Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

I made this a few weeks ago in order to use up some of the berry muffins I made a while ago. I was the only person around to eat the muffins at the time and so couldn’t get through more than 3-4 before they started to go a bit past their best. Normally I freeze any cakes or cookies I don’t think I’ll eat in time, and then get them out later as and when needed. However, when I went to put the muffins in the freezer, it seems I have been putting more in than I have been taking out as they wouldn’t fit! I don’t want you to think I have a freezer full of cakes and cookies, there were plenty of other things in there too – bags of berries, cartons of homemade soup, meals etc. Either way, it was time to come up with a plan B.

Recently I had been day dreaming about trying to create a gluten free bread and butter pudding and hit upon the idea to make a denser bread pudding and to use the muffins in place of bread. The more I thought about it the more the ideal appealed and I set about doing a little research into bread pudding recipes.

Bread pudding turns out to be a bit of a minefield when it comes to specific recipes. I found some that called for cubes or bread to be baked in a custard, others crumbled them into crumbs and created a mush which was baked into something much sturdier. Some were custard based, others used water, milk or even tea as a socking liquid. The baking times also varied enormously. Some called for a hot oven and a short time, other a much cooler oven and a long bake. Anything from 25mins to 2.5hours! Some were dense and served in squares, others lighter and served with a spoon. This also includes side stepping all the bread and butter puddings which are completely different.

A few bleary eyed hours later I formulated my own recipe, picking and choosing the best aspects of various different recipes I liked. I decided to use milk as my soaking liquid and to crumble the muffins into fine crumbs as I wanted to end up with a denser, sliceable pudding. I added a little jam for extra fruity sweetness and some sultanas to add a dried fruit chew. Mixed spice and almond extract for flavour and just a tiny amount of flour to bind it all together.

I decided on a long slow bake for my pudding, as the mixture was very wet and I wanted to ensure I ended up with something that was not only cooked, but that could be served and held in slices. It was a little trial and error going along, but my finished pudding was delightful.

The outer edges of the pudding had gone wonderfully thick and chewy, while the middle was softer, more tender and studded with moist juicy fruits and crumbs. I adored the almond flavour, it really shone through and went so well with the fruits and spices.

I love how it looks quite plain from the outside and yet is so colourful and inviting once sliced into. Delicious and the perfect way to use up some leftover muffins or cakes you might have lingering around. Success!

Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

Ingredients
600g leftover fruit muffins, around 7
250ml milk
50g gluten free self raising flour
1tbsp raspberry jam
2 eggs
100g sultanas
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp almond extract
1tbsp sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper, letting it drape up two opposite sides of the tin, which will help you remove the pudding once baked.
Tear the muffins into small chunks and add to a bowl along with the spices, almond extract and sultanas. Pour over the milk and mix together briefly. Then set aside for 10minutes.
Beat the eggs and jam together before stirring into the muffin mix. It should become very soft and mushy at this stage and look quite unappetising, but this is fine. Finally scatter the flour over the top and mix together.
Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Scatter over the caster sugar and cover the tin with a foil.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour, before removing the foil and leaving to bake for a further 40 minutes.
It should be a dark golden brown colour on top and feel firm to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15minutes, before running a knife around the edge and removing from the tin with the help of the greaseproof paper.
Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into 12-16 pieces.
Store at room in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.
Can also be heated and served with custard.

Daring Bakers February 2012 Challenge: Very Berry & Apricot Muffins

(I’m still in LA, but I set this post up to publish itself before I left. Never done this before so hope it’s worked)

I love berry muffins but very rarely bake them as I’m almost ashamed to admit, that I’m not that good at baking them. Ones I’ve made in the past have either have flat rather dry tops, or not been that different to an un-iced cupcake. However, this months Daring Bakers challenge was to make a quick bread in the flavour, and shape of our choice. As the whole group is about challenges, I decided it was time to give muffins another go.

I browsed the internet looking for my ideal muffin, and when I came across this one by Zoom Yummy, I called off the search. It looked fantastic and utterly drool-worthy. Packed full of berries with a soft texture and nicely risen. I had to do a little tweaking to make it gluten free and adapt it to my preferences but I was ready to get baking!

The main difference between a cupcake and a muffin is that muffins generally rely on a milk and oil base, rather than a butter base. They also generally use fewer eggs and you are actually aiming to achieve a lumpy batter, rather than a smooth one as this helps give them their light texture. Despite knowing this I think I slightly over worked my batter as there were very few lumps left. I’m too used to baking cakes!

