Double Chocolate Muffins (Daring Bakers)…

This month’s challenge was a nice & easy one. Perfect for my schedule as work is manic at the moment.

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.

Quick Breads are great as they’re so versatile. Loaves and muffins and all the different flavour combinations you can come up with.

I came up with a few, I couldn’t help myself. Banana Chocolate Chip, Vanilla & Mixed Berry and Double Chocolate. We only have time for one recipe today but the rest will come.

Who can resist chocolate?

Double Chocolate Muffins:  (Adapted from Donna Hay)

(Makes 12 muffins)

• 2 cups / 300 g flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup / 40 g cocoa powder
• 1 cup / 220 g castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 2/3 cup / 160 ml canola oil
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or place muffin cases in place.

Sift together the flour, baking powder & cocoa powder and add the castor sugar. Set aside.

Mix together the eggs, vanilla, canola oil and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix in until just combined. (Don’t over-mix or the muffins could be tough)

Fold in the chocolate chips and divide between the cups of the muffin tin.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with your finger tips.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Pineapple & Lemon Granita…

I have a question for all of you photographers out there (amateur & professional)…

How many photo’s do you have of yourself?

I know right? Unless you have a friend or partner who shares your enthusiasm for photography you’re likely to spend all your time behind the camera and hardly ever feature.

I see you putting your humble face on. Don’t give me that, I’m sure we’d all love to spend some time on the other side. :)

I was lucky enough to do just that a few weeks ago. G and I received a couple’s photo shoot from his brother (A) & his sister in law (L) for Christmas and were finally able to use it. (Photo’s to come!)

Needless to say I was a bundle of nervous excitement as we pulled up to the meeting point. The photographer happened to be L’s best friend which helped to still the nerves and soon we were having a wonderful time.

Now all that’s left is to attempt to muster up some patience as we wait for the photo’s.

How does all this link to our Pineapple & Lemon Granita we’re enjoying today? Well, it doesn’t really. I just wanted to tell you about it. And eat some Granita at the same time.

What I love about granita is that it’s light (even with the cream). Perfect for Summer.

Pineapple & Lemon Granita: (Adapted from David Lebovitz’ The Perfect Scoop)

• 3 1/2 cups (875 ml) water
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
• 725 g fresh pineapple, peeled, cored & chopped into small chunks
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup (250 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

Place all ingredients into a blender/food processor and blend until smooth.

Pass the mixture through a strainer to remove the pulp.

Pour the mixture into a large flat pan and freeze.

After about an hour, remove from the freezer and scrape the frozen mixture with a fork to break it up. Start at the edges and scrape towards the center, breaking up big chunks and forming tiny ice crystals. Freeze for about 1/2 an hour and scrape again. Do this 2 – 3 more times until you have tiny ice crystals all throughout.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cream Scones for Daring Bakers…

You know those days where you have everything, but nothing occupying your mind? I’m having one of those days.

I’ve started to write this post four times already with no luck. The last time had me looking back on a string of adjectives (nonsense really) without memory of writing it.

It’s not often that such things completely consume my mind, but I’m seconds away from philosophizing about life’s troubles (which I’m sure you didn’t come here to ponder) so instead, lets just have scones.

You o.k with that? I hope you are. These are some excellent scones. In the next few minutes, scones trump troubles.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

He did a terrific job with this recipe. Quick and easy and oh so good.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)  (Challenge recipe, go to the Daring Kitchen for variations)
Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.