Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

It's not that I haven't been baking - I just haven't been blogging about it. Work takes up too much of my time and that leaves me to bake my favourite recipes with very little experimentation. Needless to say, the pile of cookbooks (with recipes to be tried faithfully tagged) is increasing.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart Living, the January 2011 issue and it was simple enough to try out.


Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
makes 40-48 cookies

1 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins


Preheat oven at 350F. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Finally, combine the oats and raisins with the cookie dough. Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop dough onto parchment-line baking sheets, spacing each scoop about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden. Let cookies cool before removing from the baking sheet and storing.


Verdict: The cookie was crisp at the edge and more chewy in the middle. It was a little sweet but perfect with a glass of milk. In our humidity here, I think they are better stored in an airtight container or in the fridge.

Apple Sour Cream Muffin

I've gotten into the bad habit of starting an entry, saving it as a draft and then procrastinate about its completion. So although this entry is dated in January, I'm only completing it today, the 10th of February.

Apple Sour Cream Muffins
makes 24 muffins

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
3 apples, diced
1/4 cup milk

Topping (optional)
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
slices of apple


Preheat the oven at 400F. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy before blending in the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients, mix well before adding in the sour cream and blending. Fold in the diced apple by hand and add in the milk as needed if the batter is too stiff. Scoop into muffin liners. Dust with the cinnamon sugar mix and top each muffin with a slice of apple.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched.


Verdict: Moist as expected because of the sour cream. Not a cakey texture but very nice for breakfast or tea

Rich Fruit Cake

Every year around September, I start raiding my family's liquor cabinet for long forgotten bottles of brandy that rarely get used. Then by October, I would have bought the dried fruit and taken out the 2 largest canning jars that I have.

I soak the dried fruit in brandy until this time of the year when I make multiple batches of fruit cake to give away to those whom I owe favours to. The recipe can be doubled to quickly make a big batch but the baking time still remains long so I usually set aside at least half a day for my production.


Rich Fruit Cake
makes 3 loaves (7.5 x 3.5 in) or 24 cupcakes

1 1/2 - 2 lbs of dried fruit
1/2 cup brandy

Soak the dried fruit in brandy for at least a couple of days before baking. Drain the fruit well before dredging with flour during baking. Set aside the brandy left behind, it should have thickened to a sauce.

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbs treacle or golden syrup
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup grape juice
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tbs ground cinnamon

Preheat oven at 300F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the treacle or golden syrup and eggs yolks until well combined then the grape juice. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and cinnamon together, setting aside about 1 cup to dredge the drained dried fruit with. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold in the dredged fruit then the egg whites. Scoop into cake tins or cupcake liners.

Bake for 90 minutes if making loaves or 40 minutes for cupcakes. Cover the tops with foil halfway through baking time to prevent over browning. Upon cooling, spoon the reserved brandy over the top of the cakes and let it soak in. Wrap and keep overnight before eating.

For a stronger brandy flavor, I sometimes fill a syringe (it helps to have doctor friends who are foodies) with brandy and pump more into the middle of the cake.

For the cupcake versions, I topped them with royal icing.

Apple & Cinnamon Cereal Muffin

Its not that I haven't been baking. I've been busy at work and working on perfecting my decorated sugar cookies which I'll hopefully post about before Christmas.

Anyway, this recipe came about because I had too many apples in the fridge. I also wanted to try a cereal topped muffin for a more interesting texture.

Apple & Cinnamon Cereal Muffin
makes 24 muffins

3 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs treacle or molasses
3-4 apples chopped

Topping
1 cup instant cereal
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Preheat the oven at 350F. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Combine the milk and eggs in a smaller bowl and beat together. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter then stir in the sugar and treacle until there are no more lumps. Add the egg mixture and the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined. Spoon into muffin liners.

Mix together all the ingredients for the topping and distribute a teaspoon or so over the top of each muffin before putting into the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched.


Verdict: Not the cakey texture I was going for but it was moist and the crispy and sugary cereal topping was a nice change from the norm.

Pumpkin Yumkin

This month's WCC#21 theme is Halloween. Halloween isn't really a big holiday here although the supermarkets stock up on pumpkin, coloured corn and candy for the expatriate community.

I've only ever gone trick or treating once when I was a kid. I went with my cousin who lived in a neighbourhood with many American families. The only reason we went around knocking on doors was for the candy (of course). However, we needed to at least look the part and dress up. The only thing available so last minute was an old orange tablecloth of my aunt's.

So we 'borrowed' it, cut 2 holes to fit out heads through and walked around the estate in our giant poncho. I don't know what we were suppose to be but it must have been rather comical to watch us move in a coordinated direction lest we strangle each other.

