Maple Oatmeal Cranberries Muffins

Muffin cravings!!

Dislike that it is totally unexpected and out of the blue. Caught me completely off guard and I needed to fix it with this.

I had to abandon my saffron creations so that I can have a quick fix of this moist, doughy sugary treat. Is considered healthy since I put oatmeal in them. 

I wasn't patient enough to sit and think for 45 minutes to decide what to put into saffron muffin. That's life. It doesn't always go as planned . 

And the unplanned always seems to be better. See these muffins? I think they are better than what I have planned ... which was work. 

The Saffron Challenge #3 - Vanilla Poppyseed Cupcakes with Saffron Lemon Curd

Cupcakes! Who doesn't like them? They have special effects on everyone ... even more so than cookies.

They are tiny, cute and when you look at them, perfectly lined in the cupcake pans with individual colourful 'wrappers' (i don't know what those things are called), how could you resist?!

And it gets even better. You get to do all sorts of things to it ... frost them, sprinkle them, dip them or just simply bite into them. Mmmmmm good! Satisfying. 

They make me feel like a girlie girl again. 

I've decided to pair the very simple yet classic Vanilla Poppyseed Cupcakes with a tart lemon curd, spiked up with saffron. Gorgeous, don't you think?

I tried to do the 'artsy' thing here. Focus at the back and blur at the front.

I am trying!!! ;)

The Saffron Challenge #2 - Orange Saffron & Hazelnut Pull Apart Bread

I was feeling so guilty for not doing my saffron challenge for the past couple of days that today I gave myself a double challenge ...

a saffron dessert and bread making.

I've never made bread before. But everyone keeps telling me that making bread is totally easy and there is something therapeutic about the whole process. Both parts are true. It was easy (just time consuming) and kneading the dough made me felt like I was in my own little world. 

Half way through it, the construction workers decided to drill the heck out of the exterior wall of my building. I was so annoyed that I tweeted about it (yes, I wanted everyone to know about my bread making experience). Thankfully, my lovely bread dough wasn't affected by the noise and raised beautifully. And I, while kneading, was totally consumed in the whole thing that it drowned out the 'diiizzzzz diiiiizzzzzz ... silence ... silence... diiizzz diiiizzzz diiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... and so on'.

I am done making the bread, ate half of it and the dizzzzz dizzzzzz is STILL going on. Thank goodness for sugary bread dough to get me through the day. 

Today's flavour combo: Saffron, Orange, Hazelnut and Brown Sugar. YUM! All combined into a soft, warm and yeasty bread. Quadruple YUM!

I took it a step further. This is not your regular loaf of bread. Is made in a way that you can pull the bread apart in sheets!! Thanks to the JoyTheBaker! She is such a genius and is THE baking queen. I LOVE her blog! 

The bread turned out oh-so-good! I couldn't resist and had to eat a slice right away. The top was very crunchy, with bits of nuts sticking out and crumbly brown sugar bits all caramelized & gooood. The bread was so soft and moist and when I pulled it apart, I got hit by the sweet citrusy smell of the orange zests and the warm aroma of the saffron.

MMmmmmmMMMMmmmmm. 

The Saffron Challenge #1

I've been around saffron quite a bit these days and realized that not a lot of people use it in desserts or maybe i just haven't came across them. So I am giving myself a little challenge until the end of this month - come up with 6 desserts using saffron. (Though I just realized while typing this that I only have until next Monday as I will be going on a short trip until April 1st). emmmm ...

Saffron is the world's most highly priced spice. Totally in a league of its own, saffron has a very unique aroma and taste. Just a couple of these thin golden strands will give any dish a deep and vibrant orangey-yellow colour. Is an amazing spice and I love it.

Okay, so back to desserts ... guess there isn't any rule in this challenge. As long as I use saffron in my dessert recipes, it counts. :) I am sure there are plenty of good flavour combos out there.

Creamy, velvety, smooth and heavenly ... some words that you usually associate with cheesecakes. My first saffron dessert is going to be ....

A Feast in the Making - Part III

The day of the dinner party. I was stressed, nervous and pumped!