I was a little worried about how full the cases were after I’d divided out the batter, but I went with it and sure enough they rose perfectly. Just high enough to create little domes without cracking and spilling out all over the tin. So fill them more than you might normally think is wise as the weight of the fruit holds the batter down a bit.

Frozen blueberries, cranberries and some fresh apricots are what made up my fruit mix. I loved the colours together, each so striking and bright. They looked so inviting when baked, each one bursting into the surrounding muffin creating little pools of vibrant jammy fruit.

I loved the muffins, but was slightly disappointed they didn’t go a lovely golden brown on top. I suspect this might be down to the flours I used. Next time I will try baking them at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time and seeing if that helps. This is purely aesthetic though and the muffins themselves were soft and tender. I’m sure they would also be great with some almond extract or lots of lemon zest too, but I liked them plain and simple. Letting the natural mix of sweet, juicy, tart, jammy fruits shine through.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles. I started from scratch with my own research. Click here to see the Daring Baker blogroll to see bakers quick breads.

Very Berry & Apricot Muffins
(Recipe adapted from Zoom Yummy blog)

Ingredients
100g white teff flour*
80g buckwheat flour*
60g brown rice flour*
150g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
250ml/250g milk
125ml/95g sunflower oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg
300g fresh or frozen fruits & berries (I used equal mix of frozen blueberries, cranberries & fresh apricots)

* can be substituted for an equal quantity gluten free flour mix or regular plain flour

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
Mix the milk, oil, lemon juice and egg together in a bowl and set aside.
Place the flours, sugar and baking powder together in a larger bowl and mix to combine.
Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and use a spatula to gently fold everything together. You want a few lumps to remain, not a smooth batter, so don’t beat it.
Add your fruits and mix briefly.
Divide the mixture between the paper cases, filling almost to the top, more than you might normally think was wise. (I found I needed 1½ ice cream scoops of batter in each).
Bake for 18-22 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Best eaten within 3 days or frozen on day of baking. Lovely served warm with custard for a quick dessert.

Celebrating 5 Years of Apple & Spice with Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since I stared this blog! At the time it began I was a student sitting in my attic bedroom and thought writing a food blog would be ‘a bit of fun’ I never dreamed 5 years down the lines it would still go going. Along the way I have ‘met’ so many lovely people and learned so many new recipes and techniques that I really don’t think I would be the same person I am today without it. A lot of that is down to you, be your readers or fellow bloggers, so thank you!

Every blog anniversary I have always made an apple inspired recipe to celebrate.
1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

And finally, this year I give you roasted apple and custard pots. Slices of baked apple underneath a thick, creamy layer of freshly made custard.

I used a combination of cooking and eating apples which resulted in a pleasing mix of slightly sweet and slightly sharp apple flavour with each bite. Some of apple was also soft and squishy while other slices retained a bit more of their structure. This combination of flavours and textures went really well against the thick creaminess of the custard.

The edges of the apple slices had become slightly toasted and caramelised during baking. When layered underneath the custard and allowed to chill for several hours, this created little pools of sticky caramel-like sauce amongst the apple which tasted delicious. You can’t beat the taste of real freshly made custard either.

So simple, quick and easy to prepare but a complete joy to eat. There is something so comforting and pleasing about the nursery combination of apple and custard, but sometimes the simplest things can be the best.

Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

Roasted Apples
2 large eating apples
1 large cooking apple
6 tsp soft brown sugar
15g butter

Custard
3 egg yolks
500ml milk
70g caster sugar
25g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Peel, core and slice the apples into thick slices. Lay them on a large baking tray, mixing the cooking and eating apple slices up. Scatter over the soft brown sugar. Dot small blobs of butter over the top and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. They should be soft and lightly caramelised around the edges.
Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray. Don’t try and move them too much when they are hot as they will stick more to the tray.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl.
Heat the milk until simmering and then slowly pour over the top of the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
Return the custard mix to the pan and stir over a low heat until beginning to thicken. Don’t try and rush and heat it too quickly or it could burn. It will take about 10 minutes. When thickened, remove from the heat and pour into a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool slightly. You want to use it still warm though.
Distribute the cool, baked apple slices between 6 glasses or ramekins, saving 6 slices for decoration. Some will be very mushy, but this if fine.
Pour the still warm custard mixture over the top and shake gently to smooth the surface. Lay a saved apple slice on top as decoration.
Place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
Makes 6

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Overripe bananas are a common occurrence in my house. We always buy lots as everyone likes to eat them at varying degrees of ripeness. I personally prefer them on the slightly firm side, and also when they are fridge cold, added on top of my morning cereal or porridge. However, the inevitable often happens where the odd banana goes too ripe for anyone and rather than be thrown away they get cut up and stashed in the freezer to be used in baking later. Overripe bananas may not be nice to eat but as many of us know, they make for wonderfully sweet banana cake.