Hence I've always associated the colour orange with Halloween. I wonder if my aunt ever found out what we did with her tablecloth.


I'm sure there are a plethora of pumpkin recipes for Halloween and I'm going to add to it. This one is adapted from The Pastry Queen, another of my good reads. The author, Rebecca Rather, describes this recipe which she found among her grandmother's things as a cross between a muffin and a cupcake.

I didn't have a can of pure pumpkin so I used a pumpkin pie mix. Dried dates are also all over the supermarket shelves here since we're in the midst of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Chopping them up was a bit of a pain since they were all so sticky. I wonder if a mezzaluna would have helped... or maybe I should have oiled my knife?


Pumpkin Yumkin
makes 12-15 cupcakes/muffins

1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 15oz can pure pumpkin or pumpkin pie mix
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup pecans

Preheat oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla until well combined then add in the pumpkin. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the sifted mixture in and mix well before folding in the dates and pecans. Scoop into liners, about 3/4 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the yumkins are firm to touch. Cool before frosting.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
100g or 3 oz cream cheese
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 orange's zest

In a mixer bowl, combine all the ingredients, adding more orange juice to get the desired consistency if needed. Coat the tops of the cooled yumkins.

Verdict: The pumpkin taste was not distinct enough, probably because I didn't use pure pumpkin. However, these yumkins are versatile. Left plain, they're lovely as muffins. Dressed with frosting, they're very pretty cupcakes. But then anything tastes good with cream cheese frosting!

Update (6 Oct): I tried this again with the pure pumpkin and the taste is much better!

Apple Cake

A request for an apple recipe sent me back to my books and I remembered flagging a couple of them in More from Magnolia.

The recipe made quite a lot of batter and since I was bringing these to work, I made these in cupcake size. I topped half the batch with 1 cup of walnuts and the other half with cinnamon sugar (2 tbs sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon).


Apple Cake
makes 36 cupcakes or 2 9-inch layerrs

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tap vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 apples, chopped

Preheat oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Fold in the chopped apple. Scoop into cupcake liners or lined cake pans. Top cupcakes with walnuts or cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 25 minutes if making cupcakes or 40-50 minutes for 9-inch cakes. The original recipe recommends icing the cooled cake layers with Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting.


Verdict: The cake is light and fluffy as promised. The taste of the apple was definitely present but not overpowering and it was also nice biting into the soft juicy chunks. Will try it with the Butterscotch Cream Cheese Frosting next time.

Chocolate Cherry Macaroon Tart

The theme for HHDD#15 organised by TriniGourmet is tarts. While I have a serious aversion for working with pastry, I was going to try and overcome this. I was all prepared to try and fail, learn from my mistakes, start with frozen pastry and move on to become brave enough to make it from scratch. You get the picture...


So I went in search of recipes. I started with Donna Hay's latest book Simple Essentials: Chocolate, the same one that I sent Peabody as thanks for her Snickerdoodle recipe. There were two tart recipes and both didn't require pastry! Yay! So much for trying to conquer my fear...

I chose this one because it was for 6 individual small portions. However, I couldn't find the little tart tins with removable bases. I had to make a large one instead. The original recipe was for raspberries but I much prefer cherries so here it is.


Chocolate Cherry Macaroon Tart

Macaroon Shell (makes 6 3-inch tart shells or 2 8-inch tart shells)
3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups or 200g desiccated coconut

Cherry Chocolate Filling (fills 6 3-inch tart shells or 1 8-inch tart shell)
4 oz or 125g dark chocolate, chopped (I used one with 65% cocoa)
1/2 cup cream
2 eggs
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
7 oz or 200g cherries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven at 280F. Combine the ingredients for the tart shell, divide it between the tart tins and press firmly over base and sides.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the macaroon shells are firm and browned then remove from oven.
Increase oven temperature to 320F. To make the filling, put the cream and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and sugar to combine well. Sift in the flour and baking powder, stir in the chocolate mixture. Spoon into the macaroon shells and top with the cherries (if using frozen cherries, no need to defrost).
Bake for 25-35 minutes until the filling is just firm. Cool in the tins before removing to serve.


Verdict: The chocolate filling is rich but the cherries go very well with it. The macaroon shells add an interesting texture and overall, its a great tart - easy to make and everyone loved it! This is better eaten on the day it is made. If refrigerated overnight, warm in the oven before serving.

