Author Archives: Margaret

Banana chocolate chip cupcakes

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Ingredients
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
¾ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup butter, melted                                                                                                           100g milk chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C/160 fan oven.
Coat cupcake pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. This mixture makes 18 cupcakes.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Combine bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix. Stir in 75g of chocolate chips. Divide the mixture into each bun liner. Top each bun with the remaining chocolate chips and lightly press them in.
Bake for 15-18 minutes. Cupcakes will spring back when lightly tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Lemon and Blueberry Cake

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Ingredients

2 large eggs
1 cup (210 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (8oz) sour cream
½ cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 medium lemon (zest and juice), divided
½ Tbsp cornflour
16 oz (450g) fresh** blueberries
Powdered sugar to dust the top, optional
Instructions

Prep:

Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Preheat Oven to 180C/160C fan oven.
Method:

Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar with whisk attachment on high speed 5 min, or until light in color and thick.
Add 1 cup sour cream, ½ cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, ¼ tsp salt and whisk on low speed until well combined.
Whisk together the 2 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder then add to batter ⅓ at a time, whisking to incorporate with each addition. Finally, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and ½ Tbsp zest.
Rinse blueberries and drain well. In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with ½ Tbsp cornflour   and 1 tsp lemon juice, stirring until well combined and no dry white cornflour remains.
Pour half of batter into prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Top with half of the blueberries. Spread with remaining batter then sprinkle the rest of the blueberries evenly over the top, pushing them slightly into the batter (about halfway). Bake for 45 to 55 min, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake rest in the pan 15-20 min then remove ring and cool until room temp or just warm. Serve dusted with powdered sugar.
Notes

**If using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain then toss with 1 Tbsp cornstarch and omit lemon juice. Do not add more than 16 oz blueberries
or they weigh down the cake.
*measure flour by spooning into measuring cup then scraping off the top.

Red velvet cup cakes

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Ingredients

120g butter

200g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

20 g cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food gel

250mls buttermilk

30mls sunflower oil

280g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Frosting

150g butter (softened)

680g icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g cream cheese (softened)

Method

Heat oven to 180C fan oven. Line tins with 24 liners.

Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and continue beating. Now add the rest of the cupcake ingredients and beat until combined. Divide the mixture into 24 cupcakes and bake for 15-18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.                                 Beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract and cream cheese together. Mix until light and fluffy. If mixture is too stiff add a little milk. Ice top of cupcakes.

 

Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken

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Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
200g cream cheese
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup spinach, chopped
½ cup sun dried tomatoes
Instructions

In a large skillet add olive oil and cook the chicken on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown on each side and cooked until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.
Add the cream cheese, chicken broth, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. Whisk over medium high heat until it starts to thicken. Add the spinach and sundried tomatoes and let it simmer until the spinach starts to wilt. Add the chicken back to the pan and serve over pasta or mash potatoes if desired.

Baked Chocolate and Orange Doughnuts

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Ingredients

For the Doughnuts
1 and 1/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour 190g
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder 50g
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup orange juice 60ml
1 large egg
1/2 cup light brown sugar 100g
1/2 cup Greek style yogurt 120ml
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 30g, melted
Zest of 1 large orange
For the Glaze
1/2 cup chocolate chips 100g
2 tablespoons unsalted butter 30g
2 teaspoons light corn syrup/golden syrup
2 teaspoons orange juice
Chocolate sprinkles to garnish

Instructions

For the Doughnuts
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a doughnut pan, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, nutmeg, and zest. Set aside.
Whisk together the orange juice, egg, sugar, yogurt, and melted butter until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. If the mixture seems too dry add some milk.  Fold in the orange zest. Do not over-mix. Spoon the batter into the prepared doughnut pan and smooth out. Bake for 5 – 7 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Glaze
Place the chocolate chips, butter, and syrup in a heat-proof bowl, and microwave until completely melted and smooth, stirring every 10 seconds. Stir in the orange juice.
Dip each doughnut into the glaze, garnish with chocolate sprinkles, and leave to set on the wire rack.

Raspberry and coconut loaf cake

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Ingredients:
150g Butter
150g Golden Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs
250g Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
100g Desiccated Coconut
4 tbsp Milk
6 tbspRaspberry Jam

80g Icing Sugar
2 tsp Raspberry Jam
2 tsp Water
2 tbsp Desiccated Coconut

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/fan oven 160C, and line a 1kg loaf tin with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract, before adding in the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition.
Fold in the desiccated coconut, and then add the flour and milk a bit at a time.
Spoon a third of the batter into the loaf tin, before spreading the raspberry jam in a layer on top of the batter. Cover the jam with the remaining cake batter.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, then cover with tin foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes until cooked.
Leave the cake to cook on a wire rack, and meanwhile you can prepare the icing.
Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and add water until it reaches the right consistency. Then add the raspberry jam until you get the desired shade of pink.
Once the cake is cool, spread the icing over the top, and then cover with some more coconut.

Chocolate cake (no eggs, milk or butter)

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Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Plain flour
3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
1 Cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Cup water

Frosting                                                                                                                                   100g chocolate chips                                                                                                                 30g butter                                                                                                                               1 teaspoon flavouring eg. orange, caramel,vanilla                                                                          2 teaspoon golden syrup
Preheat oven to 180ºC/fan 160ºC. Grease an 8″ square cake tin.

Mix first 5 dry ingredients in a bowl. Make 3 depressions in dry ingredients – two small, one larger. Pour vinegar in one depression, vanilla in the other and the vegetable oil in third larger depression. Pour water over all. Mix well until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared tin.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 35 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

To make frosting.                                                                                                                 Put chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave until melted and smooth stirring every 10 seconds. Stir in flavouring and spread on cooled cake.

Baileys chocolate chip mug cake

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Ingredients

6 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon espresso powder

1 1/2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

3 1/2 tablespoons low fat milk

3/4 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Method

In a large microwave safe mug, add all ingredients except chocolate chips. Mix together with a small whisk until batter is smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. Cook for approximately 1 minute 20 seconds. Cooking time may vary depending on microwave. Let cool for a few minutes before eating. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Chocolate and Banana Marble Cake

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Ingredients

25g cocoa powder, sifted

280g peeled, mashed bananas

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

225g self raising flour

110g butter

110g light brown sugar

Method

Line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper. Dissolve the cocoa powder in 4 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan.                                      In a small bowl, mix the bananas, eggs and vanilla. Sift the flour into a separate bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers. Stir in the sugar and the banana mixture. Put a third of the mixture in a small bowl and stir in the cocoa mixture.                                                  Put random dollops of each cake mixture in the tin until you’ve used it all, then swirl with a knife to create a marble effect.                                                                                         Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Chicken Paella

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Ingredients

900mls chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon saffron

cooking spray

400g chicken breast fillets, cut into pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

300g brown rice

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

400g tin chopped tomatoes

120g frozen peas

Handfull of chopped parsley

Method

Put the stock and saffron in a large pan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, cover and keep warm.                                                                                         Heat a large deep nonstick frying pan over medium heat and mist with cooking spray. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes until just browned,transfer to a plate and set aside.    Reduce the heat and mist the pan with cooking spray again. Add onion, pepper and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until softened, then add the rice and paprika. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and half the saffron infused stock. Bring to a simmer, season to taste, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.                             Return the chicken to the pan with the peas, and half of the remaining stock. Cook for a further 10 minutes, adding more of the remaining stock if it seems too dry. Check that the rice and chicken are cooked through, then stir in the parsley and serve.