Plain banana cake is good, but I’m very much a flavours and textures kind of girl. I like to have each bite tasting a little bit different, which adds excitement and interest. In this instance I added a handful of dark chocolate chips and some cinnamon. Spices really complement the flavour of bananas and I love how using chips of chocolate, rather than simply cocoa powder, result in little pockets of intense chocolate bitterness, the perfect contrast to the sweet cake.

In place of a standard icing or glaze I instead decided on a cinnamon streusel topping. Crisp, crunchy and a little bit crumbly it adds another texture to the cake without being overly sweet.

The cake itself is moist and closely textured from all the banana. The use of the bananas also adds structure to the cake meaning tasters had no idea it was actually gluten free. It would be very easy to make it dairy free too if that was required.

I love it eaten slightly warmed, so they chocolate chips just start to melt and the aroma from the cinnamon and banana becomes more apparent. A great way of using up those over ripe bananas.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake
180g butter
40ml sunflower oil
220g light soft brown sugar
3 eggs
275g very ripe banana, mashed (about 3 large)
280g gluten free plain flour (I used Doves Farm)
1½ tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
60g dark chocolate chips

Cinnamon Streusel
50g gluten free plain flour
40g caster sugar
20g butter
½ tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Streusel Topping
Make sure the butter is soft but not melted. Rub all the ingredients together using the tips to your fingers to form crumbs. Add ½ tbsp water and mix to form a few larger clumps, but you want it mostly fine. Set aside while you make the cake.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line an 8inch round springform cake tin.
Beat the butter, oil and sugar together until fluffy and pale in colour.
Beat in the eggs and cinnamon.
Add the banana and chocolate chips and mix to combine.
Fold the flour and baking powder gently into the banana mixture using a spatula. Do not over mix.
Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with the streusel topping. Bake for 55mins until lightly golden.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool.
Tastes delicious served warm with custard for a quick dessert.

Fresh Cranberry & Orange Cake

Last weekend was my local coeliac group’s Christmas meal. It’s only the second time I’ve been but I’ve discovered any meeting is always a fun and festive affair. After a three course meal there is a short interlude where we listen to guest speakers and then it’s onto the wonderful English tradition of afternoon tea, which can mean only one thing – CAKE!

I’m very lucky in that my local group seem to be great food lovers (like myself) and whenever we all get together there is always a vast array of cakes, biscuits and buns all baked by fellow members for everyone to share around and enjoy. Not only is it a sugar rush experience of being able to eat everything on the table, but it’s a fantastic way of picking up some new recipes.

I kept changing my mind of what to bake for the occasion but in the end decided on a cranberry and orange cake. Fresh cranberries are finally available in the shops again – hurrah! – so I wanted to make the most of them. Cranberry and orange is a classic and very festive flavour combination so seemed ideal for the event.

I roughly blitzed the cranberries before stirring them through the cake mix as I wanted little speckles of cranberry studded throughout the cake rather than whole berries. This made it look very pretty when sliced, the cranberries all glossy and red like little gems. Topped with a drizzle of orange glaze and a ring of dried cranberries this makes for one simple yet very tasty cake.

There is no photo of a slice as I didn’t want to cut into the cake before I took it to share, but I’m pleased to say it went down well with the munchers. I actually made it dairy free as well as gluten free as I know some members have to avoid both and I wanted to ensure it would be safe for everyone to eat. I’ve come away with a delicious recipe for a super moist carrot drizzle cake, which I’m sure will be making an appearance on this blog at some point in the future.

Fresh Cranberry & Orange Cake

Ingredients
195g gluten free self raising flour
180g unsalted butter or dairy free margarine
180g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
75g fresh cranberries, blitzed into small chunks
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp ground ginger

Orange Glaze
100g royal icing sugar
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
A few dried cranberries to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line the base of an 8inch/20cm springform tin.
Make sure the butter is very soft. Place the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger and eggs into a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
Add the orange and crushed cranberries and mix again to combine.
Spread into the tin and bake for 45 minutes.
Leave to cool for 20 minutes in tin before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze, mix the icing sugar and orange juice together gradually until you have a smooth thick paste.
Spread on top of the cooled cake and decorate with a ring of dried cranberries.

