Recipe: Banana Muffins

Today I've decided to post something a bit different from what I usually post, and have a recipe for you. A week or so ago, I had a craving for some banana muffins so searched the web for a recipe but actually couldn't find one that I though sounded any good, so I decided to grab one of my recipe books and adapt a basic muffin recipe. I really enjoy baking and bake quite often so this wasn't a problem for me and found that they turned out pretty tasty! The recipe is really easy to follow and includes ingredients that your likely to have in your kitchen already. If any of you do decide to give these a go then let me know how they turned out! This recipe is also on my main blog which you can find here.

Ingredients:

125g butter

125g caster sugar

Few drops vanilla extract

1 egg

2-3 over-ripe bananas

190g self raising flour

60ml milk

12 muffin cases

Method:

1. Start by preheating oven to 190°C/180°C (fan oven). 

2. Measure out the butter and sugar and heat in either the microwave(for around 1 minute) or on the hob. Keep mixing until the sugar and butter are combined.

3. Next add a few drops of vanilla extract, but this is optional so feel free to miss this step out!

4. Now it's time to mash the bananas and then add to the mix. If you fancy changing these up a bit you could try adding walnuts or chocolate chips!

5. Add the egg to the mix and mix until combined. You can do this by hand but I find it much easier to use an electric mixer.

6. Now stir in the flour and the milk to the mixture.

7. Share the between 12 muffin cases in a muffin tray, or if you haven't got a muffin tin then you can always pop the mixture into cupcake case. A good way to make sure that you have an equal amount of mixture in each one is to use an ice cream scoop! If you want to ad a crunch to the tops, sprinkle on some demerara sugar before putting into the oven.

8. Pop them into the oven and bake for around 15-20 minutes (or until golden). Once cooked, remove and leave to cool.

9. Now it's time to eat, enjoy!

Coconut Cake Recipe

This recipe makes the most perfect coconut cake! It's so moist and really flavoursome, and is very simple to make. One thing to be sure of before beginning this recipe is that the desiccated coconut must soak in the milk for roughy 2 hours, however, I have made this cake after leaving it for only 20-30 minutes and it has turned out very well and still has a great flavour, however it takes even better when left for longer!

Ingredients:

50g desiccated coconut (plus more for decoration later on!)
150ml milk
110g margarine/butter
110g caster sugar
2 eggs
250g self-raising flour
pinch of salt 

Recipe:

1. Begin by soaking the coconut in the milk for around 2 hours (as I said before, it's not the end of the world if not left for this long). Line a cake tin and preheat the oven to 170 degrees/150 degrees for fan oven.

2. Cream together the margarine/butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Add the flour, salt and coconut mixture until completely combined.

4. Now spoon the mixture into the lined cake tin. Bake for up to 1 and a half hours or until cake is firm to the touch and skewer comes out clem when used to test.

5. Once the cake has cooled, it is time to decorate. I like to use icing sugar and then sprinkle over the remaining desiccated coconut but you could also make a cream cheese topping if you prefer. 

Affordable Kitchenware

Here are seven affordable baking accessories that would look great in the kitchen. I am really into the 'pastel' baking trend after watching TGBBO and seeing there Kitchen Aids in every pastel shade possible, but theres no way I could afford one so heres some pieces that won't brake the bank!

1.Pastel spatula, spoon and pastry brush - Tesco - £4

2.Star cutter - John Lewis - £1

3.Scales - ASDA - £7

4. Cream mixing bowl - Tesco - £5

5. Icing set - Debenhams - £4

6. Cake stand - H&M - £4

7. Pastel silicone cupcake cases x12 - Tesco - £1.75

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

For me, this is the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe. They are so light and fluffy and are very easy to make, even for people new to baking. This is a really good recipe for if your having friends or family round as it makes around 16-18 cupcakes. You can decorate them however you want and could even add food colouring to the buttercream for a pop of colour.

Ingredients:

175g Self Raising Flour
175g Softened Butter
175g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Recipe:

1. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 170 degrees celsius, and preparing your tray by placing approximately 16-18 cupcake cases.

2. Next mix the butter and sugar until light and creamy. (It's easiest to mix with an electric mixer, however doing it by hand is fine!)

3. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla essence and continue to mix until the batter is yellow.

4. Add the flour and mix for about 2-4 minutes, so that the mixture is combined. The longer  mixing time allows more air to get into the mixture making it light and fluffy, which is key for this recipe.

5. Pour the mixture evenly as possible into the cupcake cases. I like to use an ice cream scoop so that I get an even distribution between the cases.

6. Bake for 14 minutes (or until slightly golden on top, and they bounce back slightly). Once cooked remove from oven and place on cooling rack (don't worry if you haven't got one, they will just take a little longer to cool). 

7. Once cool decorate with vanilla buttercream (recipe below, I've also used edible silver balls and sprinkle, but you can decorate however you like)


Ingredients:

250g Icing Sugar
80G Unsalted Butter
A few drops of vanilla essence
A drop of milk (if needed)

Recipe for Vanilla Buttercream:

1. Mix together the icing sugar and butter until the mixture is well mixed

2. Next add a few drops of vanilla essence ( this could be substituted for another flavour like strawberry essence) 

3. If needed add a few drops of milk to slightly thin the mixture and to make it even creamier.

4. Once combined, put into a piping bag and pipe each cupcake (Of course you don't have to pipe the icing, you could just use a pallet knife or spatula)