technology in architecture, you definitely can mix-n-match ingredients and tastes in culinary arts"
Archicook - ChenSen Au
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