Upside-Down Pear, Chocolate & Ginger Cheesecake

It was my Dad’s birthday last week and what’s a birthday without a birthday cake? We’ve been eating lots of cake in our household recently and so I wanted something different to the traditional sponge and decided instead to bake a cheesecake! It still has cake in the title after all.

My Dad, like me, is a huge foodie and after tasting dishes he always like to discuss the good and bad points about it and what could be done to improve upon it next time, so I knew that this cheesecake couldn’t be any old cheesecake, it would have to be an extra special cheesecake.

Cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts, but I usually hate the bases. They are often damp and soft and I dislike the taste of mushy biscuits. I hit upon the idea of baking the base separately to the cheesecake layer and then putting the two together just before serving. I then moved onto thinking about the cheesecake itself. I knew I wanted to incorporate stem ginger somehow, as my Dad is a big fan of this, and decided to combine it with slices of pear and chocolate chunks as these three flavours always work well together.

I wanted the slices of pear to be arranged on top but thought I would have to simply place them on top after baking as I realised they would sink to the bottom of the pan if I’d put them on top of the unbaked cheesecake mix. However, I then had the most brilliant idea of making an upside down cheesecake! Arrange the pear on the base of the pan before pouring over the cheesecake mix. Once baked I would invert the cheesecake right side up, with the fruit now baked into the top of the cheesecake – just like a pineapple upside down cake! I’ve never seen this done before and I was so excited by the idea.

I was a little nervous turning my baked cheesecake out, unsure what I would find underneath. Thankfully the pear slices stayed in their ring formation and a few of the chunks of chocolate and stem ginger strips had gathered in the centre, creating a rather unusual yet quite attractive mosaic effect. All that was left to do was to place it on the pre baked (gluten free) biscuit base, chocolate for a nice contrast, and the cheesecake was complete!

All the family loved the birthday cheesecake and its quirkiness. To me it was almost perfect. The base had stayed wonderfully crisp and slightly nutty from baking, while the cheesecake top was rich, silky smooth and creamy. Each bite revealed something different, bitter chunks of dark chocolate, warming zingy strips of ginger or soft sweet pear.

I’ve never seen an upside-down cheesecake before, so I’m claiming this recipe as my own invention, and I’ll definitely be baking one again!

Upside-Down Pear, Chocolate & Ginger Cheesecake
(My own invention!)

Chocolate Base
200g digestive biscuits (I used GF ones)
10g cocoa powder
50g butter

Cheesecake
1 tin pear halves
500g cream cheese
2 tsp cornflour
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 balls of stem ginger in syrup (approx 50g)
50g dark chocolate

Method

Line a tray with foil and place an 8inch/20cm ring mould on top. (If you don’t have a ring mould use a round springform tin without the base. Preheat the oven to 175C.
Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until the biscuits are broken down and resemble fine crumbs. Add the cocoa powder and blitz again briefly.
Melt the butter in the microwave, add to the biscuit crumbs and blitz again to incorporate.
Tip the crumbs into the base of the ring mould and press down firmly to form an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully lift off the ring mould, leaving the base behind on the foil tray. Leave the base to cool before covering with clingfilm and storing until required.

For the Cheesecake

Leave the oven at 175C. Clean the ring mould used for the biscuits base and place on another foil lined tray. This time, gather up the excess foil, wrapping it around the edge of the ring mould to prevent any leaks.
Drain the pear halves and cut them into long slices. Arrange them in the base of the ring mould, in an even layer, fanning them out around the edge.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until no lumps remain and the cream cheese is soft and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Scatter over the flour and beat again to incorporate.
Roughly chop the chocolate into small chunks and slice the stem ginger into thick matchstick shaped pieces.
Fold the chocolate and stem ginger into the cheesecake mix.
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the layer of pears in the mould.
Place in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. The cheesecake should be puffed up and slightly cracked around the edges, but still wobbly in the centre.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and leave to cool for 1½ hours before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, although ideally overnight. (Don’t worry if it cracks as this will be the base later on.)
When ready to serve, run a hot knife in-between the edge of the cheesecake and the tin and carefully lift off the ring mould. Place the cooled chocolate biscuit base on top of the cheesecake.
Carefully place a serving plate, right side down, over the top of the whole cheesecake and invert the whole thing right side up. Use the tray the cheesecake is on to help you.
Remove the baking tray (from the now top) and carefully peel away the foil to reveal the arrangement of pear slices that has now become the top of the cheesecake.
Refrigerate until required and serve in generous slices.

