Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Happy World Baking Day!  I realised the day upon checking Twitter this morning, and it provided me with a perfect excuse for some Sunday baking.

I began writing this up only to be met with a strong sense of deja-vu.  I had already made these, and posted them.  But seeing as I made them a little differently this time around I thought it warranted a second post.  These have more raspberries and more vanilla.  I also layered them into the cases so as to prevent crushing the raspberries (see the method below for more details) which I think made for a better muffin.

I took these photos outside!  It's been a horrible winter here (by our standards), so I relished the chance to take these outside, in natural light.  Here's to more sunny days and a decent summer so I can take more photos with blurry green foliage behind them!

Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Muffins
Yield: a dozen muffins

130g unsalted butter, room temperature
130g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
130g self-raising flour, sifted
75g white chocolate chips
125g fresh raspberries, cut into quarters


Method:

+ Preheat oven to 180C.
+ Fill your muffin tray with cases.


1. Combine the butter and sugar and beat until light and creamy, approximately five minutes.
2. Add the eggs a little at a time, until fully incorporated.
3. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Sift in the flour until just combined, adding a tablespoon or two of hot water if the mixture isn't dropping off the spoon.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. So as not to crush the raspberries by stirring them into the mixture, I spooned a little mixture into each muffin case and placed raspberry quarters in by hand, topping with more mixture and then repeating the process.  It was a little more time-consuming than simply stirring them in, but I think it was worth it.  It also prevented them from sinking to the bottom!
7. Bake for 16-19 minutes until golden brown on top and the knife comes out clean.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Chip Oat Blondies

These are perfect for those days when you aren't sure whether you'd prefer a less-chocolatey brownie or a chocolate-chip flapjack, because they could quite easily fit into both of those categories.  The condensed milk lends a decidedly chewy texture, while the dark chocolate chips contrast nicely against the sweetness of the mixture.  I strongly recommend using good quality dark chocolate (Sainsbury's have just brought out packets of Taste the Difference chocolate chips, which I used in this batch).

I'd never used condensed milk before I made these, but I now understand the appeal.  It's sweet and decadent and adds a wonderful smoothness to your mixture.  These feel very rustic with the oats thrown in - as if they should sit on a large kitchen table in the middle of a farmhouse kitchen for people to steal away as they walk past.

Chocolate Chip Oat Blondies
(Source: Nigella Lawson's 'Kitchen')


200g porridge oats (not instant)
100g plain flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
150g unsalted butter (room temperature)
100g light muscovado sugar
1 x 397g can condensed milk
1 egg
180g dark chocolate chips


Method

+ Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
+ Line a square tin (approx 23cm) with greaseproof paper.

1. Mix together the oats, flour, and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl before setting to one side.
2. In a second bowl (or mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy (up to five minutes), before adding in the condensed milk and mixing once again.
3. Add in the flour and oat mixture until well mixed.
4. Beat in the egg.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Smooth into your tin and cook for 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven.  The top should be golden brown, the middle still alarmingly wobbly (it'll set as it cools!).  Leave in the tin until fully cooled before removing and cutting into squares.

Chocolate Chip Fairy Cakes

I've had a very sad few weeks, so I hope you'll forgive my absence.  My beloved cat, Tabitha, went to sleep in my arms on a Sunday afternoon in not-so-sunny March.  She had been my friend and my feline companion since I was nine years old.   She reached the grand old age of twenty, and was elegant and refined until the end.  (Far more so than I was, with tears running down my cheeks and red, puffy eyes.)  You might remember that she was my Nutmeg Bites taster, approving them before I posted them here; but, in all honesty, she tasted everything I baked and approved of anything that included butter.

She liked these fairy cakes, too (the cake bit, not the chocolate bit).  More than I did, probably.  I picked up these Hershey's 'semi-sweet' chocolate chips whilst I was at Partridges buying my Reese's Peanut Butter Chips for my cookies.  I've never been clear as to what semi-sweet chocolate chips are as in England we only have milk, dark and white.  As far as I can tell, they're dark chocolate, but sweetened.  I'm not entirely sure if I like them or not!  Do, of course, use whichever chocolate chips you have to hand for these cakes, you really needn't feel you have to attempt to figure out what semi-sweet chips are just because I did.

But this post isn't really about these mediocre cakes (though remove the chocolate chips and you're left with a practically perfect vanilla fairy cake recipe which I'd definitely recommend making!).  This post is about my little furry baking assistant whose loud purr and endless meowing are sounds I miss everyday.  I wish that I'd baked her something nicer and more exciting now that I know these were to be the last thing of mine that she would taste, but that's my pain, not hers.  She was a cat with a love of butter, so I think she was pretty happy.  I'd like to tell you more about her, but the long post I had saved in my drafts just didn't do justice to the incredible cat that she was - I just couldn't find the right words.  I hope to find them one day.  There are so many funny stories I could tell you.

I don't wish to think about the fact that this recipe is the last I am able to post with the 'Tabitha seal of approval', so instead let me say this: Tabitha liked these.  I hope you will, too.

Chocolate Chip Fairy Cakes

Yield: 8-10 fairy cakes

130g caster sugar
130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
130g self-raising flour
95g chocolate chips

Method:

+ Preheat the oven to 180C.
+ Lay out a fairy cake/muffin tray and line with paper cases.

1. Blend the butter and sugar together until light and creamy, about three minutes.
2. Add the eggs, a little at a time, until fully incorporated.
3. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Sift in the flour and fold until just combined.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon into your waiting cases and place them on the middle shelf of the oven.  Bake for 15-17 minutes until turning golden brown.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tabitha (in her kitchen), 1993 - 2013

Milk Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

There's a shop in London called Partridges where you can buy so many delicious American baking items frequently seen in American recipes.  It's an exciting place that I'm not allowed into very often as imported goods are expensive and it's just too tempting!

On my most recent visit, I saw packets of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and knew I was in trouble.  As I've said in previous entries on here, I have trouble with peanut butter recipes as I find the peanut butter in the mixture is quite often too overpowering.  Peanut butter chips dotted throughout a cookie is such a fantastic solution; plus they melt slightly in the oven along with the chocolate chunks.  In fact, I recommend you eat these cookies warm rather than cold for that very reason.  So delicious!

Have in mind who you're going to give these to, otherwise you could end up eating an entire batch all by yourself!

Milk Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Yield: 25 medium-sized cookies

330g (2 cups) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
175g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
170g (1 cup) light brown sugar
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
250g milk chocolate, cut into chunks
150g peanut butter chips


Method:

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set to one side.
2. In a separate bowl, cream together the melted butter, light brown sugar, and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy.
4. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips by hand.
6. Divide the dough into balls (a little bigger than a golf ball) and refrigerate for at least an hour.
7. After your dough has chilled, heat the oven to 175C.  Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
8. Place your cookie dough balls on the tray, two-three inches apart, and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown around the edges but still soft in the middle.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool slightly.
10. Eat warm!