But let me just say that my respect for chefs and caterers has tripled! I cooked dinner for 15pax, spent 2 full days in the kitchen and I was utterly exhausted by the end of it. I was so tired I wanted to puke and I couldn't feel my legs. You smell like the kitchen for at least a week, and that's only if you don't cook afterwards; else the smells will just linger around you. Your hands, your hair and just the entire you. And no matter how many showers you take you still smell like garlic, onions and stews. THUMBS UP to those who dedicated their lives to this sport! Yes, cooking is a very complicated sport ... that I still love very much despite of all the muscle pains. I love feeding people.

Anyways, I woke up to a gorgeous sunny morning. Though I woke up to construction workers chit chatting outside my window while they were building the 'pang' with the bamboos. Yes, is unfortunate. The tenants at the building have decided to revamp and renovate, starting with the exterior walls of the building. An 8-month project, which my parents and I totally feel played by our landlord for not letting us know while we signed the lease. Anyways, I will save this story for another time.

I set my alarm for 9:00am. Still lots to do even though I cooked all day the day before. I'd say I've made 50% of the meal - beef stew, duck, soup, parmesan crackers and fillings for my quiches. So I started my day with a big cup of coffee and a good breakfast. I sat down and enjoyed my brekkie because I didn't want to feel burned out in the middle of cooking. I've done that before. My relatives came for dinner (20+) and for whatever reason, I got really fed up cooking and I just stopped. I let my aunt cooked the rest of it that day. I was just so tired and whatever I was making just didn't taste good. I was not going to let this happen again today! I began cooking at 10am.

Having a sharp knife makes your life much easier in the kitchen.

I started assembling my quiches and baking them off since quiches can be served at room temperature or you can quickly pop them back in the oven to reheat just before serving.

I know, is not very pretty.

Here's my basic quiche recipe:

Prepare your pie dough, either get the store bought short crust pastry or make your own Pate Brisee. Blind bake them first in a 220C/425F oven for 5-7mins. Remove the pie weights or whatever you are using to weigh the dough down. Brush with egg wash and continue to bake for about 7minss. Let cool slightly.



Filling:
3 large eggs
175ml heavy cream
2-3 handfuls of grated cheese of your choice - Gruyere, Swiss, Gouda are common in quiches
salt and pepper to taste
Any kind of herbs that match the main ingredients of your quiche
*stir everything together + whatever else you chooses to put into your quiche.

Quiches are like pizzas. Is a very forgiving dish and you can put whatever you want into your quiche (let's you clear out your fridge). Here are some suggestions: asparagus, ham, sun dried tomatoes, olives, artichokes, mushroom, spinach ... and the list goes on and on.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake for 20mins in oven. Turn down the heat to about 180C/375F and bake for another 15-20mins until firm, golden brown and a bit puffy.

Cut up quiches to bite size pieces

Fresh Ginger and Maple Cake (Bread)

Today while I was making the Chinese raddish cake in preparation for Chinese New Year, I all of a sudden wanted to bake a loaf of cake/bread. I ran out of bananas so I couldn't make my banana bread. As I just recently got into this whole baking craze, I bought quite a few baking spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger - and so much more. So I have decided to make a spiced cake loaf. I was never a baker, and my cakes always turned out rather blah. This would be a good chance to test myself and see if I can come up with a new cake/bread recipe based on my banana bread.

Using only the ground spices won't make the cake very interesting. I saw fresh ginger, they are going in. I saw maple syrup and apple sauce - these 2 made it onto the list as well. I grated a big fat nob of ginger and used apple sauce in place of the veggie oil - which according to many blogs and food sites, they are interchangeable in baking. Your cakes will still turn out moist but none of the fat. I also used brown sugar to add more sweetness and depth to the flavor. Then of course, your usual cake mix - flour, egg, baking soda, etc.

30mins in a 350F oven, my kitchen was filled with the warm aroma of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Not bad I thought.



Now comes the taste test - i liked the taste - it got a kick to it since i used fresh ginger. The cake was moist enough but the taste was not as rich as if you used oil or butter. And the texture got a bit chewy after the loaf was cooled. Was it because I didn't use any fat in the recipe? Not enough eggs? In any case, this was a good start to a homey & comforting quick bread recipe. Still need improvements of course. In the mean time, I will be devouring this loaf of fresh ginger and maple bread tomorrow morning - heating it up and serving it with a nob of butter & fig jam.

You gotta have the fat.