Roasted Banana & Pecan Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze

Today is National Bundt Cake day! Any baked good with a day dedicated to it is a winner in my books. Mary of the Food Librarian blog loves Bundt cakes so much that she has done a 30 day count-down to today, baking and blogging a different Bundt cake recipe each day! Wow what an undertaking. Incredibly this is also the 3rd year she has done this.

Spurred on by her many delicious looking Bundt cake recipes I wanted to join in the fun and bake my own. I first tasted this cake recipe a couple of weeks back, when it was baked by a coeliac friend of mine for a get-together. It was the moistest, most intensely banana flavoured cake I had ever had. I begged her for the recipe and have been looking for an occasion to bake it ever since. The cake is meant to be baked in a large loaf tin, but I felt sure it would be equally as good baked in a Bundt tin instead.

I think the secret behind this cake is that it uses a lot of bananas which are first roasted in the oven, in their skins, in order to intensify their wonderful banana-iness (if that’s not a word, it should be). I have never encountered this in a recipe before and was a little sceptical about how much flavour this would actually impart to the cake, but the end results speak for themselves. It’s fantastic.

The cake is also studded with a few crushed nuts for added texture and flavour and I also added just a smidgen of mixed spice. The cake is kept extra moist by the use of oil and sour cream in place of butter in the recipe. The cake is quite dense but in a good way, similar to a pound cake rather than feeling heavy and solid.

I love the look of each slice; the speckles of banana make it look so pretty and appealing. As if the cake itself wasn’t delicious enough, it is also topped with a drizzle of maple glaze to add just that extra touch of sweetness. I’m not usually a fan of maple flavoured things, but it really complimented the banana flavour well.

The great thing about Bundt cakes is that they look impressive with very little effort. They are also generally studded with exciting flavours or chunks of chocolate or nuts, relaying on these for flavour rather than mountains of frosting. This was a divine cake and one that the rest of family couldn’t believe was also gluten free. I think its going to be my new ‘go-to’ banana cake recipe. Even if you already have a favourite banana recipe, I urge you to try roasted them for a few minutes first, it really makes a difference!

Mary wants everyone to share her love of Bundt cakes and so is encouraging everyone to bake and blog a Bundt cake recipe from now until 24th November. If you submit a photo to her before this date then she’ll send you a Bundt badge for baking along. Click here for details. This is of course my entry.

Roasted Banana & Pecan Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
(Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Baking by Phil Vickery)

Ingredients
450g ripe bananas with skin on (about 3½)
150g light soft brown sugar
125ml sunflower oil
1 tsp glycerine (I used golden syrup)
3 eggs
225g gluten free flour (I used Doves flour mix)
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tbsp crème fraiche (I used sour cream)
50g roughly chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
½ tsp mixed spice (My own addition)

Maple Glaze
3 tbsp maple syrup (I only used 2tbsp)
75g icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Make a couple of slits in the skins of the bananas and lay them on a baking tray. Bake the bananas, in their skins, for 10 minutes (they will go black). Then remove them from the oven and leave them to cool slightly. Reduce the oven to 180C.
Oil a 9-10inch wide Bundt tin and set to one side.
Whisk the sugar, oil and glycerine together, adding the eggs one by one, until well combined.
Sift over the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and spice. Peel the skin off the bananas and weigh out 250g of the flesh. Add the mushy banana to the rest of the mix along with the crème fraiche.
Beat everything together until combined and no large chunks of banana remain.
Stir through the chopped nuts and pour the mixture into the prepared Bundt tin.
Bake for 45 minutes until risen, golden brown and a skewer inserted in the top comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 30minutes in the tin before inverting onto a serving plate. It should release from the tin if you give it a firm shake.
Leave to cool completely before icing with the glaze.

Maple Glaze

Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl. Add the maple syrup to the strength you like it, mixing it into the sugar with a small spoon. Add a smidgen of water if you need in order to create a pourable yet thick glaze.
Spoon/drizzle the glaze over the top of the cool cake and leave to set for 20 minutes before serving.