Dutch Apple Cake

I've been reading and re-reading one of my latest buys Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters. Its become my current favourite because the of the love and care that has gone into putting it all together. Each recipe is accompanied by a note of its origins, whether from family or strangers. There are insights and memories from the Brass sisters (who look so cute on the cover) and this is a truly a collection of wonderful recipes that have been passed down through the years. I'm also entering this for WCC#20 Show and Tell.


The recipes are old fashioned baked goods that have been tested and adapted for today's kitchens. The ingredients are simple and readily available in any pantry so one can whip up something on a whim, just like this recipe. I've adapted it for cupcakes but should have used up all of the apple topping because the presence of apple could have been stronger.

There are also lovely pictures of antique recipe books and journals, baking equipment and kitchen tools. As a result of this book, I've been inspired to look out for and start collecting antique or retro cake plates!


Dutch Apple Cake
makes 18 cupcakes or a 9-inch cake

1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk

Topping
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbs butter
3 apples, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Scoop into cupcake liners, about 2/3 full or into a lined cake pan.
Toss together the ingredients for the topping and spread it all out evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake for 25 minutes for cupcakes or approximately 40 minutes for the cake.

Verdict: Its a very moist cake as promised but I should have used up all the topping as mentioned earlier. The recipe recommends for the cake to be served the day it is made but it can also be frozen once it has completely cooled.

Sticky Toffee Date Cake

The picture in Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2 didn't look like the pudding sort but I have been wanting to do something like this for a while so I gave it a try.

I adapted the recipe and made cupcake versions topped with the toffee sauce. I brought some to work and saved a couple in the fridge for myself. This morning, I removed the cupcake liner and warmed it in the oven for 20 seconds to get the picture above.


Sticky Toffee Date Cake
makes 20 cupcakes or an 8-inch square cake

1 1/2 cups or 200g pitted dates, finely chopped
1/3 cup water, boiling hot
125g or 1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Toffee Sauce
250g or 2 sticks butter
1 cup cream
1 2/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven at 350F. In a bowl, pour the hot water over the dates and set aside until the water has been absorbed. Cream the butter and sugar until pale before beating in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder into the batter and combine well. Mix in the dates and milk. Scoop into cupcake liners (1/2 full only) or lined cake tin.
Bake for 25 minutes if making cupcakes or about 40-50 minutes if making a cake.

To make the toffee sauce, place all the ingredients in a large saucepan (bubbling mixture may boil over) over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Turn up the heat and simmer rapidly for about 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Spoon over the cake before serving.

Verdict: A compact cake that could have had more of a date flavour. Maybe it was the dates I used. The toffee was lovely though and its a great make ahead dessert.

Banana Cake/Bread

This is the basic recipe I always use when making anything banana cake- or bread-like.

I've received many compliments for this recipe. Its simple to make and allows for a multitude of additions to vary the taste.

I made a batch this time because I wanted to use up some frozen ripe bananas I had in the freezer and a bag of soon-to-expire butterscotch chips. Also, I haven't been baking much for those at work so this whole lot was for them.

Banana Cake/Bread
makes 30 cupcakes or 3 loaves

250g or 2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 tbs milk
4 large bananas
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Optional additions (any one of the following can be added for variety)
2 tbs poppyseed
1 cup roughly chopped nuts
1 cup Post's Banana Nut Crunch
1 cup butterscotch/chocolate/peanut butter chips

Preheat the oven at 350F. Cream the butter and sugar until pale before beating in the eggs one at a time. Mash the bananas with the milk to form a paste then stir into the butter mixture. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the batter and combine well. Scoop into cupcake liners or lined loaf pans.
Bake for 20 minutes if making cupcakes or about 50-60 minutes if making loaves.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin with Brandy Butter Glaze

Today's overcast weather was great for baking and so I adapted this recipe from The Pastry Queen's Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Calvados Glaze. This book has such lovely recipes and stories that it inspires one to open their own bakery and cafe.

The original recipe was for the batter to be baked in mini loaf tins for 50-60 minutes but I split mine to fill regular and mini muffin cases.

Apple Cinammon Muffins with Butter Brandy Glaze
makes 30 cupcakes or 60 mini cupcakes

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3 cups chopped apples (3-4 apples)
1 cup pecans, toasted

Glaze
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick butter
1/3 golden brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tbs golden syrup or light corn syrup
1 1/2 tbs brandy

Preheat the oven at 350F. In a mixer bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix until creamy smooth. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together before stirring into the oil mixture until incorporated. Finally, stir in the apples and pecans to distribute evenly. The resulting batter will be very stiff. Scoop into muffin cases.
Bake for 30 minutes if making regular size muffins, 25 minutes if making mini muffins. Remove and cool slightly before glazing.

