~ What's Baking! 5 Recipes to Try!!

June 8, 2020

Written by Shermaine Inez

June 8, 2020

Written by Shermaine Inez

Who here dare says they don't like all the sweet desserts out there? Well, definitely not us! In fact, we are true blue dessert lovers, and always enjoy a splendid tea session at a cafe, sipping coffee and snacking on the yummiest cake or muffin! Even though cafes are not open at the moment, and you can't hang out at your favourite cafe with your favourite people and having your favourite sweets, you sure can bake some yourself, make yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy the late afternoon with your family!

With exactly the same intentions in mind, here are 5 Easy Recipes that you can try on a lovely Saturday afternoon!

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Banana Muffins

One of the easiest things to bake, with only a total time of 30 minutes required, a good banana muffin call for moist interior and crisp exterior. Mash up all that and you will get your good banana muffins!

Here's what you need:

1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large ripe bananas (about 1 and 1/2 cups mashed)*
6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted (or melted coconut oil)
2/3 cup (135g) packed light or dark brown sugar (or coconut sugar)*
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk (dairy or non-dairy)
optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips

Here's how you do it!

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use cupcake liners.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, mash the bananas. On medium speed, beat or whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then beat or whisk until combined. If adding nuts or chocolate chips, fold them in now. Batter will be thick.
Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21-23 minutes, give or take. (For mini muffins, bake 12-14 total minutes at 350°F (177°C).) Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

This brilliant recipe and photos are from Sally's Baking Addiction!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Possibly one of our favourite desserts from this 5, Red Velvet Cupcakes come with a undeniable cocoa flavour with a smooth whip of cream cheese right at the top! Plus, the red colour and moist texture of the cupcake definitely provides a wholesome experience with the sweet and tangy taste of it all!

Here's what you need:

For the Cupcakes:

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 215g2 tsp cocoa powder 4g
1 cups granulated sugar 200g
1/4 tsp baking soda 1g, heaping
1 tsp baking powder 4g, heaping
1/4 tsp kosher salt 1g, heaping
3/4 cup unsalted butter 190g, room temperature
3 eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
3/4 cup buttermilk 177mL
red food coloring

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter 340g, room temperature
1 ½ lb confectioners sugar 550g, sifted
16 oz cream cheese 455g, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
1 pinch kosher salt

Here's how you do it!

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (including the sugar). Give it a whisk.
In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined. (The batter may be clumpy! Do not worry!)
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
Add the red food coloring until you reach the desired color.
Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream the butter. Sift confectioners sugar into a large bowl.
Add room temperature cream cheese to the creamed butter. Add vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat together.
Add the confectioners sugar in cups. Mix until combined. If you’re wanting a stronger buttercream, keep adding more sifted confectioners sugar until it’s stiff.
Transfer buttercream to a piping bag, snip off the tip and add a large dollop on top of each cupcake.

This brilliant recipe and photos are from Preppy Kitchen! (there is also a video to aid!)

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal is easily one of the healthier choices when it comes to health foods. It may not be a popular superfood such as acai or avocado, and may sometimes even be considered food for the elderly, yet it is truly nutritious and has only benefits for both young and old. To incorporate oatmeal into cookies is an ingenious idea for it appeals to even kids who probably will never choose oatmeal if given a choice!

Here's what you need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Here's how you do it!

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, whisking vigorously.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, raisins, and walnuts, if using, folding into a tight batter. Set the dough aside for 20 minutes while the oven preheats. (Note: if your dough seems too wet to become scoop-able, chill it in the fridge for this 20 minutes and it'll firm up).
Scoop into 20 tablespoon-sized balls and roll lightly in barely damp hands to make them round. Spread out onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed, golden, and a touch underbaked-looking, 10 to 11 minutes. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This brilliant recipe and photos are from Love and Lemons!

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Fudgy Brownies

This wins hands down, out of all the desserts there are! Fudgy brownies remains one of the world's most decadent and, at the same time, most sinful desserts! Think warm, fudgy brownies accompanied by cold ice cream - who can resist this combination? We surely got to say no to this, because we surrender completely in front of this delectable combination!

1 cup (8oz/225g) butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut or canola)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 1/4oz/177g) brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 1/4oz/227g) white sugar
4 large eggs , room temperature
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (5oz/142g) all purpose flour
1 cup (4oz/115g) good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (9oz/255g) roughly chopped chocolate or large chocolate chips

Here's how you do it!

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) then line a 7x11 inch baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl combine melted butter, oil and both sugars.
Add the eggs, vanilla and salt then whisk for about one minute until evenly combined and light in color.
Over the same bowl sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until JUST combined (do NOT over mix). Fold in half of the chocolate chunks.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then smooth the top. Generously top with the remaining chocolate chunks.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the centre of the brownies no longer jiggles and is JUST set to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the baking tray and slicing into 16 brownies. Enjoy!

This brilliant recipe and photos are from Bigger Bolder Baking!

Classic Cheesecake

A classic cheesecake sometimes is all we need! Creamy, silky and smooth, every bite brings us straight to the ninth heaven. Time to enjoy a slice of decadent cheesecake with your loved ones on stay-home weekends!

Here's what you need:

FOR THE CRUST

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from 12 whole crackers
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

FOR THE FILLING

32 oz (four 8-oz blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon packed lemon zest, from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
Special equipment: 9- or 10-inch springform pan; 18-inch heavy-duty aluminum foil
Berry sauce, for serving (optional)

Here's what you have to do!

FOR THE CRUST

Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the lower middle position. Wrap a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with one large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, covering the underside and extending all the way to the top so there are no seams on the bottom or sides of the pan. Repeat with another sheet of foil for insurance. Spray the inside of the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and salt. Stir until well combined. Press the crumbs into an even layer on the the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until set. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Set a kettle of water to boil.
Make the batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and flour together on medium speed until just smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure the mixture is evenly combined. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt; beat on low speed until just combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated, scraping the bowl as necessary. Mix in the sour cream. Make sure the batter is uniform but do not over-mix.
Check to make sure your oven has cooled to 325°F, then set the cheesecake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour the batter on top of the crust. Pour the boiling water into the large roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the cake pan. Bake until the cake is just set, 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes (the cake should not look liquidy at all but will wobble just a bit when the pan is nudged; it will continue to cook as it cools). Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Cool the cheesecake in the water bath until the water is just warm, about 45 minutes. Remove the springform pan from the water bath and discard the foil. If necessary, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cake to make sure it's not sticking to the sides (which can cause cracks as it cools), then cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 8 hours or overnight.
For serving: Remove the sides of the springform pan. Serve the cheesecake right from the base of the pan; or, to transfer it to a serving platter, run a long, thin spatula between the crust and the pan bottom, and then use two large spatulas to carefully transfer the cheesecake to a serving dish. Slice with a sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between slices. Serve with berry sauce, if you like.