For the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Keep stirring to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly then remove from heat.
Brush the glaze over the muffins. Serve warm or let the glaze cool and set for about an hour before storing.

Verdict: The brandy butter made this taste rather festive. I love butter and golden syrup - its my favourite thing on toast so by default, this is definitely something I will make again. Its so easy and finger-licking good!

Apple & Raisin Spice Cake

Since the initial attempt at Snickerdoodle Muffins, I've made it three more times at the request of my colleagues. Time to move on to something new and the latest Weekend Cookbook Challenge was just it.

With the theme of Something New, I wanted to use my new acquired ice cream maker and submit an entry. However, I would have had to clear freezer space in order to fit in the quick-freezing bowl and that was not going to happen anytime soon. A bigger fridge would be nice too.

So I turned to Gale Gand's Just A Bite, another new acquisition I had yet to use. The first recipe I had flagged was her Stellar Apple Spice Cakes.

One reason was because I had never baked with apples before, not sure why. Perhape there were so many other fruits I was fixated with. Another reason was the lovely anecdote that accompanied the recipe. The author's mother Myrna and her best friend Stella reminded the author of Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone, not just in looks but also the closeness with each others' families. The recipe was in tribute to what the author's family considered to be Stella's best recipe.

This is my adaptation of it, without the nuts and with more apple.

Apple & Raisin Spice Cake
makes 24 cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
2 1/2 cups apple chunks (2-3 apples)

Preheat the oven at 350F. In a bowl, dredge the raisins with 2 tbs of the flour and lightly coat them to prevent them from sinking in the cake batter when baking. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until fluffy before adding in the oil and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients then combine into the egg mixture. Finally, stir in the chopped apples, evenly distributing them in the batter. Scoop into cupcake liners.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Verdict: Its very easy cooking with apples. The taste of the spices really came through and I loved the crusty chewy top of the cakes. The original recipe came with a maple syrup frosting but the cake was sweet enough on its own and very yummy with a cold glass of milk.

Hummingbird Cupcake

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

I couldn't help but wonder about the origin of the name for this cake. I found some answers here but truly, it can be called anything else and it would still be a great cake.

This is usually made with pecans but I substituted it with walnuts. These cupcakes were made with frosting but if I make these without the frosting, I increase the sugar by 1/3 cup.

Hummingbird Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pineapple, chopped (100 ml liquid, the rest pineapple)
2 bananas, mashed
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven at 350F. Sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then stir in the oil and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients and combine before mixing in the pineapple, banana and walnuts. Scoop into cupcake liners.
Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. Cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick butter
4 cups icing sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter to combine before adding in the sifted icing sugar. Pipe frosting over the cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired.

Banana Walnut Cake

Still on the theme of A Taste of Yellow, I made this cake for my father's birthday on Saturday. We got a bit of a scare last year when he tested for some cancer markers during his annual check-up. Fortunately, an operation took care of that and we're praying that he continues to enjoy good health so he can keep playing his beloved golf.

My father is the quiet type and I take after him more so than my sister. We're both happy to let the other more vocal members of our small family air their views. We both enjoy strong tasting food and game meat. He's a simple man with simple needs so I didn't need to dress the cake up. I know he'll enjoy it with his coffee and he'll toast the leftovers for later in the week.

One of the first recipes I flagged when I got Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours was her Lots-of-Ways Banana Cake (except that the English teacher in me mentally corrected it to Many-Ways Banana Cake).

I was taken by how many permutations there could be given the allowances made in the recipe for the variety of milk (whole milk, buttermilk, coconut milk, sour cream, yogurt) and dried fruit (shredded coconut, apricots, prunes, cranberries, blueberries, cherries) plus the option of adding alcohol.

I adapted the recipe and made mine in loaf pans because they're easier to store in the fridge. The recipe instructs that the dry and wet ingredients be added in an alternating manner, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. I'm not shy to admit that I'm lazy and I haven't been able to detect a discernible difference when doing it my way.

I also take shortcuts like when I sift the dry ingredients directly into the bowl or lining only the the loaf pan only on the long side because its just easier to cut the paper. So far it works and the cake came out beautifully.

Banana Walnut Cake

makes 2 loaves (8 x 4.5 in)

3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 bananas, mashed

2 2/3 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven at 350F. Cream the butter before adding the sugar. Mix in all the wet ingredients and bananas then sift in the dry ingredients and mix. Separate batter into 2 lined loaf tins.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, loosely covering with foil after 40 minutes to prevent burning the top of the loaves.

Verdict: A moist cake, not airy light but not dense either. I love the crusty top and the tasty middle. The next time I will probably make these in muffins so that I get more of the crusty surfaces.